Tag: News

• Democrats are moving ahead with a plan to crown President Joe Biden as their nominee earlier than expected.
• The Democratic National Committee is set to hold a virtual roll call vote before the convention.
• Their effort would help Biden head off any formal challenge to step aside.

President Joe Biden urged skeptical Democrats to challenge him on the convention floor. But under a controversial plan, he would already be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee when delegates gather in Chicago.

Top national Democrats have pledged to move ahead with a virtual roll call vote, which would head off any messy fight on the convention floor. Legally speaking, it would also make it far more difficult to replace Biden once he is formally declared the nominee.

This is why some of Biden's biggest skeptics are railing against the plan.

"Fast-forwarding the nomination process is no way to convince the many unconvinced voters in the growing number of battleground states," Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas said in a statement. "Those so eager to overly protect President Biden ignore his own words inviting anyone questioning his nomination to do so at the Convention."

In a letter to other top Democrats, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Leah Daughtry, who co-lead the Democratic National Committee's Rules Committee, defended the plan to move forward with the virtual vote. They said a Friday meeting would further discuss how the vote would work.

"We will not be implementing a rushed virtual voting process, though we will begin our important consideration of how a virtual voting process would work," they wrote.

Walz said a vote would not happen before August 1. Each of the more than 4,000 delegates elected to participate in the national convention would be able to vote in a virtual vote. Josh Putnam, a respected expert on the delegate selection process, wrote on X that it is possible that superdelegates, which include influential party leaders, could vote as well.

Doggett was the first congressional Democrat to call on the president to step aside in the wake of Biden's disastrous debate performance — 19 other Democrats have now joined him. As Doggett pointed out, Biden once goaded skeptical Democrats to challenge him on the floor in Chicago.

"I'm getting frustrated by the elites in the party, 'Oh, they know so much more,'" Biden said during an interview with MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on July 8. "Any of these guys that don't think I should run, run against me. Announce for president, challenge me at the convention."

Ostensibly, Democrats are pressing ahead because they are concerned that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris might not make the ballot in every state. The Democratic National Committee began putting a back-up plan in May when Ohio looked like it could not change its ballot deadline. Since then, Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, called a special session of the state legislature. On May 31, he signed a law ensuring Biden would be on the ballot.

But some of the party's top leaders are still not convinced.

"If we were in a simpler time, we've trusted each other and got it done," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaking at a news conference on behalf of Biden's reelection, told reporters in Milwaukee, per CNN.

Walz added, "I don't trust them in Ohio to do this."

In their letter, Walz and Daughtry also cited concerns about deadlines in Washington, Montana, Oklahoma, and Virginia.

Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison got into a heated back-and-forth with journalist Nate Silver, who rose to fame as an election analyst, on Tuesday after Silver repeatedly pointed out that Ohio had changed its law.

"Love y'all but when it comes to election law and ballot access, I put my trust in our legal team who make a living understanding these laws and processes & not in the pollster who promised us the red wave. #ClassDismissed," Harrison said, misidentifying Silver's profession.

Election law experts have called out Democrats' justifications, saying they are really just designed to help Biden run out the clock on any challenge.

"Respectfully, these are makeweight arguments designed to deflect attention from the Biden/DNC plan to run out the clock, which has been discernible since at least early last week," University of Wisconsin Law School Dean Daniel Tokaji wrote on an election blog hosted by fellow respected expert Rick Hasen, a law professor at UCLA.

Hasen has called out the claim that Ohio could try to bait and switch Democrats. He argued that if something like that were to occur, then Democrats could use the statements of Ohio Republican leaders in a potential lawsuit.

"I don't think it's serious to say that Democrats need do a virtual roll call to assure their party's nominee will be on the ballot. This is about politics, not law," Hasen wrote.

The reality is that Biden still hasn't quieted his doubters.

Biden has repeatedly declared he's not going anywhere. He's stepped up his campaign schedule and granted more interviews. Still, the doubts about his standing persist, especially after two shaky interviews earlier this week.

An unnamed House Democrat told Politico, "Quiet efforts continue to urge the president to step aside, and team Biden remains dug in."

An AP-NORC poll is likely to fuel those doubts. The poll, which was released on Wednesday, found that nearly 2/3rds of Democrats want Biden to step aside.

• Democratic members of Congress are still calling on Biden to drop out of the race.
• 20 of them have done so as of Wednesday, July 17.
• Other lawmakers are flatly predicting that Biden will lose to Trump.

President Joe Biden is facing calls to drop out of the presidential race from House Democrats following his disastrous debate performance in June.

It began on Tuesday, July 2, when Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first member of Congress to call for Biden's withdrawal. In a statement, he praised the president's record of accomplishments but said an "authoritarian takeover" would come if former President Donald Trump won.

"Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory — too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now," Doggett said. He later said on NBC that some of his House colleagues privately agreed with him.

That next day, Doggett was joined by Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, who told the New York Times that the debate represented an "opportunity to look elsewhere."

"What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race," said Grijalva. Both men are in their mid-to-late 70s and represent solidly Democratic seats.

Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts later joined them, telling a local radio affiliate that Biden should "step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump."

On Friday, July 5, shortly before Biden's interview with ABC News was set to air, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois said on MSBNC that Biden should "let someone else do this."

And the following Saturday morning, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota became the first swing-district Democrat to call on Biden to withdraw, saying in a statement that she does "not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump."

Separately, two members of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington — said that they believe Biden will lose to Trump, but did not explicitly call on him to withdraw. Sen. Michael Bennett of Colorado went on CNN to say the same thing.

Golden went as far as to say that he is "OK" with Trump winning, saying he rejects the idea that Trump is a "unique threat to our democracy."

On Wednesday, July 10, Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont became the first Democratic senator to call for Biden to drop out.

And on Thursday, July 11, six more House Democrats called on Biden to step aside, including two who did so immediately after his high-stakes press conference.

If Biden were to step aside, Vice President Kamala Harris is one of several Democratic contenders who could replace him.

