• Rucking is a great workout to build muscle and burn fat.
• I was already rucking to the office once a week, but sometimes had back pain.
• A rucking expert shared tips that upped my speed and worked out my shoulders.

When I first heard of rucking, a workout favored by both Guy Fieri and the Fittest Woman on Earth, I realized I already sort of do it. For the past few years, I've been packing my backpack and walking 3.6 miles from my home to the office once a week, just to get some fresh air.

"Rucking in its simplest form is just walking with weight on your back," Nichele Cihlar, the Director of Training at GORUCK, told Business Insider. She said it's a great workout, whether it's your primary form of exercise or your recovery day routine. I do the latter, using it as a way to still build muscle and burn fat on days I'm not running or weightlifting.

Cihlar, who also rucks on her rest days, said I could amplify the workout by adding more weight. My only reservation was that I've gone heavier before, but ended up with lower back pain.

She shared a few tips on how to maximize weight without hurting yourself, especially if you're using a minimalist work backpack, like I am, instead of an official rucking pack.

Stack magazines to slowly add more weight

My backpack is usually a little heavy on its own: I carry my laptop, charger, Kindle, water bottle, and lunch.

I wanted to add more weight without going too far, since it'd be really awkward to unload a dumbbell in the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge.

"I would recommend starting light and then working up from there," Cihlar said. Her father-in-law recently started rucking, and one of her first suggestions for him was to throw in some magazines.

I took some old copies we had lying around the apartment and slid them behind my laptop. I also filled my water bottle, since I usually carry it empty to make the walk easier.

Keep the heavier items towards the top

Cihlar said that your shoulders sometimes feel sore when you start rucking. While that was definitely true for me the first times I walked to work, I'd also feel that lower back ache, sometimes for days afterward. It made me more cautious about adding more weight.

"If you're not using an actual ruck, which holds the weight up high on your back, and you're just loading your backpack, everything falls to the bottom," Cihlar said. "That can cause a little bit more weight tension sitting in your low back."

When packing my bag, I rearranged its contents and piled heavier items, like my lunch and my makeup bag, closer to the top.

I felt a huge difference during the walk. My shoulders were a lot more sore than in the past, while my back felt completely fine.

It made me more confident that I was rucking right. I wasn't trying to pull up my straps like I normally do when my lower back acts up towards the end of the commute. I still hurt, but in the good way!

Always wear supportive shoes

Ok, the real reason I messed up my back isn't exactly a mystery: out of laziness and not wanting to pack extra shoes, I usually walked to work in Doc Martens.

Cihlar said I'd "definitely want a supportive shoe," such as running sneakers to prevent injury. For more seasoned ruckers, she recommended getting real rucking shoes because trainers "break down faster once you start adding that load."

I wore my running shoes and switched to mules at work (which had the bonus of making my pack just a little heavier, too).

No surprises here, but I was able to walk faster than my usual pace, even while bearing a heavier load.

When I first started walking to work, I minimized it and didn't consider it a real workout. I tossed whatever I wanted into my bag and clacked along in heeled boots as if I wasn't a woman in my 30s with mild scoliosis. Alas, not taking it seriously led me to make some (mildly painful) mistakes.

It's exciting to know that a few small tweaks help me make the most of an already lovely commute. Getting my steps in, gaining shoulder strength, and seeing the NYC skyline before all the tourists get there? We can have it all.

• Heather Wilkinson was a surrogate twice and earned $22,500 and $30,000 in 2014 and 2016, respectively.
• Surrogacy is increasing, with the global market valued at $14 billion in 2022.
• Surrogates can now earn $35,000 to $50,000, while intended parents may spend around $200,000 or more.

Heather Wilkinson was at the park visiting with a relatively new friend while their children played, when the friend explained she had babies for other people.

"At first, I thought she was kind of crazy," Wilkinson said of her first impression of surrogacy. But as the friend explained that she'd had easy pregnancies and now she was helping others build their families, Wilkinson thought, "I might be into this crazy idea after all."

More than a decade later, Wilkinson, who is based in Indiana, has been a surrogate twice and currently serves as senior manager of surrogate success at Surrogacy.com.

Surrogacy is on the rise worldwide, with the global surrogacy market worth an estimated $14 billion in 2022, according to market research consultancy Global Market Insights. Traditional surrogacy is when a woman is artificially inseminated, but more common today is gestational surrogacy, in which IVF is used to place a fertilized embryo into a surrogate.

Like her friend, Wilkinson had also had easy pregnancies with her two children.

"I hate to say it because it sounds obnoxious, but I didn't have morning sickness. I didn't get stretch marks. It was the epitome of perfect pregnancies with no issues whatsoever," she said.

When she decided she wanted to help others have children, she ended up going with the same surrogacy agency her friend used: Circle. For her first surrogacy journey, she got matched with a single dad. She was paid $22,500 and delivered the baby in 2014.

"It was an incredible experience," she said. "I remember being in the hospital saying to my husband, 'I know this sounds crazy, but I know that I want to do this again.'"

