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18 jokes that will make you seem smarter

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Mark Zuckerberg Facebook CEO Palo Alto

As with inside jokes, we often appreciate intellectual jokes because we understand them in a way that others may not.

For the nerd in us all, INSIDER combed through Reddit to compile a list of the best jokes for smart people that we could find.

You don't have to be a genius to understand these, but you may have to know a thing or two about physics, literature, sociology, and more. Luckily, we've also included explanations if some of the jokes go over your head.

Here are 18 jokes and puns that made us laugh, groan, and smirk in satisfaction:

1. Who is this Rorschach guy and why does he paint so many pictures of my parents fighting?

Here's why it's funny: The Rorschach test is a projective psychological test created by Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach in 1921. During the test, a psychologist shows you several inkblot cards and records your perception of each one. It's typically used to examine a patient's subconscious or unconscious thoughts, personality traits, and hidden emotions.

So a person thinking they see their parents fighting when they see a Rorschach test? They probably have some unconscious thoughts to work out.

Source: Deleted user, Reddit

 



3. Two sociologists are sitting by the pool. One turns to the other and asks, "Have you read Marx?" to which he replies, "Yes, it's these damn wicker chairs."

Here's why it's funny: Sociologists are likely well-acquainted with Karl Marx's theories about economics, politics, and society. But this joke isn't about Marx or his ideas, but about how wicker chairs tend to leave red indentations on your skin.

While the sociologist who asked the question meant, "Have you read Marx?" the other sociologist heard it as, "Have you red marks?"

Source: tall_where_it_counts, Reddit



3. Pavlov is sitting at a pub enjoying a pint. The phone rings and he jumps up shouting, "Oh s---, I forgot to feed the dog!"

Here's why it's funny: Originally told by comedian Irwin Barker, this joke draws upon Ivan Pavlov's groundbreaking research on classical conditioning and behavioral psychology.

In his experiments, Pavlov — who had previously observed that dogs drooled at the sight of food — conducted trials in which he rang a bell before he fed a dog. Eventually, the dogs, who had been conditioned to associate the sound of the bell with food, started drooling at the sound of the bell alone.

This joke turns the experiment on its ear with Pavlov hearing a sound and remembering to feed the dogs.

Source: disposableaccountass, Reddit



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 10 crucial business books that explain why modern capitalism works the way it does now

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margot robbie big short

Fifty years ago, capitalism in the West was based on manufacturing that provided well-paid, lifelong jobs and close to full employment. By the 1970s and 1980s that system was carrying a layer of credit and debt that made it more lucrative for banks to extract profits from deals and transactions than provide financing for the creation of actual products.

And then, in the 1990s, the burgeoning tech industry made physical products even less relevant — and even more lucrative for investors and speculators.

These 10 classic business books tell the story of how capitalism changed from a system that made things into a trading desk for bonds, credit derivatives, and leverage ... and created modern inequality along the way.

We've arranged the books chronologically. If you read them in this order you'll see how one segues into the next, and how dramatically capitalism has changed in the last 50 years.

RANK AND FILE (1973): The brutal, forgotten history of ordinary people who faced down death threats to get decent pay and safety standards at work.

"Rank and File" is an oral history of the lives of a dozen workers' rights activists during the six decades to the end of the 1960s, a period in which Americans went from being little more than slaves to some of the best-paid employees on the planet.

Pursuing the American Dream in the mines, steel works, and meat yards of pre- and post-war America sometimes meant risking your life, as authors Alice and Staughton Lynd recount in this often overlooked book.

Jock Yablonksi, for instance, was shot to death in his Clarksville, Pennsylvania, home, along with his wife and daughter, on New Year's Eve, 1967. Their bodies were discovered six days later. They were murdered because Yablonski stood in a union election against the president of the United Mine Workers, whom Yablonski believed was more concerned with interests of mine owners than that of miners.

It's gruelling stuff — but required reading if you want to know what "blue collar" really meant in the days when work was done in factories rather than offices.



BARBARIANS AT THE GATE (1989): An epic thriller about '80s excess, a time when debt financing replaced manufacturing as capitalism's main focus.

