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How to look and feel healthier in one week, according to a nutritionist

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water woman ocean swim beach sun hair skin youth

If you're feeling bloated after your Thanksgiving feast or guilty about breaking healthy eating habits, don't fret.

There are plenty of things you can start doing now to look and feel healthier quickly.

You're probably not going to wake up looking like an underwear model tomorrow — but you can certainly start feeling better and improving your digestion in a week, according to registered dietitian and nutritionist Andy Bellatti.

Here are a few things Bellatti and other nutritionists recommend.

SEE ALSO: The best way to build muscle may not be lifting the heaviest weights

DON'T MISS: 11 surprising things your physical appearance says about you

DO: Drink lots of water.

Water is essential — it regulates the shape of every cell inside our bodies. If we don't get enough, in fact, these cells begin to shrivel up.The CDC recommends choosing water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages to "help with weight management." Swapping a cold glass of H2O for a single 20-ounce soda will save you about 240 calories.

So hydrate, Bellatti told Business Insider, "ideally with water." 



DON'T: Go on a juice cleanse.

If you're considering a "detox" or "juice cleanse," you might want to reconsider. Drinking just water, juice, or any other liquefied concoction for more than a few days can set you up for unhealthy eating behaviors, and can often lead to spikes and drops in blood sugar levels, which can spawn cravings and mood swings.

"This is a recipe for 'hangriness,'" Bellatti said, "that also inaccurately paints all solid food as problematic."



DO: Cut back on sodium.

Most of us — 89% of US adults, according to the CDC— eat too much sodium, and that's not including any salt added at the table. Too much salt in your diet can cause puffiness and bloating, so cutting back can help you avoid that.

"Sodium retains water," Bellatti said, "so lowering sodium intake also reduces puffiness."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I took a ride on the Rolls-Royce of buses — and it was way better than Amtrak

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Amtrak 17

  • The week of Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times to travel all year.
  • On a recent trip to Boston, I compared an Amtrak regional train to a luxury bus service called LimoLiner.
  • LimoLiner far exceeded my expectations and was better than Amtrak.


The airport is not the most enjoyable place to find yourself, especially in the midst of the Thanksgiving holiday rush.

Security lines, forever-rising ticket prices, and seemingly arbitrary fees all create a stressful and pricey experience.

Some are looking to other forms of transportation for an alternative. Amtrak's Northeast Corridor alone counted some 11.9 million passengers in its 2016 fiscal year, its highest ridership yet.

And a study from the Chaddick Institute found that intercity bus ridership across the US had also risen by 3.3 million passengers since 2013, reaching a new high of 61.6 million.

But buses are cramped and slow, earning their spot at the bottom rung of the transportation ladder. Trains aren't getting any faster, either, as the nation's rickety rail infrastructure ages and high-speed proposals are stymied.

I travel from New York City to Boston frequently, usually by bus, but after countless trips with my legs folded up like origami in uncomfortable seats, I'd just about had enough.

I had heard about LimoLiner, a luxury bus service that makes three round-trips between New York and Boston Monday through Thursday every week. It makes more trips between the two cities over the weekend. With perks like free meals and individual leather seats, LimoLiner made Megabus sound like a stagecoach by comparison.

On a recent trip to Boston, I decided to compare LimoLiner with an Amtrak regional train to see which one offered a more comfortable experience for the price — and I was surprised by what I found.

SEE ALSO: The Porsche Panamera is Business Insider's 2017 Car of the Year

I was pretty excited to be taking the train after so many terrible bus rides to Boston and back. I boarded the Amtrak train at Penn Station, a cavernous and ill-conceived grotto of labyrinthine walkways and escalators beneath Madison Square Garden in New York. No one wants to go to Penn Station.



The train left right on time after a painless boarding process, and within five minutes we were zipping through Queens.



At $128 one-way, the train isn't wildly expensive, but it's not exactly the lap of luxury. Of course, the prices differ depending on the departure time. My train left at 7 a.m.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Photos of shockingly empty stores prove that Black Friday as we know it is dead — but retailers still have a chance to dominate

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Walmart bear

  • Shoppers have posted photos of nearly empty Target, Walmart, and Best Buy locations on Black Friday.
  • In the past, stores have been overrun with hordes of shoppers.
  • This year, more people are shopping online, with more than $2.9 billion spent on Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day, according to Adobe Analytics.


