• A 64-year-old woman earned top ranks in the Rejuvenation Olympics with a simple anti-aging routine.
• Her daily habits include eating homemade bread, doing exercise she enjoys, and always having dessert.
• She outpaced entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, who spends $2 million a year on his longevity routine. 

A 64-year-old grandmother-of-11 has become one of the buzziest names in the longevity world by beating billionaires at anti-aging with a simple and inexpensive routine.

Amy Hardison is reigning in a top spot in the Rejuvenation Olympics, an online leaderboard where people can submit their health stats to show how they've slowed or reduced markers of biological aging.

Earlier this month, she ranked 5th, one spot ahead of tech exec Bryan Johnson, 45, whose famously intense and costly routine has involved over 100 daily supplements and infusions of blood from his teenage son.

Hardison's results (generated from blood samples and other tests) showed she had improved major markers of aging, such cellular senescence (or "zombie" cells that linger and cause damage), telomere shortening, and mitochondrial dysfunction.

No one is more surprised than Hardison herself, who told Business Insider she's not competitive and doesn't even want to live past 100.

"I actually had no clue," she said. "My daughter told me 'Mom, this is kind of a big deal. The guy just underneath you, he spends $2 million a year to get these kinds of results.'"

In contrast, Hardison said she spends about $300 a month on supplements. The rest of her longevity routine costs little or nothing to follow, and there's good science to suggest her habits have helped keep her young and healthy.

"My philosophy is, find what you love, find something that works for you that you could do long-term over your life, and be moderate," she said.

Her diet includes big salads, chocolate, and homemade bread

The foundation of a healthy life is a reliable routine, plenty of homemade bread, and a little treat every day, according to Hardison.

Hardison said she's been a health-conscious eater since she was a teen, watching fad diets come and go. She swears by a moderate approach using principles of intuitive eating while also being mindful of nutrition.

"I'll listen to my body. I will only eat what I love. I savor what I eat," she said.

These days, she wakes up around 6 a.m. While one of the biggest longevity trends, intermittent fasting, involves waiting to eat until a certain time of day, Hardison isn't about that life, and starts her day with a big slice of toast and a glass of chocolate milk.

The bread for her toast is always homemade and whole wheat since she isn't a fan of processed foods.

"We don't eat out a lot just because I think my food's better and I think it's healthier. And I cook because if I'm going to eat, I want it to be good," Hardison said.

She also has a big salad most days for lunch or dinner, loaded with veggies, berries, chicken for protein, and some nuts and cheese. Later in the day, she enjoys another slice of bread.

For dessert, she has a piece of chocolate or a homemade cookie. ("I can't think of the last time I went a day without my little sweet treat," she said.)

Her supplement routine includes magnesium and ginger

Hardison initially got involved with the Rejuvenation Olympics after participating in a clinical trial with the longevity supplement brand NOVOS (who coordinated the interview with BI).

Previously, she had never even taken vitamins.

Her current regimen includes three NOVOS products (Core, Boost, and Vital) which cost around $160 per month.

They include ingredients like:

• Magnesium, which research suggests is good for healthy bones and regulates blood pressure and blood sugar.
• L-theanine, linked to alertness, stress reduction, and a healthy brain
• Ginger, which is rich in antioxidants and supports good digestive health
• Fisetine, an inflammation-fighting compound found naturally in strawberries, onions, and apples.

A gentle mix of cardio and high-intensity training

Hardison's typical workout involves an hour at a moderate pace on the elliptical while listening to audiobooks, followed by short periods of higher intensity. When the weather allows, she does her cardio in the pool instead. She also spends 20-30 minutes a day stretching for better mobility.

Over time, she's adjusted her exercise habits to fit her schedule (aiming for 30 minutes when she was a busy mom, for instance) but always makes time for movement.

"It's an integral part of my day and it's so much fun for me. I think it's important to find what you love enough that you look forward to it," she said.

Don't try to live forever

Unlike many longevity gurus or biohacking enthusiasts, Hardison said she isn't interested in being forever young.

"Growing old is amazing and it's wonderful," she said. "You can only get how sweet it is to have had the experience of life, the good, the bad, the hard things, you only get that by doing it."

Her parents lived into their 90s but, over time, experienced cognitive decline that severely affected their ability to enjoy the things they used to.

"I do not want to go through what they went through," Hardison said. said. "People that maybe are my kid's generation, they're like, 'Well, don't you want to live to 130? No, I don't."

Instead, she's focusing on finding a balance of habits that keep her healthy and able to bask in the life and relationships she's built over the years.

"I'm not trying to stave off old age. I think this is the best age ever."

• Shaun Mitchell left Halliburton for the offshore-wind industry in 2019 and quickly climbed the ranks.
• In early 2023, wind farms became the largest source of electricity in the UK.
• This article is part of "Trends to Bet Your Career On," a series about trending professional opportunities.

Shaun Mitchell wasn't looking for a career change in 2019.

The 30-year-old Scotland native had spent most of his career as an electrical technician at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil-field-services companies. It offered Mitchell his first apprenticeship after he graduated from North East Scotland College in 2013 with a certificate in electrical engineering. He completed several years of training before heading off to work on offshore oil rigs.

Mitchell saved enough money to take a six-month break and traveled through Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia. He was a freelance electrician in Sydney for a while but then returned home near Aberdeen, Scotland, and got his job back at Halliburton.

