• Russian president Vladimir Putin has at least two, possibly three, daughters he rarely talks about.
• He has two adult daughters with his ex-wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva: Maria, 35, and Katerina, 33.
• On Tuesday, he said one of them got Russia's new coronavirus vaccine, but wouldn't say which daughter received it.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Russian president Vladimir Putin, 67, has tried to keep his personal life almost entirely out of the spotlight.

From his first marriage of 30 years to reports of a girlfriend, Putin and his administration have fought hard to prevent the media and the world from knowing much about him — aside from the carefully curated macho man on horseback, lifting weights and posing in shirtless photos.

He has specifically made a concerted effort to shield his children from any spotlight, prompting many to even question whether he has any kids at all.

Rumors have swirled for years that Putin has two daughters with his ex-wife, and that his reported girlfriend may have had another daughter in 2015.

Here is what we know about the mysterious lives of Putin's secret kids.

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Putin had two daughters in his first marriage to former flight attendant Lyudmila Shkrebneva, who he was married to for three decades before their divorce in 2013.

Sources: Vladimir Putin, Reuters, Business Insider

Their daughter's names are Maria and Katerina. While Maria was born in Leningrad in 1985, Katerina was born in Germany in 1986 when the family lived there during her father's time in the KGB.

Sources: Vladimir Putin, Reuters, Newsweek

Both girls are named after their grandmothers. Maria's nickname is Masha and Katerina's nickname is Katya.

Sources:Vladimir Putin, Reuters, Newsweek

When the family moved to Moscow in 1996, the girls attended a German-language school. The children were reportedly removed from school when Putin became acting president, and teachers educated them at home.

Source: Newsweek

"Not all fathers are as loving with their children as he is," Lyudmila said in a quote on Putin's government website. "And he has always spoiled them, while I was the one who had to discipline them."

Source: Vladimir Putin

Maria studied biology in college and went to medical school in Moscow, while Katerina majored in Asian Studies in college. Both girls attended university under false identities.

Sources: Reuters, Newsweek

Maria, now 35, is a medical researcher and lives in Moscow with her Dutch husband, Jorrit Faassen.

Sources: Reuters, Newsweek, Bloomberg

Maria and Faassen reportedly have a child — Putin told filmmaker Oliver Stone in 2017 that he was a grandfather. When Stone asked if he played with his grandchild, Putin replied, "Very seldom, unfortunately."

Sources: Reuters, The Independent, Bloomberg, Daily Mail

Meanwhile, Katerina reportedly lives a high-flying life, living in lavish apartments and acquiring a fortune.

Sources: Reuters, The Independent, Bloomberg, Daily Mail

Katerina, now 33, is an accomplished acrobatic dancer and has a senior position at her alma mater, Moscow State University, heading a $1.7 billion startup incubator.

Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg

Katerina married Russian billionaire Kirill Shamalov in 2013. But the couple divorced in 2018 — revealing they were worth $2 billion.

Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters, The Guardian  

There are no official current photos of the girls, and there is some debate over their exact names. For Katerina, we found the first names "Katerina", "Katya", and "Yekaterina", and the last names "Putina", "Tikhonova", and "Shamalov". For Maria, we also found "Mariya."

Sources: Reuters, Newsweek

Finally, there are rumors that Putin has a third daughter with girlfriend and former Russian rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva.

Source: New York Post

But neither the child nor the relationship with Kabaeva have been confirmed.

Source: Business Insider

Putin has tried to shelter his children from the media, attempting to keep them out of politics so they can live normal lives.

Sources: Reuters, Business Insider

Despite his carefully curated mystery, Katerina made her debut on Russian state TV as a biotechnology expert in December 2018.

Source: Business Insider

Her appearance did not include comment on her being related to Putin, nearly a year after a dance competition official previously confirmed her identity as Putin's daughter before retracting his comment.

Source: Reuters

On Tuesday, Putin announced Russia had made the world's first vaccine for the novel coronavirus — which scientists doubt is safe or effective. The Russian leader said he gave the shot to one of his two daughters, but wouldn't specify which one.

Sources: Business Insider, BBC, Politico

Putin said his daughter's temperature decreased after getting two shots. "She has taken part in the experiment," he said, adding, "She's feeling well and has high number of antibodies."

Sources: Business Insider, BBC, Politico

It was a rare acknowledgment for Putin, but one still shrouded in mystery — all a carefully calculated charade to enhance his image.

• Maria Sharapova announced today that she's investing in celebrity-favorite wellness brand Therabody. 
• Sharapova told Business Insider that when investing she looks for disruptive companies with a different approach, typically in the health and wellness space.
• She said that since retiring from professional tennis in February, she's had more time to explore new investments.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Maria Sharapova may have hung up her tennis racket in February, but her fitness career is from over.

The 33-year-old former tennis pro served as a guest shark in a March episode of "Shark Tank" and invested $900,000 with Mark Cuban in Bala Bangles, the popular weighted wrist and ankle bands that easily pass as bracelets. And today, she announced her latest fitness investment venture with Therabody, the wellness brand behind handheld percussive massage device Theragun beloved by elite athletes and celebrities.

Sharapova told Business Insider that, as an athlete, she's always kept a close eye on the health and wellness space. When she came across Therabody a few years ago, she said, it instantly stood out to her as an industry game-changer.

When considering an investment, Sharapova said she focuses on companies that bring a different approach to a problem, whether it's technology or a fantastic design. 

"For Bala Bangles, Mark and I both felt they had such a unique perspective on design and the shortcomings of stale fitness gear," she said. "For Therabody, their cutting-edge technology was simply unlike anything else I had seen in the space."

Sharapova declined to comment on specific figures regarding her investment, but said she'll act as more than an investor. As an advisory board member and consultant, she said she'll help grow Therabody by focusing on its global expansion and advising on future product development.

"At this point in my career, I'm able to dedicate more time to exploring and pursuing new investments," she said.

Investment-worthy brands should be different, think long-term, and have strong leadership

For 11 years, Sharapova was the highest-paid female athlete in the world. At the time of her retirement, she was the third highest-paid female tennis player and eighth highest-paid tennis player overall. Forbes estimated her entire career earnings to be $325 million, including on-court winnings worth $38.8 million and brand partnerships over her 17-year career. 

It stands to reason that Sharapova's business acumen will continue to grow her millions, especially now that she has more time to focus on her investing endeavors.

Therabody and Bala Bangles aren't the only stars of her investment portfolio. She invested in Supergoop, the high-end suncare line, in 2014 and launched Sugarpova, her own candy company, in 2012 with $500,000 of her own money and no outside investment.

Apart from differentiation in the way brands try to disrupt an industry, Sharapova said she looks for two other things when investing in a business.

One is long-term vision — a brand with forward-thinking leaders who look ahead to growth potential, she said. The other is strong leadership. "Throughout my career, both in tennis and business, I've learned the importance of surrounding yourself with thoughtful experts and the best team possible," she said.

As for aspiring investors, Sharapova has a key piece of advice. "Do your homework," she said. "Don't rush into the wrong decision and make sure to leave time for due diligence."

SEE ALSO: Maria Sharapova arrived in the US at age 7 with $700 but is retiring from her 17-year professional tennis career with millions. Here's how she made her fortune.

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• 111 West 57th Street, also known as Steinway Tower, is nearing completion in New York City.
• When you consider the building's height-to-width ratio, it's the world's skinniest skyscraper. The 1,428-foot tower is 24 times as tall as it is wide and has only one residence on each floor.
• It sits on the southern edge of Central Park, in an area known as Billionaires' Row, on the most expensive street in the world.
• In the fall of 2019, I got a sneak peek at the first completed residence in the building.
• Current listings range from $8.75 million to $57 million, and the first residents are expected to move in later this year.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A bevy of super-tall, glossy skyscrapers are rising along New York City's Billionaires' Row, an area south of Central Park that's home to some of the most expensive real estate in the city.

There's Central Park Tower, which recently became the tallest residential building in the world. Then there's 220 Central Park South, which broke real-estate records last year when the billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin paid $238 million for a spread of condos. Both towers are expected to be finished in 2020.

Now nearing completion is 111 West 57th Street, which has the distinction of being the world's most slender skyscraper. The 1,428-foot tower is 24 times as tall as it is wide and has only one residence on each floor. 

The skinny skyscraper, which was developed by JDS Development Group, Property Markets Group, and Spruce Capital Partners, is expected to welcome its first residents later this year.

Take a look inside the first finished condo in the world's most slender skyscraper.

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Steinway Tower, a super-tall tower at 111 West 57th Street in New York City, is the most slender tower in the world, according to the developers.

The 1,428-foot tower is 24 times as tall as it is wide.

According to New York's Skyscraper Museum, a tower's slenderness is based on the width of the base compared with the height of the building.

"A tower can be very tall, but not slender, and it can be slender without being very tall," the museum's website says.

On a gloomy October morning in 2019, I took the train uptown to Steinway Tower.

The 91-story skyscraper is in an area called Billionaires' Row, home to some of the city's most expensive real estate. Billionaire buyers like Ken Griffin, Michael Dell, and Liu Yiqian have picked up multimillion-dollar condos in the glossy towers rising in the neighborhood.

111 West 57th Street sits adjacent to the historic Steinway Hall, which was built by the piano company Steinway & Sons and opened in 1925.

While building the luxury skyscraper atop Steinway Hall, developers have also done a thorough restoration of the interior and exterior of the historic building.

The building was still a construction site, with scaffolding hiding most of the bottom of the tower from view.

The tower is expected to be completed in 2020, but the developers held a special press event for a peek at the first finished condo in the building.

I stepped into the Steinway Hall rotunda, which was once part of the famed piano company's showroom. A pianist was playing pieces by composers like Chopin, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff — on a Steinway, of course — next to a glowing model of the building.

After some introductory remarks, coffee, and tiny quiches, we went up the elevators in small groups to the 43rd floor.

The first finished condo in Steinway Tower is a three-bedroom unit on the 43rd floor — about halfway up the building — with its own private elevator entrance.

While it's not currently for sale, a three-bedroom of about the same size on the 42nd floor is listed for $28.5 million.

The condo has about 4,500 square feet of living space. The open kitchen flows seamlessly into the living area.

Though I wasn't able to get a photo of the living area without people in it, this is what the view of Central Park would look like on a sunny day.

Thanks to its location almost directly at the center of the park's southern border, 111 West 57th Street has symmetrical views of NYC's most famous park.

The condo's great room is more than 50 feet long.

During my visit, the view looked more like this.

It was drizzly and foggy, and on the 43rd floor we were basically in the clouds.

The dining area, which can comfortably fit 10 people, sits on the opposite end of the great room from the kitchen.

A door off the dining area opens up to a full wet bar.

The condo has three bedrooms, one of which was set up as a study.

Each bedroom has an en suite bathroom, and there's an additional powder room.

The interior design was done by the New York-based Studio Sofield.

Each bedroom has floor-to-ceiling windows.

A dressing hall leads toward the master suite.

To the right is a walk-in dressing room ...

... and across from that is the marble-clad master bathroom, which features dual vanities and a walk-in rain shower.

A glossy, freestanding soaking tub is the focal point of the glamorous bathroom.

The master bedroom sits in the southeast corner of the building.

When it's finished, Steinway Tower will offer residents amenities that include a 24-hour doorman and concierge, an 82-foot swimming pool, and an expansive shared outdoor terrace.

The architect of 111 West 57th Street describes it as the "quintessential" New York City building, but I'm not sure I agree with that characterization.

Gregg Pasquarelli, founder of SHoP Architects, which designed the building, said at the press preview that their goal was to create a building that was "uniquely New York and absolutely modern and forward-thinking, but has the DNA of the New York skyscraper embedded in it."