Black Friday as we know it is dead.

While some retailers managed to draw crowds and lines on Thanksgiving Day with Black Friday sales, other stores remained almost eerily empty as the holiday-shopping season kicked off.

However, that may not necessarily be bad news for companies banking on a profitable holiday season. On Thanksgiving Day, people spent $2.9 billion online, according to Adobe Analytics.

Here's a look inside the shockingly empty stores this Black Friday.

SEE ALSO: Best Buy looks like it's crushing Black Friday as hundreds of people flood stores — but it may not be everything it seems

Quite a few Targets seemed surprisingly empty, The Street's Brian Sozzi noted.



"Hmmm not what I expected," the reality-TV star Tamra Judge posted on Instagram after visiting a Target in California. "First time ever Black Friday shopping. I was so excited to fight the crowds."

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Part of the reason for empty stores could be chalked up to Black Friday sales kicking off on Thanksgiving Day.

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See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The best time to book New Year's travel is the week after Thanksgiving — here are 10 places to celebrate that don't cost a fortune

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new years best places to visit

  • A fun New Year's getaway doesn't have to cost a fortune.
  • If you book your trip between November 26 and December 5, you can save an average of $600 on airfare and hotels, according to data from Expedia.
  • You can travel to tropical destinations like the Bahamas for under $400 round trip.

 

It's common for New York City to come to mind when you think of New Year's Eve celebrations.

It's the most popular city for travelers to ring in the New Year, according to travel price comparison site Expedia, and the longtime host of one of the biggest New Year countdown parties in America, right in Times Square.

But as an already expensive destination, airfare and accommodations in New York City are even pricier during the holidays.

Luckily, a fun New Year's Eve getaway doesn't have to cost you a fortune.

In fact, you can travel to cities like Los Angeles and Seattle — and even tropical destinations like the Bahamas — for under $400 round trip.

If you book between November 26 and December 5, you can save an average of $600 on airfare and hotels, according to data from Expedia. If your travel plans are flexible— as in you don't have to be back in the office on January 2 — you may be able to save even more.

Since there's still time to choose a destination, check out Expedia's list of the 10 best places to visit for New Year's Eve where round-trip airfare is less than $400.

All flight prices are based on average airfare with a departure date of either December 30 or 31. Expedia also provided the average cost of a hotel on New Year's Eve for each location based on New Year's 2017.

SEE ALSO: Here's exactly when to book your flights for Thanksgiving and Christmas

DON'T MISS: We compared 3 of the most popular premium airline credit cards — and the winner was clear

10. Los Angeles

Average round trip-ticket: $377

Average daily hotel rate: $219



9. Mexico City

Average round-trip ticket: $372

Average daily hotel rate: $96



8. Nassau

Average round-trip ticket: $369

Average daily hotel rate: $329



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Photos show why Army-Navy is the greatest college football rivalry on Earth

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army-navy football game

On December 9, the US Naval Academy and US Military Academy football teams will meet on the gridiron for the 118th time. It is an annual game — and rivalry — steeped in tradition.

Amy Cadets and Navy Midshipmenplayed the first Army-Navy football game in 1890 at West Point, launching one of the most unique rivalries in college sports. Though fiercely competitive, the players participate in rituals, like singing the alma maters of both schools and swapping "prisoners" (students who spend a semester at the other school), as a sign of solidarity.

These photos, including some taken by a former student of the Naval Academy (Midshipman Second Class Jeffrey Martino), show why Army-Navy is the greatest football rivalry on Earth.

SEE ALSO: What it's like to attend Stanford, where twenty-somethings launch startups worth millions

The Army-Navy game is the hallmark of one of the longest rivalries in college football.



The US Naval Academy and US Military Academy teams have played each other since 1890. The annual game was skipped twice during World War I (and several other times).



Both schools make travel arrangements to get each of their 4,000-plus students to the game. Most games are held at large stadiums far outside the schools' campuses.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Inside the marriage of billionaire Spanx founder Sara Blakely and entrepreneur Jesse Itzler, who met at a poker game and slow dance to make up after fights

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Sara Blakely Jesse Itzler

• Spanx founder Sara Blakely and Marquis Jets founder Jesse Itzler first met at a charity poker tournament in 2006.

