The NBA is close to a series of rights deals that will generate an astonishing $76 billion over 11 years for the sports league.

If you like watching basketball, this will likely mean some change: Right now, national NBA rights are split between Disney's ESPN/ABC and Warner Bros Discovery's TNT; in the future, those will likely be split between Disney, Amazon, and Comcast, which intends to show some games on NBC and some on its Peacock streaming service. So you may need to sign up for some new streamers (just like NFL fans have had to do).

But what if you don't care about basketball? Well, you may be in for some change, too: The Wall Street Journal reports that Comcast will be making programming changes to accommodate, and pay for, the new sports deal that is estimated to cost $2.5 billion a year:

NBC entertainment executives are bracing for significant budget cuts. NBC won't need as much prime-time entertainment content, with the NBA taking that real estate a few days a week, and Peacock's original content budget will likely be reduced significantly, entertainment executives said.

Comcast declined to comment.

On the one hand, this makes plenty of sense: Live sports is perhaps the only thing that can reliably generate a TV audience these days (though the NBA is most definitely not the NFL). So why not spend money on that, and take some of it from programming that is less effective?

On the other hand: This has real echoes of the old TV model that lots of people said they hated — the one where people who didn't care about sports ended up paying for sports anyway because the one-sized-fits-all pay TV cable bundle made them pay for ESPN and other sports programming.

The best-case scenario here for non-sports fans is that the addition of the NBA helps them, too: Maybe so many more people will watch NBC and Peacock that those services grow and generate more revenue, and more programming, and non-sports fans will get more stuff they like, too.

Maybe! But in the near term, the calculus is clear: If you're spending $2.5 billion on sports, you need to find $2.5 billion (or at least a very big number) of resources somewhere else. And if those resources happen to include your favorite shows, you're out of luck.

• China has been recruiting current and former Western military personnel to train its aviators. 
• Beijing has been targeting them for recruitment in an effort to overcome shortcomings.
• A new warning from the US and its allies on Wednesday outlined the depth of this scheme. 

China is "aggressively recruiting" Western military personnel to train its air force pilots and naval aviators, attempting to lure them in with "lucrative" contracts and promises of opportunities to fly "exotic aircraft," the US and its allies are warning.

The Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance — which consists of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — posted a bulletin Wednesday detailing China's ongoing efforts to recruit current and former military personnel from NATO and Western countries to "bolster" the capabilities of the People's Liberation Army.

In recent years, China has taken significant steps to build up its air force and navy, much to the alarm of US officials. However, Beijing still has some critical capability gaps as it looks to modernize its forces and strengthen its aviation programs.

Those weak points have led it to seek technology and assistance from the West through malign actions.

"To overcome their shortcomings," the Chinese military "has been aggressively recruiting Western military talent to train their aviators, using private firms around the globe that conceal their PLA ties and offer recruits exorbitant salaries," said Michael Casey, the director of the US National Counterintelligence and Security Center.

"Recent actions by Western governments have impacted these operations," Casey said in a statement, "but PLA recruitment efforts continue to evolve in response."

Chinese schemes target Western pilots, flight engineers, air operations center personnel, and technical experts knowledgeable about military tactics, techniques, and procedures.

The Chinese military "wants the skills and expertise of these individuals to make its own military air operations more capable while gaining insight into Western air tactics, techniques, and procedures," the newly released bulletin said.

"The insight the PLA gains from Western military talent threatens the safety of the targeted recruits, their fellow service members, and US and allied security," it added.

Insight into Western tactics, techniques, and procedures could prove valuable for China were it to clash with US forces, a very real possibility as US military and political leaders in Washington look across the Pacific with concern over Beijing's growing military power.

The bulletin said the Western service members are targeted through "nefarious recruitment attempts" that may not be overtly obvious; for instance, these individuals may be sought out directly by the PLA or indirectly through online networking sites.

Job offers, meanwhile, could come from private companies with hidden ties to the PLA. And opportunities may be located in China or elsewhere in other parts of the world, the bulletin said, "with lucrative contracts and the opportunity to fly exotic aircraft, with vague details on the ultimate customers."

Countries like the US and UK have previously expressed their concerns over the PLA recruitment efforts, warning of the potential national security risks and taking steps to try to curb and control the threat. There have been arrests related to these activities already, such as the 2022 arrest of a former US Marine Corps pilot.

Despite efforts from Western governments to warn its veterans and military personnel about the Chinese poaching efforts, the recruitment continues to evolve, the bulletin noted. Casey said the latest warning is meant to highlight this "persistent threat" and deter current and former service members from participating in the scheme.