When Circle reached out to see if she'd be interested in going through the process again, she said "yes." This time, she was matched with a gay couple from Australia.

Her second experience was also a little different, as this time, she was part of what's called a dual journey or a concurrent journey, where there are two separates surrogates hired to carry babies for the same set of intended parents. Though the couple contracted two surrogates, they staggered the pregnancies to not overlap.

"I understand wanting to build your family and wanting to have more than one child," she said, adding that surrogacy journeys can take a lot of time, sometimes two years, and so for some parents, it may make sense to do two at the same time.

This time, Wilkinson delivered in 2016 and was paid $30,000.

Today, Wilkinson said the typical base pay for a first-time surrogate can be anywhere from $35,000 to $50,000.

As for the intended parents, they can pay anywhere from around $200,000 or more to have a child via surrogacy. Other costs that go into the process include legal fees for contracts, clinical bills, and agency fees.

While the price point of surrogacy can make it a luxury, Wilkinson said some people go to great lengths to be able to afford it.

"I've heard of intended parents that are taking out second mortgages on their house or just going through different avenues to afford surrogacy," she said.

Wilkinson said she found the surrogacy experience empowering, and now she's committed to helping other surrogates have fulfilling journeys.

As for deciding to become a surrogate, she said it really comes down to the "why." For her, she said it goes back to her favorite aunt. As a kid, she always wondered why her aunt never had kids of her own. It wasn't until she got older that she realized her aunt had wanted kids but was unable to have them.

"There are tons of people just like my aunt that are equally deserving and equally have that yearning to be a parent," she said. "And that I knew that I could help."

Have a news tip or a story to share about surrogacy? Were you an intended parent in a concurrent surrogacy journey? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@businessinsider.com.

• Carnival's new Carnival Firenze cruise ship set sail in late April.
• Its interior cabins are $160 cheaper per person than the ones with balconies.
• The cramped balcony stateroom is worth the additional cost.

I finally realized that my parents are, in fact, always right. Unfortunately, learning my lesson took a stint in a windowless cabin on a Carnival cruise.

In mid-May, I found myself stuck on a four-night Carnival Firenze cruise with my family. I was there for work — they were there to enjoy the sun. And that they did, as they luxuriated in a cabin with a balcony while I was stuck in a drab, windowless dungeon.

Never again will I think of my parents as 'snobby' for wanting the more expensive accommodation (sorry, Mom and Dad).

My parents, occasional cruisers, have always preferred staterooms with balconies. After my stint in the ship's interior accommodation, I now understand why balconies are the most popular cabin category.

For Firenze's cheapest itinerary in 2024 — a four-night roundtrip voyage from Long Beach, California, to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico — a dual-occupancy interior cabin starts at $359 per person.

Ones with balconies command a minimum of $519 per person.

That's a $160 difference — and well worth the extra cash.

Carnival Firenze, the company’s newest vessel, set sail in April.

But that doesn't mean it's a brand-new ship.

Firenze had initially joined the fleet of another Carnival Corp brand, Costa Cruises, in 2020 with plans to launch in China — that is, until the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carnival Cruise Line then acquired Firenze and its sister ship, Venezia, in 2022 to grow its US footprint amid "strong interest in people wanting to sail with us," a Carnival spokesperson told Business Insider.

But my interior cabin looked more like an ancient motel than a four-year-old ship.

The spokesperson said Firenze underwent a two-month refresh to "install the Carnival Fun Italian Style Concept."

This Italianized vision came as a photo of Florence, Italy, behind my bed, half covered by pillows. It's for the best — the print looked misplaced, unnecessary, and tacky.

At least it matched the color palette of the equally ugly carpet.

The furniture was functional, but that doesn’t mean it was pretty.

The gray chaise clashed with the bafflingly ugly yellow and red carpet, while the faux marble and wood side table looked as cheap as my fare.

Thankfully, I have no gripes about the desk and closet. Both were sizable and looked like ones I've seen on more expensive and modern cruise ships.

'Expensive' and 'modern' could be the antithesis of my bathroom. It was a total eyesore.

The yellow and red tiles would've been better suited in a McDonald's. But no design crime was bigger than the lack of designated storage units.

The only shelving came preoccupied with tissue boxes and toilet paper rolls, an unnecessary amenity given that my cabin attendant cleaned and restocked my room daily. I would've rather had one less spare toilet paper roll if that meant I could keep my skincare products inside the bathroom instead of out on the desk.

On the bright side, the bathroom and bedroom felt surprisingly spacious for 150 square feet.

Unbeknownst to me, Carnival had put me in one of the ship's accessible, wheelchair-friendly accommodations. As a person without physical disabilities, this meant the shower — a curtain surrounding floor drains — was one of the largest I've had at sea.

Back in the living room, I could've starfished on the floor without hitting any furniture.

Complaints about its appearance aside, the room was large and almost perfectly functional — easily worth its $90-a-night price tag.