"It's the quintessential tower designed and built by New Yorkers," Pasquarelli said.

The tower's terracotta and bronze exterior does differentiate it from the sleek glassy surfaces of the other new skyscrapers on Billionaires' Row.

But while the skyscraper's facade and super-tall, super-skinny silhouette are certainly unusual, I can't say that my tour of its first condo felt too different from another Billionaires' Row apartment I've visited.

Earlier last year, I toured a full-floor residence at nearby 157 West 57th Street that was listed for $58.5 million and found that the standout feature was the view of the park. Steinway Tower has basically the same draw, only slightly more symmetrical — a fact the developers made sure to emphasize during the press event.

Pasquarelli says the building is "uniquely New York." As a New Yorker, I have to say I'd rather live closer to the ground in a diverse neighborhood than 1,000 feet high in the clouds in Midtown, surrounded by the absent millionaires and billionaires who make up so many of the buyers on Billionaires' Row.

• Erika Kullberg graduated from Georgetown Law with $225,526 in student loans and a well-paying job as a corporate lawyer.
• After she joined the workforce, she maintained a frugal lifestyle similar to when she was a law student, dedicating over 80% of each paycheck to her loan payments —or about $9,000 a month — to pay all of the loans back in 23 months. 
• From resisting unnecessary spending to refinancing her loans, Kullberg broke down the four key ways she budgeted her money for Business Insider.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In 2016, Erika Kullberg graduated from Georgetown Law with $225,526 worth of student loans a well-paying job as a corporate lawyer.

But it wasn't until a few months after graduation that she realized the gravity of her debt and the importance of getting rid of it as soon as possible. 

"It was only when I started receiving an onslaught of letters in the mail with unfamiliar terms, like "grace period" and "forbearance", that I started to panic. That's when it began to feel real," she wrote in a blog post that relays her two-year journey.

Eager to become student loan-free as soon as possible, Kullberg set out to pay off the full amount in just two years.

To do this, she told Business Insider that she kept the "same frugal lifestyle she was living as a law student." She dedicated over 80% of each paycheck to her loan payments, which came to around $9,000 a month.

Even with the good fortune of a well-paying job, the task of paying back over $200,000 in loans was both overwhelming and daunting. 

"I was embarrassed that I knew so little about my student loans, but I knew I needed to get control of the situation if I was ever going to achieve my goal of eventually starting my own company," she wrote in a blog post. "That week that I had this panic-induced revelation, I spent over 60 hours scouring the internet for everything I could learn about student loans.  By the end of that week, I had formulated an action plan for how I was going to pay off my student loans."

The process of paying off the debt included refinancing her loans, setting up a loan tracker, setting a pay-off date, and most importantly, budgeting and tracking expenses. By doing this, Kullberg was able to pay off her loans in 23 months and has since moved on to start her own firm, Plug and Law, which provides legal protection for websites, blogs, and online businesses.

In an interview with Business Insider, she broke down four key ways she was able to cut expenses and save money on a regular basis. 

1.  Unnecessary shopping was kicked to the curb

The typical family spends $1,700 on clothing every year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While experts have told Business Insider that it's okay to allocate about 7% of your income towards building a wardrobe from scratch, cancelling your next order could mean a big difference if you're trying to save. 

"For two years, I didn't buy any new clothing. That was probably what most people would consider the most extreme" choice she made, Kullberg told Business Insider.

2. She only traveled using credit card points

Points-only flying is common practice for travelers on a budget, and can mean thousands in dollars saved if you're a frequent flyer.

"I didn't do any out-of-pocket travel," Kullberg explained. "I just learned how to credit-card point hack."

Even in the pandemic age where flying seems scarce, banks are adding non-travel benefits to some of their best rewards cards, which could mean long-term savings and future flyer benefits. 

3. She made lunch as often as possible

Using services like Uber Eats and Seamless, or going out to eat regularly can really add up.

Though the data varies by generation and state, Americans spend thousands of dollars a year eating out. 

"The problem that most professionals fall into is that right after graduation, you're making more money, so you're inflating your lifestyle, and suddenly you're ordering Uber Eats, taking Ubers, and going out to more dinners, " Kullberg said. 

A key factor, she continued, was making sure that the new lifestyle of spending more for these luxuries didn't creep up on her.

4. She refinanced her loans with a variable interest rate

Kullberg told Business Insider that by refinancing her student loans, she saved thousands of dollars in the long run.

"I was very strategic about how I went about it in the beginning," she explained. "I pitted the refinancers against each other. I basically got quotes from this guy, quotes from this guy, and then I would take those quotes and go to other person and say, 'so-and-so gave me this rate, can you beat it?' I kept pitting them against each other until I got a really really low interest rate, and that's when I finally decided to refinance."

Every time her interest rate would creep up a bit too much, she said she would renegotiate by sending some emails. 

"Since I opted for the variable interest rate, every month or two the interest rate would go up. Once it got to a certain threshold, I would go through the process of re-refinancing the loans to reduce the interest rate once again.  Throughout the two-year period, I re-refinanced my student loans three times, each time resulting in a significantly lower interest rate," she wrote in a blog post.

SEE ALSO: A Michigan couple who paid off their $200,000 mortgage in 4 years shares the exact budget sheet they used, and it accounts for every dollar of their monthly income

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• Saint-Tropez has seen an outbreak in coronavirus cases thanks to loose pandemic rules and lax European travelers, The Washington Post's Dana Thomas reported.
• Partygoers have been living their best, unmasked lives crowding beach clubs and dancing at restaurants.
• Marseille and Nice, both in the French Riviera, have also seen parties flouting social distancing guidelines.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Saint-Tropez has been partying too hard. 

France's glitzy region was a "coronavirus-free bubble on the Mediterranean" with few reported coronavirus cases during lockdown, The Washington Post's Dana Thomas reported. But from July 25 to August 1 alone, per the regional health agency, the area saw 65 new cases thanks to an influx of European travelers and lax pandemic rules.

Restaurants and beach clubs reopened in early June with limited capacity and staff mask mandates, Thomas wrote, but these rules became more lenient as the summer wore on. At restaurants, diners danced sans mask, she said; at beach clubs, waitstaff were often maskless or wore masks improperly and many clubgoers refused to put on masks. Look no further than Nikki Beach, where unmasked revelers were seen living it up in late July.

"Wearing masks [is] not a sexy look, that's for sure," Patrice de Colmont, owner of the famous beach retreat Club 55, told Thomas. 

Now, Saint-Tropez is reaping the consequences in the form of an outbreak, new mask mandates, and closures. According to Thomas, three restaurants — Indie Beach House, Pablo, and Noto — were shut down after employees tested positive for the coronavirus, and two clubs — Moorea and Verde — were closed for ignoring social distancing rules.

But Saint-Tropez isn't the only place in the French Riviera with a pandemic party problem. In Nice, 5,000 people attended an EDM concert in July and ignored social distancing rules. In the nearby Marseille, also in July, partiers crowded rafts transformed into dance floors for the fourth annual Paradis en mer Festival and swarmed the nightclub Baou.

The parties aren't confined to the Cote d'azur either. In August, a reported 10,000 people attended an illegal outdoor rave party in France's remote Lozere region.

SEE ALSO: Inside the billionaires' compound on the French Riviera that set up its own private testing center while the rest of the country struggles to obtain coronavirus tests

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• The coronavirus pandemic has stalled the luxury real estate market in New York City. 
• According to a report by Olshan Realty, the first week of August saw the lowest number of homes sold for $4 million or above in more than 10 years.
• The Getty Residences, a luxury building that overlooks the High Line, has slashed the prices of its four remaining units, one by nearly 53%.
• As of the end of June, apartment vacancy rates were at their highest point in 14 years, per Douglas Elliman.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A luxury building in Manhattan is selling its remaining four units at a major discount, and one is nearly 53% off.

The Getty Residences is located in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, where the median home value is currently $1,038,882. With views of the High Line, the building has been offering condos that were selling anywhere from $16 million to $59 million. In fact, Curbed reported in 2018 that the sale of the $59 million penthouse was the most expensive purchase in downtown history

But those price tags may be a thing of the past for The Getty. While the market adjusts to a new normal, the residence has slashed the prices of its remaining full-floor residences.

The four units boast over 3,000 square feet and either three or four bedrooms. All have seen a more than 40% discount from their original asking price this past winter and now sit at price points of between $9 million and $14 million.

The New York City housing market has been slow to bounce back since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, and its luxury sector seems to be suffering the most. In fact, as Mansion Global reported, Olshan Realty found that just six homes with asking prices of $4 million or above were sold during the first week of August, the slowest start to the month since 2009. In addition, the lack of buyer interest has sent apartment vacancy in Manhattan to 3.67% as of the end of June, which Inman reported was a 14-year high, citing Douglas Elliman data.

At such a slow pace, sellers of top-tier units are being forced to readjust their strategies and drop their prices, which is exactly the case for The Getty Residences.

The building's residence #5 has received the largest discount.

According to StreetEasy, the condo was first listed in January for $19.5 million. It was then cut to $14,875,100 at the end of February, and to $10,475,000 at the end of July. 

The  3,857-square-foot unit comes with a 159-square-foot terrace that boasts views of both the High Line and the Hudson River.

The Getty Residences is just one example of what may be the fate for luxury listings in the near future. Even in the $10 million range, residence #5 and its three companions may have some difficulty selling. According to Olshan Realty, just 21 homes with asking prices of $10 million or above were sold from March 22 through August 9, compared to 77 that same time last year.

SEE ALSO: A 26-year-old real-estate powerhouse with over $12 million in sales last year reveals the strategies he used to get his first clients

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• Realtor.com found that more than half of the country's largest metros had recovered from pandemic lows in July.
• Some have even surpassed pre-pandemic levels, like the Boston metro area, which has seen the strongest recovery.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Back in March, the coronavirus pandemic put sudden brakes on the US housing market.

However, as the months wore on and parts of the economy began opening back up, nationwide housing began making a comeback.

In fact, the housing market has been taking steps toward a recovery since May, when buyer demand recovered. Price growth got back to pre-pandemic levels in June, and soon after, the pace of sales caught up. A recent report by Realtor.com found that more than half of the largest US metros have recovered from their pandemic lows.

"Housing tends to be immune from economic downturns and slowdowns,"Realtor.com's director of economic research, Javier Vivas, was quoted saying in the report. "Right now we're seeing markets recover faster where they're able to contain the virus better. Markets with strong technology sectors have been more resilient." 

The US metro area that has improved the most is Boston, Massachusetts.

Realtor.com looked at the year-over-year growth of the median home asking price, the percentage of new listings coming online, the number of days on market that it took homes to sell, and online home search in the country's largest metro areas by population. To determine the level of improvement, the report compared the state of each market in January to the week ending July 18.

A metro area that scored 100% means it reached its level from prior to the pandemic. Any score over 100 shows market improvement that has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The Boston metro area clocked in at 122.52%. 

How the Boston metro area has been able to recover so quickly

As Business Insider reported, since the start of the pandemic, urbanites have been fleeing to the suburbs in search of bigger space both inside and outside their homes. This trend has helped lead the housing recovery, according to a research note by Bank of America.

Realtor.com reported that townhouses and condos close to Boston are sitting on the market longer, while McMansions and mansions in more suburban areas, like the town of Needham, are flying off the market. 

Prior to the pandemic, those homes would likely have seen a price cut before selling, but now "these properties are selling at full price," Gary Kaufman of Keller Williams Realty was quoted saying in the report.

In addition to popular suburban markets, the Boston metro boasts two other factors that have allowed it to recover at the pace it did. 