• Stealth wealth is all the rage when it comes to fashion, but for some billionaires, it's a way of life.
• These mega-rich personalities are notorious for avoiding the public eye.
• Here's a look at some of the most reclusive billionaires — that we know about.

It's a rare day that passes without a headline about Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, or any number of the other flashy and seemingly press-loving billionaires.

The rumored cage fight between Musk and Zuckerberg has become a melee for media attention, and Jeff Bezos can regularly be spotted on his $500 million yacht with his fiancée, Lauren Sánchez.

But some others in the billionaire class are the opposite, taking great care to stay out of the limelight.

Here's a sampling of some of the world's most secretive and reclusive billionaires, how they built their fortunes, and how they've tried to avoid the public eye over the years.

One necessary disclaimer: We may not even know about the really tight-lipped billionaires who have managed to stay off the lists of Forbes, Bloomberg, and the like.

The individuals and families named below did not immediately respond to requests for comment unless stated otherwise. Their net worths are accurate as of June 4, 2024.

Philip Anschutz

You've probably heard of Coachella before, but the man behind the festival is far lesser known.

Meet Philip Anschutz, who has been dubbed "America's most reclusive billionaire." His net worth sits at $15.2 billion, according to Forbes.

The 84-year-old owns Anschutz Entertainment Group, which is the parent company of Coachella.

AEG owns several sports teams; runs more than 100 clubs, theaters, and arenas around the world; and produces or manages more than 25 music festivals.

Before getting into entertainment, Anschutz made his money in oil and railroads. He discovered an oil field on the Wyoming-Utah border by 1979, and three years later, Mobil purchased half of it for $500 million.

He went on to buy the Rio Grande Railroad and the Southern Pacific Railroad in the 1980s and sold them in 1995 for $1.4 billion while retaining the right to lay fiber-optic cables on them for telecom services.

In 2019, Forbes said that Anschutz was one of only two men to have been on the magazine's annual ranking of the 400 richest Americans every year since its inception in 1982. (The other was the fellow oil billionaire William Herbert Hunt.)

Despite his regular appearance in the magazine, Anschutz has avoided the public eye and only given two press conferences throughout his career, Bloomberg reported.

"Anschutz is sort of like the Wizard of Oz," the late Los Angeles economist Jack Kyser told the Los Angeles Times in 2006. "He is the man behind the curtain pulling the levers. Nobody sees him, yet he has a huge impact on Los Angeles."

Frederick Barclay

Identical twins Sir David Barclay and Sir Frederick Barclay were commonly referred to as the Barclay brothers. While David died in 2021, Frederick is still alive at 89 years old.

In 2020, before David's death, the brothers were estimated to be worth $4 billion combined by Forbes.

Over the years, the Barclay empire had spanned multiple industries, including online retailer Very, formerly known as Shop Direct, The Daily Telegraph newspaper, and The Ritz hotel in London.

Still, much about the Barclays' origin and empire-building remains unknown, with Forbes calling the brothers "the U.K.'s most infamous reclusive billionaires." The pair were rarely photographed and together owned a private island.

"We are private about everything we do," David once said in a rare public comment. "It stems from our philosophy of not talking about ourselves, or claiming how clever we are, or boasting about how successful we have been. We would, anyway, claim that we have been more fortunate than many others."

"It was a great journey in everything that we did," Frederick said in a statement shortly after his brother died. "We were twins from the beginning until the end. He was the right hand to my left, and I was his left hand to his right. We'll meet again." 

The Cargill-MacMillan family

You might not have known it, but something you ate today most likely passed through some aspect of the Cargill-MacMillan family's business.

With an agricultural empire spanning seven generations, the Cargill-MacMillan clan runs Cargill, one of the largest privately held US companies by revenue. It was the 11th-richest family in the world in a 2023 Bloomberg ranking and includes 12 billionaires, Forbes reports.

Pauline MacMillan Keinath is thought to have the largest stake in Cargill and is worth $8.1 billion, while Martha "Muffy" MacMillan, pictured above, is worth $1.5 billion, Forbes estimates.

Founded in 1865 as a grain warehouse in Iowa, Cargill continues to be synonymous with agriculture first and foremost but has expanded to also offer products and services in areas such as pharmaceuticals, risk management, and transportation and logistics.

Jack Ma

Once the richest person in China — his net worth is $25 billion, according to Forbes — Jack Ma made his fortune as the founder of the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba and the fintech company Ant Group, which operates the popular payments platform Alipay. 

Though in the past Ma has occupied the limelight — when he marked his retirement with a 60,000-person party at an Olympic stadium, for example — it's his disappearance from public view that's made headlines in recent years.