But without any natural light, the dated, dark, and mismatched furniture made my cabin look more like a drab hospital room.

Think I'm being dramatic? One look at my parent's balcony cabin will prove my point.

Some of the furniture in my dungeon and their breezy hotel room at sea looked identical.

But the light-filled room and less hideous carpet made the chaise and side table feel more at home.

Unfortunately, nothing could've saved the still misplaced-looking photo of Italy.

However, no amount of natural light could've saved the stateroom from feeling cramped.

The cabin is 72 square feet larger than my interior one. But don't expect to starfish here: The narrow layout and furniture didn't leave much room to spare.

Our four-person family could comfortably lounge in my interior room. Four people inside the balcony cabin required flexible maneuvering around each other and the furniture.

The tiny bathroom made the one in my interior accommodation feel palatial.

Yet, despite being much smaller, the extra shelving — noticeably deprived of excess paper products — made this bathroom more functional.

But the tight layout is worth it for the private outdoor space and light.

The ocean breeze and view provided the perfect backdrop for my parent's peaceful early mornings.

Meanwhile, my early mornings were spent in a dingy, liminal space-like bedroom, never fully sure of the exact time. I felt like a gremlin who lived in perpetual darkness, only reminded that the sun had, in fact, risen when I stopped by my family's bright cabin.

Seeing my mom lounge around with the balcony door cracked open, reading some documents without turning the lights on, was enviable.

A quiet outdoor space is especially important on a ship like Carnival Firenze.

The vessel is loud and rowdy, as is expected of a Carnival cruise. I struggled to find a quiet, relaxing lounge that wasn't overwhelmed by screaming children, screaming adults, or poorly mixed music.

Our cabins were the only truly quiet spaces on the ship. And I'd much rather read a book on a balcony with ocean views than in a dreary, dark interior stateroom.

I should probably add an asterisk next to 'truly quiet spaces.'

The interior and balcony accommodations did share one terrible similarity: ultra-thin walls.

Rowdy passersby could be heard clearly from inside both rooms. The neighbors' TV and late-night conversations constantly woke my dad up. (Maybe my interior cabin wasn't so bad after all.)

But, like I said, I'd trade a gloomy stateroom for a balcony and the chance to eavesdrop on my neighbors.

As usual, my parent's decision to book a balcony instead of an interior cabin was the way to go.

Unless you're on an ultra-strict budget, it'll be worth the additional cost. A little sun and fresh air can go a long way for your sanity, especially on a ship where silence and peace are an upcharged luxury.

• My grandmother was born in Switzerland but left over 70 years ago. 
• I traveled with her and my mom and brother to learn about her youth and family. 
• I have so much gratitude for being able to do this trip with her. 

I recently traveled to Switzerland with my mom, brother, and grandmother to see where my grandmother had immigrated from over 70 years ago.

As we drove through the mountainside, my grandmother told stories about her youth, the members of her family, and what strength and good-hearted stubbornness it took for her to leave the country in search of a better life. We mapped the far distances she traveled, imagining what it was like to scale the mountains without the modern transportation that stands there now.

She moved to the US and left her family behind

My 91-year-old grandmother, who we lovingly call Grosi, left for the United States when she was 20. She left 10 siblings and her mother behind, struggling to make ends meet so she could have a better life and support her family. Grosi pointed out where she used to pick blueberries as a little girl, where the one-room schoolhouse was where boys learned math and science, where girls learned homemaking and sewing, and where the Post office was. We drove past where her mother's house was, imaging her mother still at the garden gate, tending to her flowers.

I felt the weight of the country's history, being able to map back to where everything happened for my grandmother and her family. I saw the pride and excitement on her face that she could share our history and heritage with us. I could imagine her as a young girl, climbing the mountain and taking in the unchanged landscape we looked at together. The country itself felt frozen in time at moments, many of the old buildings preserved through the ages.

She showed us so much of what her life was like

Throughout the 10 days in Switzerland, we drove through different cantons, mixing family heritage and tourist locations to understand the full breadth of the country. We met strangers and ran into extended family members, sharing an excitement about being in the same beautiful place. We sat at kitchen tables with family members and lifelong friends, passing stories in Swiss German about the old days and what's happened since then, catching up like no time had passed.

We rented a car to drive through the countryside and a few one-lane roads to see as much of the country as possible. We visited and toured places like Linthal, Zurich, Lucerne, Appenzall, Gruyères, and the canton of Glarus, where Grosi came from. In a car, it was easy for us to travel together and take in the sights as Grosi narrated the places she had been. She showed us the route she would bike to work as a cook in a children's shelter, how the highway we drove on didn't exist back then, and how far away from home she'd travel. It was a reminder that as things stay the same, they also change.

One day, we took the rail built into the side of the mountain in Braunwald. Once we got off, we watched paragliders take flight from where Grosi's grandfather's farm was. We walked around the mountain town, through the church her brother helped build, and imagined what life might have been like decades ago. To see that so many elements of my grandmother's childhood were still standing where she left them reminded me of all the invisible strings that carry us through life. Her voice peaked with excitement when pointing out each location, and she was proud to share pieces of her history with us.