Realtor.com's senior economist, George Ratiu, told Business Insider that Boston's ability to contain the coronavirus during the spring months has, in part, allowed for the boom we are seeing in the summer. On August 10, the state of Massachusetts reported 242 new coronavirus cases, this number, while still alarming, is low compared to states like Florida which reported over 4,000 new coronavirus cases on the 10.

In addition to this relative containment of the virus, the Boston job market has been able to cater to remote work. As Realtor.com noted, it is a big finance, tech, and higher education hub, and the ability to work remotely not only helps prevent unemployment, but also allows workers the flexibility of moving away from city and to more suburban areas.  

SEE ALSO: A 26-year-old real-estate powerhouse with over $12 million in sales last year reveals the strategies he used to get his first clients

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• TikTok is facing a full-scale attack from the Trump administration attempting to threaten the its future in the US over claims that the app poses a national-security risk through its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
• ByteDance is entertaining TikTok acquisition talks with US tech companies to assuage concerns from the president. Microsoft is the favorite, and a potential deal is valued between $10 billion and $30 billion.
• Trump recently issued an executive order to ban "any transactions" between Americans and ByteDance beginning in mid-September. Questions remain of the legality of the order, or if it is enforceable at all.
• TikTok is expected to sue the Trump administration over the ban proposed in the executive order.
• Here's everything that's happened to threaten TikTok's future in the US, and what we know about what's to come.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

SEE ALSO: No, Donald Trump can't 'ban' TikTok

Lawmakers began to question TikTok's presence in the US in November 2017, when TikTok's parent company ByteDance bought a US-based app called Musical.ly. Musical.ly was shut down and merged with TikTok in the US a year later.

Musical.ly was a watered-down version of TikTok: Its capabilities were limited to creating and sharing 15-second lip sync music videos. ByteDance's acquisition of Musical.ly was valued at $1 billion.

Source: Business Insider

China has been a target of the US government since Donald Trump took office in 2016. He's blamed China for the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, and accused Chinese companies of using their products to spy on US citizens for the state government.

As TikTok's popularity soared in 2019, lawmakers took a closer look at the app's ties to China. They've raised concerns of potential risks to US national security, the privacy of young users, and content moderation.

In 2019, TikTok paid out a $5.7 million fine to the Federal Trade Commission to settle allegations it illegally collected personal information from children under age 13 without parental consent.

Children's privacy advocates have since accused TikTok of breaking the terms of the FTC settlement by failing to alter policies, and refusing to delete videos and other content obtained illegally. As a result, the FTC and US Justice Department are now looking into allegations it failed to live up to its 2019 agreement.

Beyond national security, TikTok has faced allegations it's censors certain types videos, including content categorized as political, "culturally problematic," and coming from creators the company says are more prone to bullying.

Source: Business Insider, Business Insider

A federal investigation was launched in November 2019 via the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a group that has the authority to approve or reject foreign business dealings over national-security risks. The review focused on ByteDance's 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly — CFIUS has yet to publicly release a decision.

During Trump's presidency, CFIUS has blocked deals in which tech corporations from China and Singapore were poised to take over US-based companies. Last year, CFIUS ordered the Chinese parent company of the gay dating app Grindr to sell the platform because the deal had not been submitted to CFIUS for review when it happened — the same justification for allowing CFIUS to review of the ByteDance and Musical.ly deal.

Source: Business Insider

The Trump administration first publicly said it was considering banning TikTok in the US in early July, although no details were provided about how that would happen. Experts have said there's no identifiable way Trump could legally ban the app in its entirety.

In separate comments made in early July, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited national security fears as a reason for a potential ban. A few days later, Trump said he was looking to ban the app as a way to punish China over the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Business Insider

Reports emerged toward the end of July that the Trump administration had begun weighing two actions it could take against TikTok: a nationwide TikTok ban, or an order that ByteDance divest its TikTok operations in the US.

Source: Business Insider

To get ahead of Trump's calls for a ban, ByteDance started exploring the option to sell off TikTok's US operations, and entertained offers from US investors and tech companies. Trump acquiesced, and gave ByteDance until Sept. 15 to finalize a deal to sell off TikTok's US arm.

Trump gave ByteDance until September 15 to find a US buyer. If an acquisition hasn't been finalized, Trump says he'll ban TikTok — although it's unclear how he could do that.

The valuation of TikTok's US operations have been pegged anywhere between $10 billion and $50 billion, a high pricepoint that few US companies could afford. Microsoft is the only company to confirm it has entered conversations with ByteDance.

Microsoft has confirmed it's looking to acquire TikTok's operations in US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. 

Source: Bloomberg, CNBC

Other names in Silicon Valley have been floated as potential buyers. Twitter is reportedly in "preliminary" talks with ByteDance — but the company would have to raise billions to afford TikTok's massive price.

Source: Wall Street Journal

However, a recent report indicates that acquisition talks for TikTok's US operations are "unlikely" to end in a deal. It may indicate that ByteDance only entertained US buyers as a way to temporarily appease Trump — but has no plans to sell off its massively popular app.

Source: South China Morning Post, Business Insider

Despite ByteDance's offer to sell the app, Trump has issued an executive order to bar Americans from "any transactions" with TikTok or ByteDance. Before it's set to take effect in 45 days, the order is expected to face legal challenges.

Source: Business Insider

It's clear TikTok isn't going away without a fight. The company said it would "pursue all remedies available to us" one Trump's executive order was signed. TikTok is now reportedly gearing up to sue the Trump administration as soon as Tuesday regarding the order's constitutionality.

According to NPR, the lawsuit will claim the company wasn't given "a chance to respond" to the order, and that no evidence has been found to support the Trump administration's accusations that TikTok poses a national security and China has accessed user data.

If a suit is filed, Trump's executive order will, at the very least, be delayed as the courts review it.

It also remains to be seen whether ByteDance will follow through on its talks to sell off TikTok's US operations. But it seems that the company is waiting to part ways with its 100 million users in the US until it's forced to do so.

• IndieDwell builds modular, tiny homes that it sells to groups and organizations.
• The company has a factory in Caldwell, Idaho, and a new factory opening soon in Pueblo, Colorado. 
• It builds sustainable tiny homes for under-housed communities.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Tiny homes have often been proposed as an affordable housing solution, and some locales in the US have encouraged them as construction lags behind demand.

IndieDwell, a modular home company based in Idaho, is focused on the same goal. It makes one, two, and four-bedroom homes out of recycled shipping containers, partnering with communities or housing organizations to create affordable, mixed-income communities.

IndieDwell just opened a second factory in Pueblo, Colorado that will employ 160 people. The company says that it opens factories in areas where there are organizations to partner with, and communities in need of jobs, and it has plans to expand further. Current projects include housing for the homeless in San Jose, housing for people recovering from addiction in Colorado, and homes for veterans in Washington.  

IndieDwell gave Business Insider a look inside the original Idaho factory to see what happens inside a tiny home factory. Take a look here. 

SEE ALSO: These shipping containers unfold into $50,000 tiny homes that can be stacked into custom buildings — here's how they work

IndieDwell makes homes out of shipping containers, using more containers for larger homes.

First, the containers have to be significantly updated to be suitable for living.

The metal is completely covered in siding to prevent rust.

To keep energy costs down, the containers are insulated with foam and fiberglass. Sustainability is important for IndieDwell, which hopes to make the Idaho factory carbon neutral by the end of the year.

Each unit comes with a mini-split heat pump and air conditioner.

IndieDwell builds factories in communities with a low to moderate-income, and a need for affordable housing.

IndieDwell estimates that by 2025, 20,000 IndieDwell homes will be built.

"We believe housing is a right and when created properly and supported with the appropriate services can be the first step toward a healthy and fruitful life," the company's mission statement reads.

They make single and multifamily homes, like this $55,000 320 square foot, single container, one-bedroom home.

IndieDwell doesn't sell directly to individual homeowners, only to organizations or developers.

By the time they get to the buyer, IndieDwell homes are move-in ready, with a water heater, refrigerator, stove, and HVAC set up. The cost includes delivery and installation within 100 miles of the Idaho factory.

The homes also have an Energy Recovery Ventilator to keep air free from contaminants.

• Seattle-based photographer John Barnes spent 2.5 years traveling the US and Canada in an RV searching for vintage neon signs.
• A form of advertisement, neon signage once dominated cityscapes in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s. Today, most have been replaced by cheaper plastic signs, and the vintage neon signs are few and far between.
• In total, Barnes visited 38 states and five Canadian provinces, taking 50,000 photos of neon signs along the way. 
• This past March, Barnes published "Neon Road Trip," a collection of highlights from his trip. 
• From a happy-go-lucky Italian chef to a dolled-up woman eating fried chicken, here are 22 of the most eye-catching vintage neon signs Barnes discovered as well as his tips for where to see neon signs today.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

SEE ALSO: A husband and wife in the Hudson Valley convert vintage Airstreams into modern tiny homes and name them after famous women like Dolly Parton. Take a look inside 'Roberta,' their latest renovation.

NOW READ: The quirkiest vintage gas stations you can still visit on a road trip, from a photographer who spent 40 years documenting whimsical roadside attractions across the US

Seattle-based photographer John Barnes has been fascinated with the art of neon signs, or 'liquid fire,' since he was a boy in the 1960s.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Barnes remembers visiting New York City and seeing a dizzying amount of elaborate signs advertising shops and restaurants, from cigarettes that appeared to blow smoke to coffee cups that let off steam. They were "just phenomenal," he said.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Five years ago during to a trip to Las Vegas, Barnes was troubled to learn that the gas-lit neon signs that once dominated the cityscape were few and far between.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Several months later, Barnes packed up his life in Seattle and moved into a Roadtrek Simplicity to go in search of the signs that remained across the US and Canada.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Over the next two and half years, Barnes traveled to 38 US states and five Canadian provinces, taking over 50,000 images of neon signs.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Barnes originally expected Las Vegas and New York City to have the most neon signs, but that turned out to not be the case.

Source: Neon Road Trip

"Vancouver, British Columbia, probably had more neon signs per capita than any other city in North America," he told Business Insider.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Before heading to a new city, Barnes would map out as many signs as he could identify online, locating them by day and returning to photograph them at night. Often, he would spend hours photographing one sign in order to get the best angle.

Source: Neon Road Trip

About one-third of the signs he photographed he found after arriving in a city, like the Mint Bar in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Barnes told Business Insider that the biggest drawback was looking for a sign and realizing it was no longer active due to neglect or moisture seeping in over time.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Fortunately, in the case of this Monte Rio, California, pink elephant sign, the owner was willing to drive 20 miles out his way to turn it on.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Over the course of his trip, Barnes learned that the disappearance of neon signs was due in part to the adoption of cheaper plastic signs in the 70s, he told Business Insider.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Today, most of the businesses with neon signs are mom and pop shops, he said.

Source: Neon Road Trip

While signs are unique to each business, Barnes noticed themes across signs in the US and Canada, such as the use of diving ladies and mermaids to represent motels with swimming pools.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Seafood restaurants often incorporate crabs and other sea creatures into their signs, Barnes found.

Source: Neon Road Trip

'Cowboys and Indians' is another popular motif, both in and outside of the western US.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Barnes told Business Insider that if he could do his trip over again, he would do more research ahead of time. "Like there's a Mr. Peanut sign in Columbus, Ohio. I was in Columbus, Ohio, and I didn't know it was there," he said.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Since his trip, Barnes has noticed a resurgence of interest in vintage neon signs. In San Francisco, for example, locals Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan offer regular neon walking tours.

Source: Neon Road Trip

The Museum of Neon Art in Glendale, California, offers neon sign-making classes.

Source: Neon Road Trip

Barnes also knows about several private collectors in the US who are now selling vintage signs for $20,000 to $30,000 a piece.