• Itzler set up an elaborate scavenger hunt when it came time to propose to his now-wife.

• Today, they have four children and chronicle their family's adventures on social media.



When Sara Blakely arrived at the 2006 Net Jet Annual Las Vegas Poker Tournament, she didn't know much about poker.

Still, one of her sales representatives wrangled her a seat at the main table with Jesse Itzler. He was the cofounder of private jet company Marquis Jets, which was later acquired by Berkshire Hathaway's NetJets in 2010, Reuters reported. Blakely was a customer of his — she had a major phobia of heights and the New Yorker reported she figured "she could order the pilot to land" if she panicked while leasing a flight.

As it turned out, he didn't know much about poker either.

The pair bonded over their lack of knowledge of the game, and a friendship blossomed, according to Atlanta Weddings.

Blakely continued to hold Itzler's attention when she announced she was heading to bed early. "Who goes to bed at 9:30 at night in Vegas?" he told Success.com. "That intrigued me. And she loved to laugh, and that intrigued me, too."

Today, Blakely and Itzler have four children and co-own the Atlanta Hawks basketball team with several other individuals, AJC.com reported. Blakely is worth $1.21 billion, according to Forbes.

Here's a look at their nine-year marriage:

SEE ALSO: Inside the marriage of LeBron and Savannah James, who met in high school, had their first date at Outback Steakhouse, and are now worth $275 million

After they first met, Blakely and Itzler emailed back and forth for about seven months. Ultimately, they began to date. Atlanta Weddings reported Itzler would often tell Blakely, "I could marry you," and she would respond, "Bring it."

Source: Success.com, Atlanta Weddings, Sara Blakely Foundation



After a year, Itzler kicked off his proposal outside their New York City residence with a gold band engraved with the words "BRING IT!!" In an ensuing scavenger hunt, Blakely collected seven hidden presents — including three more rings, one engraved with "Jesse Hearts Sara" — in their apartment

Source: Success.com, Atlanta Weddings, Sara Blakely Foundation



The couple tied the knot in 2008 at Gasparilla Inn and Club in Boca Grande, Florida. Itzler's father officiated the ceremony, 450 guests attended the festivities, and Blakely wore her grandmother's restored 1918 wedding gown.

Source: Success.com, Atlanta Weddings, The Gasparilla Inn and Club



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A look inside the daily routine of a Facebook exec, who plans every moment of her day

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Facebook Julie Zhuo Day in the Life

  • Business Insider interviewed Facebook's vice president of product design, Julie Zhuo, about how she spends her days at the tech company.
  • She broke down her daily routine from her early-morning workout to spending time with her family in the evening.
  • Zhuo also discussed the strategies she uses to get her work done and live a balanced life.


For Facebook's vice president of product design, Julie Zhuo, intentionality is key.

That's reflected in her daily routine.

Zhuo has worked at Facebook for over 11 years, having joined a team of only about 100 employees. She's worked on products like Facebook's News Feed, the "like" button, and user profiles. Now she oversees the design of many of Facebook's core user experiences — and a team of more than 250 employees.

"Facebook is a very mission-oriented place," she told Business Insider. "Most of the people that work here really care about building community and making tools that help bring people closer together. That's a huge part of why I've been here for so long and I think many of the people I work with are here."

Zhuo recently chronicled her daily schedule, habits, and strategies for Business Insider — here's what a day in the life of one Facebook exec looks like:

SEE ALSO: A Google exec who's only in the office from 9 to 5:30 shares the routine that keeps him from becoming a workaholic

On weekdays, Zhuo wakes up around 7 a.m. To kick off her day, she works out on an elliptical for about 10 minutes, then showers. The Facebook exec often runs while listening to a TED Talk, an audiobook, or music. "I like the idea of starting the day having accomplished something, even if it's very small," she said. Zhuo says she also starts thinking about her schedule and daily tasks first thing in the morning.



Zhuo's husband, Mike Sego, Facebook's engineering director, prepares breakfast for the family — that's usually eggs and coffee for Sego and Zhuo, and milk and snacks for their two young children. They get the kids dressed, and their nanny picks them up at 8:30 a.m.