Ten days flew by with packed schedules filled with exciting things to do, from seeing the sights of cities like Lucerne and Zurich to spending time with family to seeing natural wonders like the Rhine Fall to touring delicious food offerings like the Kambly cookie store and Läderach factory. We make sure to see a healthy mix of tourist attractions and lesser-known spots, mixing in time with friends and family.

No trip through Switzerland would be complete without a train ride through the mountains and beautiful countryside. One day, with my great-aunt, great-uncle, and one of my grandmother's lifelong friends, we took a train ride through the country, taking in the sights of the snow-capped mountains, the old bridges, and the running waterfalls. We stopped for lunch in St. Moritz, marveling at the snow-covered mountains, laughing, and walking through the town as a family.

Every moment, I had gratitude for traveling with my grandmother and family, seeing the strength and courage it took to leave it behind. How many choices Grosi made, how many things aligned so that we – my mom, my brother, myself, and her, would be there together. The trip deepened my love and respect for my grandmother, her sacrifices to start a new life, and her strength to travel to a place where she knew no one. Learning about my heritage with the matriarch of my family was an unforgettable experience.

• Experts recommend eating 30 plant foods a week for a healthy gut microbiome. 
• I tried it and was surprised by how quickly I reached the target.
• Focusing on adding nutritious ingredients to dishes is a sustainable way to eat healthily. 

As a health journalist, I write about the buzzy topic of gut health a lot. So when I noticed lots of gut experts saying they aim to eat 30 plants a week, I knew I had to give it a try.

There are so many fads in the wellness world that I know to steer clear of, but the idea of eating 30 plants a week for gut health comes from a large 2018 study called The American Gut Project. It found people who ate 30 plants a week had more diverse gut microbiomes than people who ate 10 or fewer.

The gut is populated by "good" and "bad" microbes, and fiber, which is found in plant foods, feeds the good ones. Gut health researchers believe that eating different types of fiber results in a more diverse and, therefore, healthier microbiome. This, in turn, is linked to better overall health, immunity, mood, and even a lower risk of certain cancers.

Plants are so powerful when it comes to looking after our guts that experts agree the best thing you can do for your microbiome is to eat a high-fiber, balanced diet that's low in ultra-processed foods, despite what the gut health supplement market, which has been valued at $12 billion, will have you believe.

Having said all that, going into my weeklong experiment, 30 plants sounded like a lot. But more foods count as a plant than you might think. The definition of 30 plants includes fruits, vegetables, legumes, herbs, spices, nuts, seeds, coffee, and even dark chocolate.

I was also lucky to already be in a pretty good spot with my diet. I've never counted calories or tracked my macros, but when I tried out the DASH diet for a week last year I ended up forming some healthy habits like adding more wholegrains to my diet and eating breakfast. So I was excited to see what I might get out of this experience but worried I might not hit the target.

I mostly ate how I normally would but kept a note of all my meals and snacks throughout the week. I was surprised to reach 30 by day three and hit 40 plants overall.

It's easier than you think to eat a lot of plants at breakfast

Every weekday, I ate oatmeal for breakfast with a combination of berries, nuts, and seeds. I found this was a really easy way to get in a variety of plants every day.

I mainly used what I already had in the cupboard and bought a few punnets of different berries because they're easy to sprinkle onto oatmeal. I usually just buy one type of berry a week, but I bought three types because I wanted my diet to be more diverse than it usually is.

Throughout the week I switched between strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, and peanuts, pistachios, and almond flakes. I also sprinkled on chia seeds.

I could have easily added even more fruits, nuts, and seeds, but I was already on track to hit my target early on. If you were planning on doing this long-term, however, buying bags of multiple types of nuts and seeds would be worth it as they last for a long time and you could switch up your combination daily.

I ate a lot of plant-based proteins

Another way I ate more plants was by opting for plant-based proteins over animal products like meat and eggs. I am a pollo-pescatarian, meaning I eat chicken and fish but no other meat, so this wasn't much different from how I usually eat.

I ate beans, chickpeas, and lentils as alternatives to animal proteins. For example, I had refried beans in my tacos instead of chicken or shrimp.

Rather than a chicken curry, I chose a chickpea one when I went to a food market, and I added butter beans to my salad.

I also used red lentil or pea pasta instead of white pasta as the wheat in it doesn't count as a plant for this experiement. You could use wholewheat pasta but I went with those alternatives as I wanted to add extra protein.

Frozen vegetables help with cost and food waste

As I buy and cook food only for myself, I had to consider cost and food waste. I've previously made the mistake of splashing out on lots of fresh vegetables only for them to go moldy before I get around to eating them because I've eaten out instead.

For this reason, I ate fewer types of vegetables than I would have liked but having some frozen edamame and sweetcorn in the freezer meant I could add more plants to my meals easily without worrying about them going off.