In 2019, Mitchell heard from an old supervisor who had since moved into the offshore-wind industry. Vestas, a wind manufacturer, was looking for technicians for a project in Aberdeen Bay, Scotland, and the supervisor recommended Mitchell for the job.

"I wasn't really sure because I was quite used to oil and gas, and I enjoyed it," Mitchell said.

There were drawbacks, however. The work could be unpredictable.

"You'd get a call and have to go offshore the next day, not knowing if you'd be there a couple days or three weeks," he said. "The line of work is good when you're young. But when you start having more commitments, it becomes a little harder."

Mitchell decided to take the interview with Vestas and left Halliburton, wanting to be a wind-turbine technician.

"A lot of my skills from working in the oil and gas industry passed straight into the wind industry, which was really beneficial for me," Mitchell said, adding that wind farms are managed by automated control systems, similar to oil and gas equipment.

He made the jump at a good time. While the UK has been a leader in offshore wind for more than two decades, development has sped up in the past few years — particularly in Scotland — as countries race to meet renewable-energy goals. The UK has the second-largest offshore sector behind China. By early 2023, wind farms became the UK's largest source of electricity, surpassing natural gas.

Britain this year budgeted £1 billion, or about $1.3 billion, for renewable-energy subsidies, with 80% of the funds set aside for new offshore wind farms, Bloomberg reported. The UK government wants to boost offshore-wind capacity by almost fourfold by 2030, and overall employment in the sector is expected to triple by then.

In the US, wind-turbine technician is the fastest-growing job. While the absolute number of new jobs isn't that big, it represents a projected 45% increase between 2022 and 2032, more than any other occupation. Industry groups forecast global demand for about 240,000 new recruits by 2027 across countries including Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, and the US.

Mitchell spent more than four years at Vestas, starting as a technician and quickly moving up to deputy service supervisor and then shift supervisor. Vestas provided training that paved the way for Mitchell's advancement.

He said that offshore-wind technicians' day-to-day depended on the weather. The seas can't be too rough; otherwise, it's risky for the crew to travel to the wind farm.

The sizes of the vessel and the crew also matter. A larger boat can handle rougher waters. That means there's more work and less downtime. But technicians tend to work a couple of weeks on, a couple of weeks off — so they're away from home for extended periods.

Smaller vessels have to wait for the right weather conditions and ferry back and forth to port each day. Technicians can go home each night, but there's more downtime, especially in the winter, Mitchell said.

"It's rare that an entire wind farm will go down," he added. "But there has been times when multiple turbines go down, but the weather's so rough there's nothing you can do."

In October, Mitchell left Vestas for Ocean Winds, a joint venture between EDP Renewables and Engie that's focused on offshore-wind development. He's now the operations and maintenance supervisor at Ocean Winds' Moray West project off the coast of Scotland.

The 882-megawatt project is still under construction. Once it's finished, it will generate enough power for about 1.3 million homes. Mitchell's team will be responsible for maintaining the wind farms' infrastructure both above and below the water, including the cables that carry power to onshore substations.

Mitchell said he'd been able to advance his career in the wind industry a lot faster than in oil and gas. Ocean Winds declined to disclose salary information.

"Oil and gas is quite well established. It's been around for years and years, so there aren't many opportunities to move up quickly," Mitchell said. "With offshore wind, there's always new sites going up, and they need so much personnel. I got in at a lucky time."

• TV shows that came out in 2004 are turning 20 this year.
• It might be hard to believe it's been two decades since the premiere of "Entourage" or "House."
• "Project Runway" and "Drake & Josh" were shows that made 2004 iconic.

2004 was a big year.

Mark Zuckerberg released "TheFacebook" as a networking site for Harvard students, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years, the Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, and it was the year of Janet Jackson's infamous Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction.

It was a major year for TV, too. Some iconic, highly lucrative TV shows like "Friends" — which earned its stars and writers an incredible $1.4 billion, according to Forbes — wrapped up in 2004.

But it was also the start of some of the most beloved series of the 2000s, from reality shows to kids' TV.

You might find it hard to believe the following shows got their start 20 years ago. Here's why they were so beloved and where you can watch them today, if you missed out the first time.

"Desperate Housewives"

Being a mom is not for the weak, as shown by "Desperate Housewives," which aired on ABC from 2004 to 2012 for eight seasons.

Beyond the picture-perfect facade of a suburban neighborhood are four women whose realities are far from perfect: Susan is navigating life post-divorce and the challenges of raising a teenage daughter; Lynette is overwhelmed by the chaos of her four children; Bree embodies the neighborhood's perfectionism … despite being completely dysfunctional; and former model Gabrielle is married to Carlos, who wants it all in life. Their lives are narrated by their neighbor, the late Mary Alice.

During a 2004 interview with The New York Times, series creator Marc Cherry said the show was inspired by the case of Andrea Yates, who was found guilty in 2002 of drowning her five children. Cherry recalled how when he watched the trial with his mother, he was appalled by the crime and surprised by his mother's response. She said she understood the struggle and desperation of a housewife, and he realized how hard it can get for mothers. That experience played a pivotal role in forming "Desperate Housewives."

"This show is actually a love letter to all the women out there who have issues and are trying their best to be stay-at-home moms," Cherry said.

The show was an immediate hit upon its release, averaging 23.7 million viewers throughout the first season, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

"Desperate Housewives" is now available on Hulu.

"House"

If you're looking for a doctor who's sugar, spice, and everything nice … well, you've come to the wrong place.

