• Zohran Mamdani is set to earn a $258,750 annual salary as New York City mayor.
• That's a big jump from the $142,000 annual salary he earns as a state assemblyman.
• He's also set to live rent-free in a mansion overlooking the East River.

Zohran Mamdani is about to get a massive raise — and some swanky new accommodations.

Mamdani is set to earn a $258,750 annual salary as New York City mayor, a more than 80% increase from the $142,000 annual salary that he earns as a state assemblyman.

He's also set to move into Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence, where he will not have to pay rent.

In a statement released this week, Mamdani said the decision to move into Gracie Mansion "came down to our family's safety and the importance of dedicating all of my focus on enacting the affordability agenda New Yorkers voted for."

Mamdani will take office on January 1, 2026.

Forbes has estimated that the state assemblyman's net worth is about $200,000. He currently lives in a rent-stabilized apartment in Astoria and has said that his monthly rent is $2,300.

How Mamdani's salary measures up

On the one hand, Mamdani's hefty new salary shouldn't be a huge surprise: The demands and responsibilities of managing a city of more than 8 million people are far greater than representing roughly 140,000 people in Queens.

And it's not the highest mayoral salary out there: The mayor of San Francisco earns a salary of more than $380,000, while the mayor of Los Angeles earns just over $300,000.

Still, it's far more than the $174,000 annual salary earned by most rank-and-file US senators and House members.

It's also more than the $223,500 annual salary that House Speaker Mike Johnson earns, or the $246,400 annual salaries of President Donald Trump's cabinet secretaries.

Mike Bloomberg, a billionaire, notably declined to accept the full salary during his tenure as mayor from 2002 to 2013, choosing instead to accept a $1 salary.

A new home on the Upper East Side

Almost every New York City mayor has lived at some point in Gracie Mansion, a two-story home on the Upper East Side overlooking the East River.

The one exception: Bloomberg, who opted to live in his own mansion a few blocks away on East 79th Street.

The former mayor even said that his successors shouldn't live in the mansion, but that advice apparently went unheeded: Mayor Bill de Blasio moved into the house in 2014, and Mayor Eric Adams also opted to live there.

The mayor also receives security protection from the New York City Police Department and has access to benefits available to other city employees, including health insurance.

In his statement on his impending move out of Astoria, Mamdani said that he and his wife Rama would "miss much about our home in Astoria," including "cooking dinner side by side in our kitchen, sharing a sleepy elevator ride with our neighbors in the evening, hearing music and laughter vibrate through the walls of the apartment."

"I will be a mayor for the line cooks on Steinway, for the children swinging at Dutch Kills Playground, for the bus riders waiting for the Q101," Mamdani said. "While I may no longer live in Astoria, Astoria will always live inside me and the work I do."

• IMD's new Global Family Office Report says heirs are reshaping offices and driving a talent crunch.
• Demand for CIOs, ESG experts, and tech specialists is rising across family offices, the report says.
• IMD researchers say family offices face tightening talent markets as NextGen priorities grow.

The next generation of leaders wants their family offices to look different from those run by their parents — and that shift is driving fierce competition for a new class of talent.

A new report from IMD's Global Family Business Center and the Family Business Network, based on 186 survey responses and 65 interviews with family principals across six continents in the first two quarters of this year, found that family offices are rapidly evolving as younger heirs step into leadership roles.

The report said younger family members increasingly prioritize impact investing, sustainability, technological innovation, and diversity and inclusion — particularly in the advisors and specialists they choose to hire.

As a result, they seek advisors who can navigate these areas — and job listings have surged for individuals with these skills, including alternative investment analysts, ESG specialists, and chief information officers who can modernize systems and streamline operations.

But the supply of qualified candidates "has not kept pace," the report warned.

Family offices require a blend of hard technical skills and softer traits — trustworthiness, discretion, emotional intelligence, and the ability to work inside complex family systems — that's rare even in top-tier finance.

This "changing of the guard," the report said, has created an acute scarcity of talent and a "highly competitive market for top-tier professionals."

Talent squeeze intensifies

Family offices are multiplying rapidly, with Deloitte estimating a 31% increase from 2019 to late 2024, as founders cash out and heirs prepare for a historic wealth transfer, according to the IMD's report.

"By and large, we can see that there just isn't enough talent available for the families and their family offices," Peter Vogel, one of the report's authors and Director of the IMD Global Family Business Center, told Business Insider.

Vogel, also a professor of family business and entrepreneurship, said that the first big hires are usually investment-focused — people with backgrounds in private equity, private debt, real estate, or venture capital.

Families that care about sustainability or impact will add ESG (environmental, social, and governance) expertise and impact-metrics skills on top, he added.