I tried to add at least one additional vegetable to each meal. For example, I boiled some broccoli with pasta and mixed it all in with pesto.

Focusing on adding nutritious food feels sustainable

Reaching my goal by day three surprised and comforted me. I think pretty much anyone with the time and means could eat 30 plants a week with relatively little planning, as there are so many types of plant food. Stocking up on nuts and seeds, as well as frozen fruits and vegetables, can lower the cost and make it easy to boost a meal's plant count.

I enjoyed planning my meals around nutritious ingredients and focusing on what I could eat rather than what I should try to limit. By aiming for a high number of healthy foods a week, I probably ended up naturally eating less low-nutrient foods like refined carbs and added sugar.

I think this is a pretty sustainable way to eat long-term and encourages a healthy attitude toward food. I'll definitely keep aiming for 30 a week.

• Timothy Mellon is a secretive billionaire who's the heir to a Gilded Age banking fortune.
• He's RFK Jr.'s biggest financial backer and has given $25 million to a super PAC supporting him.
• But he's also spent $75 million on Trump, including $50 million the day after his conviction.

Timothy Mellon has now emerged as the most important donor to both former President Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., spending tens of millions of dollars on both men.

A GOP megadonor for several years, the relatively secretive billionaire emerged as a key financial backer of Kennedy's last year, contributing the majority of the funding for American Values 2024, the main super PAC supporting Kennedy's candidacy.

In July 2023 — before Kennedy abandoned his Democratic primary campaign for an independent bid — Mellon described Kennedy as the "one candidate who can unite the country and root out corruption." He has since given $25 million to the super PAC, including $10 million in April.

At the same time, Mellon has contributed handsomely to the pro-Trump super PAC "Make America Great Again Inc.," pouring $25 million into the PAC from July 2023 to April 2024.

Then came the big one: the day after Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts by a jury in Manhattan, Mellon gave $50 million to MAGA Inc., according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday.

Mellon did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Who is Timothy Mellon?

The 81-year-old Mellon is the grandson of Andrew Mellon, a Gilded Age-era banking titan who served as Treasury Secretary from 1921 – 1932, spanning three Republican presidents.

He is an heir to the family fortune. Forbes estimates the family's net worth to be more than $14 billion.

When it comes to Mellon's own business ventures, he's perhaps best known for purchasing and turning around Pan Am Systems, and he's set to release a book about it next month entitled "panam.captain."

Mellon is a former liberal who has veered rightward over the years, telling Bloomberg in 2020 that it was mostly about his business dealings.

"I think it came largely from going into business with certain small companies and seeing the interaction between commerce and government — it just seemed like government was making things way too difficult and against the interests of working people," Mellon said at the time. "The more restrictions you have, the less likely you are to hire people."

He also once wrote in a self-published autobiography that welfare programs are "slavery redux" while saying that Black people became "even more belligerent and unwilling to pitch in to improve their own situations" after the expansion of social welfare systems.

He told Bloomberg that he "said everything I wanted to say" and doesn't "have any regrets" about the book.

He's a big contributor to GOP causes — and Democrats have been eager to point that out

The last time Mellon spent this much money in one fell swoop, it was for a literal border wall.

In 2021, Mellon contributed $53 million to an effort led by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, effectively funding that entire venture on his own.

But he's given millions of dollars to GOP causes and campaigns in recent years, including $20 million to a pro-Trump super PAC in 2020, $45 million to a super PAC tied to GOP House leadership, and $30 million to a super PAC associated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

As Democrats seek to minimize Kennedy's appeal to the party base, lest he negatively impact President Joe Biden's chances, one key calling card has been Mellon's donation history.

After Mellon's most recent contribution to Kennedy became public in May, Democratic National Committee spokesman Matt Corridoni said the transaction "tells us everything we need to know."

"MAGA Republicans are hellbent on propping up RFK Jr. to be a spoiler for Trump in this race," Corridoni said in a statementat the time. "This is even more proof that a vote for RFK Jr. is a vote for Trump."

• Between sunning in the Mediterranean and the Hamptons, summer is a good time to be a billionaire.
• But for a few events, they deploy their private planes and leave the yachts and second homes behind.
• Here are the spots where you can find the ultrarich this summer.

Summer has officially begun, and billionaires have already dispersed to their favorite vacation spots to enjoy the spoils of their labors.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, for example, were recently spotted in Mykonos, Greece, and Mark Zuckerberg and his yacht were seen in Mallorca, Spain.

And while much casual billionaire-socializing will be done in passing in Europe in the Mediterranean or in the US in the Hamptons, there will still be a few must-attend events on their calendars over the next few months.

Here's where the uberwealthy will be this summer.

Allen & Company Sun Valley Forum: July 15-18

For more than 40 years, media moguls and tech CEOs have made their way to Sun Valley, Idaho, after the July Fourth holiday for the Allen & Company Sun Valley Forum — also known as billionaire summer camp.