"House," which aired on Fox for eight seasons until 2012, shares the story of a crotchety genius, Dr. Gregory House, who works at the fictional Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey and solves medical mysteries.

He plays mind games with his coworkers, but despite his bluntness and antisocial behavior, he is well respected for his instincts and unique perspective.

"House" gained momentum during its first season to become a fan favorite: After premiering to 7 million viewers, its series-one finale in May 2005 was watched by 19 million, Forbes reported. At one point, it was even the most-watched series in the world — in 2008, it drew 81.8 million viewers across 66 countries, Entertainment Weekly reported.

The show won numerous awards including five Primetime Emmys, two Golden Globes, nine People's Choice Awards, and a Peabody Award.

It is available for streaming on Hulu.

"The L Word"

Even in 2004, the producers of "The L Word" were making strides to ensure that all communities — in this case, a group of lesbian and bisexual women — were seen and heard on TV.

The characters in "The L Word," which aired on Showtime, were on various romantic journeys, from serious relationships to casual encounters and devastating breakups. Storylines touched on contemplating starting families, exploring sexual identity, battling hidden desires, and embracing their authentic selves.

The cast was heavily female, with Jennifer Beals, Kate French, Leisha Hailey, Pam Grier, and Laurel Holloman starring. While considered groundbreaking at the time by many, it has since received criticism from LGBTQ+ viewers as a "depiction" of their community.

"The original 'L Word' was a wealthy, white fantasy about gay life in L.A. It reflected and reinforced some of the worst prejudices within our community," wrote Joy Ellison of Columbus Monthly in 2019.

In 2019, the show got a reboot, "The L Word: Generation Q," which sought to include more diverse voices, including more thoughtful trans narratives.

"The L Word" can be found on Paramount+.

"College Hill"

Flashback to the best four years of your life: You're away from home and living on your own. Now imagine living in a co-ed house and being filmed making those memories.

"College Hill" was a reality TV series that documented eight students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as they tried to balance studying and socializing, all while living together. The first season was set at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The BET show, which aired for six seasons from 2004 to 2009, is credited as the first Black reality TV show.

"When you cast a reality show right, you don't have to script it. We never ever scripted 'College Hill.' Since reality shows have evolved, I can tell what's scripted. We were so old school and intricately involved in the casting process that the stories unfolded because of the characters that we put into the house," said show creator and executive producer Tracey Edmonds in a 2019 interview with Blavity.

In 2022, it got a reboot with a celebrity twist, featuring stars such as Stacey Dash, Ray J, Amber Rose, and NeNe Leakes. A new season featuring Karlous Miller, Tamar Braxton, and Saucy Santana has just kicked off.

But like the original, the reboot faces one big question from HBCU alumni: Is all press good press? The reality show spotlighted drama and partying at HBCUs — rather than academics — which some viewers believe led to its original downfall, per Collider.

"College Hill" and "College Hill: Celebrity Edition" are available for streaming on BET+ and Amazon Video.

"Entourage"

Can you believe it's been 20 years since this OG crew of friends stole viewers' hearts?

In "Entourage," film star Vince Chase, portrayed by Adrian Grenier, has the support of his group of friends from Queens, New York, after they all move to Los Angeles.

"Entourage" was released to moderate success — Forbes called it "comfort food" — and it ran for eight seasons on HBO, ending in 2011. In 2015, a film, also called "Entourage," was released, earning $49.3 million at the box office, per Box Office Mojo.

"Its soft film-industry satire, glossy hedonism and strong chemistry among the cast made it an enjoyable, if unchallenging, show to watch," said Benjamin Lee of The Guardian.

The series can be streamed on Hulu.

"Project Runway"

Calling all fashionistas and the creatively inclined!

It's hard to believe it's been two decades since amateur fashion stylists and designers first battled it out to create the best clothes while juggling thematic, material, and time constraints.

The show has since lasted for 20 seasons.

Its early success could be largely attributed to big-name judges Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, and mentor Tim Gunn, fashion chair at Parsons The New School for Design.

While it's unclear what the future holds for the show, there's no denying its success over the past two decades. Beyond its record-breaking viewership numbers for Bravo, "Project Runway" has launched many professional designers' careers, including Christian Siriano and Leanne Marshall. There are also at least 13 spinoffs including series aired in other countries.

However, "Project Runway" is also no stranger to criticism.

"The contestants are good, but the show never regained the sense of unbridled creative ambition that it had in the early years," Vulture's Jason P. Frank wrote in 2023.

"Project Runway" is available for streaming on Amazon Video and Peacock.

"Ned's Declassified"

This one was short-lived but memorable for a certain generation.

"Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide," commonly called "Ned's Declassified," only lasted for three seasons, from 2004 to 2007.

It shared the adventures of three preteens — Ned Bigby, and his best friends Jennifer "Moze" Mosely and Simon "Cookie" Nelson-Cook — navigating middle school and puberty. The crew tackled any teen problem you can think of and how to survive it all — every episode is a topic in the titular "survival guide," from popularity and grades to school sports and romance.

""Ned's" is built like a cartoon, all speed and exaggeration and sudden stops and starts — there is more physical comedy here than perhaps anywhere else on television," said Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times in 2007.

The tweenage guide to success is available on Paramount+.

"Drake & Josh"

"You calling me a liar?"

"I ain't calling you a truther!"

