Retailers have been obsessed with millennials.

But now, they're scrambling to understand Generation Z, the teen generation. After all, teens are the future of retail.

"From a spending perspective [teens] are millennials on steroids," Marcie Merriman, executive director of growth strategy and retail innovation at Ernst & Young, told Business Insider.

A recent study by Ernst & Young sought to find out how the two groups of young people differ. The firm polled 1,000 adults and 400 teens.

It's important for companies to recognize the differences between the two generations, and how failing to do so could harm them.

Here are some crucial facts:

SEE ALSO: Dozens of teenagers told us what's cool in 2016, and these are their favorite — and least favorite — apps

Teens are even more frugal than millennials, but in a different way.

Gen Z captures millennials' behavioral traits ... and then expands upon them.

"The things you see millennials doing when it comes to spending, Gen Z are just taking it to another level," Merriman said. "Millennials have been in the position of being frugal and very careful with their money."

Gen Z isn't just frugal — they're out to find the best value, Merriman said: "They look beyond just what the price says it is to what you're going to get for it [the price] — are you going to get free delivery? What other services come along with it?"

Gen Z doesn't shop online nearly as much as millennials.

Forty-nine percent of the teens surveyed shopped online once a month — and most of them don't even have credit cards yet. This number will increase, according to the study, once they get them.

Millennials shop online more, unsurprisingly: 74% of the millennials surveyed shopped online at least once a month.

Teens shop online for "efficiency purposes."

According to the survey, each generation had different reasons for shopping online.

Sixty-three percent of Gen Z-ers polled said that they shopped online because it "saves [them] time," whereas only 55% of millennials said the same. Fifty-three percent of Gen Z-ers surveyed said that "the selection is better online," whereas only 44% of millennials surveyed agreed with that statement.

Fifty percent of teens polled agreed with the statement that "the prices are lower online," and only 41% of millennials said the same. Thirty-four percent of teens said that the "products are organized [online] in a way that's easier to shop," and only 21% of millennials agreed with that statement.

Further, Ernst & Young concluded that "Gen Z is most likely to buy online for efficiency purposes."

The wealthiest 50 people in the world control a staggering portion of the world economy: $1.46 trillion — more than the annual GDP of Australia, Spain, or Mexico.

That's according to new data provided to Business Insider by Wealth-X, which conducts research on the super-wealthy. Wealth-X maintains a database of dossiers on more than 110,000 ultra-high-net-worth people, using a proprietary valuation model that takes into account each person's assets, then adjusts estimated net worth to account for currency-exchange rates, local taxes, savings rates, investment performance, and other factors.

Its latest ranking of the world's billionaires found that 29 of the top 50 hail from the US and nearly a quarter made their fortunes in tech. To crack this list, you'd need to have a net worth of at least $14.3 billion. And for the most part these people weren't born with a silver spoon. More than two-thirds are completely self-made, having built some of the most powerful companies, including Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Google, Nike, and Oracle.

From tech moguls and retail giants to heirs and heiresses, here are the billionaires with the deepest pockets around the globe.

SEE ALSO: The 20 most generous people in the world

DON'T MISS: The wealthiest people in the world under 35

49. TIE: Aliko Dangote

Net worth:$14.3 billion

Age: 58

Country: Nigeria

Industry: Diversified investments

Source of wealth: Self-made; Dangote Group

At 20, Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote borrowed money from his uncle to start a business that dealt in commodities trading, cement, and building materials. He quickly expanded to import cars during the country's economic boom. Four years later, in 1981, he formed Dangote Group, an international conglomerate that now holds diversified interests that include food and beverages, plastics manufacturing, real estate, logistics, telecommunications, steel, oil, and gas. At $14.3 billion, Dangote's fortune is the largest in Africa and equal to 2.5% of Nigeria's GDP.

The majority of Dangote's wealth stems from his stake in Dangote Cement, which is publicly traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. He owns cement plants in Zambia, Senegal, Tanzania, and South Africa, and in 2011 invested $4 billion to build a facility on the Ivory Coast. Dangote bought back a majority stake in Dangote Flour Mills — which had grown unprofitable after he sold a large stake to South African food company Tiger Brands three years ago for $190 million — in December for just $1. He is also chairman of The Dangote Foundation, which focuses on education and health initiatives, including a $12,000-per-day feeding program.