The event, hosted by boutique investment bank Allen & Co, has drawn the biggest — and richest — names in business who partake in rounds of golf, guided hikes, and, famously, dealmaking.

AI and the Hollywood actors' and writers' strikes were the topics of the day at last year's meeting, which counted Sam Altman and Bob Iger (not a billionaire, but close) among its attendees.

On this year's invite list, according to Variety: Shari Redstone, who will surely be asked about the fate of Paramount; Iger and a gaggle of his potential successors; and a smattering of tech executives like Apple's Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg, who will likely come ready to discuss the latest in AI.

Olympics: July 26-August 11

While the Olympics are, in theory, an event for every spectator, billionaires enjoy the games a little differently and will do so in Paris this year.

For starters, one of the richest families in the world, the Arnaults of LVMH, is a major sponsor of the Games, and its members — including the third-richest person in the world, Bernard — will likely be highly visible attendees. One of Paris-based LVMH's jewelry houses, Chaumet, is designing the medals; Moët & Chandon and Hennessy will be flowing at various events, and Sephora will host activations along the Olympic torch's route.

Billionaires with no official connection to this year's Olympics will no doubt be there, too, and in style.

Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch have attended the event with their families in years past, and newly minted billionaire Magic Johnson has played for Team USA and carried the Olympic torch.

This year, the ultrarich are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to watch the most covetable events, meet athletes, and have a front-row seat for the Opening Ceremony, the Guardian reported. Tickets to events like the women's gymnastics final cost $6,500 each from the official ticket seller.

Vistajet has seen an uptick in private flights booked to Paris around the Olympics, and luxury yacht brokerage Fraser has fielded a number of requests around the Games — including one client chartering a yacht to follow the windsurfing competition live.

Burning Man: August 25-September 2

Burning Man has gone from anti-billionaire to peak billionaire in the decades since it was founded.

The annual art and "radical self-expression" festival in the Nevada desert has drawn techies like Elon Musk and Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page since the 1990s — before they became billionaires.

Mark Zuckerberg, Drew Houston, and Josh Kushner have all been spotted at the anti-capitalist revelry. Even Ray Dalio, the billionaire hedge fund manager, wanted to see what all the hype was about, sporting some psychedelic bell bottoms and joining the party in 2019.

Some of the uberwealthy — or uber-famous, after all, Paris Hilton has attended — eschew the traditional Playa experience. They charter private planes to land on Black Rock City's temporary runway, stay in "fancy camps" complete with air conditioning and private chefs, and travel in tricked-up art cars that definitely require money to create.

This may explain why the internet didn't feel all that bad when the festival was marred by flooding.

As one TikTok user commented: "Isn't this where rich people go to feel poor?"

US Open: August 26-September 8

Tennis has long attracted the monied, and the US Open is proof.

The biggest names in finance, tech, and entertainment — Bill Gates, Jamie Dimon, David Geffen, Jerry Seinfeld, and Bill Ackman are regular attendees — head to Arthur Ashe Stadium to catch the last of the year's tennis Grand Slams.

Many Wall Street firms have boxes at the event to wine and dine clients — and things may soon get even more luxe. The USTA is reportedly considering renovating the stadium, which would include "bunker suites" off the main court, complete with top-of-the-line amenities. They could cost as much as $175,000 per person for the duration of the tournament, The New York Times reported.

Tickets to this year's men's final cost as much as $18,000 each on the resale market, and suites can go for six figures. Luxury sponsors from Rolex to Ralph Lauren pay millions to attract spectators' attention.

Monaco Yacht Show: September 25-28

For billionaires, the summer ends and begins with yachting.

In September, the uberwealthy or their surrogates gather in Monte Carlo to check out the superyachts and megayachts on offer, already plotting for their next vacation season. The boats — some for sale, some for charter — have an average length of 50 meters and include features like helipads, spas, and wine cellars.

While the list of vessels on offer has yet to be announced, past years' shows have included yachts belonging to Paul Allen, Steve Wynn, and Heidi Horton.

Last year's most expensive public listing was the Lady Lara, a 91-meter ship with two swimming pools (one of which can convert to a dance floor) and a movie theater. Its price? A cool $245 million.

• My best friend and I knew each other for 16 years before we met in person.
• We met online as teenagers and had lived thousands of miles away. 
• She invited me to her wedding, and it felt like we'd always known each other. 

Watching your best friend marry the love of their life is one of life's greatest joys — even when their wedding day is the very first time that you meet them.

I met Miranda 16 years ago on a social networking website called Bebo; before Instagram and Tiktok, this is where many teens spent their time online. I lived in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, and Miranda lived in Virginia, US.

While we lived on different continents, our lives were very similar. We were both raised by single mothers, both lived in small towns, and both had an interest in writing, music, and pop culture, so it was easy for us to connect and build a friendship. Soon, I was staying up all night to talk to her, separated by a six-hour time difference.