Beyond technical chops, Vogel said families increasingly look for candidates who bring emotional intelligence, trustworthiness, and experience handling family dynamics — qualities he described as essential but hard to find.

Limited appeal for top performers

But even when families are willing to pay, the pitch isn't always as attractive as it looks.

"One of the big questions is, what is the value proposition for a top shot to join a family office?" Vogel said.

Vogel said that for senior hires like CIOs or CEOs, family offices offer limited upward mobility: once you reach the top job, there's nowhere else to go except a larger family office.

Vogel added that while family-office compensation can be strong, it often falls short of the millions of dollars top performers can earn in big banks, private equity, or hedge funds — especially without co-investment or carried interest.

Michael Kosnitzky, Co-Leader of Pillsbury's Private Client & Family Office practice, previously told Business Insider that family offices are increasingly structuring "golden handcuffs" — long-term incentive packages designed to make it costly or unattractive for executives to leave — and carried-interest-style deals to stop their CIOs and dealmakers from being poached by rival funds or other family offices.

On top of that, Vogel said, the market itself is opaque.

The term "family office" isn't regulated, and titles are vague, he said, which makes it harder to find talent because roles vary widely from one office to another, and there's no standard job description. Many professionals also don't publicly name the families they work for.

"There's no big, qualified database of people saying, 'hand up, I'm a family office person,'" Vogel said.

For now, families are improvising: pulling trusted bankers into newly created offices, experimenting with incentive packages, and relying heavily on headhunters and word of mouth, he said.

This essay is based on a conversation with Jan Gerber, 44, who runs the Paracelsus Recovery clinic in Zurich. Business Insider has verified his admission to another Swiss clinic for burnout. The piece has been edited for length and clarity.

In 2022, I realized something was wrong. I had almost lost my company, my marriage was falling apart, and it felt like everything hit all at once. I did outpatient therapy while things were unraveling, but I was clearly getting worse.

About six months later, that December, I checked myself into an inpatient program in Zurich, where I was diagnosed with acute depression brought on by stress. The symptoms fit burnout, too — burnout and depression often overlap.

At the time, I had spent 12 years helping other people recover from burnout, depression, and addiction. I'm the founder of Paracelsus Recovery, a private clinic in Zurich that treats executives, founders, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals who require discreet and private care. A six-week stay can cost around $800,000.

CEOs and the ultrawealthy need discreet treatment

It all started when a friend of a friend, the CEO of a major, publicly listed corporation, called my parents, who worked in the mental health space, for help, and moved into their guest room for treatment. The person needed very discreet treatment for alcohol addiction — if it went public, the stock market impact could have been in the billions.

I previously worked in consulting and medical concierge services, and had launched my own businesses in the travel sector. So, the entrepreneur in me realized there was a niche here: offering discreet treatment for people who couldn't just go to any old rehab.

In 2011, I co-founded a clinic in the high-end mental health space with my mother and then step-father, which initially offered one-on-one care. In 2012, this became Paracelsus Recovery.

In the early years of Paracelsus Recovery, we had a small number of clients, but it took years to establish a reputation. The high cost is a big hurdle for potential clients. We primarily find ultra-high-net-worth clients through family offices and membership organizations, such as Campden Wealth.

About half are members of wealthy families, trust fund babies who don't develop a sense of purpose or drive. The other half is a mix of royalty, entertainers, entrepreneurs, founders, and top executives — those who have the funds to come to us.

Clients rarely experience burnout on its own. In many cases, people are self-medicating and in a cycle of taking downers like sleeping pills in the evening, then stimulants in the morning, such as ADHD medication or illicit drugs like cocaine. Eventually, they reach a dead end.

The breaking point for burnout comes late

Often, burnout is not solely prompted by the number of hours worked, but also by the responsibility of overseeing thousands of employees, investors, and business partners, which weighs heavily on their shoulders. If you're in the public eye or run a public company, where, for example, earnings aren't meeting expectations, that can also have a significant impact on stress levels.

The average worker typically seeks burnout treatment after a spouse, their kids, or employer tells them they can't show up late or get drunk every night anymore. Founders and professional executives tend to have much more to lose, and a network of people who help them conceal some of their issues. As a result, they'll hold on for dear life until they just can't anymore. And, in general, they seek help much later.

Sleep is usually the first to go. That was a massive red flag for me. I used to be a good sleeper, even in stressful times, but it started to deteriorate — not just a week or a month, but about half a year of restless nights. By the time these CEOs seek treatment, it's often when a substance is involved, and it's showing up as a fatty liver or cardiovascular issues, coming from alcohol abuse, for example.

We offer a 10-day program called an "Executive Detox." These programs don't solve everything, but they stabilize clients and buy them some time. On average, people stay with us for six weeks; however, in extreme cases, they may stay for six months or more.