Source: Neon Road Trip, Museum of Neon Art

"People are getting fascinated about Americana because it goes back to simpler times, less complicated times," he said.

Source: Neon Road Trip

If US travelers want to see neon signs outside a museum, Barnes recommends visiting Seattle, Austin, and San Francisco and consulting the website Roadside Architecture or the Facebook group Vintage Neon Heaven for pointers.

Source: Neon Road Trip

For those who prefer to stay home, Barnes' new book "Neon Road Trip" walks readers through his trip highlights.

Source: Neon Road Trip

• Apple CEO Tim Cook is officially a billionaire, per calculations by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
• Apple now has a market value of nearly $2 trillion, per Bloomberg.
• Cook's wealth derives from his Apple salary, the number of shares he holds in the company, and the proceeds he's made from share sales.
• Despite his billionaire status, the native Alabaman doesn't live lavishly. 
• He reportedly spends most of his time at the office and lives in a Palo Alto home that's worth less than 75% of the town's median home value.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, 59, leads the first company in the world to become worth $1 trillion.

Apple is now worth nearly $2 trillion and, according to calculations by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Cook himself has officially reached billionaire status.

But Cook actually is a lot less wealthy than leaders of other, less revenue-generating corporations. While he's now a billionaire, tech CEOs like Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Oracle's Larry Ellison are worth tens of billions — largely because they are the founders of the companies they run.

Cook, who is the son of a shipyard worker and a pharmacy employee, has said he's not motivated by money, and that shows through in what we know about the private CEO's habits. 

Here's how Cook made his fortune and what he does with it.

SEE ALSO: Apple is officially worth $1 trillion — take a look inside the daily routine of CEO Tim Cook, who wakes up before dawn and gets 700 emails a day

Tim Cook has officially joined the ranks of the billionaires, according to calculations by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Source: TIME

Cook's fortune stems from his salary, the number of shares he holds in the company, and the proceeds from shares he's sold, which total about $1.02 billion.

Source: TIME

Cook owns 847,969 shares in Apple— about 0.02% of the company's shares — which have a total value of about $375 million, per Bloomberg. The CEO's share sales, dividends, and other compensation amount to about $650 million.

Since 2005, the Apple CEO has also sat on the board of directors for Nike, where he has $3.4 million in stock options, according to SEC filings. In June 2019, Nike's board re-appointed Cook as its lead independent director for a three-year term.

Cook's actual net worth is likely higher than $1.02 billion — but information on his property, investment portfolio, and cash on hand isn't publicly available.

Source: Time

And his net worth is still relatively low compared to other tech CEOs.

Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Larry Ellison are all worth tens of billions, largely because they are all founders of the companies they run.

Even though Apple is one of the most valuable companies on the planet, there's only one known Apple-related billionaire: Laurene Powell Jobs, who is Apple cofounder Steve Jobs' widow.

Powell Jobs is worth $31.8 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

In 2019, Cook's base salary as CEO was $3 million, according to Apple regulatory filings. That's up from his first year as CEO in 2011, when his salary was $900,000.

He also received $7.6 million in incentive pay in 2019, making him one of the highest-paid CEOs in the US.

Cook, who came out as gay in 2014, is not married and has no children.

He is known to lead a private, solitary life— but here's what we know about how he spends his fortune.

Despite being a billionaire, Cook is remarkably frugal.

He reportedly buys his underwear at Nordstrom's semiannual sale.

Cook has said that he's not motivated by money.

"I like to be reminded of where I came from, and putting myself in modest surroundings helps me do that," the CEO said, according to the 2012 book "Inside Apple: How America's Most Admired--and Secretive--Company Really Works" by Adam Lashinsky. "Money is not a motivator for me."

Cook lives in a $2.3 million, 2,400-square-foot home in Palo Alto — but you won't catch a glimpse of it on Google Street View.

Any Google user can submit a request to have their home or car obscured from Street View, the company told SFGate last year.

Cook reportedly bought the home for $1.9 million back in 2010. That's relatively modest for the ritzy Bay Area city, which now has a median home value of $3.1 million.

The Santa Clara County Assessor values Cook's home at $2.3 million.

Cook spends most of his time at the office.

He reportedly wakes up at 3:45 a.m. to start reading and responding to emails.

As for travel, Cook is often on the move for work.

In 2018, Apple spent $93,109 on Cook's private plane alone.

But he keeps it domestic when it comes to personal travel, visiting spots like Yosemite National Park.

Source: TIME

One of his known vacations was to New York City with his nephew.

He showed the boy around the New York Stock Exchange in 2016.

"I'm just here with my nephew, enjoying a couple of days in New York," Cook told CNBC at the time.

Indeed, Cook's most-known hobby is his love of fitness, hiking, and cycling.

Cook goes to the gym at 5 a.m. every morning — but not the Apple company gym, so he can keep a low profile.

Source: TIME

Cook likes to spend money on political causes.

He's thrown fundraisers for politicians that include former President Barack Obama and former presidential candidate and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

And, besides paying for his nephew's college education, Cook plans to give away all of his money to charity when he dies.

"You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripple for change," he told Fortune in 2015.

• Ryan Serhant is the star of Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing New York," and is one of New York City's top-performing real estate brokers. 
• He leads a team of more than 60 agents and staffers, responsible for selling over $1.6 billion worth of real estate in the last two years alone. 
• Serhant is no stranger to sales, having had his own show on Bravo in addition to authoring two books and launching an online sales course in 2019. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Reaching your professional goals in the midst of a global pandemic isn't easy, and the struggle to be productive can be a challenge for employees across industries even in times of normalcy. 

But there are tricks to staying ahead, according to Ryan Serhant. 

Now a top New York City agent as well as an author and TV personality, Serhant is an original case member of Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing New York," having joined the show in 2010 while still in the early stages of his real estate career. Since then, he's built The Serhant Team, which completed $1.4 billion in deals in 2019 alone. It's ranked among the top-producing teams in New York. 

No stranger to troubling times, Serhant started his career at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. "I started when Lehman filed for bankruptcy and it was the greatest thing I could've done because it was boot camp," Serhant said. "You learn so much more, it was a great learning experience. When things are tough and slower, you want to jump in. It's a great time to learn."

Serhant told Business Insider that even in challenging times, professionals can take concrete steps to launch or make meaningful progress in their careers. 

Industry newcomers today are even at an advantage, he said. "You dont want to start when everything's amazing and easy and you're having a hard time when everyone around you is making money. Now is the best time to start in real estate."

Serhant shared three of his top tips for building or maintaining a career during uncertain times. 

1. Practice the 'three to five' rule 

Serhant emphasizes the importance of staying connected to others in such distanced times. Something easy to practice, the rule suggests that you should reach out to three groups of five different people in different ways every day, whether it be via texts, calls, emails, direct messages, or tweets. 

"Reach out to people you wouldn't have otherwise reached out to today," Serhant said. "For me, it's been lawyers, real estate brokers, designers, architects. Just to check in and touch base. Those conversations often lead to conversations about real estate. A lot of business just comes from the 'three to five' rule."

2. Be a community leader

Speaking to the importance of building a network, Serhant said community leaders are often primed for success, given their ability to build connections and a strong network. 

Through his sales course, Serhant said he heard the story of a woman who started a virtual mothers' group during the pandemic. Now, she's become a community leader for mothers in her small town outside Paris, and she's really been able to connect herself to a group she'd hoped to become a part of pre-pandemic. 

3. Take advantage of online learning

Pointing to the changes and uncertainty in the education industry given the pandemic's impact, Serhant said people are much more willing to learn online these days, which isn't a bad thing. 

Having launched a sales course in August 2019, Serhant said there's been a 20% uptick in course membership as a result of the pandemic and the changed attitudes toward online education. "Online education is a hot topic right now, people are okay with learning online," Serhant said, adding that this applies not just to real estate but in all sales. 

Racecar drivers, dentists, and authors are among the professionals that have signed up for his course, as well as a man who simply wanted to learn to sell himself, with the end goal of finding a girlfriend — a goal Serhant says, thanks to his course, the member achieved. 

READ NEXT: A PwC exec says the global disruption has accelerated the future of work by 5 to 10 years

SEE ALSO: Fredrik Eklund, the founder of a bicoastal team that signed $100 million in new contracts in one week, swears by this daily routine from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Fredrik Eklund is the cofounder of Eklund Gomes, a prominent bicoastal team within high-ranking real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman. 
• Despite the volatile real estate market brought on by the pandemic, Eklund is expanding his team to Orange County, California, and taking on two new heavy-hitting team members in the process. 
• In an interview with Business Insider, Eklund shares his experience growing his business on the west coast during a pandemic, and what he sees for the near future of the market. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Fredrik Eklund is expanding his real estate empire to Orange County.

Just one year after his move to Los Angeles, the top-producing agent and "Million Dollar Listing" star has decided now is the time to grow, and is setting up two OC expert agents in Downtown Laguna Beach. 

The new additions, former top Sotheby's agents Ariana Gaffoglio and Seth Nelson, come to Eklund Gomes from Stanfield Real Estate Group, having approached Eklund and cofounder John Gomes with the idea to partner despite the volatile real estate climate brought on by the pandemic. 

Having sold more than $150 million in real estate last year alone, Gaffoglio and Nelson are among the top-producing brokers in the region, and have previously ranked in the top 10 nationwide. In addition to seamlessly fitting in with the Eklund Gomes team, the pair brings a portfolio of 14 listings, some valued at tens of millions of dollars.

For the Eklund Gomes cofounders, the opportunity to expand was a no-brainer.  

According to Eklund, many transactions and price points in Orange County average higher than LA, even though the OC market represents about a third of the LA market. "Price points are actually crazy," he said. 

The team's Orange County expansion is the fifth major market Eklund Gomes has grown into outside of top areas in New York and Florida. "It's very exciting," Eklund said. "Growth is good as long as its profitable." He said the southern California market is a substantial focus for the foreseeable future, especially given a push toward California living amid the pandemic.

"LA is very, very active," Eklund said, mentioning that there have been bumps in the market given the pandemic, but that the last two to three weeks have seen incredible sales and increased market activity. "As wealth moves around and high-net-worth people don't need to be on their offices, the big beautiful oceanfront properties like Laguna and Newport will keep increasing in value. There's inventory in prime locations and lots of buyers."

"The $10 million to $25 million range is very active," Eklund said, adding that the Orange County market lost up to 30% of its inventory during the pandemic. "I think we're going to have an incredible fall despite the pandemic and election year."  

Though Eklund Gomes has always operated under the guise of keeping Manhattan as its main market, expanding has been top of mind for the cofounders for a while, he said, as sellers increasingly flow freely between markets. "People are buying collections of homes," Eklund said. "As we see froth in the stock market, its the perfect time to dabble in real estate." 

While places like New York have suffered from the pandemic, the California expansion also speaks to the importance of diversifying business interests. "We didn't want to put all of our eggs in one basket. It was organic to go out west and to Miami, buyers were going there. We got tired of referring," Gomes said. "The OC expansion is so inspiring because the market is so strong." 

As for the future of the New York market, Eklund Gomes' home turf, Eklund said, "I really believe in New York, I always have. It's so dramatic, but it'll reach a bottom, hopefully soon, and come back fast and swift."

SEE ALSO: Fredrik Eklund, the founder of a bicoastal real estate team that signed $100 million in new contracts in one week, swears by this daily routine from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: We tested a machine that brews beer at the push of a button

• The presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, has picked Sen. Kamala Harris of California to be his running mate.
• Harris had competed against Biden in the crowded Democratic primary before bowing out in December.
• Before joining the US Senate, she served as the district attorney of San Francisco and as the attorney general of California.
• She will be the first Black woman and the first South Asian American woman on a Democratic ticket.
• Take a look inside the life and career of Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's choice for vice president.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

SEE ALSO: 4 books on race, immigration, and the American dream Kamala Harris thinks everyone should read

Kamala Harris was born in 1964 in Oakland, California, to graduates of the University of California at Berkeley. She has one younger sister, Maya.

Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, immigrated to the US from India, while her father, Donald Harris, immigrated to the US from Jamaica. They met as graduate students at UC Berkeley and divorced when Harris was young.

Kevin Sullivan wrote for The Washington Post that Harris visited India on vacations and that her mother cooked her and Maya Indian food at home.

Both parents brought Harris to civil-rights protests in Berkeley as a young child.

Harris spent a good portion of her childhood in Berkeley, where she attended Thousand Oaks Elementary School. Her family lived in Montreal for a few years before returning to the US.

As a young child, Harris took a bus that transported her to a different neighborhood as part of desegregation efforts.

The goal of busing— transporting students to schools in different neighborhoods — was desegregation.

One of the most memorable moments of the Democratic presidential primary came during a debate when Harris, addressing Biden, said: "There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day, and that little girl was me," before criticizing Biden's opposition to federally mandated busing in the 1970s.

Biden responded: "I did not oppose busing in America. What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education. That's what I opposed." 

Nellie Bowles reported for The New York Times that Harris took a bus to a predominantly white neighborhood to attend Thousand Oaks Elementary School starting in 1970 when busing was still in its early years.

Harris attended Howard University and the University of California's Hastings College of Law.

Harris was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at Howard. She told The Washington Post that she "became an adult" at the school.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Harris' political identity began to take shape at Howard, a historically Black university. 

The ESPN SportsCenter anchor Stan Verrett tweeted after Biden announced his selection that when he was pledging Alpha Phi Alpha at Howard in 1986, "an ambitious young woman was pledging Alpha Kappa Alpha there that spring" — and was now a vice-presidential nominee.

Harris worked at the Alameda County District Attorney's Office in Oakland for eight years, until 1998.

The Los Angeles Times' Michael Finnegan reported that she prosecuted murder, rape, assault, and drug cases in her first job after law school, as a deputy district attorney for Alameda County in Oakland.

At about the same time, Harris was dating Willie Brown, then the California State Assembly speaker and the future mayor of San Francisco. The couple ended their relationship before Brown became mayor.

In 2003, Harris told SF Weekly that Brown, and their past relationship, was an "albatross hanging around my neck."

"His career is over — I will be alive and kicking for the next 40 years," she said. "I do not owe him a thing."

Brown responded to Biden's choice of running mate by saying Harris should decline Biden's offers to join his ticket.

Harris served as district attorney of San Francisco from 2004 to 2010.

Harris was the first woman to serve as the district attorney of San Francisco and the first Black woman and South Asian American woman to hold that role.

In 2003, while running for the office, she said she would oppose the death penalty, and she stuck to the campaign promise four months later, when the police officer Isaac Espinoza was fatally shot by a gang member. Other prominent California Democrats including Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer criticized the decision, which Harris defended in an op-ed article in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Meagan Flynn reported for The Washington Post, however, that the death penalty was a "complex" part of Harris' legal career.

During her time as district attorney, she instituted "Back-to-Track," a reentry program "aimed at reducing recidivism among low-level drug-trafficking defendants." 

The program, meant to last 12 to 18 months, set goals defined by a personal-responsibility program tailored to each person. The program measured parenting, educational, and professional achievements and required several hundred hours of achievement. To graduate from the program, the participants were required to have secured employment, enrolled in school, and met their personalized requirements from the program.

In 2011, Harris became the attorney general of California.

Harris served as the attorney general of California for six years. During that time, she litigated against mortgage companies, for-profit colleges, and human trafficking, securing major settlements for the state.

President Donald Trump donated to two of Harris' bids for attorney general, The Washington Post's Matt Viser reported, as did Ivanka Trump.

In her first year as attorney general, Harris supported a law signed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that fined parents of "chronically truant" children several thousand dollars for missing more than 10% of school without a valid excuse. The penalty also included jail time. At the time, Julianne Hing wrote for Color Lines that it was "likely to disproportionately affect communities of color." Harris apologized for supporting the law in 2019.

In 2015, she upheld the conviction of George Gage, a man serving 70 years in prison over claims he assaulted his stepdaughter. Many spoke out against this, saying that Gage might be innocent and that his conviction might have been based on unreliable testimonies.

In 2018, the New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof called Harris a "flawed political leader" while discussing the case of Kevin Cooper, a death row inmate convicted of murder. Kristof named Harris and then-Gov. Jerry Brown as lawmakers who didn't allow "newly available DNA testing," and he said new DNA evidence might vindicate Cooper.

That same year, Harris said California should allow DNA testing for Cooper's case. 

In the past, civil-rights groups have been critical about how Harris has responded to instances of police shootings, saying she needs to be stricter on excessive force by police officers. 

A representative for Harris did not immediately respond to Business Insider.

Harris has been a US senator since 2017 — the second Black woman and first American of South Asian ancestry to hold that office.

Harris serves on multiple Senate committees— the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on the Budget.

She has often won praise for her prosecutorial lines of questioning during congressional hearings.

TechCrunch described Harris as putting Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg "between a rock and a hard place" in an April 2018 congressional hearing on data-mining misuse.

In May 2019, her fiery line of questioning during a congressional hearing on the Robert Mueller report made several headlines — specifically her tough treatment of Attorney General William Barr.

She is up for reelection in 2022.

Harris launched a bid for the Democratic nomination for president last year, dropping out in December.

During her run, participants in an Insider poll said they viewed Harris as one of the most progressive candidates in a crowded field of Democrats.

Business Insider's Eliza Relman previously wrote that her platform expressed support for universal paid leave, better wages for teachers, and a public option for healthcare.

Harris lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Doug Emhoff.

Emhoff, also a lawyer, is an outspoken supporter of his wife.

When Harris announced she was ending her presidential run, he tweeted: "I've got you. As always."

Emhoff is a partner at DLA Piper. According to his company profile, he represents individuals as well as corporations in complex business, real estate, and intellectual-property litigation. 

The couple met on a blind date and have been married since 2014. Harris is a stepparent to Emhoff's two children from a previous marriage.

In an op-ed article for Elle, Harris described her stepchildren as "brilliant, talented, funny kids who have grown to be remarkable adults."

• Biotech entrepreneur Kevin Ness just dropped $57.25 million on two adjacent luxury homes in Vail, Colorado.
• The purchase shattered the local real-estate record, almost doubling it.
• The homes are multi-story, modern recent builds with sweeping mountain views.
• Vail is a ski resort town of roughly 5,400 people. Its housing market is 80% dominated by second-home owners.
• The property includes sweeping views of Colorado mountains, multiple terraces, and amenities like elevators.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Biotech entrepreneur Kevin Ness just scooped up two adjacent properties in Vail, Colorado for $57.25 million, per Sotheby's International Realty.

The purchase completely obliterated the ritzy ski town's previous real-estate record, almost doubling it. The previous record was set by a $28.7 million sale in 2017.

The two homes, which make up an 11-bedroom duplex on roughly 15,000 square feet, were previously owned and built by Alejandro Rojas, a Mexican investor, who built them in 2017. They sit in the center of Vail, with sweeping views of Vail's Gore Range.

Tye Stockton of LIV Sotheby's International Realty represented Ness in the purchase.

Ness, who is the CEO of gene editing technology company Inscripta, told the Wall Street Journal he plans for it to be a "generational home." 

Here's a look inside the sprawling, record-breaking estate.

SEE ALSO: A sprawling estate in San Diego with a life-size chess board, waterfall, and Egyptian-themed movie theater is selling for $2.5 million — take a look inside Rancho Magdalena

NOW READ: A private island off the coast of Australia was once won in a poker game and sold for $78. Now it's back on the market asking $17 million — take a look inside.

Biotech entrepreneur Kevin Ness just bought two properties in the ritzy ski town of Vail, Colorado for $57.25 million.

Source:Wall Street Journal

The purchase almost doubled the previous local real-estate record, which was set in 2017 at $28.7 million.

Source:Wall Street Journal

Both homes have open layouts and sweeping views of the mountains.

Source:Wall Street Journal

The first, 99 Vail Road, has five bedrooms and eight bathrooms.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

The 6,525-square-foot home was built in 2017 and has amenities like wine coolers, wooden floors, an elevator, and high ceilings.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

Alone, the property was listed for $30 million.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

It also features a spacious patio with a spa.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

The second home, 100 Vail Road, is slightly bigger and every bit as extravagant.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

It is 8,559 square feet.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

The home has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

Both homes inspire indoor and outdoor living, with easy access to the expansive deck through wall-to-wall window doors.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

The space is made to feel even bigger by vaulted ceilings.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

Each room boasts a view as striking as the one found in the main living room.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

100 Vail Road was listed for $32.5 million, meaning that Ness nabbed both properties a touch under the asking price.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

This home has more than just a spa ...

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

... it has an additional outdoor pool and an interior lap pool.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

It was also built in 2017.

Source:Ron Byrne & Associates Real Estate

• Infinity pools, multimillion-dollar clubhouses, tennis courts, and spas are among the many amenities at luxury RV resorts.
• RV lots can come with villas or cottages that are outfitted with private kitchens, sun decks, fire pits, and private pools.
• Many luxury resorts only allow Class A motorhomes, which are the largest and most spacious type of RV and can cost up to $2 million.
• COVID-19 has increased sales of motorhomes and inquiries for RV resorts as travelers are looking for safe ways to travel domestically.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The sun is setting in Indio, California, and Dan Cross and wife, Colleen, are driving a golf cart along a palm tree-fringed path.

They're heading to their friends' home for dinner, where dinner is served on a private outdoor patio near the pool. Mountains loom in the distance and the blazing sun fades away as the friends talk in Desert Shores Motorcoach Resort, the luxury RV resort the Crosses have called part-time home for the past 12 years and where a lot costs an average of $400,000.

The Crosses have been RVing for nearly 35 years, and they've been in the high-end RV market for most of that time. Their primary residence is in Iowa, and they chose California to escape the cold Midwestern winters. They stay at Desert Shores from November through April, and to live there is to have a social existence. 

"There's an awful lot of socializing going on within the park," Cross told Business Insider. "During a typical week, you find people inviting their friends and neighbors over and having dinner on their patios."

RVing has long been a popular travel option, but as the coronavirus pandemic led to border shutdowns around the world, many Americans have turned to old-fashioned domestic road travel to satiate their cabin fever. RVshare, a peer-to-peer rental marketplace, reported a 650% increase in bookings since early April.

RVs are hotels, cars, and offices in one — with the added perk of bathrooms and WiFi. For families on the go, the sights and national parks in Western states like South Dakota, Wyoming, Arizona, and California remain top RV destinations. But for travelers who appreciate the finer things in life, luxury RV resorts, which are similar to five-star hotels, prove to be extremely popular.

Not just a place to park your RVs, RV resorts have spacious lots and operate essentially like country clubs, with monthly dues in exchange for access to a wide array of amenities.

No ordinary RV park

Just 30 minutes from Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park and one hour from Big Bear Lake, Desert Shores has 141 lots.

All guests at Desert Shores sleep in their motorhomes, but each of those lots also has a villa. They're aptly named "villas": Each measures between 1,200 and 1,800 square feet and is replete with its own pool, hot tub, and patio. Indoors, space opens up to a kitchen, a great room, a bathroom, and a garage. Owners can put their lots into a rental pool and renters must stay for a minimum of 31 days. 

Guests also have access to a 10,000-square-foot clubhouse, pool, spa, kitchen, ballroom, fitness center, tennis courts, a dog park and enhanced security.