Zhuo and Sego are at the office by 9 a.m., and she tries to take some time to plan for her meetings. "I try to be very intentional about my time," she said. "It's easy to get into the habit of reacting to what's happening during the day."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

7 books that will make you smarter in a single plane ride

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reading in airport

Flying offers the opportunity to disconnect from the internet — unless you pay for it — and turn your mind off from the constant barrage of phone notifications.

Why not spend that time getting smarter on a topic you've always wanted to learn more about.

With that in mind, Business Insider found seven smart books you can finish over the course of a single plane ride. They are short, visually stimulating, or both. For this list we selected an array of lengths, from a 64-page book that's perfect for your hour-long flight, to a 320-page book that would fit the bill if you fly coast-to-coast.

Below we've listed them in order of length, from shortest to longest.

So grab one, or a few, for your next flight, and get smarter by the time you've deplaned.

SEE ALSO: The most exciting city in every state — and the most boring one you can probably skip

'Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words' by Randall Munroe

'Thing Explainer' is intentionally short and simple to understand. The 64-page book uses drawings and the 1,000 most common words to give readers simple explanations for different complicated subjects.

Buy it here »



'We should all be feminists' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

MacArthur Genius Grant winner Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie expanded on a popular TED talk by the same name to write her 64-page book. She provides a modern-day definition of feminism, and explores the sexual politics at work in society today.

Buy it here »



'The War of Independence' by John Fiske

Originally published in 1890, this 115-page book provides a historical perspective on the American Revolution 100 years following the war, rather than today's more than 230 years. It was written by a historian and scholar who graduated from Harvard Law School.

Buy it here »



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

What bartenders REALLY think about vodka drinkers

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taking shots drinking partying bar

  • Bartenders can tell a lot about a person based on their drink order.
  • Several bartenders Business Insider interviewed said they looked down on people who order vodka.
  • Here's what ordering vodka says about you, according to these bartenders.


He drinks a whiskey drink, he drinks a vodka drink, he drinks a lager drink, he drinks a cider drink — all fine options, except for one.

"You can tell what type of person someone is by their drink order in specific bars," Anjali Sharma, a former bartender with eight years of experience from Atlanta, told Business Insider.

And ordering vodka apparently speaks volumes to bartenders.

According to some of the bartenders Business Insider surveyed, if you order vodka drinks, you either look boring or troublesome — or perhaps both.

"Please don't order vodka," Emily Doyle, a bartender with 12 years of experience in Ireland, told Business Insider. "You're nice when you stick with beer, but a demon on spirits."

"Friends don't let friends date vodka-soda girls. Basic girls always order them," Kyle Siegel, a bartender with nine years of experience in Montauk, New York; New York City; Palm Beach and West Palm, Florida; and Maryland told Business Insider.

"Vodka is for people want to f--k up and forget," an anonymous bartender said.

These feelings of disdain are compounded when the vodka you order comes in the form of expensive shots.

Of course, vodka drinkers needn't despair. At the end of the day, paying customers who aren't overly intoxicated will generally get what they order.

All bartenders ask is that you be nice. "Eye contact, greetings, please and thank you — I'll respond in kind, and we'll all have more pleasant interactions," Rebecka, a bartender with 10 years of experience in New York and Glasgow, Scotland, told Business Insider.

SEE ALSO: Bartenders reveal what customers' drink orders say about them

DON'T MISS: Bartenders reveal why they judge anyone who orders shots of top-shelf liquor

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here are all the alcohols that are gluten-free

A tiny boarding school on a Vermont dairy farm produced one of the most influential billionaires in Silicon Valley

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The Putney School

  • The Putney School, located in southern Vermont, is small and located on a dairy farm.
  • The 238 students there must work on the farm and in other jobs to graduate.
  • They don't learn their grades until halfway through high school. 


Reid Hoffman
cofounder of LinkedIn and a Greylock Partners investor, always had an independent streak. At 12, he applied to The Putney School, a tiny boarding school in southern Vermont, without telling his parents.

"Part of what appealed to me about Putney was that in addition to having academics, it was doing blacksmithing and woodworking and working on the farm and art and a bunch of things that I wouldn't otherwise had experience to do," Hoffman told Business Insider's Rich Feloni on an episode of  the podcast "Success! How I Did It."