A week at Paracelsus Recovery costs around £100,000, or about $131,000. This includes a private residence, a chef, a driver, a live-in therapist, and a daily schedule of psychotherapy, medical treatments, infusions, and complementary therapies such as yoga, acupuncture, and fitness training.

My own treatment at another clinic encouraged me to introduce treatments such as shiatsu and breath-work.

Success is relative. For me, it mostly means that someone leaves equipped with the tools to live a better life. Treatment at a clinic like Paracelsus Recovery is what I consider an acute stabilization, while the real work happens afterward. People should have ongoing therapy and support.

The key thing is to pull the emergency brake

To recover from burnout, the most vital thing — and it's hard for career executives and entrepreneurs to hear — is to pull the emergency brake. If you continue to hold on for another week, another month, or step back halfway while the stress persists, you'll still crash.

You have to decide between investing in the quality of your life over just your career trajectory.

Personally, I didn't do that. For the sake of business continuity, I had to hang on. I still haven't fully recovered. I still feel brain fog from being burned out, and my memory is worse than it was. I'm not sure if it will ever return.

But my own experience, and my treatment at another clinic in Zurich, taught me about the value of proper inpatient treatment.

At Paracelsus Recovery, we typically treat only three or four clients at a time, which makes for a warmer and more personal experience, whereas the Swiss Clinic I attended had a capacity of about 75 patients.

Our patients stay in penthouse apartments with lake views, where most of their treatments take place. No day is like another, as treatment is tailored for each client. They have access to medical treatments, a midday IV to rebalance their biochemistry, as well as a personal trainer and private chef. Their food and supplements are curated based on their lab tests and genetics.

Yes, the price tag is very high, but you get a lot for your money. Besides, there's no price on health and well-being.

• Collectible trading cards like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! are popular among Gen Z.
• The cards were the most-purchased secondhand item among Gen Z on eBay.
• Some are selling for big bucks on the platform, one seller said.

Gen Z is embracing one decades-old phenomenon: Trading card games like Pokémon.

Collectible card games were the most-purchased secondhand product category for Gen Z in the US on eBay so far this year, according to data from the e-commerce platform.

The trend was especially clear among Gen Z men, who collectively shifted spending from electronics to trading cards and other collectibles, according to eBay. Trading cards were also the top secondhand sales category among Gen Z women on the platform, followed by books and cameras.

While trading cards for franchises such as Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! initially became popular with kids and teens in the US in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the data shows that the cards remain popular, even among those who were born as they were taking off.

Part of the enduring popularity is because those people who grew up with trading cards are now passing the interest on to their own kids, Aaron Ottensmann, a 29-year-old who runs card sales business SassyTCG, told Business Insider.

"You're starting to see people like me having kids, and they're picking up starter decks and playing with their kids," Ottensmann said.

While Ottensmann said he sources cards from distributors, the business has become competitive enough that some newer sellers buy cards at retailers like Walmart and Costco, then resell them.

Other customers are after high-dollar cards, with some turning to trading cards as an alternative to investing in the stock market.

In early December on Ottensmann's eBay shop, shoppers could find about two dozen cards or packs of cards priced over $1,000. His most expensive sale over the past year, a set of 127 early Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, sold for about $75,000 through eBay.

Trading cards are one part of the broader secondhand sales market, which eBay said is expanding in a report released last month.

About 82% of survey respondents said they planned to spend more on secondhand items this holiday season than they did in 2024, according to the company's Recommerce Report.

Shopping secondhand has gained popularity this year, especially as President Donald Trump's tariffs have raised the price of some goods and added costs to items ordered from outside the US.

Do you have a story idea? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com.

• JetBlue will open its first-ever airport lounge called BlueHouse on December 18.
• The two-level space is unmistakably New York with local art, food, and alcohol.
• To minimize crowds, it's open only to JetBlue's most loyal and highest-paying customers.

JetBlue Airways has finally added the one premium perk it's been missing for years.

Come December 18, the low-cost carrier will open its first-ever airport lounge — a two-story, art-deco-inspired retreat called BlueHouse — at its New York-JFK Terminal 5 home base.

A lack of lounges has long been JetBlue's glaring weak spot, but BlueHouse represents JetBlue's greater push to elevate its premium offerings.

It complements Mint, the airline's flagship business class, and the new domestic first-class seat set to arrive in 2026.

I toured the 9,000-square-foot BlueHouse ahead of its opening, and it is quintessentially "New York."

There's colorful artwork — including three pieces created by JetBlue employees — a ceiling mural painted as an ode to Grand Central Terminal, and a help desk adorned with a wall of vintage post office boxes (and they have little surprises inside if you ask).

