Fortune

“Really the bottom line is that Florida just isn’t as affordable as it once was." The state that has long been associated with condos for active seniors, golf, and no state income tax didn’t even make it into the top five best states to retire in, according to a recent report from Bankrate. Florida settled at eighth on Bankrate’s 2024 list, trailing behind more affordable states like West Virginia, Georgia, Missouri, and Mississippi. The annual list compiled by Bankrate ranks states based on five factors—affordability, overall well-being, the cost and quality of health care, weather, and crime. Although the sunshine state still stands out in terms of weather and well-being (ranking 3rd in both), affordability, which accounts for 40% of the overall score, pushed Florida to the bottom half of the top 10. Read more here: bit.ly/3yd0YTI

The Alfa Nero superyacht, which has been abandoned in the Caribbean for more than two years, has a new owner. The 267-foot (81-meter) vessel, complete with a baby grand piano and a swimming pool that turns into a helipad, sold for $40 million last week, said Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the US. He declined to name the buyer, citing a confidentiality agreement. The sale marks the latest attempt to end the years-long Alfa Nero saga. A Russian oligarch abandoned the luxury yacht in Antigua in March 2022, after being sanctioned by the US Treasury. Then tech billionaire Eric Schmidt tried buying it at auction, only to give up when the sale became a legal quagmire. bit.ly/4cVzVeJ

Delta Air Lines reports a significant decline in average holidaymakers to Paris this summer, costing the company $100 million. Over 40 million tourists flock to Paris annually, drawn by the City of Love’s allure. However, the upcoming Paris Olympics are disrupting many iconic spots, including the River Seine, deterring many visitors. “Unless you’re going to the Olympics, people aren’t going to Paris…very few are,” Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC. “Business travel, you know [remains], [but] other types of tourism is potentially going elsewhere.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/ebXXhMxN

You’ve seen the Mighty Patch before. The tiny, translucent disks are increasingly adorning the faces of Gen Z and millennials when a pimple appears, and over 1 billion of the brand’s signature hydrocolloid patches have sold thus far. Manufacturer Hero Cosmetics also recently netted a partnership with content creator Alix Earle. Founder and CEO Ju Rhyu told Fortune she came up with the idea for the brand while living as an expat in South Korea while working for Samsung in 2012. At the time, only two types of hydrocolloid patches existed in K-Beauty: medical and cosmetic-oriented. The entrepreneur wanted to bridge the gap and bring pimple patches to the U.S., seeing an opportunity in the $3.9 billion K-Beauty industry. So in 2017, when she was 37 years old, Rhyu launched her brand along with cofounders Dwight Lee and Andrew Lee, capitalizing on their corporate expertise and a cool $50,000 the trio had pooled together. Read more: https://lnkd.in/enPnx2kP

Eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt notoriously ate only chicken nuggets during the Beijing Games. He’s not alone in unconventional dietary choices. Swimmer Michael Phelps consumed a staggering 10,000 calories a day to fuel his races, while Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, prioritizes protein and fiber, opting for fish, vegetables, and rice. As millions flock to Paris for the eagerly awaited 2024 Summer Olympic Games, France is set to serve 15,000 athletes over the eight-week event, offering everything from sandwiches to buffets and gourmet dining experiences. Read more:

It feels a little absurd to say newly built homes are cheaper than existing homes, which have been lived in for years, but it’s true. Per square foot, new homes sold for $3.50 less than existing homes in May. It might not sound like much to you, but it is the largest discount in at least six years, according to Zillow. If you’re looking at two homes that are 2,000 square feet, the difference between the two would be $7,000. You’d be paying more for an older home that’s been lived in and might even need remodeling. “New builds have only been less expensive per square foot than existing homes in five other months since the start of 2018, and this is the biggest savings seen yet,” Zillow said, adding that March was the last time new construction was more expensive per square foot. bit.ly/3WzbIoV

Earlier this year, Walmart chief technologist Suresh Kumar argued that the 62-year-old retailer is in the process of transforming the industry through a framework his company dubbed “Adaptive Retail.” “Everything great about eCommerce – no lines, easy search and find, personalized recommendations – must be available in the store,” he wrote. “And everything great about the store – try on, customer service, instant purchase – needs to be available from home.” Now Kumar – who previously worked a combined 20 years for Amazon, Google and Microsoft – and fellow Walmart leaders have the research that they believe backs up their vision. Read more:

Rupert Murdoch is in a secretive legal battle with three of his children to push them out of his News Corp. and Fox media empires and hand control to his conservative son Lachlan, it has been reported. Murdoch went to court last year in a bid to increase Lachlan’s voting power at the expense of his three other children, James, Elisabeth, and Prudence, who have grown uncomfortable with the media empire’s rightward shift, the New York Times reported. The billionaire, alongside Lachlan, is arguing a “lack of consensus” will disrupt Fox’s and News Corp.’s strategic direction, according to court documents reviewed by the publication. Read more here: bit.ly/4bYBBmp

Training as a professional athlete is expensive, and the high price point to even arrive at the games, let alone make a living as a full-time professional, can be a meaningful barrier to those hoping to compete on sport’s biggest stage. U.S. athletes may spend up to $100,000 preparing for the games. “It’s astronomical,” skeleton bobsled racer Kyle Tress, who competed in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, told Mental Floss. “A competition sled alone costs well over $10,000, and you have to buy new runners at $1,000 each. Then there’s travel. Some of these places, like a ski resort in France, aren’t easy to get to.” Crouser gets some financial help from sponsors, including a collaboration with supplement company Thorne; a partnership with Nike, which pays him quarterly; and grants from sports governing body USA Track & Field, which handles the athlete’s travel expenses. Even the champion will admit being a full-time athlete wasn’t a given, despite coming from a family of Olympic track-and-field competitors. Read more:

"I'm the only person in my family to graduate from high school," Kendra Scott CEO Tom Nolan said on Fortune's #LeadershipNext podcast. "The dreams I had were not education dreams or business dreams because it seemed like a far stretch for me," says Nolan. 🎧 Listen to the full episode and learn about his success story: https://lnkd.in/d9v73RA