Darren Leigh Smith, Desert Shores' Broker, says the resort attracts buyers seeking an upscale experience. 

"Our guests are primarily snowbirds from colder states, and most are self-made husband-and-wife duos who have built small businesses together," Smith said. "All of the hard work they put in affords them the time to enjoy life away from work more. They come to Desert Shores because of the extra space we provide with our large lots and casitas, which allows them to invite their kids and grandkids to visit, which can be hard to do with typical RV resorts."

Welcome to your land yacht

These specific restrictions match most of those who own Class A motorhomes. Like many of the luxury RV resort offerings, Desert Shores requires guests to have Class A motorhomes (also referred to as bus conversions and motorcoaches), which typically measure 36- to 45-feet long. They're the largest on the market, sleeping eight to 10 people.

These are also considered the most luxurious RVs out there and cost anywhere from $50,000 and to $3 million.

Among the many companies that create Class A motorhomes are Monarch, Marathon Coaches, Prevost, and Anderson Mobile Estates. These motorhomes are often regarded as "land yachts" for their expensive fabrics and flooring, top-notch appliances, and even rooftop hot tubs.  

Featherlite Coaches, a luxury motorcoach manufacturer, creates conversion motorhomes on the Prevost bus chassis with floor plans that can include multiple bathrooms, bunk beds that convert to closets, and dinettes that convert to coffee tables for entertaining. Many are even installed with Amazon Alexa voice controls, Apple TV, HDTV satellite antennas, and cellular routers to stay connected even in the most remote locations.

Mark Eisenhart, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Featherlite Coaches, told Business Insider the company has seen a marked increase in sales and deliveries of coaches since mid-May. Compared to the same months last year, sales and deliveries have more than doubled, Eisenhart said. 

"As more executives need to travel, and more families search for a safer way to travel and vacation, coaches offer a method to satisfy both needs," Eisenhart said.

The North Carolina RV resort beloved by Fortune 500 execs

The camaraderie and like-minded community is what draws people to RV resorts. 

"RV people are different. They like being outdoors, and they like being with their spouse," said Kyle McCain, an RVer and President of the Board of Directors at Mountain Falls Motorcoach Resort in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina. "Any one of us can get on an airplane and fly to the Ritz-Carlton. But if you're at an RV resort, you like being with similar people." 

Mountain Falls attracts an affluent clientele that includes Fortune 500 business executives, developers, oil company executives, hoteliers, and wine connoisseurs. McCain says COVID-19 has positively impacted sales at Mountain Falls, reporting a 127% increase in revenue and 102% increase in rentals over the last year.

There are 230 lots, most of which come with a cottage and can set you back $1.2 million to $3 million. There's no lack of activities to partake in on-site: the RV park has tennis courts, pickleball courts, a fitness center and spa, a nine-hole golf course, and two pools. That's in addition to a concierge who organizes off-property activities like hiking, and a chic clubhouse with stately stone fireplaces and a dining room.

"At Mountain Falls, ownership is inspired by the absolute beauty we're surrounded by — a state park wilderness on one side and the Blue Ridge Mountains on the other side," McCain said. "That, combined with the best amenities and social events that we, as 38-year RVers, have ever experienced."

Lisa Proctor and her husband, both of whom are retired, have been traveling to Mountain Falls for four years. They head there for the summer months to escape the sweltering Tennessee heat. Their small dog Roxy has been a trusty companion on their travels.

"RV living is, more than anything else, about being outside and away from the noise, confinement and complexity of urban life," she told Business Insider.

'A piece of paradise forever'

While some love the seclusion, others choose resorts for their proximity to the ocean and world-class golfing. Enter: Naples Motorcoach Resort in Naples, Florida.

Many RVers love Naples Motorcoach Resort because they can bring their boats for day trips or fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, to which the resort offers direct access. The 184-lot luxury resort's grounds feature manicured gardens, palm trees, and tidy green lawns. Among its amenities are three pools, fitness center, poker room, private theater, billiards room, and a ballroom. 

Chad Geffert, General Manager of Naples Motorcoach Resort, told Business Insider that owners typically build custom casitas with amenities like tiki huts, outdoor kitchens, and fire pits. Lots range from $129,900 to $289,000, excluding the cost of the customizations.

"RV ownership has gone up in the industry, and I think it's related to the fact that RVs are probably the safest way to travel for the next few years," Geffert said. Of Naples Motorcoach's clientele, he noted, "It's all large-scale, Class A motorhomes. When people come down from the north, they'll spend the whole season down here. It's more of a long-term resort with the option to buy and have a piece of paradise forever."

At Hearthside Grove Motorcoach Resort in Petoskey, Michigan, vacationers are able to access the outdoors in complete luxury. Lots have cottages with chic amenities and contemporary interiors, but they do not come cheap: Purchasing a lot can cost up to $1 million. 

The resort is ensconced in lush woodlands and is just minutes from the lake with easy access to golfing, sailing, fishing trips, and cooking classes with local chefs. It's the perfect family-friendly resort.

The ease of having an RV, especially during COVID-19, is paying off for several travelers. Cross and his wife will return to Desert Shores for their usual November to April season, but in the meantime, they're hoping to take a trip up to Michigan with the lifelong friends they've met at Desert Shores resort.

"We've built probably the best friends of our lives there," he said. "Like family." 

Join the conversation about this story »

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• A whimsical cottage that looks like it's from "The Hobbit" is on the market for $495,000, according to Inman.
• The Chicago home sits among lush greenery and has a "secret garden." Inside, vintage artifacts from around the world create a maximalist, charming vibe.
• It became so popular online that it was contracted to sell just three weeks after being listed.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

"Hobbit" fans, delight.

A whimsical cottage enshrouded in lush greenery, filled with vintage artifacts and boasting a "secret garden," has hit the market for $495,000— and it's been dubbed a hobbit home. While it looks like it's in the middle of a magical forest, the property is actually in a Chicago neighborhood.

With an eclectic mix of everything from stained glass accents and leopard-print details to Venetian lanterns and rich tapestries, it quickly went viral on the internet. The owners are selling the home as is, with all antiques and decor, hoping that the next owner will preserve the house's charm.

They were right. In just 23 days, the home was already contracted to sell. But because the sale has not yet gone through, the property is still on the market.

Take a look inside.

SEE ALSO: The iconic 'Golden Girls' house just hit the market for the first time at $3 million. Viewers have never seen what it really looks like inside — take a peek now.

DON'T MISS: John Lennon and Yoko Ono bought a Palm Beach summer retreat for $725,000 just before his murder. Now, it's on the market for $47.5 million — take a look inside.

Located in Chicago's landmarked The Villa District, the $495,000 white cottage offers countryside refuge just 15 minutes from the city.

The Villa District is known for its homes built in the Arts and Crafts and Prairie School architectural styles. There are only 126 homes in the Villa district.

Source: Team Fallico, Curbed Chicago

The cottage was built in 1904. It sits among lush greenery, as if situated in a magical forest.

Source: Block Club Chicago

Combined with a whimsical 1,869-square-foot interior rich in antiques, the home looks like something out of "The Hobbit."

Source: Inman

The current owners, Christa Brachert and her husband Donald Paset, own an antique shop and deal art, respectively. They spent half a century filling the cottage with interesting finds like a leopard-print stair runner and gondola lanterns.

Source: Inman

"The owners didn't believe in putting anything away in storage," Nick Fallico, the Dream Town Realty agent behind the listing, told Inman. "They felt that anything that goes in storage should be sold."

All the antiques and artifacts are included in the price of the house. The owners "want to sell it the way it is and hope the next buyer enjoys it as much as they have," Fallico said.

Source: Inman

Brachert said the home was originally a blank canvas. Now, "It's cozy and beautiful and fabulous," she told Block Club Chicago. "There is something magic about this house."

Source: Block Club Chicago

Brachert first tried decorating with one theme, but didn't like the constraints. The study exemplifies her mismatched approach, from paintings and printed rugs to bird house figurines.

Source: Block Club Chicago

She's particularly fond of her kitchen's cast-iron AGA gas range. Wreaths, herbs, and flowers hang from the ceiling.

Source: Block Club Chicago

There are three bedrooms, each with a different look. This one takes on a Moroccan vibe with bold colors and gilded accents.

Source: Team Fallico

In fact, many of the house's artifacts are from around the world, from Italian side tables to Russian wooden chairs.

Source: Block Club Chicago

Many of the walls are filled with tapestries or curtains Brachert has collected over the years.

Source: Block Club Chicago

There are also three bathrooms.

Source: Team Fallico

A French chaise percée sits atop the master bedroom's toilet.

Source: Block Club Chicago

Wrapped in endless greenery, the outdoor space is like a secret garden. Brachert divided it into "rooms."

Source: Block Club Chicago

There's a dining area, complete with a quaint table and wrought-iron chairs.

Source: Block Club Chicago

And a pool, which looks like you're swimming in a forest oasis.

Source: Team Fallico

There's also a nearby lounge area for drying off ...

Source: Team Fallico

... and a painting area, among other "rooms."

Source: Block Club Chicago

Brachert also cultivated a green archway canopy out on the sidewalk, which she said has been a popular spot for wedding and graduation photos.

Source: Block Club Chicago

It's no wonder the charming house has been so popular, viewed on Redfin more than 24,000 times and contracted to sell within three weeks.

Source: Inman

• A total of 131 billionaires or their spouses have donated to former Vice President Joe Biden's presidential campaign, a Forbes analysis of federal campaign records shows.
• The billionaires behind Netflix, SlimFast, Hyatt hotels, LinkedIn, and Star Wars all donated various amounts to Biden's election bid.
• Estée Lauder heir Ronald Lauder may have given $200,000 to President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, but his wife Jo Carole Lauder donated to Biden's.
• Some of Biden's billionaire donors gave only the maximum allowed to his campaign committee — $2,800 — and did not give large gifts to Super PACs like many of Trump's wealthy donors did.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Joe Biden might not be a billionaire like his opponent, but he sure is popular among members of the three-comma club.

The former vice president raked in donations from 131 billionaires, including those behind Netflix, Hyatt hotels, DreamWorks studios, LinkedIn, a Forbes analysis of federal campaign records and the magazine's own Billionaires List found.

Unlike President Trump's billionaire backers, several of Biden's donors gave only the $2,800 maximum allowed per donor to a campaign committee and did not pump extra funds into Super PACs or advertising. However, over the course of his 16-month campaign, Biden has had a greater number of billionaires or their spouses donate directly to his campaign than the president, who has only landed 99 billionaire donors despite fundraising for his reelection since 2017.

And now that Biden has announced Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, the gap between the two candidates' support among the three-comma club only stands to grow: Harris attracted donations from more billionaires than anyone else during the presidential primaries before withdrawing from the race in December.

Keep reading to learn more about some of Biden's most notable billionaire backers, listed in no particular order.

SEE ALSO: Meet the billionaires bankrolling Trump's 2020 campaign

DON'T MISS: A family feud, a real-estate empire, and a supermodel: Meet the family of 'coronavirus czar' Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and top adviser

Philanthropist Connie Ballmer, wife of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, donated $2,800.

Amount donated: $2,800

Net worth: $66.9 billion (attributed to Steve Ballmer)

Source of wealth: Microsoft, Los Angeles Clippers

Connie Ballmer, a former public relations executive turned philanthropist, leads her family foundation's work with impoverished children, according to her biography on the Ballmer's Group's website. 

Steve Ballmer made the couple's fortune after dropping out of Stanford's MBA program to become Microsoft's 30th employee, Forbes reports. Ballmer rose to become the software giant's CEO in 2000, a post he held for 14 years. The couple also owns the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team, per Forbes.

Jacqueline Mars, a part-owner of the world's largest candymaker, gave $500.