BlueHouse is a vibe closer to a boutique hotel lobby in Midtown than a traditional airline club. JetBlue envisions this as an exclusive spot to relax with a free drink or to work away from the busy terminal crowds.

Compared to competitors' flashier lounges, the BlueHouse service has no showers or full buffets, which could disappoint some customers.

Still, guests can enjoy complimentary hot and cold quick food like breakfast burritos, sandwiches, parfaits, and salads.

I liked the food, but it's simple, and there are few options to start. It's more of a grab-and-go experience rather than a sit-down. But meal options may expand; JetBlue said a kitchen would open in 2026.

The lounge also sports social areas, private workspaces, power ports, a full lineup of alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks across its two bars and coffee stations, and a dedicated game room for kids or families.

Bigger airlines have worked to satisfy their customers with lounges, and JetBlue's entry is erring on the side of small and exclusive.

During the media walkthrough, JetBlue's head of loyalty, Ed Pouthier, said access will be intentionally limited at first to avoid overcrowding in the 140-person space. Think roughly the size of an average Trader Joe's.

The lounge is a perk for JetBlue's executive travelers and a way to entice more travelers to its new credit card. Only transatlantic Mint business class passengers, Mosaic 4 loyalty members (the highest tier of JetBlue's status ladder), and JetBlue Premium credit cardholders can enter. The latter two get one free guest; extra guests cost $39.

No Blue Basic passengers, which is JetBlue's budget, bare-bones fare, and no domestic Mint business class customers will be allowed in. And there is no reciprocal entry for United MileagePlus elites, despite the airlines' loyalty partnership.

"We promised ourselves when we came up with the idea that we would never have lines," Pouthier said.

He added that limited-access passes will be available for purchase starting in February for Mosaic 1, 2, and 3 loyalty members, JetBlue Plus and Business cardholders, and non-transatlantic Mint customers.

These early restrictions appear to be JetBlue's answer to the long queues that have plagued its competitors. It remains to be seen how the queue will look once JetBlue introduces paid access, especially with its smaller capacity.

Delta's SkyClubs, for example, have become known for snaking queues, which prompted the airline to rewrite its own access rules in 2023. United Airlines similarly tightened its Club Lounge access in March by upping the price of membership.

BlueHouse New York is just the beginning

BlueHouse is the first of at least two JetBlue lounges, with Boston expected to follow in 2026. CEO Joanna Geraghty teased a potential Fort Lauderdale location at an industry conference last week.

JetBlue President Marty St. George acknowledged that customers like consistency, but said future lounges depend on whether JetBlue can grow its base of Mosaic elites and premium credit card holders enough to justify the investment.

The $499-a-year JetBlue Premium credit card — launched in January — is already proving lucrative, with St. George saying JetBlue exceeded its 2025 sign-up goal by roughly 67%.

"We saw the lounge as being sort of the flagship benefit," he said.

JetBlue Premium card benefits also include up to $300 in travel statements, free checked luggage, and access to the global airport lounge network, Priority Pass — a clever way for JetBlue to provide lounge access to more customers without building its own.

BlueHouse is a significant step for JetBlue, finally giving it a stronger foothold in the premium space — and the news comes a day after Southwest Airlines' CEO, Bob Jordan, told CNBC that lounges would be a "huge, next benefit" for its customers.

Both low-cost airlines are trying to catch up to their legacy rivals.

American, Delta, and United operate extensive networks of lounges — sometimes running more than one in the same airport — that are increasingly designed like luxury hotels with full-service restaurants, wellness rooms, and chef-made menus.

• Lawyers are fighting over evidence in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
• They are also sparring over such terms as "execution," "manifesto," and "Faraday."
• Here's a look at this war of words and what it means for accused killer Luigi Mangione.

Yes, it's a fight over a backpack — how it was seized, how it was searched, and whether the gun and notebook found inside will be tossed or kept as knockout-blow evidence in a future murder trial.

But Luigi Mangione's ongoing evidence suppression hearing, playing out for two weeks in a Manhattan courtroom, is more than that.

The serious legal battle features an often amusing undercard bout: repeated sparring over nothing more than the naming of things.

Was UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson shot on a Midtown sidewalk last year? Or was he "executed?"

Is the red notebook found inside Mangione's backpack a "manifesto," or a "journal?"

And is the aluminum-lined pouch found in Mangione's backpack a "Faraday bag," meant to block his cellphone from being tracked during a five-day manhunt? Or was the bag simply "waterproof?"

It all depends on who is standing at the courtroom's podium: lead defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo or top prosecutor Joel Seidemann.

These pretrial rhetorical rumbles foreshadow how intensely these two adversaries — seasoned legal veterans with decadeslong experience — will fight next year, at a yet-scheduled trial in the same state-level courtroom.