In January 2021, media outlets reported that he hadn't been publicly seen in two months, prompting speculation he might have gone missing.

His disappearance came as Chinese regulators launched an antitrust investigation into Alibaba and introduced regulations that hit the brakes on Ant Group's IPO. The crackdowns followed critical remarks Ma had made about China's financial regulatory system. 

Ma remained out of sight before returning to the public eye in 2023 when he was spotted in Thailand hours before Ant Group said he was giving up control of the company.

He has since assumed a visiting professor role at Tokyo College, which is part of the University of Tokyo, where he is expected to conduct research on sustainable agriculture and food production.

Ma's friend, Chen Wei, told USA Today in 2014 that the billionaire's lifestyle was "very simple and modest."

"His hobbies are still tai chi and kung fu novels," Chen said at the time. "I don't think he has changed much, he is still that old style."

The Mars family

The Mars family is perhaps best known for their candy empire, with brands like M&M's, Snickers, Twix, and Dove. They also own food brands like Ben's Original, as well as pet-care brands Pedigree, Iams, and Cesar. They were listed as the fourth-richest family in the world, with a net worth of $141.9 billion, in an 2023 Bloomberg ranking.

"The Mars company and the family that owns the candy giant have turned secrecy into a way of life," The Washingtonian wrote in 2008.

The former chairman Stephen Badger, who is the great-grandson of the company's founder, Franklin Mars, once addressed the Mars approach to privacy. 

"For 99% of our history, we've chosen not to be in the public eye and we've really wanted our brands to engage consumers. And yet times have changed," he told Business Insider in 2018. "Consumers do want to know more about not only the brands that they're buying, but the company that is behind them."

"The Mars family values the right to privacy and have never courted personal publicity," Amy Weiss, a spokesperson for the Mars family, previously said in a statement to BI. "They are extraordinarily proud of the Mars, Incorporated business and believe that the Mars leadership team and Associates to represent the business in the public eye. They believe that mostly it is the business and its brands that should do the talking."

"Family members are well known inside the business and regularly engage with Associates," she added at the time. They are actively involved in the governance of the company."

Ike Perlmutter

Isaac Perlmutter, who goes by Ike, amassed his wealth in action-figure manufacturing, which ultimately led him to Marvel Comics. The 81-year-old became CEO of the company in 2005 and was responsible for its 2009 sale to Disney for $4 billion. His net worth is $4.3 billion, according to Forbes.

Perlmutter is rarely spotted in public. He's said to have worn a disguise of glasses and a mustache at the 2008 "Iron Man" premiere, Forbes reported.

"He relishes his reputation as secretive and frugal," The Hollywood Reporter said in a 2014 story, citing a top executive who'd worked with him.

His friends have chalked up his shy nature partly to his "thick" Israeli accent, the Financial Times reported.

In March 2023, it was reported that Perlmutter was out at Disney as part of the company's cost-cutting measures. Soon after, he said in a rare interview with The Wall Street Journal that he was fired by Disney.

"I have no doubt that my termination was based on fundamental differences in business between my thinking and Disney leadership, because I care about return on investment," Perlmutter said at the time. "All they talk about is box office, box office. I care about the bottom line. I don't care how big the box office is. Only people in Hollywood talk about box office."

The Reimann family

One of Germany's wealthiest families, the Reimanns, are behind the conglomerate JAB Holding Company, which now owns brands like Krispy Kreme, Panera, and Peet's Coffee.

Family members include siblings Wolfgang Reimann, Matthias Reimann-Andersen, Renate Reimann-Hass, and Stefan Reimann-Andersen, who each have a net worth of $5.6 billion, according to Forbes.

The family's history in business dates back to the 1800s, when chemist Ludwig Reimann joined Johann A. Benckiser at Benckiser, a German chemical and industrial manufacturing company. Reimann married Benckiser's daughter, and over the years, Reimann's side of the family expanded the business — which is named for Benckiser's initials — to include consumer goods. 

Though they've generally avoided the spotlight, the Reimanns made headlines in 2019 when they donated 10 million Euros to charity after uncovering the extent of their family's Nazi history.

Albert Reimann Sr. and Albert Reimann Jr. were early supporters of the Nazi party, the German newspaper Bild reported at the time, and the two used Russian civilians and French prisoners of war as forced laborers during World War II.

"There is nothing to gloss over. These crimes are disgusting," Peter Harf, chairman of JAB, told Bild at the time.

The family has so shied away from the public eye that a search for photos of the Reimanns predominantly returned images of Harf — if anyone at all.

A representative contacted by Business Insider said the Reimann family did not have a comment about its approach to privacy.

The Wertheimer brothers

Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, both in their 70s, are third-generation owners of Chanel.