"Barbarians" is regarded by many as the greatest business book ever written. In 1988, the flamboyant CEO of RJR Nabisco, F. Ross Johnson, decided he could buy his company outright, take it private, and then sell it again later at a profit. The deal would use a "leveraged buyout"— a transaction that would let Johnson use junk bonds (risky corporate debt)  to pay for the deal. He offered $17 billion, or $75 a share, for a stock that had been trading at $55.

The flaw in Johnson's plan was immediately obvious to Wall Street: Once the board agreed to consider the deal it was required to consider competing bids too — and they flooded in. Anarchy ensued. Bryan Burrough and John Helyar had sources inside every office, enabling them to eavesdrop on every conversation, every plot, every betrayal.

Ultimately, the LBO specialist firm Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts triumphed in a frenzied auction, with a $25 billion ($109 per share) offer — the largest corporate takeover in history.

KKR then stripped the company of its assets as it struggled to pay the debt that financed the deal, turning a once-great consumer product empire into a husk of its former self. 



LIAR'S POKER (1989): The classic tale of life inside Salomon Brothers that defined how stories about Wall Street are told.

This was Michael Lewis's first book, and it covers the three years he spent as a bond trader at Salmon Brothers in the 1980s. It set the tone for everything we understand about Wall Street today, and much of what we remember about the money-hungry 1980s.

Lewis's tale focuses on the bond trading desks' hyper-macho culture of practical jokes and prideful greed. "Big swinging dicks" and "feeding frenzy" are among two of the phrases the book popularised. In a climactic scene, CEO John Gutfreund proposes playing one hand of Liar's Poker — a guessing game based on the serial numbers printed on dollar bills — for $1 million.

The book also describes Lewis's experience selling junk bonds before Black Monday in October 1987, when the market crashed, and thus provides an anxious appetiser for what happened next ...



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

We tried Cracker Barrel to see if it's better than Waffle House — and the winner is clear

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Waffle House Cracker Barrel thumb

Two roads diverge off an exit ramp on a Southern interstate.

One leads to Waffle House. 

The other, Cracker Barrel. 

It's a common conundrum amongst hungry travelers: which to pick? The 24/7 late-night haunt serving up diner classics, or the faux-nostalgic Americana chain known for its country fixin's?

On a recent road trip, we dined at both iconic establishments. Here's which highway pit stop come out on top. 

Cracker Barrel has 645 locations in 44 states. According to the company, roughly 60% of customers are travelers — just like us when we arrived. We found a Cracker Barrel in Richmond, Virginia, on an ominously dark and stormy evening.



Cracker Barrel is known for its "Country Store", but after a long day of travel, we had one thing on our mind: food.



Cracker Barrel's wall are blanketed with with what can only be described as decor one would find raiding antique shops and grandparents' attics across the country. It's American tchotchke galore.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A new Sonic game is on the way, and it looks exactly like Sonic did 20-plus years ago

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For millions of kids in the '90s, the war between Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog was serious business.

And for Nintendo and Sega, it was actually serious business. Nintendo controlled north of 90% of the video game market before Sega — and a speedy blue cartoon hedgehog named Sonic — showed up.

Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog

"Sonic the Hedgehog"— the original Sega Genesis game, not the character — is beloved among game fans of a certain age. It starred the hard-edged Sega equivalent of Nintendo's goofy, floppy-hatted Super Mario. It was fast, it was edgy, and it was fresh. (It didn't hurt that Sega included the game for free with new Genesis consoles, making it the first-ever successful free-to-play game.)

For years, fans have wanted a return to the original, 16-bit-era version of "Sonic the Hedgehog" that they grew up with. And now, those fans are taking over the creation of exactly such a project.

This is "Sonic Mania":

SEE ALSO: Nintendo is about to release a miniature version of the original SNES — here's everything we know about it

If "Sonic Mania" looks familiar, that's because it's a spitting image of the original "Sonic the Hedgehog" games.



It stars Sonic (the hedgehog), Tails, and a third playable character....



Knuckles! He's an echidna.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 10 best everyday exercises for burning calories

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A man running up the valley

There are a lot of great reasons to exercise. But one of the most basic goals is to burn calories.

The best way to do that is by picking something you like enough to do regularly over time. If you are deciding between a few different activities, you may want to pick the one that burns the most energy.

The Mayo Clinic, drawing on research published by the National Institutes of Health, ranks 36 popular forms of exercise based on their caloric impacts, which we've ranked in another articleHere, we've listed the top ten, with approximate calories burned per hour.