Putney is certainly unique. Students don't learn their grades until more than halfway through high school, and have work requirements on campus, including on the dairy farm where Putney is located.

"Work on the farm, in the gardens, and in the woods is required of all students for graduation," the school's website explains. "New technology and old are combined to find a way to live more lightly on the land."

Keep reading below to see all of the aspects that make Putney a distinctive high school experience. 

SEE ALSO: LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman reveals what it was like building PayPal with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel and what it takes to make a $26.2 billion company

Located in Putney, Vermont, the school is a progressive boarding school located on a 500-acre working dairy farm.



It's small, with 238 students and an average class size of 11.



It costs $56,800 a year to attend for boarding students. The cost to attend puts it in the range of tuition at Ivy League colleges.

Day students pay $34,300 a year and the school awards financial aid to 43% of students, meaning almost half don't pay full price to attend.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

How to live in a world where everything you value is under attack

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Mark Manson, the author of 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck", told us what we can do in a world where we feel our values are under constant threat. Following is a transcript of the video.

Mark Manson: So everybody today feels like their values and the things that they care about are under attack and what I actually find most interesting is that everybody is simultaneously feeling this at the same time. There's not any one single group that is being attacked or marginalized especially at the moment. I think what's happening is just a side effect of the technology of the Internet.

It's constantly exposing people to attacks on their beliefs and values so if you are super religious, you are constantly being exposed to things that you believe attack your religion. If you are really big into civil rights and equality, you are constantly being exposed to things that feel like they are attacking civil rights and equality. And so the Internet has created this very strange environment where everybody across demographics, across the political spectrum, feels like they are under siege. 

I think the only thing we really can do is simply be aware that there is nothing special about this moment or whatever our cause is for, like all the stuff that we are constantly exposed to, I think we just need to be more skeptical about it. Just because you see some of these clickbaity stories that set you off and get you really upset like it doesn't mean the whole world is like that. It doesn't mean like everything is collapsing and caving in.

I've always kind of subscribed to the philosophy that things are never as good as you think they are and they are also never as bad as you think they are. And so, I just have to remind myself all the time to basically take everything with a grain of salt. You know, even when I see stories online that support, that makes me feel good about my own beliefs, I try to stay skeptical about it and take it with a grain of salt and the same goes for things that, you know, maybe piss me off.

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The states where it's most and least affordable to raise children

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parent and kid

  • The average American family will spend $233,610 to raise a child through age 17, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture.
  • But that figure can fluctuate — becoming more or less affordable — when you consider cost of living and wages in different parts of the US.
  • The states where raising a child is most affordable are in the Northeast, according to a report by Credit Loan.

 

Raising kids isn't cheap.

Between food, childcare, healthcare, transportation, and education costs, the average two-parent family in the US will spend a total of $233,610 to raise a child from birth through age 17, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture.

But that figure can fluctuate — becoming more or less affordable — when you consider cost of living and wages in different parts of the US.

Using MIT's Living Wage calculator, personal finance guide Credit Loan found the average expenses in each state for a one-parent, one-child household as well as a two-parent, one-child household. After calculating the average of those numbers, Credit Loan compared it to the U.S. Census Bureau's median income for each state to determine how much of a household's budget is spent on child-related costs.

Housing accounts for a third of the total estimated cost of raising kids, while food, childcare, and education costs make up another third of the overall budget, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

The map below shows the five states where it's most affordable to raise kids — and the five states where it's least affordable.

most and least expensive states to raise kids v2

In New Jersey, Maryland, and Connecticut parents can expect to put less than 60% of their total income into child-related costs. By contrast, in Nevada, Florida, and Arizona, the least affordable states to have children, child-related costs will eat up more than 80% of the household income.

The cost associated with raising children is also affected by how many kids you have and whether you're a single parent or a two-parent household. Couples tend to earn more and, as a result, spend more on their children,according to Credit Loan's analysis.

SEE ALSO: Millennials are abandoning the suburbs for a new kind of neighborhood — see inside

DON'T MISS: 6 ways millennials are raising kids differently than any generation before them

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's how much money you actually take home from a $75,000 salary depending on where you live

The best watches at every price point

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Rolex

Buying an expensive watch is an investment in yourself. It doesn't matter if you're willing to spend $500 or $5,000 — everyone wants to get the best timepiece they can afford.