These are among the most memorable lines from the hit Nickelodeon series "Drake & Josh," which was beloved for its ridiculous jokes and hijinks.

The show, a teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, depicted the conflicts of teenage stepbrothers Drake Parker, portrayed by Drake Bell, and Josh Nichols, portrayed by Josh Peck. Miranda Cosgrove plays Drake's mischievous little sister.

"In all of the show's campiness, there are also on-point, hilarious jokes and heartfelt moments. The cheesiness factor, while balanced with these other elements of the show, is also a staple that kept fans coming back for more," said Taylor Ferber for Bustle.

Over four seasons from 2004 to 2007, as well as two movies, they won over most Nickelodeon fans in what was deemed a ratings success — their Christmas movie was the "most-watched live-action television movie with kids 2-11 and total viewers in Nickelodeon's history," per a 2008 WebWire press release.

However, the show has been viewed with fresh eyes following the release of Investigation Discovery's 2024 docuseries "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV," which revealed allegations of abuse at Nickelodeon and the reportedly toxic work environment under Schneider. In the docuseries, "Drake & Josh" star Drake Bell publicly revealed he'd been sexually abused by a Nickelodeon acting coach.

"Drake & Josh" is available for streaming on Paramount+.

• My son who has autism just graduated from high school, but he won't be going to college.
• Instead, he will receive benefits from the state for his disability. 
• I'm struggling to accept that my son won't have the traditional adulthood I imagined for him. 

If ever there was a time for me to stay off social media, it's now. Over the last several months, posts about college acceptances, prom, and year-end celebrations have left me feeling heartbroken — followed by guilt for being upset.

But the truth is, I'm crushed that Evan, my high school senior, didn't participate in most senior-year rites of passage. My son — who was diagnosed with autism as a kid — didn't go away for spring break. He didn't attend prom, and college is definitely not in his future.

While he did participate in his school's graduation ceremony, he received a "certificate of participation." This designation is granted to students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) who do not meet the state's graduation requirements, setting him up for a different adulthood than his classmates.

I regret not feeling the full joy of my son's accomplishments

I am continuously asking myself: "What are you lamenting about? Many kids don't go to prom or college, and not everyone graduates with honors or accolades. These so-called markers are not the gold standards of success."

I remind myself that it is a big deal that Evan, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of two, accomplished a lot during his school years. I try to focus on my gratitude and pride that despite his challenges, he's leaving school with basic reading and math skills and has learned many life and social skills along the way.

Still, I can't and won't deny my sadness, but it does feel a little selfish to mourn things that don't bother my son. He's happy to be done with high school. He had no interest in going to prom or traveling to Mexico for spring break. Yet he wanted to attend graduation, and for that, I am thankful.

My conflicting emotions resurfaced for the thousandth time when he walked across the stage. On the one hand, I was happy because I knew he was excited to be done with high school. But, as I looked around the audience, I knew other parents had a different mindset. They weren't, for example, considering an exit strategy for their graduate if the ceremony became too much for their child to handle.

A local paper publishes a Cap & Gown issue, and parents send photos of their graduates, a list of achievements, and college plans. I submitted my son's picture and mentioned his participation in Special Olympics basketball and his plans to attend our school district's adult transition program. I wanted to recognize him and show others that not every graduate has to look good on paper.

Flipping through this section wasn't easy because it reminded me of the hopes and dreams I've had for my child since before he was born. Many aspects of his senior year have been as emotionally challenging as when he was first diagnosed with autism, and my husband and I learned our roles as parents would be different than what we imagined.

I'm looking on the bright side

When his peers filled out college applications, I worked on gathering the required documentation so that when he turned 18, he could apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Because my son's disability limits him in many ways, as an adult, he is eligible for benefits.

In the days leading up to graduation, I filled out more paperwork, ironed his graduation gown, and tried my best to stay off social media. I failed at the last one and suffered the consequences.

One Facebook post hit me hard. It was from the mom of my son's first friends. The boys spent a good amount of time together but drifted apart as their cognitive differences became more apparent. The offending post showed two photos of her son — one from elementary school and the other from high school. In both pictures, he is standing next to the same friend. The caption reads, "These two…friends through it all! Everybody needs a friend like Jonny."

I couldn't help but think, if my son were a neurotypical kid, would her post instead conclude, "Everybody needs a friend like Evan?"

Still, I strive to look at the positives and not focus on the negatives, and it occurs to me that everyone could benefit from a friend like Evan. Evan is fun, funny, non-judgmental, and so much more.

As I try to unpack my mixed bag of emotions surrounding my son's completion of high school and his nontraditional path moving forward, I'm working toward embracing the idea that it's OK to experience the joys and the pains of parenting a child with autism, especially when the traditional milestones end up being unconventional.

• Warning: spoilers ahead for "Perfect Match" season two.
• Christine Obanor and Nigel Jones were the surprise winners of the show after pairing up in the finale.
• Now cast members are claiming secret pacts helped the pair win. 

"Perfect Match" season two fans were surprised when the newest couple were named the show's winners. Now, cast members are accusing each other of forming secret pacts to sway the vote.

The dating series, which has been one of Netflix's most popular TV shows in June, sees contestants from the streamer's reality offering trying to find love.

Every few days, new contestants, who are staying at a hotel separate from the main cast, are brought into the house to shake things up. Anyone left without a partner by the end of the night must leave.

At the end of the series, all the contestants from inside and outside the house come together to vote for a winning couple — but this season's finale was messier than the last.