Each graphic lists calories burned per hour for a 200-pound person, while the header above lists calories burned for a 160-pound person. (According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American women weigh 168.5 pounds on average, compared with 195.7 pounds for the average American man.)

Exact figures will vary across body types, gender, age, and other factors. Additionally, exercise on its own doesn't do much to make you lose weight. If you want to slim down, we suggest talking to a doctor about what a healthy weight is for you and cutting down on sugar and large portions.

SEE ALSO: The 39 best ways to burn the most calories in an hour

Rollerblading: 548 calories/hour for a 160-pound person, 683 calories/hour for a 200-pound person

BI Graphics_Burning calories rollerblading

This calculation is for "recreational" rollerblading, though athletes traveling at top speeds will burn even more calories.



Basketball: 584 calories/hour for a 160-pound person

BI Graphics_Burning calories basketball



Flag football: 584 calories/hour for a 160-pound person

BI Graphics_Burning calories flag football



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Bank of America just revealed its new travel rewards credit card — here's how it compares to the Chase Sapphire Reserve and others (BAC)

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Bank of America

Bank of America is stepping up its game in the travel rewards credit card competition, revealing its new Premium Rewards card, which will launch in September, the Wall Street Journal reported this week. 

The bank, the second-largest in the US by assets, has largely avoided the fierce battle for young, affluent credit card holders that has raged the past year since JPMorgan Chase unveiled its heralded Sapphire Reserve card.

Since the Sapphire Reserve's release last August, other competitors like American Express and Citi have tweaked their upper echelon reward card offerings to compete — even as the early returns suggest Chase may be struggling to make money off its blockbuster card so far. 

The pitfall of offering such lucrative rewards — Chase was handing out 100,000-point sign up bonuses before it slashed that down to 50,000 earlier this year — is it's tough to make money if customers stick around only long enough to reap the bonuses. Churners don't make for good business.

So how is Bank of America distinguishing its Premium Rewards card? For starters, it will have a lower bonus, lower minimum-spending threshold to earn that bonus, and lower annual fee. 

But perhaps more importantly, the points cardholders will earn directly correspond with how much money they have at the bank, rewarding those enrolled in their Preferred Rewards program who have deeper ties and are less likely to cut and run. 

BI Intelligence's Jaime Toplin explains

"At its base, consumers get two rewards points for travel and dining, and 1.5 for everything else — a platform similar to 'mass-market' cards, according to the WSJ. But the firm also has a tiered system in place, where consumers with active BofA accounts can get higher rewards based on their account balances, with totals of up to 3.5 and 2.6 points, respectively, available to consumers. This system could help the card attract and incentivize lucrative customers without sacrificing mass appeal, ultimately broadening its user base."

Here's a look at how Bank of America's new card compares with the Sapphire Reserve and other competitors in the premium credit card rewards space.

Note: Card benefits listed are not exhaustive 

1. Bank of America Premium Rewards

Annual fee: $95

Sign-up bonus: 50,000 points

Spending required for sign-up bonus: $3,000

Points per dollar spent (tiered system based on how much cash you have deposited or invested with the bank):

• 2 for travel/dining, 1.5 for all other purchase (Less than $20,000 deposited)

• 2.5 for travel/dining and 1.875 on all other purchases ($20,000 to 49,999 deposited)

• 3 for travel/dining and 2.25 on all other purchases ($50,000 to 99,999 deposited)

• 3 for travel/dining and 2.25 on all other purchases (More than $100,000 deposited)

Other perks:

• $100 travel credit for airline travel expenses (like baggage fees; doesn't include airfare)

• $100 application credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck



 

 



Chase Sapphire Reserve

Annual fee: $450

Sign-up bonus: 50,000 points

Spending required for sign-up bonus: $4,000

Points per dollar spent:

• 3 for travel/dining, 1 for all other purchase 

Other perks:

• $300 credit for travel expenses

• $100 application credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck

• Priority Pass airport lounge membership



Citi Prestige

Annual fee: $450

Sign-up bonus: 75,000 points

Spending required for sign-up bonus: $7,500

Points per dollar spent:

• 3 for travel, 2 for dining, 1 for all other purchase 

Other perks:

• $250 credit for airline expenses

• Book four nights at a hotel, and Citi will comp the fourth night

• $100 application credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck

• Priority Pass airport lounge membership



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 25 best games every PlayStation 4 owner should have in their library

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Playstation 4 cats

The PlayStation 4 is the world's most popular game console — by a mile.