To that end, we talked with Benjamin Clymerfounder and CEO of the luxury watch publication Hodinkee, to get his recommendations for the absolute best watch or watches you can buy at common price ranges.

All of these watches offer exemplary value, better-than-average resale, and will make any watch fan very happy. 

SEE ALSO: 9 classic men's style rules you still have to follow

Less than $500: Any Seiko

It's hard to find a better deal than a Seiko watch. Unique automatic movements and a low starting price make them the singular best first move for an aspiring collector.



Around $1,000: Vintage Universal Geneve Polerouter or any vintage Tissot

At the $1,000 range, Clymer says vintage may be a good way to go. Though vintage comes with its own pluses and minuses, the allure of a Tissot or Universal Geneve Polerouter cannot be overstated.



$2,000 — $3,000: Any Tudor, any Nomos, or a vintage Omega

In this price range, your options really open up. Many models sold by Tudor, Rolex's cheaper sister brand, and Nomos, a well-respected but under-the-radar German brand, fall into this range. Both make fantastic original movements and are great values for the money.

Another good option if you want to go vintage in this range is Omega, which makes some of the stateliest pieces of the 20th century.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Rich couples are paying over $57,000 for a billionaire's exclusive tour of New Zealand — here's an inside look

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Cape Kidnappers, Looking Back to Napier

  • Legendary hedge fund manager Julian Roberston put together one of the most luxurious golfing vacations in his beloved New Zealand.
  • On the Tiger Tour, vacationers can see both New Zealand's North and South Islands over the course of nine nights on Roberston's three properties.
  • The itinerary includes golfing, sightseeing, and spa treatments.

 

Legendary hedge fund manager and multi-billionaire Julian Roberston put together one of the most luxurious golfing vacations in his beloved New Zealand — and we got the inside look.

On the Tiger Tour, vacationers can see both New Zealand's North and South Islands over the course of nine nights on Roberston's three properties: The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, and Matakauri Lodge. 

Roberston, 85, a pioneer of the modern hedge fund industry, is best known for founding the investment firm Tiger Management Corp, one of the earliest funds, in 1980. After closing his fund in 2000, many of Robertson's proteges went on to start some of the world's largest hedge funds, such as Lone Pine and Viking Global.

His net worth is estimated at $4.1 billion, according to Forbes.

The Tiger Tour is currently going on from November 17-26, 2017, but there's another tour coming up March 1-10, 2018. The tour is limited to four couples at $28,500 per person, plus taxes, and not including international airfare and other expenses.

SEE ALSO: 27 cities around the world where expats are happy, rents are affordable, and jobs are plentiful

The first stop is at The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs.



Here's an aerial view of the property and golf course.



The lodging at the resort has spectacular views. Not a bad spot for lounging.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I went to a mall on Black Friday — and it confirmed the holiday isn't the shopping bonanza it once was

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Target, Black Friday

  • Black Friday has long been known as the biggest shopping day of the year. 
  • Now, thanks to mobile and online shopping and year-round discounts, Black Friday is becoming more than just a single-day event — and shoppers aren't going into the stores like they used to.
  • We went to Brooklyn's Atlantic Terminal Mall to see how the in-store shopping scene had changed. It was desolate.

 

Black Friday sales are surging, but you wouldn't know it by visiting Brooklyn's Atlantic Terminal Mall.

When its anchor store, Target, opened at 6 a.m. on Black Friday, I went to see for myself how the crowds compared to what I remembered from my childhood days in the 1990s.

I found a meager line outside, waiting for the mall to open, and even fewer people outside of Target and Best Buy. See what shoppers were buying — and how desolate it looked — below. 

SEE ALSO: Smartphones are killing Black Friday

I arrived at the Atlantic Terminal Mall just before 6 a.m., and it was still dark out. Stores inside this mall include Target, Victoria's Secret, Best Buy, Uniqlo, Game Stop, and Marshalls.



The first store to open was Bath & Body Works. It had been open since 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening and will close at midnight on Friday.