Here's a full list of the 19 House Democrats who have publicly called on Biden to drop out:

• Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas
• Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona
• Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts
• Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois
• Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota
• Rep. Adam Smith of Washington
• Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey
• Rep. Pat Ryan of New York
• Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon
• Rep. Hillary Scholten of Michigan
• Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois
• Rep. Ed Case of Hawaii
• Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona
• Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut
• Rep. Scott Peters of California
• Rep. Eric Sorensen of Illinois
• Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado
• Rep. Mike Levin of California
• Rep. Adam Schiff of California

• A "pronatalist" couple is trying to address the falling birth rate by having 7 to 12 kids.
• But they aren't planning on footing the bill for all those kids to attend college someday.
• Instead, they want the kids to run cash positive businesses or be published in journals by age 18.

College is expensive enough with just one or two kids. But what if you have 7, 10, or 12?

The ideal number of children for Malcolm and Simone Collins, a "pronatalist" couple who aim to save humanity with their prolific procreation, is in the double digits. They already have four young kids, and Malcolm recently wrote that they would like "at least seven, but ideally as many as twelve" in an article published in The Free Press.

But they argue just because they're giving their kids the gift of life — and, in their view, giving the planet the gift of a better future — doesn't mean they should have to open their wallets to cover hefty college bills for elite universities.

After all, they don't even pay for indoor heating in their Pennsylvania home during winter. Simone Collins said in an email to Business Insider that the couple "would much rather save our money for IVF and be able to have more kids than be extra comfy in the winter, plus none of our kids mind the cold (they actually report, unprompted, to love the cold)."

"We can't afford elite education for over seven — let alone four —children, so we're building an elite education in-house," Simone Collins said, referring to the Collins Institute, a lab school the couple founded for middle school-age to post-graduate students.

"It covers from when someone can read to mid-way through a Ph.D. in most subjects," Malcolm Collins said. "The most expensive part about having a kid, if you're a middle-class American, is the social expectation that you're going to pay for them to go to college."

He later noted his grandmother paid for his education at the University of St Andrews and Stanford University. Simone worked while on a scholarship to George Washington University, and Malcolm covered her master's degree at the University of Cambridge.

While the couple hopes to inspire new leagues of parents to tackle the falling birth rate, they're also challenging traditional parental expectations about providing for their children.

"By the time they reach the age where a normal kid would be going to college, they should have a cash-positive business that pays for their lifestyle, or they should be published in a major journal which can help them get into a good college," Malcolm Collins said, admitting he finds it "relatively unremarkable" to be published before college. "This happens all the time. I was actually working on a paper before starting college but after getting into my top choice in the first couple month[s] of the school year I never submitted it."

In his view, any teen could devise the same business plan as an adult. If it's a good idea from one of his future teens, Collins is willing to invest in their companies "to make money for the family," but the goal is for his kids to have "financial security."

"We are aiming for that as a goal. Do I think we'll hit that with all of our kids? Are we going to kick a kid out on the street if they hit 18?" he said. "No, not at all."

It's not the family's first unconventional take. In May, they found themselves in hot water after a reporter wrote about how Malcolm slapped his toddler in the face at a restaurant.

When faced with online criticisms of child abuse, the Collinses, who are white, told Business Insider they found the feedback to be racist.

• I traveled from New York to Miami and back in Amtrak sleeper cars. Each ride was 30 hours.
• For 60 hours of train travel, I brought a carry-on duffel bag and my camera backpack.
• I was glad I brought some odor-eliminating spray, but I regret forgetting flip-flops for the shower.

For a weeklong trip to Florida in 2021, I traveled round-trip from New York to Miami on Amtrak trains. Each ride was about 30 hours long, and my tickets included a private room with a bed, access to a bathroom, and complimentary meals.

On my way to Miami, I booked a roomette, a 20-square-foot private space with two seats across from each other, a table that folded out in between, and a bed above the seats that pulled down. The seats also pulled out into a bed. Some Roomettes also include a toilet and sink.

On my way home, I booked an Amtrak bedroom. It's twice the size of a roomette with an additional chair and a shower.

Knowing I'd be staying overnight in sleeper cars, I packed some travel essentials I thought would be helpful for sleeping, eating, working, and relaxing on a train. I tried my best to ensure my duffel bag and backpack included all the items I'd ever want to ensure a comfortable and entertaining 60 hours of travel. But I regretted leaving some items behind.

I packed a duffel bag and my camera backpack, both of which I kept with me on the trains.

I had the option to check a bag, but I decided to keep all my belongings with me throughout the trip.

Since each ride was an overnight trip, I was glad I packed a comfortable outfit separately from my clothes for the rest of my trip so they were easy to find in my bag.

I packed comfy pants and shorts since I was traveling south to warmer temperatures. 

I was grateful I packed various forms of entertainment, especially some that didn't require an internet connection, which could sometimes be spotty.

I brought a Nintendo Switch, a tablet, and a book to pass the time. I made sure to download a bunch of podcast episodes to my phone in case I lost service and internet at any point during the trip.

I always keep a disinfecting spray with me to make sure the surfaces I use are clean.

Even though Amtrak sanitizes rooms between visitors, according to its website, bringing my own disinfectant gave me peace of mind and made me feel more comfortable relaxing in my rooms.

Every time I travel, I also pack some Vitamin C for an immunity boost.

This packing tip comes from my mom. She always brought some sort of immunity-boosting chewable to protect us from germs while traveling. And as Business Insider previously reported, Vitamin C can help your immune system fight off some infections.

One of the most important items I brought was my comfiest pair of shoes — they feel like pillows under your feet.

I picked up these memory foam babies at T.J. Maxx for only $20. They slipped on and off very easily, which was great for leaving my room quickly with shoes on.

I tried to make the train feel like home, and at home, I dance pretty much all day, so I'm glad I brought a pair of headphones with me.

I took frequent dance breaks in my room, where I closed the curtains and blasted music in my ears. This, of course, required a pair of headphones. 

While I danced throughout the day, I was glad I could listen to music as loudly as I wanted without bothering my neighbors.