The temperament of the judge is also being previewed. NY Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro has alternated between seeming mildly irked and utterly unfazed as he's refereed these sporadic wars of words over the past two weeks.

"Move on," Carro has said when the prosecutor and defense lawyer complain about each other — like when Friedman Agnifilo stood up on Thursday to say of Seidemann, "He wants to play the word 'manifesto' over and over and over again!"

Carro's relative calm has only wavered once, on Monday, after the prosecutor repeatedly referred to Thompson's murder as an "execution."

"You testified you were aware of the New York City shooting?" Friedman Agnifilo had asked the third Altoona, Pennsylvania, cop to take the stand. (Mangione was arrested in a McDonald's there five days after Thompson's December 4, 2024, shooting, after being spotted by customers.) "You were aware it did not involve a bomb?" she asked, scoring a point.

"Were you aware it involved a premeditated execution?" Seidemann clapped back minutes later, visibly eager to take that point back.

The judge's voice was sharp as he sustained Friedman Agnifilo's objection. Soon afterward, she stood to complain about the prosecutor's repeated references to "manifesto" and "the execution of Mr. Thompson."

"He certainly won't do that at trial," the judge warned.

"I'll bear that in mind, your honor," the prosecutor answered.

A small "Faraday bag," featuring a protective lining that blocks electronic signals, triggered an extended semantic skirmish on Tuesday.

Both the lawyer and the prosecutor were asking a lot of questions at the time, about this one little pouch. The size of a business envelope, it held an Apple cellphone, Mangione's passport, and a small wallet with a driver's license and three charge cards inside.

In questioning the officer who first pulled it out of the backpack, Friedman Agnifilo referred to the pouch as "a black bag that has Velcro."

She also called it a "waterproof bag," noting that other items in the backpack had been damp that day. (The same cop had testified that inside the backpack she'd found a gun clip filled with nine hollow-point rounds — all wrapped in a pair of gray underwear that was "soaking wet.")

Weren't electronics and a passport "items that you'd want to keep dry?" Friedman Agnifilo asked. "Yes," the officer answered.

Seidemann wasn't having it.

"Is that a Faraday bag or a waterproof bag?" the prosecutor asked on his next turn at the podium, pointing to a photograph of the pouch.

"It's a Faraday bag," the cop answered.

"And how do you distinguish a Faraday bag from a waterproof bag?" Seidemann pursued.

"This bag had an aluminum lining," the cop answered.

Seidemann paused briefly.

"If we can continue," he then said, turning toward the audience with a slight smile.

Mangione's evidence suppression hearing is scheduled to conclude next week. The judge has yet to say when he will rule on the admissibility of the backpack and its contents.

The Baltimore native is challenging the admissibility of evidence in both his state and federal murder prosecutions. Trial dates have yet to be set in both cases.

• Hobbies can offer an analog, in-person alternative in a tech-centered world.
• Americans, especially young adults, increasingly value what's known as "productive leisure."
• The growing hobby economy supports local businesses and can provide new job opportunities.

You can't download a crafting experience.

While you may look up instructions, the digital world doesn't offer the feeling of a pencil on a sketchpad, wool yarn through your fingers, or shaping clay into a new vessel.

It's an analog experience that more people are craving: sitting down to create something, meeting a new group of people, or being exposed to new ideas. Hobbies are, in some ways, the ultimate tech-proof activity — and offer a rosier picture of what an AI-future could look like.

"It's not the kind of thing that you want AI to speed up or improve. The whole value of a hobby is actually you doing it and your personal fulfillment in doing it," said Diana Lind, an urban policy specialist and the author of "Brave New Home," a book about isolation and economic woes brought on by single-family housing in America.

Hobbyists and scholars told me that hobbies are an antidote to the perfect storm of affordability concerns, social isolation, and a yearning for life beyond screens. A more sober-inclined, community-starved population is gravitating toward pursuits that get them out of the house and offer them a bang for their buck. Some of the pressures of the AI revolution may simultaneously undergird the push toward a hobby frenzy; workplaces are shrinking, there's less human interaction, and tasks are being shuttled off to AI agents.

Enter the humble hobby. A thriving hobby economy might be the perfect fit for the AI-era — and offer some labor-market solutions for a workforce that's having to pivot on the fly.

"The hobby economy supports people to really become highly skilled at something," Lind said, "and it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to graduate even from high school — not to mention college — in order to be somebody who is going to be leading a class on gardening or is going to be running a board game café."

Hobbies are part of the 'productive leisure' economy

Benjamin Chipman, a 24-year-old marketer and content creator in Brooklyn, has been trying out a bevy of hobbies — from Spanish language school to glass blowing to leatherworking. He loves trying out new things, especially as a post-graduate worker who misses classes and extracurricular activities. He has particularly gravitated toward classes and hobbies focused on scents and the art of perfume making, something he hopes to pursue professionally someday.