During the cast reunion that aired on June 21, the singles from outside the house criticized the longer-lasting couples, accusing the male contestants of not being genuine. The cast then voted Christine Obanor and Nigel Jones, the newest couple who got together in the finale, as the winners — angering fans who were rooting for the other couples.

Amid the fan backlash over the result, Chris Hahn and Harry Jowsey claimed contestants who couldn't find a match worked together to vote for Christine and Nigel over the longer-lasting couples.

Christine and Nigel spent most of the series in the hotel, and only came in the house in the final episodes.

On Tuesday's episode of his podcast, "Boyfriend Material with Harry Jowsey," Harry said that the hotel group hated the couples for rejecting them and didn't trust that the longer-lasting couples were loyal to each other, so they voted for their friends, Christine and Nigel.

"I remember sitting down at the finale. I'm like, 'Wait, when did they become a couple? How the fuck did this happen?'" Harry said.

In a TikTok video shared on Friday, Chris accused the hotel group of making a pact to vote for one of their own in the final.

"Everyone outside during that pact voted for Nigel and Christine to win it," Chris said. "Are they a good couple? Maybe. I think so. Did they deserve to win 'Perfect Match?' Absolutely not."

But Christine, Nigel, and other castmates from the hotel group have denied this and claimed there was another pact between the couples within the house to keep new contestants out at any cost.

Stevan Ditter, who was in the house for the entire series, also supported this theory.

"The girls kind of had a crazy girl code in the house. They just didn't want new girls in," Stevan told the "The Viall Files" podcast in an episode that aired last week. "They were talking about sending the guys on dates with girls that obviously weren't for them."

It has become a common occurrence in later seasons of reality shows for contestants to become more strategic and competitive, leading to fake relationships for the camera. That may have been the case with "Perfect Match" season two.

Dom Gabriel, who starred in both seasons of "Perfect Match," said the house was a lot more "wholesome" in season one because no one had a "competitive spirit."

Regardless of how Christine and Nigel won, they may have actually been the most compatible couple in the series. Nigel and Christine said on social media after the finale aired that they won a compatibility challenge and went on an extra date during filming but they were cut from the show.

Plus, they seem to be the longest-lasting couple.

Christine said in a YouTube video about her "Perfect Match" experience that she dated Nigel for nine months and that they only officially ended things a month ago.

By contrast, the rest of the couples said in Netflix's "Where Are They Now" video that they had ghosted each other or broken up soon after the show.

• LVMH is the world's largest luxury goods conglomerate. It's owned by Bernard Arnault, the world's third-richest person.
• LVMH's portfolio includes 75 different brands, spanning fashion, Champagne, cosmetics, and more.
• These include Louis Vuitton, Dior, Sephora, Tiffany & Co, Moët & Chandon, and Fenty Beauty.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Bernard Arnault, the world's third-richest person and the wealthiest outside the US, heads the world's largest luxury goods conglomerate.

LVMH owns iconic brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Moët-Chandon.

It owns 75 brands, or "maisons," which it splits into six divisions: wines and spirits; fashion and leather goods; perfumes and cosmetics; watches and jewelry; selective retailing; and other activities. The fashion and leather goods division makes up about half of its revenues.

Its most recent major acquisition was US jeweler Tiffany and Co., which it bought for $15.8 billion in 2021 following a lengthy dispute. It broke records for being the luxury sector's biggest-ever deal.

LVMH's brands collectively have more than 6,000 stores, including about 2,500 in Asia, more than 1,000 in the US, and more than 500 in France. LVMH has more than 200,000 employees and reported revenues of 86.2 billion euros ($92.5 billion) for 2023.

Arnault has been at LVMH's helm for decades.

In 1984, after working at his family's real-estate company, Arnault bought consumer goods and manufacturing company Agache-Willot-Boussac, which owned Dior and department store Le Bon Marché. Arnault turned the "hodgepodge" company into a "treasure trove," The New York Times reported in 1989. He renamed it Financière Agache and sold almost all of the company's assets.

Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy merged in 1987 to create LVMH. Arnault used the money from the sale of Financière Agache's assets to buy a controlling stake in the company, Bloomberg reported. In 1989, he became the conglomerate's majority shareholder, chairman, and CEO.

Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche

Paris department store Le Bon Marché opened in 1852 and was acquired by Arnault when he bought luxury goods company Agache-Willot-Boussac in 1984.

Le Bon Marché is recognized as being the world's first department store. The Paris store is noted for its high-end retail and careful selection of goods across the store. 

Year acquired by LVMH: 1984

Type of goods: Department store

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton, founded in France in 1854, is known for its leather products, which are usually heavily emblazoned with its "LV" logo. Ready-to-wear clothing generates about 10% of the brand's sales, Bloomberg reported.

Year acquired by LVMH: 1987

Type of goods: Fashion and leather goods

Hennessy

Hennessy, founded in 1765, is one of the most famous cognac brands in the world. The brand's headquarters are in Cognac, France, about a five-hour drive from Paris.

Year acquired by LVMH: 1987

Type of goods: Cognac

Moët & Chandon

Founded in 1743, Moët & Chandon has since become one of the most popular Champagne brands in the world. Visitors to its site in the Champagne region of France can tour the UNESCO World Heritage site's wine cellars, spread over about 17 miles of tunnels.