There are many contributing factors to the PS4's dominance, but the biggest and most important reason is the games. Not only does it play most games made available on other rival consoles (like the Xbox One), but it also has an incredible lineup of games that are literally not playable elsewhere.

Many of the games on this list are Sony- or PS4-exclusive, but all of the following games are worth owning if you're one of the 63+ million people that owns a PlayStation 4. Check it out:

SEE ALSO: Every PlayStation 4 game I own — RANKED

The Witness

In "The Witness," you're alone on a colorful, serene island teeming with puzzles. Your job is to solve those puzzles. Some are easy, others will drive you to the brink of insanity — there's no other game like it.



The Last Guardian

"The Last Guardian," like "The Witness," is also about solving puzzles, but it's also about love and friendship, too. Most notable here is the hand-drawn art style — it looks and feels more like a living Studio Ghibli movie than a video game. It's also a PS4 exclusive.



The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

You will literally never run out of things to do in "The Witcher 3." The number of tasks, missions, and side quests is almost overwhelming — but it really speaks to the immersive level of this open-world fantasy game, which won several Game of the Year awards in 2015.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

What happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis — the 13-day standoff that almost ended the world

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cuban missile crisis

The ongoing feud between President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un has prompted repeated comparisons to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Although it's debatable how similar the two situations really are, some experts have noted that the threat to the United States was the same in each instance — both Russia and North Korea had developed the capability of reaching the US with nuclear missiles, eliciting sharp responses from the respective American presidents.

In 1962, a feverish 13-day standoff took place, during which time it wasn't clear whether the US would face an attack from Soviet missiles launched from Cuba.

Here's what went down:

SEE ALSO: Fidel Castro once asked the leader of the Soviet Union to annihilate the US with nuclear weapons

Tensions between the US and Cuba escalated in the 1950s after Fidel Castro ousted US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista, culminating with the botched Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 — years before the missile crisis erupted



US-backed Cuban exiles had attempted to invade the Bay of Pigs with the goal of overthrowing Castro and the Communist Party, but were defeated by Castro's military within days



Castro made a covert agreement in July 1962 with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to host Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba

The move was partly an effort to deter the US from attempting another Cuban invasion, and partly a way to maximize the Soviet Union’s nuclear strike capability. Missile site construction began that summer.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Apple makes 23 different dongles — and it would cost you $857 to buy them all (AAPL)

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iPhone 7 headphone dongle plugged in

Last September, Apple forced new iPhone owners to accept a new reality: If you wanted to connect wired headphones to the iPhone 7, the first iPhone without a headphone jack, you'd have to use a tiny adapter.

Unofficially called a dongle, the Lightning-to-headphone-jack adapter came free with new iPhones, or cost an extra $9 on Apple's online store. 

The latest iPhone isn't the only Apple product that needs an array of dongles to become its most useful self. You need a dongle to connect your MacBook Air to an ethernet cable. You'll also need a dongle if you'd like a second screen for your computer, or if you'd like to import photos from an SD card. If you were hoping to plug a flash drive right into your new MacBook, think again: You're going to need a USB to USB-C dongle for that. 

Apple dongles

That got us thinking: How many Apple dongles are there? And if you happened to need all of them, how much would that cost you?

We took a look through Apple's online store in an attempt to nail down the complete dongle lineup. We eliminated all the dongles not made by Apple (although Belkin makes this particularly useful adapter), and didn't count standard power cables, chargers, or plugs. 

We counted a grand total of 23 dongles on Apple's website, which would cost $857 (not including tax) to buy them all. Take a look:

 

SEE ALSO: This $30 Apple Pencil stand highlights everything that's wrong with Apple accessories

1. Lightning to 30-pin Adapter (0.2 m), $39



2. Lightning to 30-pin Adapter, $29



3. Lightning to USB Camera Adapter, $29



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

How making music for a comedy is totally different than making it for a drama — and the surprising similarities

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Novack headshot color

The 90s are so hot right now, and the creators of "Wet Hot American Summer" took advantage of that with "Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later," which made its debut on Netflix last week.