"It's not an investment in anything other than in you. If you're going to spend money on everything else and you have some sort of discretionary income — that's going to support your mental health, that's going to make you more productive at work because you're not just thinking about work all the time," Chipman said. "It gives you that respite, it gives you that break. It's going to help you meet new people."

Chipman is part of a larger trend: As of 2023, a majority of American adults said in a Gallup survey that hobbies and recreational activities were extremely or very important in their lives, a 13 percentage point increase since 2002. That's particularly pronounced among Americans 18 to 34. They're turning toward analog bags stuffed with crafts as an alternative to doomscrolling. It's all part of a broader Luddite-inspired movement among young people who are smashing iPhones, adopting dumb phones, and hosting anti-social media parties.

The sentiment comes as Americans face fewer third spaces, less time spent socializing, and a heftier price tag for nights out. As Chipman said, it feels more justifiable to put money toward a hobby class than going out; at least you'll walk away with something worthwhile.

That's a shift Lind has noticed, too: People aren't leaving their homes as much as to engage with what she calls the "pure leisure" economy, which includes things like a nice meal, shopping, or a movie. Ironically, technological advances and disruptions have made it possible for all of these things to be done at home now. Instead, consumers might increasingly find it worthwhile to venture out for "productive leisure," an experience that can't be replicated at home or by the chatbot on their phones.

In an era when people especially value getting the most for their money, hobbies may be ripe for both spending and selling. IBISWorld projects that fabric, craft, and sewing supplies stores in the US will see their revenues grow from $5.3 billion to $5.8 billion by 2030, and revenue for online hobby and craft supplies sales will grow from $22.6 billion to $25.1 billion.

Abby Glassenberg, the president and cofounder of the Craft Industry Alliance, chalks up some of the recent hobby interest — especially in relation to a more digital world — toward a newer yearning for the tactile.

"I think one of the feelings that especially younger people have is that they don't own anything. All their music is available on Spotify; you don't buy a record or a CD, and you don't have a physical collection of anything. It all lives in your phone," Glassenberg said. "And I think that as a human, that doesn't feel so good."

By contrast, as Glassenberg said, crafting feels very real. You can see your mistakes and hold your end result — a far cry from an AI ecosystem that increasingly can create an intangible, alternate-screen-based reality. If the last few decades were about how easily something could be mass-produced, the pendulum of taste might swing back toward the handmade.

"I think that people are going to continue to really value real life and real life objects, and the beauty of handmade," Glassenberg said.

What an AI-proof hobby economy means for jobs

In Lind's vision, hobbies have a built-in advantage, providing a new economic foundation through consistency and spillover spending. As opposed to pure leisure, a rock climber, for example, hits the wall regularly. They're spending money on instructors and at the café in the gym. In contrast, few people attend the movies every weekend; these are often one-off outings. Hobbies are designed to be purposefully iterative — something that could be a boon for downtowns and businesses nearby.

"That kind of recurring visitation is also really healthy for people using transit and supporting public transportation," Lind said. "It also creates regular foot traffic, and it also potentially works better for people in that you may also end up spending a hundred dollars, but it's not going to be across one night out, it's going to be maybe five different times that you go back to the place."

For the workers who keep the hobby economy afloat, it's an opportunity to skill up beyond what traditional retail requires, without relying on traditional education. That specialization can also open up the door to new wage opportunities, leading to more dollars flowing through the areas where they live and work.

Of course, as Glassenberg notes, there are still serious headwinds facing hobbyists — the shuttering of major craft retailers like Joann's and tariffs have packed a one-two punch for many retailers and crafters alike. That means there's still a big gap between the vision of a hobby-forward AI future and the reality facing activity enthusiasts. Even so, though, optimists see an opportunity.

"I have spoken to a lot of our members who've said it is the most challenging time that they can remember. It's a lot of different things going on," Glassenberg said. "At the same moment, I think we're grateful that the zeitgeist is turning toward handmade."

• Rivian is designing its own chip as part of the EV maker's AI and autonomous driving efforts.
• Two Rivian executives say there's alignment between the company's "adventurous" brand and AI.
• Automakers across the board are pursuing autonomous driving technology.

If there were a Venn diagram of a driver who wants an adventure-focused car with off-roading capability on one side and a driver who wants a software-centric, computer-first car that could drive itself on the other, would there be a lot of overlap between the two circles?

Rivian's betting yes.

On Thursday, Rivian hosted an "Autonomy & AI Day" at the company's research and development hub in Palo Alto, where hundreds witnessed the EV maker's grand leap into the future: a highly integrated AI assistant and fully autonomous driving capability, all powered by Rivian's very own silicon chip.