Their grandfather, Pierre Wertheimer, made a deal with Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel in 1924 regarding the business' now iconic perfumes, and a new corporate entity, Parfums Chanel, was born. Wertheimer would make the famous No. 5 scent in his factory in exchange for a percentage of the company. In 1954, he took full control of the company.

Alain and Gérard inherited the company when their father, Jacques Wertheimer, died in 1996. Alain is chairman of Chanel, while Gérard leads the company's watch division. The brothers are each worth $37.9 billion, according to Forbes.

The New York Times has called the brothers "fashion's quietest billionaires." In a rare interview, Gérard told the Times in 2002 about their choice to stay under the radar.

"It's about Coco Chanel. It's about Karl. It's about everyone who works and creates at Chanel. It's not about the Wertheimers," he said at the time, referring to Karl Lagerfeld, the fashion house's former creative director.

In that same article, the Times reported that the brothers never attended a Chanel store's opening and that if they went to a Chanel fashion show, they would drive themselves and sit in the third or fourth row.

Chanel, the company, long had a secretive approach to handling its financials, going 108 years before releasing any. When it first did so in 2018, it reported total sales of $9.62 billion for the 2017 calendar year.

• Mexico City may run out of drinking water by the end of this month.
• Water scarcity is a worldwide problem that many other countries are already facing.
• Often, the problem lies in how the water is managed rather than how much is available.

Mexico City is on the brink of a water catastrophe. Experts predict that the city of 8.8 million people could run out of drinking water this month.

But Mexico City is not the first city with a water crisis and it won't be the last. As global temperatures rise, it disrupts the atmosphere's natural circulation of water on Earth — what's called the hydrological cycle.

"With every degree of global warming, the hydrological cycle will also intensify leading to more water crises," Aditi Mukherji, director of the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Impact Action Platform of the CGIAR, told Business Insider.

But Mukherji said the biggest factor that makes a city vulnerable isn't climate change, it's water management.

"It's not so much about the absolute quantity of the water per se, but it's about how the available water is distributed," she said, adding that "water scarcity at the end of the day boils down to issues of policies and governance."

Here are 11 other cities at high risk of running out of water. Many are located in the 25 most water-stressed countries worldwide, according to the World Resources Institute.

"Even a short-term drought puts these places in danger of running out of water and sometimes prompts governments to shut off the taps," Liz Saccoccia, a water scarcity associate with WRI, told Business Insider via email.

Limassol, Cyprus

Population: ~235,000

A drought is drying up dams and reservoirs on the island Cyprus this year. Near the city of Lissamol, the island's largest dam is dropping to a third of full capacity, The Cyprus Mail reported.

The sunny island is a popular tourist destination. It's also one of the countries most at risk for extreme water stress due to droughts and a limited water supply.

Droughts have caused water shortages before, NBC News reported. In 2018, officials realized the desalination plant that supplies Limassol needed to increase its capacity by 50% to make it through rainless stretches.

With droughts becoming more frequent, the island now relies on these desalination plants for most of its drinking water. However, it's a costly solution that takes a toll on the environment. Finding land on the island to construct new plants is also proving difficult.

Muscat, Oman

Population: ~1.7 million

Most of Oman's drinking water comes from desalination plants. But these plants are susceptible to red tides, an algal bloom that contains harmful toxins.

One desalination plant just outside of Muscat, Oman's capital, had to temporarily stop production in 2023 due to an outbreak, the Muscat Daily reported. The water service asked customers to limit water use and tapped into emergency reserves.

As global temperatures climb, it could lead to more frequent algal blooms, and Oman has been getting warmer over the past couple of decades. One estimate predicted its heat waves could last nine months of the year by 2100. In 1990, they typically lasted less than 15 days.

While the region's rainfall is expected to decrease by 2080, climate change is also causing intensified downpours. A recent deluge killed 19 people in the country and interrupted water and wastewater systems.

Beirut, Lebanon

Population: ~2.4 million

The 2020 explosion at a Beirut port caused billions in damage and escalated Lebanon's economic crisis. Water facilities faced steep fuel prices to power treatment plants.

As a result, UNICEF warned in 2021 that 4 million people across the country risked losing access to clean water.

While areas with Syrian refugees were the most vulnerable, the situation in Lebanon's capital city, Beirut, was also critical, Al Jazeera reported in 2021.

Currently, many of the country's facilities are old and in need of repair. An estimated 40% of the water they treat is lost to leaks and people illegally tapping into the supply.

In addition to infrastructure issues, the area has a limited source of fresh water. The Bisri Dam was supposed to offer a fix. However, environmental, archaeological, and other concerns made the project controversial, The LA Times reported in 2021.