I was especially glad I brought my odor-eliminating Poo Pourri spray with me when I saw that my Roomette's toilet was next to my seat.

In some roomettes (mine included), a side table swings open to reveal a toilet. Above, there's a folding sink and mirror. 

I may have had a bigger problem with having a toilet so close to my bed, but thankfully, I had packed some Poo Pourri, a spray that goes in the toilet just before you poop to eliminate odors.

While my train tickets included meals, I was glad I brought my own snacks for the in-between times.

I thought many of my meals on the train were decent, but there were times, like when I tried and disliked a salmon dish, that I was thankful for this bag of trail mix with my favorite ingredient, coconut chips.

But it turns out that I also missed a few key things when packing. While I'm glad I brought a water bottle, I wish I'd brought a smaller one that would fit in Amtrak's cupholders.

An Amtrak attendant brought me disposable water bottles every few hours, but I was still glad I brought my own pre-filled water bottle.

But my bottle was too wide for the provided cupholders, which were just big enough for 12-ounce bottles. So, I wish I had brought a smaller reusable water bottle.

One thing I missed the most on this trip was medication for motion sickness. Both train rides felt as bumpy as a flight when the seat belt sign is on.

I figured this would only be temporary, but I thought the whole ride was shaky. I ended up feeling motion sickness for the majority of both trips and kicking myself for not bringing any remedies.

On my way home, I stayed in a bedroom with a private shower. I would have used it, but I forgot my flip-flops to keep my feet safe from germs.

I planned on showering during my 30-hour ride home from Miami, but I decided not to when I realized I had forgotten my flip-flops. I usually wear them in public showers, since experts told BI that it's pretty easy to pick up germs from places where many people have walked barefoot.

Since there weren't many visible outlets in the rooms, I wished I had packed a couple of outlet splitters to charge more than a few devices at a time.

I only saw a couple of sets of outlets in the rooms. With several devices to plug in, I should have brought an outlet splitter or two. 

For the same reason, my portable charging battery would have come in handy had I remembered to bring it.

I could have sworn I packed this and was so disappointed when I wanted to use it.

I usually bring my neck pillow when I fly, but I didn't think to take it on my Amtrak trek, since my tickets came with beds. But I think it would have made the waking hours more comfortable.

This specific neck pillow wraps around 1.5 times, making adjusting to various long-term sitting situations easy. 

While the train beds and blankets were much more comfortable than I expected, the pillows weren't as cushy as the ones I had at home. So I wish I'd brought my own.

The bed on the Amtrak was firm and slightly cushy on top, just the way I like a bed. But when I was drifting off to sleep each night, I thought of my fluffy, dense, soft pillows at home. 

• Bob Iger has been heading one of the world's largest entertainment companies for nearly two decades.
• The House of Mouse boss stepped down as Disney CEO in February 2020 only to return in 2022.
• Here's a look at his wealth, spending, and career, from a lowly position at ABC to Disney CEO.

Bob Iger has added another line to his résumé: Controlling owner of the world's most valuable women's sports team. 

Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, have taken a controlling stake in the Los Angeles women's soccer team Angel City FC in a deal that values the team at $250 million.

Perhaps most important on his résumé, though, is his tenure as the CEO of Disney.

Iger started his entertainment career in 1974 as a studio supervisor at ABC and climbed up the showbiz ranks to lead one of the most powerful businesses in the world.

Though he retired as CEO in 2020, Bob Iger returned to the role in a shocking shakeup two years later. Iger stepped down as CEO in February 2020 but stayed on as executive chairman until December 2021, when he retired, albeit ultimately briefly.

Iger has amassed a sizeable personal fortune across his 15 years and counting as CEO.

Forbes reported in 2019 that Iger had a net worth of $690 million, which is thought to be higher than that of Disney heiress Abigail Disney, who said that year that she's worth about $120 million. Iger, meanwhile, received $31.6 million in total compensation in 2023, or 595 times what the median Disney employee makes.

Here's what we know about Iger's life and career rise, including how he makes and spends his multimillion-dollar fortune:

Iger was born Robert Allen Iger in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in the small town of Oceanside, New York.

"I am very lucky," Iger told Laurene Powell Jobs at The Atlantic Festival in Washington in 2019. "I was a lower middle class kid or middle class. My father had manic depression so he had trouble holding a job. I started as a $150-a-week employee at ABC 45 years ago and rose up to be CEO of this company. It is a great story, but it is not necessarily because I was extraordinary."

He attended Ithaca College where he graduated magna cum lade in 1973 with a degree in Television and Radio.

At Ithaca College, Iger hosted a campus television show called "Campus Probe." He graduated originally wanting to be a news anchor and briefly worked as a local weatherman in Ithaca, New York.

In 1974, Iger joined ABC, working in New York City. He wrote in his memoir "The Ride of a Lifetime" that he did "menial labor" for basically every show ABC produced out of Manhattan at the time.

Iger wrote in his book that he got his first job at ABC because of his uncle, who was in the hospital for eye surgery. His uncle was in the room next to someone who claimed to be a top executive at ABC, who said he would give the younger Iger a job.

Iger took the "top executive" up on his offer, though he quickly realized that the person was not a "top executive" but instead a lower-level one. Still, the person ran a small department at ABC known as Production Services and was able to secure Iger an interview with the department.

At age 23, Iger was brought on as a "studio supervisor."

But after a confrontation with his boss, Iger was almost fired and forced to look for a new job. Soon after, he moved over to a position at ABC Sports.

Iger has said that one of his bosses accused Iger of spreading rumors about him, causing the young Iger to almost be fired.

"He told me I wasn't promotable and I had two weeks to find another job somewhere in the company or I was gone," Iger recalled at the UCLA Awards Gala in 2013. "Fortunately, I was able to find another job in the company. They didn't think I wasn't promotable, I guess."

He worked his way up the ABC Sports ladder, working closely with Roone Arledge, "a relentless perfectionist," who was the head of ABC Sports at the time.

Iger wrote in his book that Arledge was the person who taught him the mantra which would follow Iger for the rest of his life: "Innovate or die."