Wassym Bensaid, Rivian's Chief Software Officer, called the move a "profound platform shift which changes our product and everything we do at the company."

Bensaid is among the key executives leading the charge toward Rivian's "AI-defined vehicle," along with James Philbin, VP of Autonomy & AI, and Vidya Rajagopalan, Senior VP of Rivian's electrical hardware division.

During the event, I had the chance to talk to Bensaid and Philbin about the pivot and whether it makes sense for a company that, since its inception, has branded itself as an adventure-forward vehicle, or if this is just a response to consumer demand.

To them, it's a bit of both.

Autonomy, a 'key purchase driver'

Philbin, who was a director at Zoox and Waymo before joining Rivian in 2022, told me that pursuing autonomy has long been part of the company's trajectory rather than an overnight decision.

On the other side of the coin, Philbin sees a rising "tide" in consumer demand for some level of autonomy — especially as robotaxis become mainstream.

"We are starting to see that autonomy is a really important purchase decision with customers, and especially customers who come from vehicles with maybe high levels of autonomy," he said. "They don't go back."

Philbin said that having a high-level advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) was cited as one of the "top three purchase reasons" for Rivian customers. However, the demand will extend to all automakers, he said.

"I just see it becoming such a key purchase driver for vehicles going forward," Philbin said. "And I think every OEM will have to deliver these features to customers in some way."

Cars, the 'killer app' for AI

A year ago, Bensaid told me that the future of cars would be hands-free, and that using buttons or fiddling with the touchscreen would be "an anomaly."

"It's a bug, it's not a feature," he said at the time. "Ideally, you would want to interact with your car through voice. And the problem today is that most voice assistants are just broken."

Thursday's demonstration of the Rivian Assistant, an in-car AI assistant that can control certain vehicle functions, brought Bensaid's vision to life. I saw the Rivian Assistant pull up navigation directions and control the direction of the air vents through voice control.

Bensaid told me at the event that "cars and automotive are probably the killer app for AI."

"In your 30-minute or 45-minute commute every day, you want to get your time back, you want to really take control of your time," he said.

When I asked the software chief where the overlap was between Rivian's adventure brand and its AI push, Bensaid said the company "inspires many types of customers."

"I think at the core of the brand, Rivian wants people to explore the world," he said, and that there were different ways to do so, whether that's by going off-road or exploring the world through technology.

At the same time, Bensaid said, "At heart, we are a technology company, so technology is really a big part of the user experience, how we see ourselves, and how we present ourselves to the world."

Beyond Rivian

Bensaid's statement touches upon another key focus beyond the automaker's line-up of premium trucks and SUVs: software licensing.

Rivian's joint venture with the German automotive giant Volkswagen was a clear sign of its intent to license its software platform to other automakers in the future.

Part of the tech will include self-driving capabilities, which the entire automotive world — legacy and startup — is exploring, Steve Man, senior auto analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, told me.

"We don't really know at the end of the day if there's going to be a huge mass adoption," Man said of autonomy. Still, the analyst adds that "it's a must" for car makers to pursue.

Sales of Tesla's Full Self-Driving Supervised reflect that uncertainty. CEO Elon Musk has presented FSD as the key driver of the company's valuation even though the adoption rate of FSD remains at around 12%, Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla's Chief Financial Officer, said in October.

The automotive industry still remains bullish on autonomy and AI.

Nissan partnered with UK-based Wayve, which develops software for advanced driver assistance systems. General Motors teased plans for an eyes-off driving system for 2028. And Mercedes unveiled a hands-off, eyes-off ADAS a few years ago.

A recent Bloomberg Intelligence report said that nearly half of C-suite auto executives surveyed said they expect AI to lift sales and profits by 9% over the next two to three years.

"From a business perspective, you don't know if it is going to take off, but you need to invest some money now so that you're not behind," Man said, "and you have the opportunity to roll it out if it is something that people want."

• Business Insider editors share their top holiday gift wish list picks for 2025.
• Editors' choices include kitchen gadgets, stylish bags, and wellness-focused footwear.
• Gift ideas range from Vitamix blenders to Salomon running shoes and Beats headphones.

The editor-selected companies were not involved in the sourcing or writing of this story. The views contained within represent the editor's personal views.

The holidays are creeping up faster than our unread Slack messages, which means one thing: wish list season is officially on.

I went around the Business Insider newsroom, asking editors about the gifts we're hoping to unwrap — everything from a kitchen thermometer, a tea set, to beaded bags — as targeted ads quite literally manifested in our lives.

Whether you're shopping for someone else or, let's be honest, adding things to your own cart "for later," here are the 11 things our editors are crossing their fingers Santa — and various family group chats — come through with this year.