The World Bank pulled funding from the project in 2020, leaving it in limbo and jeopardizing reliable water access for 1.6 million people in and around Beirut.

Kuwait City, Kuwait

Population: ~3.3 million

Most of Kuwait's growing population lives in its capital, Kuwait City.

The country has never had much fresh water. There are no major rivers or lakes, and most of its groundwater is brackish or salty.

To supply drinkable water, the country uses desalination plants to remove salt from seawater. They provide 90% of Kuwait's industrial and residential water.

However, Derek Vollmer, director of Waterscapes at WWF, said desalination isn't a long-term solution to chronic water shortages.

Kuwait's desalination is enormously expensive and emits planet-warming greenhouse gases. Trying to supply more and more water to a growing population without conservation efforts is "unsustainable," according to a recent research article in the Water and Environment Journal.

Johannesburg, South Africa

Population: ~5.5 million

It's not just Mexico City's taps that are running dry. Earlier this year in Johannesburg, residents protested against a water shortage that's left roughly half of the 5.5 million residents without running water or suffering water shortages for weeks, NPR reported.

South Africa's largest city gets most of its fresh water from the Vaal Dam, which holds more than 680 billion gallons of freshwater. In March, at the time of these protests, authorities said that South Africa's dams were full, CNN reported. And yet, the water supply to Johannesburg residents has been intermittent at best, with some homes going without water for five to seven days at a time, a resident told CNN.

The crisis stems not from a dwindling water supply, but from crumbling infrastructure, lack of maintenance, government corruption, and a growing population, CNN reported. Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has mostly denied a water crisis exists, and blames shortages on surging demand due to record-breaking heat and freak events like a lightning strike at a water pump station in early March, NPR reported.

Bogotá, Colombia

Population: ~7.1 million

Last month, Vollmer visited Bogotà, where he's worked on water projects for several years. One reservoir was lower than he'd ever seen it.

Despite the lush forests surrounding the area, the city is in the midst of a water crisis. "There are occasional droughts, and there wasn't enough long-term planning for their water supply," Vollmer said.

In April, the city began rationing water usage in response.

While the current problem is El Niño-driven, AP News reported, the ecosystem that supplies 80% of the city's freshwater is in trouble. Called the páramos ecosystem, "it's made up of plants that kind of act like sponges," Vollmer said. The water the plants pull into the root system then trickles into reservoirs.

However, this ecosystem seems particularly vulnerable to rising worldwide temperatures, according to recent Penn State research. The páramos are in danger of shrinking by as much as half within the next 50 years.

Cairo, Egypt

Population: ~9.5 million

Cairo's population has more than doubled in the last 40 years, straining its water supplies.

The government has had trouble providing poorer and rural communities access to drinkable water and has asked people to have fewer children to prevent further stress on its resources. But that won't solve the current water crisis.

During the summer, Cairo frequently faces water shortages. While upscale areas often have their water quickly restored, poorer neighborhoods sometimes lose access for weeks, one researcher found.

Most of the city's freshwater for irrigation and drinking comes from the Nile — the lifeblood of Egypt. But it's also full of heavy metals and microplastics.

Meanwhile, Ethiopia is building a hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile — a river that feeds into the Nile, delivering over half of Egypt's water. Egyptians are worried blocking the Blue Nile's flow could further reduce their water supply.

By 2030, Egypt may need to import more water than it takes from the Nile, something the country has never faced before, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Jakarta, Indonesia

Population: ~10.6 million

Jakarta faces the Java Sea and experiences drenching monsoons. "But they also have water shortages," Vollmer said. That's because of pollution and contamination.

In 2021, seven out of 10 households in Indonesia had E.coli-contaminated water, according to the World Health Organization.

With over 10 million people living in an area only a little larger than Tucson, Arizona, it's difficult to keep Jakarta's rivers clean.

Nearly 20% of the island city's garbage finds its way to the waterways, The New York Times reported in 2016.

Meanwhile, Java, the island where Jakarta sits, is facing rising sea levels, which causes more floods. In turn, more debris ends up in the rivers and canals, worsening contamination.

Lahore, Pakistan

Population: ~14 million

In late May, hundreds of people in Lahore, Pakistan were treated for heatstroke as temperatures topping 120 degrees Fahrenheit scorched the city, Euronews reported.

Lahore's chronic water shortage makes heatwaves like this one all the more deadly. Pakistan's second-largest city, home to over 14 million people, gets fresh water from its groundwater supply. But over the last 50 years, groundwater levels have been dropping by roughly 1.6 to 2.6 feet per year.