Iger went on to become the vice president of ABC Sports.

ABC was later sold to Capital Cities Communications for $3.5 billion in a deal finalized in 1986.

Shortly after, Tom Murphy and Dan Burke — the heads of Capital Cities/ABC — tapped Iger to become the head of ABC Entertainment, and Iger moved to Los Angeles.

Iger wrote in his memoir that the constant traveling put strain on his first marriage, to Kathleen Susan. Eventually, the two divorced. They have two daughters.

While at the helm of ABC Entertainment, Iger was the one who took a chance and put David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" on air.

The critically-acclaimed series was cancelled after two seasons, but Iger wrote in his book that the risk he took putting it on television caught the attention of other famed directors such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. 

Iger and Lucas then developed a show based on the Indiana Jones franchise, which was cancelled after two seasons. But, Iger wrote in his book, Lucas never forgot the risk Iger took on his show, and he remembered it years later when he decided to sell Lucasfilm to Disney.

In 1993, Iger became president of ABC Network's Television Group.

 When Burke retired, Iger was tapped to replace him as president and COO of Capital Cities/ABC.

 

In 1995, Iger married journalist Willow Bay who, at the time, was a stand-in weekend news anchor on Good Morning America, and was poised to take over for then-full time host Joan Lunden.

Iger and Bay became engaged in 1995. But after Disney agreed to buy Capital Cities/ABC that same year, Iger had quick decisions to make.

At that time, he wrote in his memoir, he had been commuting weekly to Los Angeles to meet his new Disney colleagues. He knew that after the acquisition was approved, he and Bay would not have much time to honeymoon. So, they quickly married later that same year.

"Willow and I also knew we'd have no chance for a honeymoon once the deal closed," he wrote. "We radically shortened our engagement and got married in early October 1995."

They are still married and have two children together.

In 1996, The Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities/ABC for $19 billion, and renamed it ABC, Inc.

Iger wrote in his memoir that he heavily considered walking away from Disney at this point. But as part of the Disney-ABC merger, Iger agreed to run a media division at Disney for five years.

In 1999, Iger became the president of Disney International, the business division overseeing Disney's global operations. A year later, he was tapped to become the COO of Disney, working directly under then-CEO Michael Eisner.

Forbes reported that between 1994 and 1999, Eisner made $631 million. In the year 1997 alone, Eisner reportedly made more than $550 million. Over the years, Eisner invested his Disney money and became a billionaire by 2008 — perhaps predicting a financial path Iger may follow.

In the early 2000s, tensions began to brew between Eisner and Disney heir Roy E. Disney. After Eisner stepped down, Iger became the CEO of the Walt Disney Company in 2005.

Iger wrote in his book that, despite being the COO and thereby second in command behind Eisner, his promotion to CEO was not a guarantee. If anything, he wrote, many had associated him with the turbulence of Eisner's era and wanted an outsider for the job. Iger said he campaigned for months until he was officially named CEO in 2005. 

Forbes reported in 2019 that in his first year as CEO, Iger made $22 million, a salary which did not include the stock options worth $2.9 million.

One of Iger's first major moves as CEO was to rebuild Disney's relationship with Pixar. At the time, the relationship between Disney and Pixar was strained, and Iger felt the future of Disney Animation relied on repairing it.

Before he officially became the CEO of Disney, he called to inform Steve Jobs — who was the majority shareholder in Pixar — that he was being appointed CEO and shared his hope they could discuss working together in the future. From there, the two began to slowly work on repairing the fraught relationship between the two companies. 

Iger wrote in his memoir that he felt Disney needed Pixar to help enter the future of animation. Pixar at the time was using technologies to produce content that had never been seen before, Iger wrote in his book.

Iger wanted Disney to be in on it — not just as a distributor for the films, as their previous agreement had stated, but to actually own what Pixar was bringing to the table.

In 2006, Disney announced that it would acquire Pixar for $7.4 billion, making Jobs, the majority shareholder in Pixar at the time, the majority shareholder in Disney.

Iger wrote in his book that the two companies were able to come together after he reached out to Jobs to forge a friendship and address any issues between the two companies. 

Iger and Jobs would go on to have a long friendship until Jobs passed away in 2011. A month after Jobs died, Iger joined the Apple board, where he remained until he stepped down in 2019 ahead of launching Disney+.

In 2009, Iger led Disney's acquisition of Marvel for $4 billion. This gave Disney access to the Marvel comic book library, which was the beginning of the now multibillion-dollar, box office record-breaking Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Iger wrote that part of the reason Marvel CEO Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter was willing to sell the company was because Jobs called Perlmutter to "vouch for" Iger and praised how Iger had handled the Disney-Pixar merger.

Still looking to help Disney expand into the future, in 2012, Iger led Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. This gave Disney control of not just the Star Wars franchise, but also the Indiana Jones franchise.

Iger said that he knew Lucas was nervous to sell Lucasfim to Disney — mostly because the "Star Wars" creator knew he would be selling his legacy along with it. But eventually, Lucas warmed up to the idea.

Lucas enlisted Kathleen Kennedy to lead Lucasfilm right before the company was sold to Disney. The first Star Wars film made without Lucas was released a few years later, in 2015 — "The Force Awakens," directed by J.J. Abrams.

The company's acquisition spree continued in 2018, when Disney agreed to buy 21st Century Fox. At the time, Fox was owned by billionaire Rupert Murdoch who, after the sale, became one of the largest shareholders in Disney.

Forbes reported in 2019 that, if Murdoch were to cash in all stock available to him from the Disney deal, he'd own about $10.5 billion worth of Disney stock. In addition, Variety reported that collectively, the Murdoch family members were "the largest individual shareholders in Disney."

Iger wrote in his memoir that Murdoch selling the company he had built from scratch was an indicator that the "disruption" threatening the entertainment industry was now inevitable. 

"As [Rupert Murdoch] pondered the future of his company in such a disrupted world, he concluded the smartest thing to do was to sell and give his shareholders and his family a chance to convert its 21st Century Fox stock into Disney stock, believing we were better positioned to withstand the change and, combined, we'd be even stronger," Iger wrote in his book. 