Year acquired by LVMH: 1987

Type of goods: Champagne

Dom Pérignon

Champagne maker Dom Pérignon, one of the oldest companies in LVMH's portfolio, was founded in 1668. 

Year acquired by LVMH: 1987

Type of goods: Champagne

Givenchy

Givenchy, founded in 1952, is perhaps best known for creating the iconic little black dress Audrey Hepburn wore in the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's." 

Year acquired by LVMH: 1988

Type of goods: Fashion and leather goods

Berluti

Menswear brand Berluti dates back to 1895, when Italian shoemaker Alessandro Berluti started making footwear in France. The brand has since made shoes for the Duke of Windsor, Jean Cocteau, and Andy Warhol, and expanded into leather goods in 2005 and ready-to-wear clothing in 2011, according to LVMH.

Year acquired by LVMH: 1993

Type of goods: Menswear, especially footwear

Loewe

Spanish fashion brand Loewe was founded in Madrid in 1846. Since 2013, Jonathan Anderson — founder of label JW Anderson — has been its creative director. Some of its flagship stores are in the CASA Loewe format, which LVMH says are "designed to feel like the townhouse of a sophisticated art collector."

Year acquired by LVMH: 1996

Type of goods: Fashion and leather goods

Sephora

Sephora operates hundreds of beauty stores selling items like makeup, skincare products, hair care items, and fragrances. Its stores sell own-brand products as well as dozens of other lines, including brands LVMH brands Fenty Beauty, KVD Beauty, and Ulta.

Sephora has more store locations than its rival, Ulta. More than half of its over 3,000 points of sale are in North America, with its range carried by hundreds of Kohl's stores.

Year acquired by LVMH: 1997

Type of goods: Cosmetics

Marc Jacobs

Designer Marc Jacobs founded the eponymous brand in 1984. Jacobs went on to become creative director of womenswear for Louis Vuitton between 1997 and 2013, leaving to focus on his own brand.

Year acquired by LVMH: 1997

Type of goods: Fashion and leather goods

Benefit Cosmetics

Benefit Cosmetics was founded by twin sisters Jean and Jane Ford in 1976 in San Francisco. LVMH says that it has more than 3,000 BrowBar Beauty Bars around the world and that a Benefit brow product is sold every two seconds.

Year acquired by LVMH: 1999

Type of goods: Cosmetics

Tag Heuer

The Swiss watchmaker was founded by Edouard Heuer in 1860 and given its present name after it was acquired by Techniques d'Avant Garde in 1985. From 2020 to 2024, the company's CEO was Frédéric Arnault, the second-youngest of Bernard Arnault's five children.

Ambassadors over the years have included Steve McQueen, Chris Hemsworth, Patrick Dempsey, and a number of sports stars, including tennis player Maria Sharapova.

Year acquired by LVMH: 1999

Type of goods: Watches

Fendi

The 99-year-old luxury Italian brand is best known for its signature "F" print and was once led by legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld. Fendi was previously owned by both Prada and LVMH, until the latter bought out Prada in 2001.

Year acquired by LVMH: 2000

Type of goods: Fashion and leather goods

Fresh

Fresh was launched in Boston in 1991 and is known for its expansive collection of natural skincare products.

Year acquired by LVMH: 2000

Type of goods: Cosmetics

Cheval Blanc

Luxury hotel chain Cheval Blanc, created by LVMH, started with the opening of a boutique ski resort in Courchevel in the French Alps in 2006. It has since opened or acquired four other hotels in Paris, the Maldives, on Caribbean island Saint Barthélemy, and in French Riviera town Saint-Tropez.

Year created by LVMH: 2006

Type of goods: Hotels

KVD Beauty

The cosmetics line, which has also been known as Kat Von D Beauty and KVD Vegan Beauty, was founded by tattoo artist and model Kat Von D in 2008. Its designs are inspired by tattoo artistry, and the company says its name now stands for "Kara, Veritas, Decora" or "Value, Truth, Beauty."

The brand says it was cruelty-free when it launched and was reformulated to become fully vegan in 2016.

Year acquired by LVMH: 2008

Type of goods: Cosmetics

Royal Van Lent

The Dutch shipyard on Kaag Island dates back to the Van Lent family in 1849. It was awarded a royal charter in 2001.

The shipyard's roughly 300 workers launch on average two superyachts a year. It has also opened a shipyard in Amsterdam.

Year acquired by LVMH: 2008

Type of goods: Shipyard

Bulgari

Luxury jewelry brand Bulgari, founded in 1884, is known for its watches and diamond necklaces. LVMH acquired the brand from the Bulgari family in an all-share deal in 2011.

Year acquired by LVMH: 2011

Type of goods: Jewelry 

Le Parisien

Le Parisien is one of the most notable tabloids in France, along with Le Figaro and Le Liberation. LVMH bought the 80-year-old daily newspaper and sister publication Aujourd'hui en France in 2015, and they had a print circulation of about 260,000 in 2023.

LVMH also owns the financial newspaper Les Echos, the monthly arts magazine Connaissance des Arts, and the French commercial station Radio Classique.

Year acquired by LVMH: 2015

Type of goods: Tabloid

Dior

LVMH acquired Dior in a $13.1 billion deal in 2017. Previously, the brand, which was founded in 1947, was owned by Arnault's Groupe Arnault.

Dior is best known for its gowns and handbags. Celebrities such as Rihanna, Rosalía, Jennifer Lawrence, and Anya Taylor-Joy have been faces of the brand. 