We grew together, even thousands of miles apart

I was 13 years old, and Miranda was 12 years old, and we were at the crux of growing up. We thought we were so much older, wiser, and more mature than we really were and would spend hours talking about the ways no one understood us. We went through important life phases together, including Miranda's obsession with owls and abstract photography, and when I dyed my hair black and got a nose ring.

We endured our first heartbreaks together, toxic teenage friendships, bullying (both offline and online), family life changes (like when Miranda's mom got married and had her youngest brother), and made important decisions — particularly where we would attend college and what we would study.

Unsurprisingly, we both chose to study journalism, our similarities becoming more prevalent the older we got. Our friendship dwindled in the years we attended college but we still liked every photograph and video the other posted on social media, encouraged to remain in contact by the friendship we had already cultivated together.

We didn't talk every day or even every month, but our love and care for each other never diminished. Miranda was still one of my favorite people. The teenage girl I had once told all my secrets to was now in her mid-20s, navigating life after college, and I was preparing to pack up my life and move to the United States. We would finally be on the same continent, but would that change our friendship, the one that had only ever existed online?

We met for the first time at her wedding

Once I moved to New York in 2017, it still took seven years for us to meet in real life. Now, the first time we were going to meet was at Miranda's wedding.

She had invited me to her rehearsal dinner, reserved for extended family and the bridal party, of which I was neither.

"But I want you there, I want to spend time with you!" Miranda said.

Even on a day that was supposed to be all about her, she prioritized our friendship. I was grateful but also incredibly nervous to meet her and her family, people I'd only ever seen in photographs online.

The first thing her mom said to me when we met was, "I feel like I know you already, I've heard so much about you!" The nerves immediately melted away as her family embraced me wholeheartedly.

Meeting Miranda for the first time felt like reuniting with an old friend. It wasn't weird or awkward. We talked like we had physically been in each other's lives for 16 years, not separated by thousands of miles. It was comfortable and natural. She was even more beautiful in person and even kinder and more considerate than I could ever imagine.

Our lives had been integrated for so long that there was never any doubt that we would find our groove and learn how to be in each other's presence, no longer separated by a computer screen.

I would watch wedding guests' incredulous expressions every time I told them that I'd been Miranda's internet friend for 16 years, and this was my first time meeting her. It was an incredible and unlikely story, and it was ours.

• BI spoke to Gen X and boomer student-loan borrowers nearing retirement with six figures in debt.
• The student loans have prevented each of them from saving sufficiently for retirement.
• It's part of a larger retirement crisis and could put Social Security benefits at risk.

Diane Shelton, 58, has been working as a clinical psychologist for over 25 years — but her student loans are still in the six figures.

Shelton's debt load is something of a double-edged sword.

"There's just no doubt the value of the education and the value and the intrinsic richness that I have from the work that I've done," she said. But that's coupled with a heavy loan burden, complicated bureaucracy, and the interest it's accruing.

"I've taken forbearances at times when I really couldn't afford my mortgage. I had to pick and choose," she said. Even now, with a stable and well-paying career, her debt is still impacting her economic trajectory.

The situation is a bit different for Larry, 75, who requested his last name be withheld for privacy. He's staring down a $208,000 balance that he took out in the late 1990s to help his kids go to school. While they took out federal student loans for themselves, Larry wanted to ensure their options weren't limited. So he took out parent PLUS loans — a type of federal loan that allows a parent to cover up to the full cost of attendance for their kid's education. It has the highest interest rate of all federal loans.

Larry consolidated the four PLUS loans in 2007 with an original principal of nearly $160,000, but due to periods of unemployment, his loans went on forbearance, during which interest grew and surged the balance. Now, Larry is working full-time in retail sales, and while he hopes to retire in a few years, he knows he'll be taking his six-figure student-debt load with him.

"We have savings, which is probably about a 10th of what it should be," Larry said. "This is just hanging over our heads mentally. I think it affects me a lot because I probably think about it every day because I can't help but think about it. It's really very frustrating, very embarrassing, and just not fair."

Shelton and Larry aren't alone: As Gen Xers and boomers age into retirement, they're bringing student loans with them. It's part of a looming retirement crisis that could put even more seniors in a financially precarious position — and potentially without full Social Security benefits to back them up.

"I'm making a decent salary now, but there's all of this price that I've paid in terms of not being able to save for retirement," Shelton said.

The retirement student debt crisis

Both Shelton and Larry are facing a particular aspect of the retirement crisis: hoping to throw in the towel while sitting on mountains of student loan debt. Over a million American ages 55 to 64 are either holding student loans or have spouses holding loans, according to a report from the New School's Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. Those loan holders said that, on average, they expect to take 11 years to repay their debts — but it can oftentimes end up being much longer due to interest and financial hardship.

Among Americans holding student loan debt, Gen Xers and boomers have the highest median balance, although only a small percentage of those 55-64 — around 13% — and those 65-74 — around 5% — hold educational installment loans.

Just the other day, Shelton was checking what her Social Security check would look like at different retirement ages, since the program incentivizes waiting to collect checks.