In March 2019, the merger between 21st Century Fox and Disney was completed, with a price tag of $71.3 billion.

This move made Disney the second-largest media company in the world at the time, Forbes reported.

That year, Iger was also named Time's businessperson of the year.

"In a year when the tide has shifted against Big Business, Big Media and Big Tech, Iger has transformed his enormous media company into a gargantuan media and tech business while ensuring that the Walt Disney Co.'s products remain widely beloved," Belinda Luscombe wrote in Time's profile of him. "But for now, for just this moment, Iger is unassailable. He's transformed his company from a stuffy media doyen into a sexy cultural force."

In 2020, Iger — along with Seth MacFarlane and Cicely Tyson, among several others — was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Other inductees that year included the likes of Seth MacFarlane and Cicely Tyson.

In February 2020, Disney announced that Iger would step down as CEO and assume the role of executive chairman until his contract expired on December 31, 2021.

Iger was replaced by Bob Chapek, former chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Product. Iger would forgo his entire salary for the year, and Chapek would similarly take a 50% salary cut amid potential multibillion-dollar revenue losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, Business Insider's Ashley Rodriguez reported.

After a short-lived retirement, Bob Iger returned to Disney.

In November 2022, Disney made the shocking announcement that Iger was back to lead the company for two years, during which he'd work with the board to find a successor.

However, Disney's board in 2023 voted to extend his contract to the end of 2026.

In 2019, he had a net worth of $690 million, per Forbes' estimates.

Forbes reported at the time that Iger's net worth was actually higher than that of Abigail Disney, the Disney heiress, who said in 2019 that she was worth about $120 million.

In March 2020, it was announced that Iger would forgo his salary for the year, as Disney dealt with presumed multibillion-dollar losses due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent shutdowns. His base salary was $3 million in the previous fiscal year and he made $47.5 million in total compensation.

Iger is known among peers for being a very kind leader and has been praised by his contemporaries for the way he has handled the mergers of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm.

During his first stint as CEO, Iger grew Disney's profits 335% to $260 billion, Business Insider reported.

Forbes also reports that under Iger, Disney created more than 70,000 new jobs. 

"Literally, I have never heard one person say a bad thing about him and I have never seen him be mean," billionaire David Geffen told The New York Times in a profile on Iger. "To be honorable, decent, smart, successful, and a terrific guy is unusual anywhere. But it is most unusual in the entertainment business. He's in a category of one."

Iger's own increasing fortune has paralleled the rise in Disney's value over the years he's been at the helm.

Forbes reported that that Iger's fortune is split between his Disney shares "and cash or other investment from sales of Disney shares over the decades."

According to Forbes, Iger was compensated $65.6 million in 2018, which was 1,424 times the average Disney employee's salary. He had been given another $26.3 million in stock after he successfully closed the Disney-Fox merger and for agreeing to extend his contract until 2021. His initial compensation in 2018 was $39.3 million (not including stock rewards).

In April 2019, Abigail Disney publicly criticized Iger's high pay on Twitter and later wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post elaborating on her thoughts. 

"I'm not arguing that Iger and others do not deserve bonuses. They do," Disney wrote. "They have led the company brilliantly. I am saying that the people who contribute to its success also deserve a share of the profits they have helped make happen."

Most recently, Iger received $31.6 million in total compensation in 2023, or 595 times what the median Disney employee makes.

As Iger is a very private person, not much is known about his spending.

He and his wife bought a home in Brentwood, California, in 2006 from actress Michelle Pfeiffer for about $19 million, the Orlando Sentinel reported that year.

The home reportedly was 7,500 square feet and had five bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a guest house, a tennis court, and a pool. As of a 2018 interview with Vogue, Iger was still living in Brentwood with his wife and their two children.

The Igers also previously owned an apartment on the Upper East Side of New York City. The property sold in 2018 for $18.75 million, Business Insider reported.

The Igers' former home has a library, living room views of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park, and four bedrooms, including one master suite with two bathrooms and a walk-in closet.

Iger spends time — and likely money — maintaining his mental and physical health, about which he's notoriously rigorous. He told The New York Times that he wakes up at 4:15 every morning and doesn't touch his phone until he's finished with his morning exercise routine.

Iger has also said that he doesn't eat carbs unless it's pizza, recalling that during his high school years, he worked at his local Pizza Hut.

Iger reportedly has multiple yachts.

He has a 180-foot superyacht called Aquarius, which he wrote about in Vanity Fair in 2014.

He's also having another built, expected to be 30 feet longer, according to The Wall Street Journal.

When he's "off the clock," he travels. Iger is a regular attendee at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. The media conference is a hub for entertainment and tech moguls.

Variety reports that in 2019, Iger attended the conference along with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Shari Redstone, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, and even former Democratic presidential candidate John Hickenlooper.

In 2019, Iger and his wife committed $1 million to launch the Iger-Bay Endowed Scholarship at Iger's alma mater, Ithaca College. The scholarship aims to boost diversity in the media industry.

The scholarship was funded through the proceeds from Iger's memoir.

Iger also spends some of his fortune on vacations. Beyond their business dealings related to Disney and Pixar, Iger was also close personal friends with Jobs and has said the two would vacation together in nearby resorts in Hawaii.

"We vacationed at adjacent Hawaiian hotels a few times and would meet and take long walks on the beach, talking about our wives and kids, about music, about Apple and Disney and the things we might still do together," he wrote in his book. "You don't expect to develop such close friendships late in life, but when I think back on my time as CEO — at the things I'm most grateful for and surprised by — my relationship with Steve is one of them."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Iger has been seen on billionaire David Geffen's yacht. In August 2017, Iger was seen on the yacht with Oprah Winfrey, Diane von Furstenberg, and Diane Sawyer.

Geffen owns a megayacht, known to be a common hang-out spot for celebrities and fellow billionaires, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, during the summer months, as seen on his Instagram page.

The yacht is worth $590 million, as previously reported by Business Insider.