Meanwhile, increased rainfall driven by climate change has contaminated water supplies, putting even more strain on the country's freshwater resources, according to WWF.

As a possible solution to its water shortage, the city of Lahore is attempting to divert excess rainwater into the groundwater supply with managed aquifer recharge, which helps rainwater seep down to the water table. It's too soon to tell whether, or not, this will be effective.

Beijing, China

Population: ~21.5 million

China's northern, capital city of Beijing has faced severe water shortages for years. The BBC reported in 2018 that city residents received about 38,000 gallons of fresh water per year — far less than the 132,000 gallons per year that the UN defines as severe water scarcity.

Climate change is partly to blame. Warming temperatures have led to fewer summer monsoons in China's northern and inland areas and more unreliable rainfall. In turn, this has created long-lasting dry spells like the city's 116-day drought from October 2017 to February 2018.

On top of that much of China's available freshwater is polluted. As of 2024, nearly half of the country's population does not have access to water that's safe to consume, and roughly 90% of the country's groundwater is contaminated by human and industrial waste, Earth.org reported.

Delhi, India

Population: ~33 million

In May, Delhi suffered record-breaking heat, with temperatures climbing as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit, the Hindustan Times reported.

This heat wave is pushing the city's water resources to the brink, and the Delhi government stated that they'll issue a fine of 2,000 rupees (roughly $24 USD) to anyone found using water for construction, washing their car, or overflowing water tanks.

A 2023 report from Harvard University found that 18% to 26% of Delhi's residents don't have access to piped water, and an estimated 29% don't have water in their households. People living in "unplanned colonies" — informal settlements built on land that isn't zoned for housing — are most impacted by these trends, the report stated.

India is among the most water-stressed countries in the world. Although it has 18% of the world's population, it only has 4% of its water resources. Estimates vary but anywhere from tens of millions to over 100 million Indians lack access to safe drinking water.

The country relies on the summer monsoon to replenish their water supply, but climate change is making it unpredictable, putting more stress on an already strapped system. Additionally, lack of regulation, over-privatization, general neglect, and government corruption have created a dire water shortage throughout the country, SIWI reported in 2018.

• Some T.J. Maxx and Marshalls employees are being asked to wear body cameras to combat retail theft.
• But the cameras aren't making much of a difference so far, employees told CNN.
• Retailers have talked about theft as a major issue for years, though measuring it remains tough.

The parent company of T.J. Maxx is outfitting some employees with body-mounted cameras in the latest example of how retailers are trying to counter theft at their stores.

Dozens of job listings for loss prevention employees at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods — all owned by TJX — mention that those hired must wear a "company-issued body worn camera" as part of the job.

The discount retailer started using the body-mounted cameras late last year, CFO John Klinger said on an earnings call last month.

"It's almost like a de-escalation where people are less likely to do something when they're being videotaped," Klinger said. The practice was reported earlier by CNN.

Klinger said that TJX expects "shrink" — a metric that includes losses from theft as well as other sources, such as damaged inventory — to be unchanged during its 2025 fiscal year.

TJX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. The company told CNN that it trains employees how to use the cameras and only provides footage to law enforcement on request or if a court orders it.

Some store employees told CNN that the addition of the cameras has appeared to do little so far. One T.J. Maxx worker said the cameras were "just for show" and that the loss-prevention workers who don them don't take any action if someone appears to be stealing.

Retailers have spent years talking about the problem of theft, especially "organized retail crime," which they say involves coordinated, multi-person efforts to steal merchandise.

But it's hard to measure, thanks to problems with crime data and opaque reporting from the retailers themselves.

Technical solutions may not be enough, experts have told BI. Short-staffed stores are easier targets for shoplifters, for example, highlighting the importance of retailers maintaining enough person-power to deter thieves.

Do you work at T.J. Maxx or another retailer and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com

• High inflation is making everything more expensive and making consumers rethink their budgets.
• I've decided to buy only things that are on sale this year, and it's saving me money.
• This article is part of "My Financial Life," a series helping people live and spend better. 

High inflation has been making everything more expensive and putting a real squeeze on people's wallets. Many people are looking for long-term ways to save money and increase their financial stability. I've been reviewing how I spend money and looking for ways to save or spend smarter.

You could stop spending entirely — no movies, meals out, or new clothes — and upend your life to save money. (Gary Pilnick, the CEO of WK Kellogg Co., has gone so far as to suggest eating cereal for dinner.) For most of us, that's not realistic and definitely not desirable.

So if you've already reduced your streaming services, cut down on meal delivery, and kissed your local dry cleaner goodbye, what else can you do?