49. TIE: James Simons

Net worth:$14.3 billion

Age: 77

Country: US

Industry: Hedge funds

Source of wealth: Self-made; Renaissance Technologies

Before revolutionizing the hedge fund industry with his mathematics-based approach, "Quant King" James Simons worked as a code breaker for the US Department of Defense during the Vietnam War, but was fired after criticizing the war in the press. He chaired the math department at Stony Brook University for a decade until leaving in 1978 to start a quantitative-trading firm. That firm, now called Renaissance Technologies, has more than $65 billion in assets under management among its many funds.

Simons has always dreamed big. About 10 years ago, he announced that he was starting a fund that he claimed would be able to handle $100 billion, about 10% of all assets managed by hedge funds at the time. That fund, Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund, never quite reached his aspirations — it currently handles about $10.5 billion— but his flagship Medallion fund is among the best-performing ever: It has generated a nearly 80% annualized return before fees since its inception in 1988.

In October, Renaissance shut down a $1 billion fund — one of its smaller ones — "due to a lack of investor interest." The firm's other funds, however, have been up and climbing. Simons retired in 2009, but remains chairman of the company.

47. TIE: Laurene Powell Jobs

Net worth:$14.4 billion

Age: 52

Country: US

Industry: Media

Source of wealth: Inheritance; Disney

The widow of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, Laurene Powell Jobs inherited his wealth and assets, which included 5.5 million shares of Apple stock and a 7.3% stake in The Walt Disney Co., upon his death. Jobs' stake in Disney — which has nearly tripled in value since her husband's death in 2011 and comprises more than $12 billion of her net worth — makes her the company's largest individual shareholder.

Though she's best recognized through her iconic husband, Jobs has had a career of her own. She worked on Wall Street for Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs before earning her MBA at Stanford in 1991, after which she married her late husband and started organic-foods company Terravera. But she's been primarily preoccupied with philanthropic ventures, with a particular focus on education. In 1997, she founded College Track, an after-school program that helps low-income students prepare for and enroll in college, and in September she committed $50 million to a new project called XQ: The Super School Project, which aims to revamp the high-school curriculum and experience.

Last October, Jobs spoke out against "Steve Jobs," Aaron Sorkin's movie about her late husband that portrays him in a harsh light, calling it "fiction." Jobs had been against the project from the get-go, reportedly calling Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale to ask them to decline roles in the film.

Not so surprisingly, most Americans can only name a handful of US presidents.

In 2014, The Washington Post wrote about a study that looked at surveys conducted at Washington University at St. Louis between 1974 and 2014 to measure forgetfulness when it comes to past presidents. 

The surveys all asked students to write down the names of as many presidents as they could, and to organize them in chronological order.  

"What they found was a pretty clear pattern" writes Roberto A. Ferdman. "Nearly everyone in each of the four surveys was able to identify the first few presidents — George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, specifically — as well as the most recent handful … But by and large, the ability to name presidents faded over time, and often to a point of near non-remembrance."

So, if you want to impress your friends this Presidents' Day, you may want to consider memorizing all 44 names.

Turns out, it isn't all that hard — and you can do it in 60 minutes or less.

"It is very possible for almost anyone to memorize the US presidents in a very short amount of time," says Ron White, a two-time national memory champion. "A 6-year-old girl asked me if I could teach her all the names — so I did. She memorized them in perfect order in about 60 minutes. After completion, she could say the names of all US presidents forwards and backwards." 

White says he taught her to memorize all 44 names using a technique known as the Mind Palace, which has been around for at least 2,500 years and is written about in the "Sherlock Holmes" books and utilized by Shakespeare in the Globe Theatre. 

"It's where you visualize what you want to recall on furniture in your home," he explains. 

White says it will take you about 20 minutes upfront to build a Mind Palace — meaning, to select pieces of furniture in your home or office. "But once you do that, you can use this Mind Palace for the rest of your life for so many other things," he explains. "And once you do and you have some practice with the technique, you should be able to memorize 44 names in less than 10 minutes." That kind of thing takes White less than four minutes, he says.

Here are the steps you'll need to take:

SEE ALSO: 7 memory skills that will make you smarter

Step 1: Pick furniture

First you need to select 44 pieces of furniture in your home.