"10 Years Later" takes place in 1991, while the original 2001 film, and the first Netflix series "First Day at Camp," take place in 1981. 

While the absurd spirit of the out-there comedy remains in "10 Years Later," its 90s setting changed some things, from the hair to the fashion to the music. 

Creating a soundtrack that mirrors and makes fun of the best (and worst) of the 90s grunge scene was quite a challenge.

Business Insider recently spoke to Matt Novack, one of the composers, about the challenges of composing comedy, and parodying the music of a nostalgic decade. 

Here's what it's like to compose comedy, especially one like "Wet Hot," that is so outside the norm:

SEE ALSO: We talked to the guy who makes dragons come to life on 'Game of Thrones' about Sunday's big, fiery battle

"I fell into comedy and it just kind of hit me unexpectedly and I've loved it ever since."

Novack originally wanted to compose drama and sci-fi scores. 



"With 'Children's Hospital' and 'Wet Hot,' having the ability to score seriously with such an absurd style of comedy really helped sell the comedy itself, rather than just writing jokey, slap-sticky queues."

Novack pointed out that with comedy, it's easy to go too big with the music. Novack and his team work with the directors and creators of the show to make sure that they're letting jokes and scenes speak for themselves. 



"Everyone on 'Wet Hot' — all the actors, everyone involved, treats it as serious as possible. Even though it's completely bonkers . . it's true."

"A lot of the comedy works because the performances, everyone is committing to it," Novack said. "So I think the score takes the same approach. And this season, a lot of it had to do with doing a parody. This season there's a lot of horror, thriller, psychotic storylines. Part of that was just being an homage to that type of thriller."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 15 US cities with the absolute worst traffic

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traffic

Auto and tech companies are pouring money into car-sharing and autonomous driving as traffic becomes a bigger issue in cities.

It's such a problem that the average US commuter spends 42 hours stuck in traffic a year, according to a report by the Texas Transportation Institute

TomTom, a navigation and mapping company, ranked US cities that have the most traffic congestion in its 2017 Traffic Index.

After collecting data over a nine-year time span, TomTom measured the extra travel time experienced by drivers over an entire year. TomTom assessed 189 cities overall and gave each a congestion score out of 100. Each percentage represents how much extra travel time it took on average to make any trip, anywhere in the city. 

Here are the most congested cities in the US:

SEE ALSO: Elon Musk's tunnel project won't cut down on LA traffic — at least not at first

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15. Austin received a score of 25%, meaning it took commuters 25% more time to travel anywhere in the city. That's a 3% increase from 2016, showing traffic conditions have worsened.



14. Chicago got a score of 26%, the same as the year prior.



13. Baton Rouge received a score of 26%. That's the same as Chicago, but the score was a 3% increase from 2016, showing congestion is becoming a bigger issue in the Louisiana city.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Who's mostly likely to die on 'Game of Thrones' this week, ranked by who's the most toast

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game thrones eastwatch tyrion lannister

In this shortened, seven-episode season of "Game of Thrones," basically anyone can be killed — and at any time. 

So to prepare you (and ourselves) for this intense season, which is already filled with deaths, we put together a list of all the characters still alive, with their chances of dying this week, and in the season generally.

We'll update each character's risk of death percentage every week, depending on what happens as the story progresses. 

Season seven episode five, "Eastwatch," airs Sunday night on HBO.

Here's who will live and who will die this week on "Game of Thrones:"

SEE ALSO: The 12 biggest questions we have after this week's 'Game of Thrones'

Tyrion Lannister — 100%

Chance of survival this episode: 100%. Turns out getting wrongfully accused of murder and having to escape execution is the best thing that has ever happened to this guy. 

Chance of survival this season: 75%. Tyrion is at a huge risk being in Westeros. And Dragonstone is too close to King's Landing for comfort. But the chances that we will see his death on the show are very slim. He's one of the people to root for and it's unlikely that George R.R. Martin will let the writers kill off his favorite character.



Samwell Tarly — 100%

Chance of survival this episode: 100%. This week Sam is fine, unless scooping maester poop. The Citadel is safe from any surprise attacks. 

Chance of survival this season: 88%. Sam will probably survive the series unless he catches Jorah Mormont's greyscale and can't seem to cure himself. 