My answer is simple: I don't pay full price for anything. I've made a commitment to saving money on everything I buy for the next year, and it has helped me immensely with my spending. I spend more intentionally, and I ask myself if I really need each item I buy.

I use coupons to shop less and save

I'm not really a coupon person, but every grocery store I shop at has a weekly circular that lists its specials — this can come in handy when it's time to shop for more expensive items like meat or seafood. As we head into summer, with the Memorial Day and Fourth of July holidays, those circulars will be helpful when budgeting for barbecues and parties.

I also have a Costco membership. I save at Costco on things I know I'll need that I can get in larger quantities, like paper towels, toilet paper, and dishwashing liquid, so I don't have to go to the grocery store every week.

I keep tabs on fluctuating furniture prices to get the best deal

I'm the sort of person who needs to absolutely love each piece of furniture they have, and I value both function and looks. I recently moved apartments and am in need of a few new pieces. Instead of running out and buying them, I'm taking my time and waiting until those items go on sale. For example, my new couch retailed for $695 — instead of purchasing it right away, I waited two months and bought it when it went on sale for 40% off. 

I also take advantage of the fact that many furniture and home-decor websites allow you to sign up to get an email or text when an item goes on sale. I have sale notifications set up for a bookcase and an end table. Of course, once you give a company your email address or phone number, you'll get marketing notifications — but if it lets me save $300 on a couch, I'll take it.

I find the best sales and only buy timeless clothes

It's easy to justify spending a lot on clothes — you do need them, but not every month. When I decided I'd buy only clothes on sale, I also created a capsule wardrobe. Since all those clothes can work with each other, I have several outfits from a small set of clothes.

I can add on if needed. I have a list of items I'd like to add to my summer wardrobe — a blazer here, a linen shirt there, and a new bathing suit. What matters most to me is that I get it all on sale.

I've never been a full-price shopper, but I haven't always paid close attention to what I'm spending. I've learned that I don't need anything right away if I plan ahead, which has made me more thoughtful about my spending choices. And I've been able to maintain my savings goals.

Everything around me has increased in price, but I can still enjoy my lifestyle. I didn't have to sacrifice joy — I just pay less for it.

Narendra Modi won his third term as India's prime minister, but his narrow win sent stocks plummeting, and his foreign partnerships could be at stake.

• Trump Media's leadership is convinced short sellers are manipulating its stock.
• The company wants Nasdaq's help to investigate the alleged "naked" short selling.
• CEO Devin Nunes has been trying to crack down on short-sellers betting against the company.

Donald Trump's media company is doubling down on claims there's something fishy with its stock — and it wants the Nasdaq's help investigating.

In another letter to Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman on Tuesday, Devin Nunes — the president of Trump Media and Technology Group — raised concerns about potential "manipulation."

Nunes wants to investigate whether "Wall Street insiders" are engaged in naked short selling the stock, which trades under the DJT ticker. Illegal naked short sales involve shares that haven't actually been borrowed.

Nunes and Trump Media have been trying to crack down on short-sellers who've been betting against the Truth Social company — which many of its supporters have blamed for its bumpy performance.

Nunes first wrote to Friedman in April because DJT was being hit with FTDs — or Failure to Delivers — resulting from naked short sales. FTDs increased in May, Nunes wrote Tuesday.

As a result, he wants to obtain trading information from 13 financial firms. He said in the letter he's made the request to Congress, and wants Nasdaq to "fulsomely cooperate with any and all congressional or other investigations into these firms."

The Nasdaq did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

One of the firms, Citadel Securities, previously called Nunes a "loser" for blaming DJT's losses on shorts.

Trump Media shares have been on a rollercoaster since the stock debuted in March. The company said it lost $327 million last quarter in its most recent earnings report.

Despite the heavy losses and paltry reported revenues, the stock has ballooned in value thanks, in part, to meme-stock retail buyers and supporters of Donald Trump, who owns the lion's share of the company.

As of Wednesday, Trump Media had a market capitalization of roughly $8 billion.

• Diane, 63, lost her job during the pandemic and ran through her savings.
• She's struggled to land a full-time job since and doesn't think she'll ever be able to retire.
• She's part of the "peak boomer" cohort, most of whom will rely on Social Security in retirement.

Diane, 63, doesn't see retirement on the horizon anytime soon.

Before 2019, Diane, who requested her last name be withheld for privacy, owned a small business focused on learning and development, and she said she was able to earn sufficient income through her business to afford her everyday expenses — and then some.

But when the pandemic hit, she was forced to shut down her business, and she couldn't find any source of income for about two years. This forced her to take money out of her 401(k) and savings account because her husband's salary was not big enough to fully support both of them.