In his personal life, Iger has a set of A-list friends who have been known to rave about him. One of those friends is Winfrey, who has said that if Iger were to run for president, she would not just vote for him but eagerly campaign on his behalf.

"I'll tell you the truth, this is not really where I intended to be tonight," Winfrey said at the Centennial Awards, where Iger was being honored, in 2019. "I was hoping that by this time in early fall, I would be knocking on doors in Des Moines, wearing an 'Iger 2020' T-shirt. Because I really do believe that Bob Iger's guidance and decency is exactly what the country needs right now."

Iger is also close to Jeffrey Katzenberg, cofounder of Dreamworks and former chairman of Walt Disney Studios.

After Comcast bought Dreamworks in 2016 for $3.8 billion, Katzenberg's net worth rose to $900 million. 

Iger and Katzenberg have been friends for years, and Katzenberg is among the group of people who tried to encourage the Disney CEO to run for president.

"No matter how much I begged Bob," Katzenberg said while presenting the Simon Wiesenthal Center Humanitarian Award to Iger in 2019. "He just wasn't willing to run for president of the United States."

In his memoir, Iger admitted that he once considered running for president, but ultimately decided against it.

"I think the Democratic Party would brand me as just another rich guy who's out of touch with America who doesn't have any sense for what's good for the plight of the people," he told The New York Times in a 2019 profile.

Despite many people — including some major Hollywood players — urging him to run for president in late 2019, Iger publicly remained firm that he had no plans to pursue a presidential campaign.

Iger has also spent his free time involved in politics in the past. Shortly after Donald Trump was elected president, Iger joined Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum.

Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum was a business council created to hear the perspectives of different leaders on how to improve job growth in the US. 

But Iger stepped down from the role in 2017 after Trump announced the US would withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, Variety reported.

Iger announced his resignation from the council in a tweet stating: "As a matter of principle, I've resigned from the President's Council over the #Paris Agreement withdrawal." 

The council, which ultimately disbanded, also included JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, and Stephen A. Schwarzman, the cofounder of private equity firm Blackstone.

In September 2019, however, Iger did outline what would have been the central themes of his campaign, had he decided to run.

"America is gravely in need of optimism, of looking at the future and believing that so many things are going to be all right, or that we as a nation can attack some of the most critical problems of our day," Iger said at The Atlantic Festival in Washington in 2019. "And that could be the environment, that could be income disparity, that could be the technology's impact on the world from a disruption perspective. It could be the cost of education, availability of affordable housing, healthcare. You name it."

Iger's 2020 plans to retire from Disney were derailed by the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2020, Iger announced his plans to retire at the end of his contract term, though the coronavirus pandemic derailed his plan. Disney's board extended Iger's term as chairman to the end of 2021. At the end of his term, Susan Arnold took his place as chairman.

With a $3 million salary in 2019, plus a $21.8 million bonus, $10 million worth of stock awards, and $9.6 million worth of stock options, Iger was consistently one of Hollywood's highest-paid CEOs prior to his departure, Business Insider previously reported.

As Disney's on-again-of-again CEO, Iger fended off challenges to his control of the company.

Iger returned to Disney as the company's CEO following the ouster of his successor, Bob Chapek. His contract was originally set to expire in 2024, but Disney's board in 2023 voted to extend his contract to the end of 2026 — and increased his compensation package by several million dollars.

Upon his return, Iger faced challenges to his control over the company, including from activist investor Nelson Peltz over two board seats. Iger ultimately prevailed. The proxy fight over the seats is estimated to have cost all parties about $70 million.

Iger and Bay most recently bought a controlling stake in the most valuable women's sports team in the world.

In July 2024, Iger and Bay bought a controlling share of Los Angeles women's soccer team Angel City FC for an undisclosed amount in a deal that values the team at $250 million. Iger and Bay replace Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian as Angel City FC's controlling owner.

• Falling prices could bring on a spike in unemployment and wage cuts, according to Paul Krugman.
• The Nobel economist pointed to pressure from consumers to lower high prices.
• The US appears to be entering a soft landing, he said, where inflation eases without a rise in unemployment.

Americans hate high prices — but there's a reason people should hope the cost of goods and services don't drop back to pre-pandemic levels, according to Nobel laureate Paul Krugman.

In an op-ed for The New York Times, the top economist noted that though incomes have grown more than the pace of inflation over the past year, Americans are seemingly still scarred from the spike in inflation in 2022, when consumer price increases peaked around 9%.

But asking for prices to return to their pre-pandemic norm could might not be wise, Krugman said. That's because achieving lower prices would require the US economy to experience a "major episode" of deflation, where consumer prices are outright falling — something that has historically been linked to a sharp rise in unemployment.

Such was the case in the US in the early years of the Great Depression, when economic activity ground to a halt. At its worst, the unemployment rate soared to around 25%, while consumer prices fell as much as 25%, according to Fed data.

'"[T]he historical evidence is clear: Imposing significant deflation on a modern economy leads to very high unemployment," Krugman wrote.

Deflation's effects on the job market are largely because falling prices require a drop in wages. The same phenomenon occurred in Greece during its debt crisis, when wages dropped significantly while employment climbed to a peak of 27%.

"So can we make America affordable again, in the sense of getting prices back to what they were before the pandemic? Almost surely not, nor should we try," Krugman wrote. "It was important that inflation not get entrenched in the economy, and it didn't. Instead, we seem to have achieved what many thought impossible: a soft landing that combines low inflation with low unemployment."

Prices remain higher overall, but the pace of inflation has slowed dramatically over the past few years. Consumer prices grew just 3% year-over-year in June, close to the Fed's 2% price target. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, remains near a historical low of 4.1%.

Wall Street has grown more confident that the economy is poised to see a soft landing — a dream scenario where inflation falls without a significant rise in unemployment or a recession. Still, risks stemming from high interest rates linger, with the New York Fed pricing in a 55% chance the economy could enter a recession by June of next year.

• Amazon launched its AI assistant Rufus to all US customers ahead of Prime Day.
• Rufus suggests product-related queries and can compare different options.
• The chatbot helped educate me on products I'm not familiar with and overall enhanced my experience. 