Gilly — 100%

Chance of survival this episode: 100%. Gilly is fine!  

Chance of survival this season: 60%. Sam's got important things to do and they go everywhere together, which could be her ultimate downfall. 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Meet the world's 10 richest black billionaires

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Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Jeff Bezos may be the richest men in the world, but they aren't the only billionaires.

There are 2,043 people across the globe with three commas in their net worths, according to the 2017 Forbes Billionaires list. The 23 wealthiest have $1 trillion collectively.

In 2017, 10 of the world's billionaires — fewer than 1% — are black, down from 12 last year, reports Forbes contributor Mfonobong Nsehe. Three of the 10 are women. All but one, Isabel Dos Santos, are billed by Forbes as self-made.

To compile the full list, Forbes uses stock prices and exchange rates to estimate the net worths of the world's richest people, and then ranks them based on their wealth. This year's list was created using data from February 17, 2017, but Forbes also maintains a current snapshot of the world's billionaires, updated daily.

Continue reading to see the richest 10 black billionaires in the world, according to the 2017 Forbes Billionaires list.

SEE ALSO: Meet the richest man in Africa — the only black billionaire among the world's 50 richest people

DON'T MISS: The highest-paid men earn over $200,000 more than the highest-paid women in the US

Mohammed Ibrahim: $1.14 billion

Self-made billionaire, 71 year-old Mohammed Ibrahim, was born in Sudan and now lives in the United Kingdom, where he is the 11th wealthiest citizen. Ibrahim became a billionaire after selling his telecommunications company, Celtel International, in 2005, according to Forbes. Now he spends much of his time focusing on improving the lives of African citizens through the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.



Michael Jordan: $1.31 billion

One of the most successful athletes of all time, Michael Jordan, 54, made a total of $90 million as a basketball player, according to Forbes. Since retiring from the NBA, he has amassed the majority of his wealth through his relationship with Nike and other corporate partnerships. Jordan, who also owns a stake in the Charlotte Hornets, now makes more in one year than he did during his entire professional basketball career, as Business Insider's Cork Gaines reported.



Folorunsho Alakija: $1.61 billion

Folorunso Alakija, vice chair of Nigerian oil company Famfa Oil, got her start in business as the founder of an elite Nigerian fashion label, according to Forbes. The 66 year-old self-made billionaire lives in La gos, Nigeria and has 4 children. Her son, Folarin Alakija, recently married Iranian model Nazanin Jafarian Ghaissarifar, in a lavish, multi-million dollar wedding, which took place in England.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A French entrepreneur is intent on a multi-billion dollar dealmaking spree in the US

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Patrick Drahi

Patrick Drahi, the billionaire founder of Dutch telecoms company Altice, is back on the acquisition trail.

The communications giant, which raised $1.9 billion in an IPO of its US arm earlier this summer, is reportedly weighing a bid for Charter Communications.

After buying Cablevision for $17.7 billion last year to become the 4th largest cable provider in the country, Altice USA could rise to number 3 with an acquisition of Charter, only behind Time Warner and Comcast.

Back in Europe, Altice has quickly bought up competitors like France’s SFR and Portugal’s PT. Last month, Altice bought Dutch video ad tech startup, Teads, for $307 million.

“My vision is to do the same in the U.S., but bigger,” Altice CEO Drahi told the Wall Street Journal back in 2015, and so far it looks like things are working out.

Here’s everything you need to know about the billionaire behind some of the biggest telecom deals of this decade.

Note: Lucinda Shen contributed to an earlier version of this post. 

Drahi was born in 1963 in Casablanca, Morocco to a two math teachers, both Moroccan Jews. He used to grade the exams his parents brought home, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Source: The Wall Street Journal



At 15, Drahi moved to Montpellier, France.

Source: The Wall Street Journal



He graduated from the elite university École Polytechnique and École Nationale Supérieure de Télécommunications de Paris, with his postgraduate degree coming in optics and electronics.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A photographer spent a year documenting 30-year-olds around the world — here's what he found

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Being 30, Satoshi_Transport

Turning 30 may be cause to cheer or cringe, depending on where you're from.

In 2014, photographer Stephane Domingues set out on a 15-month expedition around the world to meet and document the lives of other people in their 30s." He wanted to see how nationality, culture, and living situations shape our values and define our identities.