Year acquired by LVMH: 2017

Type of goods: Fashion and leather goods

Fenty Beauty

Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty, named after her last name, with LVMH in 2017, when she was 29. She launched a 40-shade range of foundations, which helped to revolutionize diversity in the beauty industry. The shade range has since expanded to 50 shades.

Rihanna also launched her clothing line Fenty with LVMH in 2019, but it closed just two years later.

Year acquired by LVMH: 2017

Type of goods: Cosmetics

Belmond

Belmond is a luxury travel company with 32 properties around the world and two safari lodges in Botswana. It also operates luxury train services, including the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which runs between London and Venice, the Royal Scotsman, and the Andean Explorer.

Year acquired by LVMH: 2019

Type of goods: Hotels

Tiffany & Co.

Following a lengthy dispute, which involved two lawsuits and LVMH threatening to pull out of the deal, the luxury conglomerate acquired US jeweler Tiffany & Co. for $15.8 billion in 2021. It broke records for being the luxury sector's biggest-ever deal.

Year acquired by LVMH: 2021

Type of goods: Jewelry

Dominic-Madori Davis contributed to an earlier version of this article.

• Rizz is an AI-powered dating app that generates pickup lines, responses, and decodes screenshots.
• The app aims to help users build rapport and meet in person, moving beyond dating apps.
• I uploaded about 30 screenshots and tested out the app's effectiveness. 

Texting in the early stages of dating be feel like an art — you have to master the timing, come up with witty banter, and accurately read between the lines.

Now, apps like Rizz exist to help you out.

Rizz co-founder Roman Khaves said he used to share screenshots of texts with a love interest and draft responses in a groupchat with his friends. So he created Rizz to help out people like him. Rizz, an AI-powered app that generates pickup lines and responses, now has a "Decode" feature that analyzes screenshots from your conversations.

The app offers a free trial and subscription for $7 per week or $20 per month. It currently has 7 million downloads and thousands of subscriptions, Khaves told me.

I take pride in being a good texter so when I heard about Rizz, I was eager to test it out and see how it compares. I ended up uploading about 30 screenshots to see how it works.

Khaves said the app is meant for the beginning stages of dating and I've been in a relationship for over a year, so some of the decoding and suggestions weren't as useful for me.

To get a full picture of the app, I uploaded around 30 screenshots of our conversations that covered a range of topics and stages in our relationship.

There's a focus on building rapport and meeting up

The "Decode" response often advised me to build "rapport" and suggested meeting up in person, no matter what the topic of conversation was. The overall message was to get to know the person better and take the conversation offline.

Khaves said Rizz is designed to get people off the dating apps and meeting in real life.

"We kind of move you along this dating journey because otherwise people are just kind of stuck and they kind of just go in circles," Khaves said. "They never end up at the date."

Overall, the feature worked well. It picked up when there was mutual interest and had solid suggestions on where to steer the conversation. Since the app is meant for the early stages of dating, it often came up with "Decode" responses that advised me to play it cool and said to come across as "relaxed and confident, not desperate."

It also suggested against double texting.

Limitations

The main limitation of this app is the inability to add context.

You can't upload multiple screenshots at a time and you can't provide any written context. That limits the effectiveness of the "Decode" feature and suggestions for how to respond.

Khaves said Rizz is working on adding a feature that would let users share more information about the person in the screenshot.

I don't think the lack of context is fully negative though. Getting complete analysis for every text could lead some people to become overly reliant on the app. Especially since, unlike your friends, it's available 24/7 and has practically endless suggestions, Khaves said.

Right now, Rizz serves more as a guide rather than a blueprint for dating — and I think that's a good place to be.

How it compares to other AI platforms

After trying Rizz, I was curious how it would compare to other AI chatbots that aren't designed specifically for dating.

I tried the "Decode" approach on Gemini and Character.Ai, which is a platform for interacting with AI characters. I chose to interact with a relationship coach chatbot on Character.Ai. Gemini has the option to upload screenshots so it provided the most similar type of service, but it was more thorough and offered a deeper analysis with action items.

Character.AI doesn't offer the ability to upload screenshots, so instead I came up with an imaginary scenario and asked it how to respond. It asked good follow-up questions and provided a more concise version of advice.

Although chatbots like Gemini or Character.Ai provided more thorough dating advice and suggestions, I would probably be more likely to use an app like Rizz that's built and branded for dating purposes.

But if I were going to purchase a subscription for $20 a month, it would need to be personalized to my dating needs and preferences and offer complete dating coach services.

• Investors are heading into Nvidia's annual shareholder meeting this week much less bullish.
• The chip giant has suffered a $431 billion wipeout since Friday, after a rally reminiscent of the dot-com boom.
• After growing by $3 trillion and then losing hundreds of billions, investors will be asking: is this a crash?

When Cisco became the world's most valuable company in March 2000, celebrations were short-lived.

The dot-com bubble had reached its limit, and despite previous forecasts that the Silicon Valley giant's hardware was vital to the internet's future, its value crashed 80% within the next two years.

Now, investors will be wondering if Nvidia faces a similar fate. The parallels are unnerving: like Cisco, Nvidia became the world's most valuable company when it briefly surpassed Microsoft last week with a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion. Like Cisco, investors hope its hardware is key to the online future.

After one of the most dramatic rallies in US stock market history (it was valued at just $364 billion in January 2023), the chip giant's CEO Jensen Huang will host its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, having already lost the title of the world's biggest company.