Amount donated: $500

Net worth: $28.5 billion

Source of wealth: Mars, Inc.

Jacqueline Mars, 80, is the granddaughter of Mars, Inc. founder Frank Mars, who started the company from his kitchen in Tacoma, Washington, in 1911.

The company produces Hershey's, Snickers, Twix bars, and M&Ms, in addition to several brands of pet food, according to its website. Mars shares ownership of the privately-held candymaker with her brother, John Mars, and her nieces, per Forbes. She is also a noted philanthropist and serves on the board of the National Archives.

Philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs donated only $2,800 directly to Biden's campaign but has spent millions on other efforts that support the former vice president's bid.

Amount donated: $2,800

Net worth: $20.3 billion

Source of wealth: Apple

Laurene Powell Jobs is a formidable presence in the investing world, and will likely be one in the 2020 election too. The 56-year-old billionaire used the fortune she inherited after the death of her husband, Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, in 2011 to expand her own businesses and philanthropy, Business Insider previously reported.

Jobs is a long time Democratic donor, having backed Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid by donating $2 million to her Super PAC and hosting a $200,000-a-plate fundraiser that raised over $4 million, CNN reported.

Outside of her donations to Biden's campaign, Jobs has also poured millions into voter registration programs supporting the former vice president, Vox's Theodore Schleifer reported.

Former Google executive Eric Schmidt gave $2,800.

Amount donated: $2,800

Net worth: $15.3 billion

Source of wealth: Google parent Alphabet

Eric Schmidt, 65, served as Google's CEO from 2001 to 2011 and was on the board of its parent company Alphabet until June 2019, per Forbes.

Homebuilding mogul Eli Broad donated $5,600.

Amount donated: $5,600

Net worth: $6.8 billion

Source of wealth: home builder Kaufman & Broad

The son of Lithuanian immigrants, 86-year-old billionaire Eli Broad built his fortune after founding home builder Kaufman & Broad, per Forbes. The firm became one of the largest homebuilding companies in the country, according to Forbes.

Broad is also a prominent philanthropist, sponsoring several education-focused organizations through his two foundations and opening a museum in Los Angeles to share his collection of contemporary art with the public, per Forbes. 

Hedge-fund manager David Siegel donated $2,800.

Amount donated: $2,800

Net worth: $6.1 billion

Source of wealth: hedge fund Two Sigma Investments

David Siegel, 58, built his fortune after founding data-driven hedge fund Two Sigma Investments, per Forbes. Before entering finance, Siegel founded an internet startup, according to Forbes.

Investor and philanthropist Mellody Hobson, the wife of Star Wars billionaire George Lucas, gave $2,800.

Amount donated: $2,800

Net worth: $5.8 billion (attributed to George Lucas)

Source of wealth: Star Wars producer Lucasfilm, investing

Mellody Hobson is the co-CEO and president of Chicago-based investment fund Ariel Investments. Hobson is also a noted philanthropist, having received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy alongside her husband, filmmaker George Lucas, in 2019. Hobson and Lucas operate a charitable family foundation that has over $1 billion in assets and completely funded The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, which is still under construction, per Forbes. 

Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings donated $2,800.

Amount donated: $2,800

Net worth: $4.6 billion

Source of wealth: Netflix

Reed Hastings, 59, cofounded Netflix in 1995 with Marc Randolph — a former employee of Hastings' first company, Pure Software — as a by-mail DVD rental service before transitioning it to streaming and content creation, per Forbes. Hastings' fortune comes from his 1.3% stake in Netflix, but he has said he plans to give most of it away as a signatory of the Giving Pledge, according to Forbes.

Philanthropist Jo Carole Lauder, wife of Trump donor and Estee Lauder heir Ronald Lauder, donated $2,800 to Biden's campaign.

Amount donated: $2,800

Net worth: $4.3 billion (attributed to Ronald Lauder)

Source of wealth: cosmetics maker Estée Lauder

Jo Carole Lauder is a philanthropist focusing on civics and the arts, having supported MoMA and Mount Sinai Medical Center, according to the Carnegie Foundation.

Lauder's husband, Ronald Lauder, inherited much of the couple's fortune in the form of a stake in the eponymous cosmetics company founded by his mother Estée Lauder, per Forbes.

Jo Carole does not share her husband's political convictions, however. Ronald Lauder described himself as a "lifelong Republican" to The New York Times in December 2019, and donated $200,000 to President Trump's 2020 presidential bid.

Quibi CEO Meg Whitman, once a Republican, donated $2,800.

Amount donated: $2,800

Net worth: $4.8 billion

Source of wealth: eBay

Meg Whitman may currently be the CEO of short-form video platform Quibi, but she made most of her wealth at her previous gig leading eBay, Forbes reported. Whitman was the auction site's CEO from 1998 to 2008, and then was the CEO of Hewlett-Packard from 2011 to 2015, Business Insider previously reported.

Whitman, 63, also once aspired to have a career in politics. She was the Republican nominee in the 2010 California gubernatorial race but was defeated by Jerry Brown.

Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw donated $5,600.

Amount donated: $5,600

Net worth: $3.6 billion (attributed to Spielberg; Capshaw's individual net worth is not publicly available)

Source of wealth: DreamWorks 

Steven Spielberg made much of his multibillion-dollar fortune from DreamWorks, the production studio he cofounded with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. Most recently, the trio sold the studio's animation business to NBC Universal for $3.8 billion in April 2016, The New York Times reported. The 73-year-old Academy Award-winning director behind films including "Jaws," "Jurassic Park," "Indiana Jones," and "Schindler's List" not only profits from royalties from his films, but also gets a kickback from every ticket sold to Universal theme parks thanks to the rides based off of his films, per Forbes.

Spielberg's wife, actress Kate Capshaw, is also wealthy in her own right. Capshaw has starred in films including "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," "Black Rain," "Dreamscape," and "SpaceCamp," per IMDB.

Filmmaker David Geffen also donated $5,600.

Amount donated: $5,600

Net worth: $8.9 billion

Source of wealth: DreamWorks

David Geffen, 77, cofounded DreamWorks alongside Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg and ran its animation division until its April 2016 sale to NBC Universal, per The New York Times. Geffen has also founded several record labels, including Asylum Records and Geffen Records, according to Forbes.

Several Hyatt Hotel heirs have contributed to Biden's campaign.

Amounts donated: $2,800 (Penny Pritzker), $5,600 (John Pritzker), $5,600 (Daniel and Karen Pritzker)

Net Worth: $2.8 billion (Penny Pritzker), $2.6 billion (John Pritzker), $2.4 billion (Daniel and Karen Pritzker)

Source of wealth: Hyatt Hotels

The Pritzkers are one of the richest families in America, with a combined net worth of $26.6 billion, Business Insider previously reported. Nine members of the family appeared on the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people in America in 2019 alone. The family fortune can be traced back to 1957 when Jay Pritzker, then a lawyer based in Chicago, bought a motel near the Los Angeles airport after noticing the need for more conveniently located high-quality rooms during a business trip there, per Business Insider.

Despite the family's fortune originating in hospitality, several members have gone into politics instead. Penny Pritzker was President Obama's Secretary of Commerce from 2013 to 2017 and J.B. Pritzker is the current governor of Illinois, according to Forbes. John Pritzker sold his stake in the family business to launch his own hotel chain that was later acquired by Hyatt, while Daniel Pritzker is a filmmaker, per Forbes.

New York Giants treasurer Jonathan Tisch donated over $11,000.

Amount donated: $11,200

Net worth: $1.5 billion

Source of wealth: Loews Corporation, New York Giants

Jonathan Tisch, 66, inherited a stake in the Loews Corporation, the insurance and drilling conglomerate founded by his father Bob Tisch and uncle Laurence Tisch in 1946, per Forbes. Jonathan currently serves as the CEO of Loews Hotels & Co and is the treasurer of the New York Giants, the NFL team co-owned by his brother Steve Tisch, according to the Giants' website.

Judith Dimon, wife of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, gave $2,800.

Amount donated: $2,800

Net worth: $1.2 billion (attributed to Jamie Dimon)

Source of wealth: bank JPMorgan Chase

Judith Dimon is a graduate of Harvard Business School and former American Express employee, according to Heavy. Her husband Jamie Dimon is one of only a handful of billionaires in banking, making much of the couple's fortune cofounding Citigroup and later becoming the CEO of JPMorgan Chase.

Biden is reportedly considering appointing Jamie Dimon to a top position at the Treasury Department if he is elected, Business Insider previously reported.

SlimFast creator S. Daniel Abraham gave millions to Hillary Clinton, but only $2,800 to Biden.

Amount donated: $2,800

Net worth: $2 billion

Source of wealth: SlimFast

S. Daniel Abraham, 95, invented weight loss plan SlimFast in 1976, according to Forbes. The drink became a phenomenon, eventually allowing Abraham to sell the brand to Unilever (the company that also owns Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Dove soap, Lipton tea) in 2000 for $2.3 billion. Four years later, Unilever sold SlimFast to Texas-based private equity firm Kainos Capital, Reuters reported. The brand's current owner, global nutrition group Glanbia, eventually purchased SlimFast in 2018.

Instead of investing it like other billionaires, Abraham has kept much of his fortune in cash and put it into trusts for his four daughters, according to Page Six. A family feud erupted over the trusts in 2016, Page Six reported at the time.

Abraham was a major donor to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid, giving $3 million, per Forbes.

LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman gave over a million dollars to a pro-Biden super-PAC.

Amount donated: $2,800 to Biden's campaign, $1.5 million to pro-Biden Super PAC Unite The Country

Net worth: $2 billion

Source of wealth: LinkedIn

Reid Hoffman, 52, cofounded career-oriented social media network LinkedIn in 2002, eventually profiting from its 2016 sale to Microsoft for $26.2 billion, Business Insider previously reported.

Hoffman is also famously a member of the "PayPal Mafia," a group of early PayPal employees that also includes Elon Musk and Peter Thiel that went on to found other, enormously successful Silicon Valley start-ups.

Real estate billionaire Jorge Perez donated $5,600.

Amount donated: $5,600

Net worth: $1.9 billion

Source of wealth: real-estate developer Related Group

Perez, 70, cofounded condo developer Related Group, which built New York's Hudson Yards, with fellow billionaire Stephen Ross, Business Insider previously reported.

Ross and Perez don't share the same political values, however. Ross hosted a fundraiser for President Trump in 2019 that raised $12 million, sparking a boycott of several brands tied to Ross' Related Companies, including Equinox and Blink gyms and SoulCycle.

Aileen Roberts, the wife of Comcast and NBC Universal CEO Brian Roberts, donated $2,800.

Amount donated: $2,800

Net worth: $1.9 billion (attributed to Brian Roberts)

Source of wealth: Comcast

Aileen Kennedy Roberts is a philanthropist who serves on the board of Philadelphia art museum the Barnes Foundation and runs a family foundation with her husband Brian. She has been married to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts since 1985, per The Los Angeles Times.

Dermatologist Dr. Katie Rodan gave $11,200.

Amount donated: $11,200

Net worth: $1.4 billion

Source of wealth: skincare lines Proactiv, Rodan + Fields

Dr. Rodan, a 64-year-old dermatology professor at Stanford, built her fortune creating and selling skincare products with her business partner and fellow dermatologist Dr. Kathy Fields, according to Forbes. The pair created acne-fighting line Proactiv, and more recently, the multi-level marketed anti-aging line Rodan + Fields. Rodan + Fields alone was valued at $1.5 billion in 2017, Forbes reported.

KIND bar billionaire Daniel Lubetzky and his wife Michelle donated $8,400.