The result is a stunning and honest portrait series, titled "Being 30." Domingues shared some of the images with us. You can find out more about the project on his blog.

SEE ALSO: A preppy apparel startup is defying J. Crew's curse and dominating the millennial market

"Turning 30 was quite an important event in my life," Stephan Domingues told Business Insider in 2015, when we first spoke. "I felt it was the case for people around me."



Domingues spent a few months trying to organize his travel itinerary and a few years preparing financially, but ultimately left his route in "the hands of destiny."



He left Paris in 2014 with his trusty Fuji X-T1 camera and a one-way ticket to Ethiopia.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The White House is undergoing major renovations — here's what the Oval Office and other rooms look like right now

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Oval office renovation

The White House is undergoing major renovations while President Donald Trump spends 17 days away, mostly at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf resort

Just an hour after Air Force One took off for New Jersey last Friday, the Oval Office had been cleared of furniture and, since then, West Wing staffers have been relocated as construction workers have flooded in.  

The renovations, which were approved during President Barack Obama's administration, will include an overhaul of the White House's heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system, as well upgrades to the building's IT system, mess hall, and outdoor spaces.

The White House has been plagued with issues including ceiling leaks and a house-fly infestation, according to CNN. (The insects have been an issue for several years — a video of Obama killing one of the White House flies went viral in 2009, and Trump reportedly tasked his former chief of staff with killing one earlier this year.) 

For the time being, West Wing staffers are working out of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door. 

According to one account, Trump told staffers and members of his New Jersey golf resort that his new home is "a real dump"— a remark he later denied making. 

"I love the White House, one of the most beautiful buildings (homes) I have ever seen. But Fake News said I called it a dump - TOTALLY UNTRUE,"he tweeted last week

After announcing his planned stay in Bedminster, the president said it did not constitute a vacation. He tweeted last week that he will be conducting meetings and taking calls while in New Jersey. Trump has mixed work with leisure so far, holding a meeting on the opioid crisis but also being photographed on the golf course.

Here are some photos of the White House under construction: 

SEE ALSO: A deep look inside the White House — the US' best-known residential address

SEE ALSO: Trump is getting ready to take his first vacation since inauguration

The $3.4 million project began at the start of August.



Outgoing Press Secretary Sean Spicer walks across the White House lawn.



He paused to snap a shot of an empty Oval Office.



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The 10 best books of 2017 so far, according to Amazon

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we may get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

woman read reader reading book novel

One of life’s greatest pleasures is opening up a good book for the first time and not setting it down until you’ve excavated everything inside of it.

Once you leave school and all mandatory English classes with well-informed syllabi, though, the sheer amount of books out there is overwhelming. Sometimes instead of picking the wrong one to devote our time to, we pick none.

If working through a list of the great literary classics doesn’t appeal to you and you’d prefer to read something that better engages with now, "best books of the year" lists are going to be the best resource out there, second (maybe) only to word-of-mouth recommendations from close friends.

Below are the 10 books Amazon's book editors think are the best to come out so far this calendar year; many of them have been featured in op-eds and other critical areas of pop culture. 

The great thing about such a wide category as "best books of the year" is that you’ll get the best without narrowing your search to a genre. Here you have novels and memoirs of vastly different topics and authors, yet they all (at least based on their growing popularity) will pay you back for any cautious investment of your time.

If you have a flight coming up or a long commute to work, one of these 10 might be a great new companion.

All captions are provided by Amazon editors. 

SEE ALSO: These are the 20 best-selling books of 2016 so far

1. "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness: A novel" by Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy's new novel, "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness," is an intricate and graceful story of lives touched by magic, broken by tragedy, and mended with love.  It's an exceptional work of storytelling well worth the 20-year wait since "The God of Small Things."

Buy it here >>



2. "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI" by David Grann

Smart, taut, and gripping, Grann’s true-if-largely-unknown tale of big oil and serial murder on the Osage Indian Reservation in the 1920s is sobering for how it is at once unsurprising and unbelievable, full of the arrogance, and inhumanity that our society still has yet to overcome.

