MARK RALSTON | AFP | Getty Images So you didn’t win the $555 million Mega Millions jackpot Tuesday night. The glass half-full view? Phew! You dodged a huge tax bill. Of course, you get another shot in the next drawing to land a windfall — and then give a boatload of it to Uncle Sam.
Wealth
Like any other financial philosophy, the so-called “FIRE” movement has no shortage of experts and thought leaders eager to share their blueprint for success. Fans of FIRE (which stands for “financial independence, retire early”) embrace the idea of saving the vast majority of their income in their 20s and 30s, in order to retire or
A seaside restaurant charges 30 euros ($30) for a burger. A large sunbed at an upscale beach club can cost 500 euros in August. And a table at a “VIP” nightclub can run into the thousands. Though Spain is generally considered a reasonably priced travel destination, the Spanish island of Ibiza has long been known
About 70% of Americans consider themselves middle class, according to a 2017 study by Northwestern Mutual. But according to most economists’ definitions, that’s not possible. One of the ways the Brookings Institution defines “middle class” is those in the 20th to 80th percentiles of household income. This would make 60% of American households middle class. The
A Chelsea Tower rental apartments billboard. Jeff Greenberg | Getty Images The average monthly rent for a Manhattan apartment surpassed $5,000 for the first time — and brokers say demand and prices are headed even higher into the fall. The average apartment rent in June was $5,058, the highest on record, according to a report
Financial experts typically recommend being careful how you allocate your money, lest you run out of it. But for billionaire Bill Gates, running out of money is the goal. The Microsoft co-founder announced this week that he’s donating $20 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, while reiterating his pledge to give away “virtually
Getty Images As the cost of living soars, one federal lawmaker wants to remove any barriers to buying Series I bonds, an inflation-protected and nearly risk-free asset that currently pays 9.62% annual interest through October. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., on Thursday sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, voicing concerns about the difficulties of buying
When he’s not pontificating about missions to Mars, self-driving cars and freedom of speech on Twitter, Elon Musk has some surprisingly practical career advice for young people. On a December 2021 episode of the “Lex Fridman Podcast,” hosted by MIT computer scientist Lex Fridman, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO recommended that young people should never
More than a third of millennials and half of Generation Z would be happy to receive 50% of their salary in cryptocurrencies, revealed a study. Srdjanpav | E+ | Getty Images With more than $1 trillion in cryptocurrency value wiped out since the 2021 high-water mark, many investors may be tempted to enter the cryptocurrency
When Paul Sullivan was hired to write his “Wealth Matters” column in The New York Times 13 years ago, Americans’ relationships with wealth and wealthy people were undergoing a rapid shift. “When I interviewed for the job in 2008, it was the day Bear Stearns collapsed. I was told I could create the ‘Wealth Matters’
I got a 4.5 GPA in high school and graduated from UCLA, my dream college, in 2011. I accomplished exactly what society told me I needed to do to set myself up for success. I was on top of the world! Then I graduated, and spent 12 of the next 24 months unemployed. The
When 17-year-old high school senior Rhyan Diaz started his cashiering job, he spent $3,000 in the first two months on clothes and other small items. He used to be “terrible with money,” he says. Then he began taking a personal finance class at Canyon High School in Santa Clarita, California. Now he budgets meticulously to