Since Friday, it has shed about $431 billion from its market capitalization, bringing volatility to a stock that has become one of the strongest indicators of AI mania.

CEOs like Sam Altman, Satya Nadella, and Elon Musk see Nvidia's chips, known as GPUs as essential components in powering the generative AI boom sparked by the release of ChatGPT.

But with Nvidia's fortunes suddenly turning after an all-time high, investors will be desperate to figure out if the AI rally is about to pop.

Nvidia faces tough questions

The release of ChatGPT in November 2022 triggered generative AI mania that has powered Nvidia's rise.

Last month, it reported record quarterly revenue of $26 billion for the first quarter of its fiscal year, up 18% from the previous quarter and 262% from a year ago.

In January, Mark Zuckerberg said he would have 350,000 of Nvidia's H100 GPUs — one of the company's most powerful offerings — by the end of 2024 as part of a broader stockpile of hardware to power Meta's AI ambitions.

CUDA, Nvidia's software platform, has a competitive advantage thanks to its extensive network of developers and ability to make GPUs as simple to use as a plug-and-play system, no matter how varied or complex a company's AI workload is.

But Nvidia's enormous influence has been enough to make investors worried.

The company has single-handedly contributed a third of the gains made by the S&P 500 this year, raising concerns about whether a single stock should be responsible for so much growth.

Peter Bates, portfolio manager of the global select equity strategy at T. Rowe Price, an investment management firm, told The Wall Street Journal on Monday, amid Nvidia's falling stock price, that he's nervous about "the heft of Nvidia's market cap."

Manish Kabra, head of US equity strategy at Société Générale, told the Financial Times on Monday that the market rally could broaden out but could also "form a bubble" in tech stocks "that we don't yet have."

For all the concerns, no one is questioning the demand for Nvidia's product. AI-first companies like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic remain locked in an intense battle over the technology as they attempt to put out the best large language model.

That will require a lot of chips. But Nvidia faces a growing threat from competitors, such as chip designer AMD, which is increasing its efforts to produce GPUs that rival Nvidia's.

But this didn't dampen predictions that Nvidia's rise would continue.

Analysts at Wedbush, including Nvidia bull Dan Ives, predicted last week — before the current sell-off — that the chip giant was still on course to reach a $4 trillion valuation.

"We believe over the next year the race to $4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and center between Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft," the analysts wrote in a research note on June 20.

Investors heading into Wednesday's meeting will be wondering how much room Nvidia still has to run, and whether its heady trajectory is about to end. They'll also be hoping history doesn't repeat itself.

More than two decades after its heyday, Cisco's market capitalization makes it the world's 64th most valuable company.

• Julian Assange spent over 5 years in a 2×3 meter cell before his release, according to WikiLeaks.
• He was isolated for 23 hours a day before a London court granted him bail on Monday, it said.
• The prison he was in gained prominence for detaining foreign suspects in the 2000s.

Julian Assange spent more than five years in a 2×3 meter cell, isolated 23 hours a day before his release on bail, WikiLeaks said in a statement on Tuesday.

The WikiLeaks cofounder was released on Monday after being detained for 1901 days, from April 2019 until June 2024, in the UK's Belmarsh maximum-security prison during a yearslong legal fight over his potential extradition to the US.

Assange was arrested in the UK in 2019 for breaching bail conditions after seeking asylum in Ecuador's London Embassy to avoid extradition.

He was facing various charges, including those related to his role in publishing classified US documents provided by Chelsea Manning.

On Monday, the High Court of London granted Assange bail, the WikiLeaks statement said, allowing him to board a plane at 5 p.m. local time and leave the UK.

Assange's release was the result of a global campaign that "created the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalized," the statement continued.

According to court documents published on Tuesday by the United States District Court For The Northern Mariana Islands, Assange was charged under the Espionage Act with conspiring to obtain and disclose classified national defense documents.

US prosecutors anticipate that he will enter a guilty plea during a court hearing in the Northern Mariana Islands scheduled for Wednesday at 9 a.m. local time, according to a letter from Justice Department official Matthew McKenzie.

Britain's 'Guantánamo Bay'

Before his release, Assange spent half a decade detained in a prison once dubbed the UK's "Guantánamo Bay."

Belmarsh Prison, located in southeast London, gained prominence in the early 2000s for detaining terror suspects without charge or trial.

Nine foreign nationals were detained in December 2001 and held in prison without knowing why under post-9/11 anti-terrorism legislation, according to a 2004 BBC News article.

The nine men were kept in their cells for up to 22 hours a day without access to the evidence collected against them, the outlet reported.

As a result, the prison earned the epithet 'Britain's Guantánamo Bay.'

Judges ruled in 2004 that the indefinite detention of foreign prisoners in Belmarsh without trial under anti-terrorism legislation was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Annual independent inspections of the Belmarsh prison have been conducted since 2003.

In 2022, inspectors returning to the prison said they were "encouraged" to see progress had been made since their last inspection in 2021, with reduced levels of violence and more time out of cell for prisoners.

However, the latest report by the Independent Monitoring Boards in 2023 found that a quarter of prisoners spent up to 22 hours a day locked in their cells.

As part of the plea agreement, Assange is expected to plead guilty to one count, with a proposed sentence of time served.

The US will then withdraw its extradition request, and he will be able to return home to Australia a free man.