Buy it here >>



3. "Beartown: A Novel" by Fredrik Backman

The author of "A Man Called" sidesteps the predictable as he forges a new path of soul-searching and truth-telling in his gripping new novel about a small, hockey-mad town whose hopes and loyalties are torn apart by a crime no one wants to believe happened.

Buy it here >>



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Sergio Garcia is now a major champion — here's how he spends his millions and lives his life off the course

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Angela Akins and Sergio Garcia

Sergio Garcia finally did it.

After a thrilling back-9 at the Masters, going head-to-head with Justin Rose, Garcia won his first major, with a birdie putt on the first hole of the playoff. The win came in the 74th major of what has otherwise been a strong career on the golf course.

Off the course, Garcia's life is pretty fabulous too. He is married to a golf reporter, loves to play poker, and owns a jet and a race car.

Here's a closer look at the life of the Masters champion:

If we consider his winnings on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour, Garcia has now made more than $70 million in his career.



Only five golfers in the history of the game have made more. His main rival, Tiger Woods, is one.

Read more: The 30 highest-paid golfers of all time



At the Players Championship in 2013, Garcia lost about $1.5 million in winnings when he shot 5-over on the final two holes when he was tied with Tiger Woods for the lead.

Read more: Sergio Garcia's Epic Choke At The Players Championship Cost Him $1.5 Million



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A cult Midwest chain is better than In-N-Out and Shake Shack — here's what it's like to eat there

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butter burger culvers

I've been living in New York for about two years now.

And while Shake Shack's shackburger has become my go-to fast food in the city, I often feel like there's something missing from my greasy feast.

That's why the minute I get home to Chicago, I immediately seek out my favorite chain back home in the Midwest: Culver's.

To get a good look at what makes this burger chain — dare I say it — better than In-N-Out or Shake Shack, I visited Wisconsin, where I had my first Culver's experience many years ago.

SEE ALSO: A regional Midwest chain was just named one of America's best burger restaurants

DON'T MISS: We visited the regional chain that Southerners say is better than In-N-Out and Shake Shack — here's the verdict

To start my culinary adventure, I found a Culver's in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, home of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the alma mater of Culver's CEO Craig Culver.



We went around 4:30 p.m. on a rainy day, and the place was already packed for the evening. The menu board greeted us with a host of options from frozen treats to full meals, called "baskets," that came with drinks and a side.



After placing our orders, we went to fill up our soda. Culver's is known for its signature root beer, which tastes even better with a dollop of Culver's vanilla frozen custard.



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24 favorite books of executives, founders, and CEOs that everyone should read

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woman surrounded by books

The most successful people often are serious about self-improvement, which can come in the form of a good book. Here are two dozen excellent reads recommended by founders, executives, and other high achievers.

SEE ALSO: 25 habits of successful and extremely happy people

1. 'Creativity, Inc.' by Ed Catmull

Chad Parks, founder and CEO of Ubiquity, which provides 401(k) plans for small businesses:

"It may not be the newest shiny object on the shelf, but it certainly remains one of the best books for teams I have ever read. You don't have to have a creative-based business in order to appreciate the fact that Catmull just knows how to work better with people, and how to make those people thrive. It's an inspiration to me to see the meticulous detail and passion by which he continuously achieved this, even through failure, and how humble he was in the process. It's a must-read for every entrepreneur and leader of people and at every level of business from startup to Fortune 500."



2. 'Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion' by Dr. Robert Cialdini

Ed Szofer, CEO of SenecaGlobal, a company that provides IT solutions for midmarket companies:

"'Influence' explains the psychology of why people say yes, and how readers can apply this understanding to their personal and professional lives. Dr. Cialdini is a world-renowned expert in persuasion who brings 35 years of experience researching why people are moved to change behavior. The book includes six universal principles, with direction on how to use these guidelines to master the art of persuasion. I've used these principles to accomplish goals in my personal and professional lives, including everything from helping my employees reach their career goals to helping our global technology consulting company close new business. I recommend this book for anyone in a leadership position."



3. 'The Professional Marketer' by Tim Matthews

Deepak Patel, director of products, data center, and cloud at internet security technology company Bitdefender:

"For me, this is the one book every marketing professional in today's SaaS world needs to read. The insights are from a true practitioner, and are far more relevant and valuable than most marketing classes at top-tier B-schools. The book enables readers to elevate messages and reach the right audience through Matthews's experience and success. This is priceless."



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