The shoppers inside had already purchased items from J.C. Penney, Kmart, Gap, and Macy's.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's what it was like to be Mansa Musa, thought to be the richest person in history

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mansa musa

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos's net worth just crossed $100 billion, the first time in modern history that a person has been known to hold such a massive amount of wealth. 

But he's still far from African King Musa Keita I, who is thought to be the richest person of all time — "richer than anyone could describe," reports Time.

Literally. His fortune was incomprehensible, Time's Jacob Davidson writes: "There's really no way to put an accurate number on his wealth."

He ruled the Mali Empire in the 14th century and his land was laden with lucrative natural resources, most notably gold.

"His vast wealth was only one piece of his rich legacy," reports Jessica Smith in a TED-Ed original lesson. Read on to learn more about the legendary king and see what it was really like to be the richest person in history:

An earlier version of this post was written by Kathleen Elkins.

SEE ALSO: How old 17 self-made billionaires were when they made their first million

Musa Keita I came into power in 1312. When he was crowned, he was given the name Mansa, meaning king. At the time, much of Europe was famished and in the middle of civil wars, but many African kingdoms were thriving.



While in power, Mansa Musa expanded the borders of his empire tremendously. He annexed the city of Timbuktu and reestablished power over Gao. All in all, his empire stretched about 2,000 miles.

Mansa Musa was in charge of a lot of land. To put it into perspective, he ruled all (or parts) of modern day Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Chad.



The rest of the world caught wind of his great fortune in 1324, when he made the nearly 4,000 mile pilgrimage to Mecca. He didn't do it on the cheap.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

7 mind-blowing facts about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' $100 billion fortune

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Jeff Bezos

It's hard to overstate the immensity of a $100 billion fortune.

On Friday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who is already the richest person in the world, became the first person in modern history to achieve a 12-figure net worth.

In addition to founding the online retail behemoth, Bezos owns The Washington Post and an aerospace company, Blue Origin.

Below, check out seven mind-blowing facts about Bezos and his billions.

SEE ALSO: There are over 1,500 billionaires worldwide — here are the 14 countries where the world's richest people live

DON'T MISS: A day in the life of the world's richest person, Jeff Bezos — who made $6.44 billion in one day, wakes up without an alarm, and washes dishes after dinner

Bezos makes more money in one minute than the average millennial makes in a year.

In the last year alone, Bezos made $19.3 billion.

That equals out to about $52 million per day, over $2 million per hour, and $36,000 a minute, or close to the average millennial salary.



Bezos has more than four times as much money as his alma mater, Princeton University.

Bezos graduated from Princeton University in 1986 with a degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. As of March 2017, Princeton's endowment was $22.8 billion, less than one-forth the amount of Bezos current net worth.

Although, he has returned some of his good fortune to the Ivy League. In 2011, Bezos and his wife, also a Princeton grad, donated $15 million to the university  to establish a center in the Princeton Neuroscience Institute.



He's one of the top 25 largest landowners in America.

According to the Land Report, Bezos was 25th largest landowner in the US. His largest property by size is the 30,000-acre ranch in Van Horn, Texas, that serves as the base for Blue Origin, Bezos' private space company.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

BLACK FRIDAY NIGHTMARE: Furious customers are complaining that Macy's won't let them pay as system glitches (M)

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Don't miss this amazing deal.

  • Macy's credit card system reportedly crashed across the US on Black Friday. 
  • Customers are stuck in stores, unable to pay — and furious. 
  • Macy's said in a statement it is "taking longer than usual to process some credit and gift cards in our stores." 

 

Macy's credit card system has reportedly crashed on Black Friday. 

"Macys credit card system down nationwide," Ken White tweeted on Friday at 1:29 p.m. ET. "They are not informing shoppers standing in long lines. Getting ugly out there."

Many other people reported similar problems on social media. 

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"All the credit card machines at Macy’s broke down fifteen minutes before the door busters expired, and I think I’ve now witnessed hell," reads one tweet from a Macy's shopper. 

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"Came to the Macy's on State for some Black Friday shopping and all of the registers are down," reads one of a number of angry comments on Macy's Facebook page. "No credit or debit, only cash! Wasted time picking things out only to leave empty handed with all my merchandise at the register." 

"It is taking longer than usual to process some credit and gift cards in our stores, but we have added additional associates to the floor are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," Macy's said in a statement. 