Amazon finally rolled out its AI assistant Rufus to all US customers after announcing the new feature in February.

The AI-powered assistant is named after an early Amazon employee's dog, and the tool became widely available in the US on July 12 — just in time for Prime Day.

AI shopping assistants are becoming more popular, with various online retailers adding them to their sites. According to an IBM survey released in January, 55% of shoppers are "eager for AI enhancements like virtual assistants."

So how does Rufus work?

Amazon's shopping assistant uses information from listing details, reviews, and Q&As. Customers can search for products based on an activity they're shopping for and ask for specific product recommendations based on categories like age group or occasion.

Rufus can also access current and past orders and answer non-shopping-related questions like other chatbots.

While the tool can provide helpful information, it's not foolproof. The chatbot's bottom warning says its answers are powered by AI and it "may not always get things right."

As an avid online shopper, I was curious how Rufus compared to other AI shopping tools I've tried out — and what better day to test out the tool than Amazon Prime Day?

These are my takeaways.

It suggested product questions before I thought of them

My favorite part about Rufus was that it answered my questions before I had a chance — or even knew — to ask them.

Rufus has a row of questions at the bottom of products that you can scroll through and select. You can click on a specific question or tap the icon all the way on the right to pull up the chatbot and enter a conversation.

This feature was especially helpful when I went to purchase a fan for my bedroom. I wasn't particularly well-versed on what to look for in a bedroom fan but I knew I wanted it to get the job done.

I wouldn't have thought to ask questions about the noise level or whether it oscillates, but these ended up being determining factors for the fan I selected. In other products I browsed through, Rufus suggested prompts that helped me understand the product better.

You need to be specific

I was hoping Rufus would give me a list of similar products on the market when I asked how Fitbit compared to other wearable health devices. But it didn't quite come up with what I was looking for.

I had to specifically ask it whether I should get a Fitbit or Apple Watch for it to give me a rundown on the differences of both. I also asked it about the Oura Ring and it gave me a pretty comprehensive explanation of what the two devices offer and linked both products.

In general, I found that I had to be very specific about what I was looking for. But once I added the details it was missing, Rufus came up with solid results.

It's a game changer for warehouse shopping

The AI assistant has received some lackluster reviews from those who have tried it. I agree that Rufus could be improved in some areas like consistency and depth, but I still find it helpful in its beta stage of testing.

I've tried out a variety of AI tools and assistants, but I usually stick with my go-to chatbot for all AI-related inquiries. I also don't really like to interact with other AI tools that are customer-facing.

But Rufus was a game changer for me and enhanced my shopping experience. When I'm shopping on my favorite clothing site, I don't need a chatbot to guide me through the process. But when I browse through a giant online warehouse like Amazon, a tool like Rufus helps me understand what I'm looking for and what different products can offer me.

By having prompted questions already on the screen while shopping, I was able to ask questions I wouldn't have known to ask in the first place and feel more confident about the product I ordered. With a platform like Amazon, where people come to the site for varied reasons, having a virtual assistant makes the experience way more enjoyable and accessible.

• Kate Middleton attended the Wimbledon Championships men's singles final in London on Sunday.
• It's the second time she's been officially seen in public since revealing her cancer diagnosis.
• Middleton was photographed at the match alongside her daughter Princess Charlotte.

Kate Middleton attended the Wimbledon men's singles final alongside Princess Charlotte on Sunday.

It marked the Princess of Wales's second official public engagement since she announced in March that she had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing "preventative chemotherapy."

She also attended Trooping the Colour, a celebration to mark the monarch's official birthday, last month.

Take a look at the photos from the princess's return to Wimbledon.

Kate was spotted arriving to watch the final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic

The Princess of Wales took a seat in the royal box to watch the match between last year's winner, Carlos Alcaraz, and seven-time Wimbledon champion, Novak Djokovic.

Kate has been the patron of the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since taking over the role from the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2016.

The tournament, held in southwest London, has been a staple event in her diary for years. Many spectators look forward to seeing the royal's fashion choices for the event, which also attracts Hollywood stars, international figures, and British national treasures.

For the occasion, she wore a full-length purple dress

Kate opted for a full-length purple dress by Safiyaa London, which featured cap sleeves and a purple and navy tartan brooch shaped like a bow.

The original dress retails for £1,295 (around $1,650).

The princess paired her ensemble with nude pumps and an LK Bennett bag.

The royal completed her look with a pair of gold hoop earrings and gold bangles on her right arm.

Her daughter, Princess Charlotte, joined her at the tennis tournament for the second time

The Princess of Wales made the final day of Wimbledon a family affair, bringing along her daughter Princess Charlotte.

Prince William has traditionally accompanied his wife to Wimbledon, but he has traveled to Berlin to watch England take on Spain in the final of the men's soccer European Championships.

Charlotte, 9, made her first appearance in the royal box at Wimbledon in 2023.

Kate's sister, Pippa Middleton, also attended the match

In the royal box, Princess Charlotte sat between her aunt and her mother.

Other celebrities in attendance at the match included Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Kensington Palace announced that Kate would be attending the event the day before

As with Trooping the Color, Kate's attendance at the final was only announced by Kensington Palace the day before.

"The Princess of Wales, Patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, will attend the Gentlemen's Singles Final of The Championships, Wimbledon on Sunday 14th July," Kensington Palace shared in a brief statement.

She did not attend the women's singles final between Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejčíková on July 13. In previous years, Kate has attended both single finals and presented the winners of each match with their trophies.

The Wimbledon All-England Club issued a statement confirming that chairwoman Debbie Jevans would present the trophy on her behalf.

As with Trooping the Color, Kate's appearance at the Wimbledon final was a welcome surprise

Many thought that Kate would be stepping away from public and royal duties while she undergoes "preventative chemotherapy."

But the princess had previously hinted that she would "join a few public engagements over the summer."

"I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty. Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal," Kate said in a statement.

Kate awarded the trophy to Alcaraz after he beat Djokovic

Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in the men's final.