"If I work until I'm 70, that's where I've got the most amount. But that's still going to be tight when a quarter of that is a student loan payment," Shelton said. "It stresses me to no end."

Interest is a key reason many older adults find themselves struggling to pay off their student loans for decades. Since Larry could not afford to make payments for a period of time due to financial hardship, the 6.25% interest rate caused his balance to grow larger than what he originally borrowed. It's an issue other PLUS borrowers have previously told BI — while they took out loans to give their children the best shot at a successful future, they didn't know at the time that doing so would leave them with balances they could not afford to pay off.

"We surely would've saved more than what we tried to do," Larry said. "And because of those payments, we pretty much have not saved a lot, other than my wife's retirement fund."

And while many older Americans rely on Social Security to get by in their later years, it's a benefit that's particularly imperiled for student loan borrowers. That's because if the borrower defaults on their payments, the government has the power to seize Social Security benefits and wages until the borrower can fulfill their student-loan obligations again. It's a practice some Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have called to end.

"The idea of just not paying it — well, now I understand they can garnish your Social Security, and so it just feels like there's no way out," Shelton said. "And so I'm probably going to work until I can't work anymore."

Are you worried about student loan debt impacting your ability to retire? Contact these reporters at asheffey@businessinsider.com and jkaplan@businessinsider.com.

• Jensen Huang is on top of the world.
• The AI frenzy briefly made his company, Nvidia, the most valuable in the world this week.
• Its future growth hinges on generative AI succeeding.

It's been a week to remember for Jensen Huang.

The 61-year-old CEO of Nvidia watched as his company briefly surpassed Microsoft to become the world's most valuable company for the first time with a $3.34 trillion valuation.

Though Nvidia has since slipped behind Microsoft again, with Apple now breathing down its neck too, its position among two titans of American tech battling for the bragging rights at the top spot is a sign of just how far it has come.

No longer is Huang's company — once on the brink of bankruptcy in the 1990s — just a purveyor of niche graphics cards designed for the gaming industry, but a near-indispensable component of the generative AI boom.

Nvidia's chips, known as GPUs, have been the subject of hot demand from the likes of Meta, Google, and OpenAI as they've sought to get their hands on hardware that can help them train and build increasingly powerful AI models.

Last month, the company showed just how relentless demand has been when announcing results for the first quarter of its fiscal year: it set a record quarterly revenue of $26 billion, up from 18% the previous quarter and 262% from the same quarter a year ago.

It helps explain why the frenzy around Nvidia has been reminiscent of the stock market rally during the dot-com boom.

The company has not only left its roughly $400 billion valuation from January 2023 in the dust, but is now worth about as much as the 100 biggest companies on the UK stock market.

The question now is how long will it last.

AI forever?

For the bulls, Nvidia's rally still has plenty of room to run.

Since the launch of ChatGPT, the most optimistic proponents of the generative AI boom — driven forward by Nvidias H100 GPUs — have made the case that we are still in the beginning stages of a revolution that has the potential to be as influential as smartphones and the internet.

In a research note on Thursday, analysts at Wedbush including Dan Ives, who has called Nvidia's CEO the "Godfather of AI," wrote that "the AI party is just getting started as its 9 p.m. in a party going till 4 a.m. with the rest of the tech world now joining."

Huang has done his own bit to make the case for AI mania just getting started, too.

Speaking in Taipei this month, the Nvidia boss boldly claimed that "the intersection of AI and accelerated computing is set to redefine the future" and laid out a road map for releasing upgraded chips every year to help achieve this future.

In other words, Huang suggests that companies engaged in fierce competition to make generative AI smarter will do so by working closely with a company like Nvidia, which can give them the computing power they need.

Boom or bust?

Nvidia's position as the primary provider of that computing power has been helped by its CUDA software, which has made it easy for companies to use their GPUs — no matter how varied or complex their AI is.

However, Nvidia's run faces one big risk: it depends on the generative AI boom lasting. That's a bet facing considerable uncertainty for a few reasons.

Though tech giants, including Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, now appear to have made generative AI their priority, there appears to be awareness of the technology's weaknesses.

Earlier this month, for instance, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple Intelligence — the company's bold new package of AI features for iPhones, iPads, and Macs — was "not 100%," acknowledging that the technology was liable to making mistakes.

Such mistakes have already threatened the reputation of its peers. Google, for instance, was forced to apologize earlier this year after its generative AI image generator created historically incorrect images in response to user requests.

Race to $4 trillion

Meanwhile, Meta's AI chief Yann LeCun told The Financial Times last month that large language models, the tech powering the generative AI boom, were not going to lead to the field's holy grail of artificial general intelligence.

If others start to feel LLMs are a bit of a dead-end on that path, too, there could be a knock-on effect that impacts demand for Nvidia's chips as AI leaders try to figure out if alternative paths forward are viable.

For now, though, the industry seems intent on moving ahead with LLM-enabled generative AI. That should keep Nvidia in the race with Microsoft and Apple to a $4 trillion valuation.