Amount donated: $8,400

Net worth: $1.2 billion

Source of wealth: KIND Healthy Snacks

Daniel Lubetzky, 51, was inspired to create the first KIND bar after trying a snack bar made with whole fruits and nuts while on a business trip in Australia, according to Forbes. KIND Healthy Snacks has sold an estimated two billion all-natural bars since 2004, even attracting an investment from Snickers and M&M's maker Mars at a valuation of $4 billion in 2017, The New York Times reported.

Lubetzky and his wife Michelle share four children and live in New York City, per Forbes.

Major Democratic donor George Soros gave $505,600 to Biden's joint fundraising committee in May.

Amount donated: $505,600

Net worth: $8.6 billion

Source of wealth: Hedge funds

Soros, a former hedge fund manager and favorite target of right-wing conspiracy theorists, is now a full-time philanthropist, Business Insider previously reported. The 90-year-old billionaire is also one of the Democrats' biggest donors, having given $8 million to various groups during the 2020 election cycle, per Forbes.

• From painting the nursery to changing a light bulb or hanging holiday lights, everyday life often calls for a ladder.
• The Little Giant 22-Foot Multi-Use Ladder is our top choice because it allows for safe use up high, in stepladder configuration, and even on the stairs.

If you find yourself teetering on top of a chair as you reach for a burned-out light bulb, you need to get a ladder. If it's time to paint a room with a ceiling much taller than seven feet, it's ladder time. If there are trees to prune, strands of lights to hang, or gutters to be cleaned, then a good ladder is a great idea.

Buying a ladder is no time to pinch your pennies. According to the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), there are more than 164,000 annual emergency room visits caused by ladder falls, and as many as 300 annual deaths from falls off ladders. And we're not talking about people tumbling down several stories off of huge industrial-grade ladders: Most ladder fall deaths occurred after a drop of fewer than ten feet.

While I'm not a certified home inspector, I do own three ladders and have been through a few more in my day. From repairs in and around the house to landscaping to hanging pictures to replacing scores of bulbs over the years, I can say I've certainly never regretted the fact that we've always chosen decent hardware in the ladder department.

If all you need are a few extra feet of height to reach shelves in the kitchen or light fixtures in the bathroom, then a smaller stepladder is fine. If you're painting a room or trimming some smaller trees, an A-frame ladder is a perfect choice. But if you need to be fifteen or twenty feet off the ground (or more), then you need to be ready to spend a chunk of change. It's an investment in safety and efficiency.

Fortunately, many modern ladders are so adaptable that they can elevate you more than twenty feet into the air for some gutter cleaning or roof repair or can fold down into a five-foot stepladder perfect for use in the garage or kitchen. We've included many different types of ladders to suit different needs.

Here are the best ladders:

• Best overall: Little Giant 22-Foot Velocity Multi-Use Ladder 
• Best for painting: Louisville Ladder FS1508 Fiberglass Ladder
• Best stepladder: Rubbermaid RM-3W Folding 3-Step Stepladder
• Best portable: Ohuhu EN131 Telescopic Extension Ladder

Updated on 8/12/2020. We updated prices, links, and formatting.

SEE ALSO: The best tape measures you can buy

The best overall

The Little Giant 22-Foot Multi-Use Ladder is versatile enough for use all around the home and capable enough for use at commercial construction sites.

You know that old adage about using the right tool for the job? Well that's true with more than just hammers, screwdrivers, or monkey wrenches. You need to use the right ladder for the task at hand, too. Fortunately, the Little Giant 22-Foot Velocity Multi-Use Ladder is essentially four different ladders in one, so this one tool can be just right for everything from painting the walls of a stairwell to cleaning the gutters of a two-story home to refinishing a ceiling.

At its full extension, the Little Giant Velocity offers you 22 feet of added height, perfect for reaching the roofline of most homes or smaller commercial facilities. It can also be folded into a freestanding A-frame configuration for use beneath trees or when you're working on walls or ceilings. With its sections adjusted to disparate lengths, you can use this ladder on a staircase and feel as stable as you would on flat ground.

The Little Giant 22-Foot Velocity Multi-Use Ladder exceeds all ANSI and OSHA safety standards, and if it's good enough for the professionals, it's probably good enough for your home. It supports up to 300 pounds, so go ahead and haul some hardware up there with you.

Pros: Versatile configurations, good weight capacity, stable and durable

Cons: Expensive option, proper use requires patience and practice

The best for painting

The Louisville Fiberglass Ladder is not only the perfect height for most residential painting projects, but its clever molded-in features, like a paint can hanger and slots for brushes, make the work cleaner, faster, and safer, too.

Most homes built in the last twenty years have a minimum ceiling height of nine feet. Many newer homes have ten and twelve-foot ceilings, too. With the eight-foot-tall Louisville Ladder FS1508 Fiberglass Ladder, it will be easy for you to reach the ceilings and of course all the wall space in almost any home, or in most commercial locations, too.

Painting requires an A-frame-style ladder. You can't very well lean the top rung of a ladder against the wall you intend to paint, after all, and if you're working on a ceiling, there might not even be any walls nearby that could offer support. 

While projects like as changing out a light fixture or swapping an air filter might last only a matter of minutes, painting a room (or exterior) means spending a lot of time on that ladder, so you need to choose one that's stable and sturdy, which this ladder is. Each step is secured with six rugged tubular steel rivets, while the feet consist of thick rubber pads with multiple squares in a waffle iron pattern that allows for excellent stability on all sorts of surfaces.

What sets this ladder away from the herd of other A-frame painting ladders is what you'll find up top. The plastic molded top of this unit features slots perfect for paintbrushes and other tools, a wide cup-holder space suitable for smaller cans of paint or stain (or a cup), a hook for a paint can, and nooks for screws, nails, and other hardware. Why climb up and down all the time when you can stash the stuff you need close at hand?

This ladder comes in multiple height options, though we recommend the 8- or 10-foot option.

Pros: Lightweight and sturdy, convenient tool organization, stable foot design

Cons: Quality control issues see some "new" ladders arrive with damage

The best stepladder

The Rubbermaid Folding 3-Step Stepladder puts those highest shelves and cabinets in easy reach and then tucks away behind the door or in the closet.

The right tool for the right job doesn't always mean the best choice is the biggest, fanciest option out there. This beloved little stepladder weighs in at a mere 13.2 pounds, yet it can safely accommodate up to 200 pounds of weight. For quick tasks like dusting the door frames, wiping down the windows, or grabbing a can of soup from a top shelf in the pantry, it's hard to beat the classic Rubbermaid RMA-3 Folding 3-Step Stepladder.

This handy ladder locks in place in about one second, offering you a top standing height of 27.25 inches above the ground. In most homes, that's enough added elevation for most people to touch the ceiling. When you're finished with this or that little task or project, the stepladder folds flat enough to slide behind any door, to tuck away under a bed or dresser, or even to slip between an appliance and the wall.

You probably won't mind that comfort grip handle on top of the stepladder, either, which helps provide stability during use and easy carrying around the home. The textured steps also help prevent slips.

Pros: Good price for good quality, folds flat for storage, easy to move around house

Cons: Not suitable for outdoor use

The best portable

The Ohuhu Telescopic Extension Ladder can tuck away into the trunk of a car and be carried around under one arm, yet it extends to 12.5 feet.

The first time I saw one of these ladders, it was slung under the arm of the inspector coming to look over, under, and through my house. He was a burly guy, easily 6'2" and 250 pounds, yet he clambered up and down his telescopic Ohuhu ladder a dozen times in the next few hours, folding it down to move it around the house and yard multiple times during the process. When he was done, he collapsed it back into a compact enough package to grab with one hand and casually carry out through the door and into the back seat of a car. I was impressed, to say the least.

The Ohuhu EN131 Telescopic Extension Ladder has a maximum extension of 12.5-feet, which means a person of average height can use it to reach surfaces about fifteen feet off the ground, which is more than enough height for myriad residential and commercial applications. 

While this ladder is indeed solid enough for commercial use — and especially for an inspector or contractor on the move — it's ideal for the home where storage space is at a premium. The ladder is just 40.2 inches tall when collapsed down small, and it weighs only a few ounces more than 25 pounds, so most people can move it around with ease.

Pros: Highly portable, compact and easy storage, anti-pinch safety features

Cons: Extending and collapsing can require force and jiggling

Why having a sturdy ladder is important

A few years back, when my wife and I had just bought our first house, I set out to decorate its rather tall, pointed eaves with Christmas lights. I borrowed a ladder from a neighbor and, despite the fact that it felt a bit rickety, I started upward with strands of lighting wrapped around a shoulder. About halfway up the twenty-foot climb, I started to hear audible creaking and popping noises and felt the ladder buckling.

No, I didn't fall off, but what I did do is climb right the hell down and headed off to a hardware store. A couple hundred dollars later I had a large, rugged 24-foot ladder that stayed stable and steady even when I was upon the last rungs. I still have that ladder and have used it every year since for multiple projects. Did I love spending more than two hundred bucks on a ladder? No, not really. But it was better than becoming a statistic cited by the InterNACHI.

Check out our other DIY and tool buying guides

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A cordless power drill is one of the most versatile tools you can keep in your home. It works to bore holes, drive screws, and stir mortar, among other tasks. Here are our top picks.

The best tape measures you can buy

No toolkit is complete without a great measuring tape. From the professional contractor's work to the DIY home repair, countless projects call for precise measurements. Here are our favorites.

The best basic tool kits for DIY home projects

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Sure, hammers have a pretty simple design, but that doesn't mean all hammers are created equal. We rounded up the very best options.

• Ryan Serhant is the star of "Million Dollar Listing New York" and he's one of the city's top real estate agents. 
• Despite the market coming to a halt in March and the mass exodus of city dwellers between March and May, Serhant sees a quick comeback for NYC real estate and doesn't expect the pandemic to change New York's value long-term. 
• Pointing to the growth he sees for the market over the next decade, Serhant said, "2021 to 2031 will be absolutely insane. NYC is already on its way back." 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The pandemic has driven a particularly hard hit to the New York real estate market, but Ryan Serhant says buyers and sellers shouldn't expect that to last for long.  

In the city where property values only ever seem to go up, the usual seller's market was subject to a harsh new reality at the onset of the pandemic in March, when it began to feel the effects of the virus at its worst and citywide shutdown orders took full effect. 

The lockdown meant real estate in Manhattan came to a sudden halt, with showings on pause and some deals even falling through or forced into renegotiations, often in favor of the buyer. 

According to New York Times data, about 5% of the city emptied out between March 1 and May 1, an estimated 420,000 people. And in some of Manhattan's wealthiest neighborhoods like the Upper East Side, West Village, and SoHo, residential populations decreased by 40% or more, as Business Insider previously reported. 

Despite the impact the pandemic has had on city real estate, top NYC agent — whose team ranked third nationally and first in New York by sales volume in 2019, with over $700 million in deals — and "Million Dollar Listing New York" star Ryan Serhant told Business Insider that he doesn't expect the changes to last very long. 

Serhant acknowledged the mass movement to suburban escapes is real, as is the value people have found in land these days. He said the amount of outside-the-city space that's sold since March has been "insane." 

But that hasn't deterred him from betting on New York City for the long term. 

Despite pandemic setbacks, "You don't bet against New York," he said, pointing to the market's long term value. "It'll be tough this year, but 2021 to 2031 will be absolutely insane. NYC is already on its way back." 

He compared the virus' impact to that of other major crises to hit New York, from 9/11 to the 2008 market crash and even Hurricane Sandy.

"We came back stronger than ever after every crisis," he said, and whereas those were more New York-centric crises, "This is global. It affects everybody." 

SEE ALSO: 2 'Million Dollar Listing' stars break down why the Los Angeles real estate market could be poised for a big post-lockdown comeback

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