Kate left the royal box and appeared on the playing court to present Alcaraz with the coveted trophies. The official Prince and Princess of Wales Instagram account celebrated the event with two posts on Sunday.

"There's nothing quite like The Championships," the first post read.

The second congratulated Alcaraz on his "remarkable victory."

• Biden's support among rank-and-file Democrats is quickly evaporating.
• A new poll found that 65% of Democrats want him to withdraw from the 2024 race.
• Democratic lawmakers continue to question Biden's viability, and 20 have called on him to withdraw.

In the wake of a disastrous debate performance, a series of defiant interviews, and a public dispute among Democrats about his ability to defeat former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden's support among rank-and-file Democrats has seemingly evaporated.

According to an AP-NORC poll released on Wednesday, 65% of Democrats want him to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election so that a different candidate can step forward.

That includes 49% of Black voters, a group that has historically been a source of strength for the president.

No Black lawmakers have publicly called for Biden to step aside yet, though Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri said last week that her office has been flooded with calls from constituents asking her to call on Biden to withdraw.

The poll, which was conducted from July 11-15 and included 1,253 respondents nationwide, also found that 48% of Democrats were not confident in Biden's mental capacity to be an effective president. That's a substantial increase from the 32% of Democrats who said the same in February.

Vice President Kamala Harris, arguably the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in the event that Biden does step aside, also enjoys higher favorability ratings with the general public than the president, according to the poll.

48% of respondents held an unfavorable view of Harris, compared to 58% who said the same of Biden. Meanwhile, 43% held a favorable view of Harris, versus just 38% for Biden.

In the weeks since the debate, Biden has insisted that he will remain in the race, despite 20 congressional Democrats publicly calling for him to withdraw.

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on Business Insider for current information.

• As a frequent traveler, I rely on travel credit cards to save money and earn rewards. 
• I love using my Chase United℠ Explorer Card, which comes with a $0 intro for the first year, then $95 annual fee.
• The card gets me perks like priority boarding on United flights, free checked bags, and more.  

Travel credit cards are hotter than ever, with over 41% of Americans having a card that provides travel rewards.  However, with many cards offering lounge access, statement credits, and travel insurance, some cards' annual fees have climbed to nearly $700 a year. 

As a frequent traveler, I have and use a credit card with a high annual fee. However, I've paired it with the United℠ Explorer Card, which has a much lower annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, then $95.

This card, included in Business Insider's guide to the best airline credit cards, offers a surprisingly robust number of benefits, from priority boarding on United flights to statement credits that can be redeemed for a DashPass membership.

Here are some of the perks I get from using my United℠ Explorer Card.

As a United℠ Explorer Card cardholder, I always get priority boarding

Some travelers may not care which boarding group they're in, but I am not one of them. Whether I'm traveling with a carry-on and want to ensure I have space in the overhead compartment or just want to get myself situated and comfortable before a flight, boarding in a priority group is important to me. As a United℠ Explorer Card cardholder, I am always in a priority-boarding group. 

Every four years, I get a statement credit of up to $100 for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, or NEXUS 

Although traveling can be a test of patience, I've found that having an expedited security process can make the experience much smoother. That's why I love that my United℠ Explorer Card reimburses me for services like TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and NEXUS.

I've traveled with TSA PreCheck for years, and recently became a Global Entry member (which includes PreCheck). Both programs are valid for five years, with PreCheck costing $78 to apply and Global Entry costing $100. 

NEXUS, which allows for expedited entry between the US and Canada, is also valid for five years and costs $50 to apply. 

If I charge the application fee for one of these services to my United℠ Explorer Card, I get reimbursed on my statement once every four years, effectively making the membership free. 

The first checked bag is free for me and a companion on my reservation

Although many people aim to travel using only a carry-on, it's not always possible to do so. Checked bag fees have only increased, with one bag costing $40 to check on United flights.

However, if you're a United℠ Explorer Card cardholder, you and your companion (on the same reservation) get your first bags checked for free when purchasing flights using the card. 

I get two United Club one-time-use lounge passes a year

Airport lounges are popping up everywhere, generally as a benefit of a high-annual-fee credit card or for those flying in first or business classes. But if you want the benefit of a lounge without high spending, the United℠ Explorer Card includes two one-time lounge passes a year for United Club use, which typically cost $59 apiece.

I've used my one-time passes when I have a long layover or a delayed flight to access a United Club for complimentary food, drinks, and a quiet place to wait for my flight. This benefit alone exceeds the entire cost of the card's annual fee.

The card comes with lots of added travel protections

For a card with a low annual fee, the United℠ Explorer Card packs a punch with travel insurance protections. This card includes lost luggage reimbursement (up to $3,000 per passenger), trip delay reimbursement (after 12 hours of delay, up to $500 per ticket for unreimbursed expenses), baggage delay insurance (after 6 hours of delay, up to $100 for three days), and trip cancellation or interruption insurance (up to $1,500 per person).

When booking my travel with the United℠ Explorer Card, these perks allow me to travel with much more peace of mind. In fact, I've personally used both the baggage delay and trip delay insurance without any issues. 

I receive 25% back on in-flight purchases

Another benefit I really love is that United℠ Explorer Card cardholders receive 25% back on in-flight purchases on United flights. This includes food, alcoholic beverages, and even WiFi purchases. Since I travel often, this perk makes a huge difference for me. 

The card also comes with a complimentary one-year membership to DashPass 

The United℠ Explorer Card offers one year of complimentary DashPass membership, which can be used on DoorDash and Caviar. The benefit, normally $10 a month, offers various benefits like $0 delivery fees on orders that meet the minimum spend. If you regularly have food delivered at home or while traveling, these fees add up, making the membership a great money-saving benefit. 

I also get primary rental car insurance

I often rent cars during my travels, and having as much coverage as possible when driving them is important to me. The United℠ Explorer Card includes primary rental car insurance coverage. This means that I'm eligible for reimbursement up to the vehicle's actual cash value for theft and collision damage for most rental cars within the US and abroad. With primary coverage, I also don't have to first file a claim with my own auto insurance company.