Now, Diane has no money in savings — and she doesn't see her situation improving by the time she's set to retire in just under two years. (Business Insider reviewed documents from Diane to confirm this information.)

"I'm between contract jobs, and I have no savings," Diane told BI. "I was somebody who did really well, and it's very disheartening because I have no idea what's going to happen with retirement. My husband and I are both a year and a half from retirement age, but I think I'll probably need to work until I die because there's no money."

Diane is part of a cohort known as "peak boomers," or boomers born between 1959 and 1964 who will start turning 65 this year. A recent report from the Alliance for Lifetime Income's Retirement Income Institute found that this group includes over 30 million boomers, marking it the "largest and final cohort" of that generation entering retirement.

The report found that 52.5% of peak boomers have $250,000 or less in assets, which could force them to deplete their savings and rely on Social Security benefits to stay afloat in retirement. But Diane said that the around $1,800 she would get from Social Security each month wouldn't cover her rent, groceries, and prescriptions, and she anticipates she'll have to continue working to supplement the benefits.

"It's simple math," she said. "You're talking about retiring, needing about $4,000 a month, at least, just to cover expenses. Just Social Security isn't going to cover that."

Many older Americans are grappling with the same problem. According to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, just over half of Americans over 65 have an annual income of $30,000 or less, meaning that existing only on Social Security likely won't cut it.

And with the Social Security fund set to dry out by the late 2030s unless lawmakers intervene, Diane is "incredibly scared" about her future.

"The expenses are enormous," she said. "To be a contractor, I have to have internet. I have to have a cellphone. I have to have an office, which I can still deduct from my taxes, but in the immediate, I have to pay for those things."

'Everybody my age is a little worried right now'

While Diane has years of experience in the workforce, she hasn't been able to land full-time work despite applying for dozens of jobs. The only full-time jobs she's seen have tended to be more physically demanding, such as working at a grocery store, which she's unable to do.

She said that many of her peers are struggling with the same dilemma — they either can't find work in fields they're qualified for or they have to work a low-wage, entry-level job.

"The only people that are hiring older people now are places like Home Depot and Walmart," Diane said. "I just say to my friends as a cautionary tale, if you are my age and you have a job, you better stay with it, because nobody is hiring you."

According to an October post from the AARP, "age discrimination often prevents older adults from landing jobs at the same level as their recent employment or higher." The AARP also referenced a September survey from The Harris Poll that found 60% of hiring managers prefer hiring older candidates over younger ones for entry-level positions because they tend to be more reliable.

Still, with the low wages and sometimes physical demands of entry-level work, it's often not an option for those close to retirement. AARP recently released the results of a January survey that found one in five older adults do not have any retirement savings, and over half of them don't think they'll have enough money to get them through retirement.

"Everybody my age is a little worried right now," Diane said.

"I know so many people my age that just don't know what they're going to do," she continued. "Other countries take care of their older people, and we should be able to do it, too."

Are you worried about retirement? How are you preparing? Share your story with this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.

• McDonald's lost its chicken Big Mac trademark rights in the EU on Wednesday.
• The trading bloc's General Court ruled in favor of Supermac's, an Irish fast-food chain.
• Rival takeaway companies will now be able to use the term "Mac" to sell chicken-based products.

McDonald's will no longer have the right to call its chicken burgers Big Macs in the European Union following a landmark ruling by one of the trading bloc's top courts.

On Wednesday, the Luxembourg-based General Court ruled against the fast-food giant and in favor of Supermac's, an Irish takeaway chain.

The case centered on a 2017 application that Supermac's made to the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to remove its American rival's "Big Mac" trademark.

Two years later, the EUIPO partly upheld its case, allowing it to expand across the continent, but confirmed that McDonald's had the right to use the term for meat and poultry-based products.

The General Court said in a statement that its judgment "partially annuls and alters EUIPO's decision, thus further limiting the protection conferred on McDonald's by the contested mark."

The court ruled that McDonald's should also lose the right to call poultry-based products Big Macs, adding that the US company had "not proved that the contested mark has been put to genuine use."

Supermac's founder Pat McDonagh told Ireland's NewsTalk radio that the decision was "a big win for anyone with the name Mac."

"This is a significant ruling that takes a common-sense approach to the use of trademarks by large multi-nationals. It represents a significant victory for small businesses throughout the world," he said in a separate statement, per The Associated Press.

"The decision by the EU General Court does not affect our right to use the 'BIG MAC' trademark," a McDonald's spokesman told Business Insider. "Our iconic Big Mac is loved by customers all across Europe, and we're excited to continue to proudly serve local communities, as we have done for decades."

McDonald's can still appeal the decision at the EU's highest court, the European Court of Justice.