SomeBloomingdale'sshoppers appear to be having similar issues. 

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Some people are also reporting issues with Macy's website. Reports of the site being down have skyrocketed, according to currentlydown.com. A Macy's spokesperson told Business Insider that both Macy's and Bloomingdale's websites are up and running. 

Prior to the apparent systems crash, Macy's had reported a so-far successful Black Friday. 

CEO Jeff Gennette said on CNBC the company had "very robust online demand" on Black Friday this year. According to Gennette, the company Black Friday had improved over last year, but has a lot of work to do if it wants to post a good holiday quarter.

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NOW WATCH: The dark story behind the term 'Black Friday'

Black Friday workers share 14 of the most outrageous things they've seen on the job

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Black Friday shopping fight

  • Black Friday can bring out the worst in some people.
  • Retail workers Business Insider surveyed shared some of their most cringe-worthy stories.


If you ask the people who work in retail, Black Friday is rarely described in the most flattering of ways.

"Black Friday is like hunger games," one retail worker told Business Insider. "The tributes are released, and everyone thinks they are extra special, so they should be allowed to just open pallets and take whatever they want well before the sale."

"Being retired now, Black Friday is a nightmare of the past," a former retail worker told Business Insider. "In my many years in retail, each one seemed to get worse."

This isn't to say all Black Friday shoppers are horrible people. As one retail worker told Business Insider, "For the most part, people have always been very nice and patient. They can see it's busy and I'm doing my best to get everybody taken care of." They said it's usually the customers who are never satisfied — "we can spot them a mile away" — that are more likely to make a scene.

In honor of the "wild and hectic" day when everyone is "tired and cranky" — their words — Business Insider asked more than 40 Black Friday workers to share some of the most outrageous things they've seen working Black Friday.

Be warned: while these accounts cannot be independently verified, some of them may shatter your faith in humanity. 

SEE ALSO: 14 things Black Friday workers wish shoppers would stop doing

DON'T MISS: Black Friday workers confess 9 things they'd love to tell shoppers but can't

'I once saw a fight between strangers because someone changed lines. They did not cut in line, they just got behind the other line. And someone in front of that person — so no way they were being affected — decided to verbally attack this person. The person fought back. Nasty things were said, and both these individuals had kids with them to witness this.'



'One year when I had just begun my shift a customer with a broken leg tried to hit me with one of his crutches because I didn't know where we were keeping a particular item.'



'One year I got trapped behind the door when we opened, and I had to wait until the mad rush slowed down so I could climb under the cart rail and escape.'



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Ivanka Trump: Malia Obama should be 'OFF limits' to the media

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Malia Obama

  • Ivanka Trump condemned recent media coverage of Malia Obama's social life at Harvard, where Obama is a freshman.
  • The former first daughter Chelsea Clinton also called the coverage unethical "clickbait."


Ivanka Trump, the president's eldest daughter and top White House adviser, condemned recent media coverage of former President Barack Obama's eldest daughter, Malia Obama, a 19-year-old freshman at Harvard.

"Malia Obama should be allowed the same privacy as her school aged peers," Trump tweeted on Friday. "She is a young adult and private citizen, and should be OFF limits."

Shortly after, another former first daughter, Chelsea Clinton, tweeted a similar sentiment.

"Malia Obama's private life, as a young woman, a college student, a private citizen, should not be your clickbait," Clinton wrote. "Be better."

Over the past week, videos of Malia Obama smoking and kissing another Harvard student at a football game went viral.

Trump and Clinton are both intimately acquainted with invasive tabloid coverage, both as residents of the White House and as the children of fathers whose high-profile personal lives have been the subject of endless media scrutiny.

Clinton has also spoken out against media criticism of a child of the current president.

In August, responding to critiques of 11-year-old Barron Trump's fashion choices, Clinton tweeted, "It's high time the media & everyone leave Barron Trump alone & let him have the private childhood he deserves."

First lady Melania Trump thanked Clinton for her defense of her son and called the media coverage a form of cyberbullying.

SEE ALSO: Melania Trump and Chelsea Clinton fire back at critics of Barron's casual style

DON'T MISS: Malia Obama just moved into her dorm room at Harvard — here's a look back at her life

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