• Renee and Kelley Hayes pivoted from their Texas home to RV life.
• Kelley's dream retirement was the full-time RV lifestyle, but he achieved it a few years earlier due to a job relocation.
• They enjoy being able to explore the country, visit friends and family, and save on some home costs.

Empty nesters Renee and Kelley Hayes, 58, downsized from an over 2,000 square-foot home in Texas to a roughly 45-foot RV.

"We may be living tiny, but we've got the world's largest suitcase," Kelley said.

Kelley dreamed of living in an RV and traveling the country full-time during retirement. However, he and his wife got to embrace this goal a few years earlier than intended.

They loved raising a family in their Texas home with a three-car garage and a pool, but they're happy exploring the US as retired empty nesters in their RV. They get to see what different states offer, such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"We camped right on the grounds where the balloons took off, so every morning the balloons would fly over, right over the RV itself, and at night they would have the glow," Kelley said.

Renee and Kelley purchased an RV for roughly $82,000 in August 2018, while their kids attended college. They were looking for something to do as new empty nesters. A few months later, Kelley, who worked for General Motors before his retirement in 2022, was transferred to an office in Georgia, which meant leaving Texas and figuring out their next home.

The family spent the 2018 holidays on the road and then visited Twin Lakes RV Park, a campground in Georgia, right after Christmas.

Kelley looked at some houses in January, but nothing caught his eye. Plus, Renee said, housing prices were expected to drop in Georgia, which could have meant selling their next home would be tougher. "We knew we were only going to be there three years, so we thought instead of taking that risk, we can just live in our RV," she said.

Renee went back to Texas to downsize and work on selling their home, while Kelley stayed in Georgia for work, residing in the Twin Lakes RV Park. They listed the home for $399,000 in January 2019, and it sold in March. Renee rejoined Kelley at the campground.

They traveled during COVID when Kelley's job at the GM regional office went remote, and then Kelley retired at 55 in 2022. He said he still did some contract work until last year. Since Kelley retired, they have split their time between traveling and caring for Renee's family farmhouse in Michigan, enjoying alternating between being fairly stationary in the summer and traveling for the other half of the year.

Kelley and Renee still make some money. They earn from social media content, and Kelley said he does "odds and end jobs up there in the summertime, working for farmers" or Renee's father.

They use Harvest Hosts, a membership for overnight stays at wineries, golf courses, and other places. They stay at campgrounds, parks, and park in friends' or family members' driveways, among other places.

"We do it to see things and have adventures, but also to spend time with friends and family," Renee said.

What RV life is like and how to plan it

There are a lot of logistics that can come with living on the road, such as whether you sell your home, what kind of RV to live in, and how to maintain it. Renee suggested people downsize before jumping into RV life and start early because it can take a while to go through all the items accumulated over the years.

Renee and Kelley still have lots of space to live in their model. Kelley said the back is basically a multipurpose room. "It's our mud room, it's our garage where we house our bikes, our kayaks, our tools, it's our secondary bedroom for when the kids come to stay," he said, adding they also eat there, and it opens up to a patio.

Renee said fuel can be expensive, potentially adding up to hundreds in just a month. "The slower you go and the longer you stop and are stationary, that helps keep your costs down on fuel," she said.

However, they don't have to pay for Texas' property taxes, which tend to be high. They also don't have to pay for other home expenses like homeowners' association fees and house upkeep.

Although they are saving on home costs, they still have expenses that can add up. They said they pay for medical, two phones, internet, insurance, groceries, entertainment, and subscriptions to RV and travel-related apps. Tire replacements can also be costly. The couple noted they spent hundreds of dollars between September and November to stay at multiple RV parks.

The couple, who post about their travels on social media, sometimes stay for free in exchange for promotional content.

Because living in an RV can require a lot of maintenance, Renee recommends taking some courses to learn how to repair things on your own. "If you're not mechanical or if you're not handy, this could become very expensive," Renee said. "Luckily, Kelley's handy and he's able to pretty much repair or replace things as we go."

She also suggested renting an RV before buying if you have never been in one before, to see what it's like. Kelley said there are RV shows that people can go to so they can figure out what they want to travel in, because finding the perfect way to travel for someone can take time, just like finding a home.

Ultimately, the couple thinks people interested should just take the leap and do it. The couple said they are happy to help answer people's questions.

"There are so many people when you get to a campground that will help you," Kelley said.

The couple plan to continue this lifestyle for as long as they're able to, even if it means downsizing further. Renee said she doesn't drive the truck with the 45-foot RV attached, but would be able to if they had a smaller vehicle.

"Our priority right now is to see and do stuff rather than to accumulate stuff," Renee said.