"I personally recommend that you do five items in each room because over time it will be easier to learn the numbers that way," White says. "If you don't have enough rooms in your home, then you could use things like the front yard, back yard, or the parking lot.'"

He suggests choosing larger items, like TVs or tables, rather than smaller ones, like tea cups or picture frames — and says to select items that are spread out throughout the room. 

Another thing to keep in mind: If you select a chair in one room, don't use another chair in a second room. 

Step 2: Assign numbers

Next you need to assign numbers to the furniture. 

To do this, you should stand in the doorway of a room, start on your left, and move around the room clockwise numbering five large items.

In the first room, you'll number the furniture items 1-5; in the second room, number them 6-10; and so on.

Step 3: Review

Review these over and over in your mind until you know them, says White. 

"Say them forward and backwards over and over again, until you know them cold — or until someone could say, 'What was number 10?' and you could say what it was just like that," White says in his YouTube tutorial of the process. 

Journalist Napoleon Hill set out to uncover the key to wealth around 80 years ago.

He studied more than 500 self-made millionaires over a span of 20 years and his research culminated in what would become a timeless personal finance classic, "Think and Grow Rich."

In addition to boiling down the "secret" to building wealth in his book, he revealed 30 "major causes of failure" that hold many of us back from getting rich.

Here are 19 that are still relevant today:

SEE ALSO: The single most effective step to start getting rich, from a 78-year-old personal finance classic

Not having a well-defined purpose

"There is no hope of success for the person who does not have a central purpose, or definite goal, at which to aim," Hill writes.

If you're looking to build wealth, start with visualizing a savings goal with a specific price tag. Then form a financial plan and determine exactly where you want your money to go.

Lack of ambition

You have to want to aim above mediocrity, Hill says: "We offer no hope for the person who is so indifferent as not to want to get ahead in life, and who is not willing to pay the price."

Wealth doesn't simply appear. You have to work toward it with patience and persistence. A good starting point is to invest your money (the earlier the better), and let the power of compound interest build your wealth. It doesn't take much time or effort, but it does require action on your part.

Not properly applying your education

A college degree alone won't cut it. Knowledge is only potential power, and it will not become useful or lead to great wealth unless it is organized and applied to life, Hill emphasizes:

"Education consists not so much of knowledge, but of knowledge effectively and persistently applied. Men are paid not merely for what they know, but more particularly for what they do with that which they know."

Make it a priority to constantly learn new things and challenge your mind. There's a reason that many of today's successful and wealthy people are voracious readers.

What would it be like to tour our solar system and beyond?

That's what NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory imagines in a new series of gorgeous posters it released last week. They have a cool retro sci-fi vibe from the days when space exploration captured everyone's imagination, not just dorks. (Hat tip to The Drive for finding these gems.)

Check out them out below below.

You can download the high-resolution PDFs for free here and print them out.

It's a great time to be a job-seeker. The US economy is humming, adding a total of 2.7 million jobs in 2015, and the potential for job growth in 2016 is bright as well.

U.S. News & World Report's recently published 2016 Best Jobs ranking provides a tool for job-seekers to compare professions based on important metrics like salary and expected number of openings.

To compile their ranking, U.S. News identified jobs with the greatest hiring demand — those with the highest projected number of openings from 2014 to 2024 — as categorized by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The jobs that topped the list were then scored using seven measures, including stress level, work-life balance, median salary, and employment rate. Read more about the full methodology.

U.S. News also broke down the best jobs by industry, including the best business jobs for 2016. The top business jobs this year are statistician, operations-research analyst, and accountant. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts more than 30% job growth for positions as statisticians and operations-research analysts and more than 10% job growth for positions in accounting.

Check out the 20 best business jobs for 2016 below, along with their average annual salary, according to 2014 figures from the BLS.

SEE ALSO: The 29 smartest questions to ask at the end of every job interview

SEE ALSO: Recruiters explain 6 social media habits that could cost you the job

20. Loan officer

Average salary: $73,670

Best-paying cities: Grand Junction, Colorado; Ocala, Florida

Loan officers are available to help clients with financial milestones like paying for a college education or buying a new car or house. The best loan officers have excellent interpersonal skills and advise, evaluate, and authorize loans to people and businesses.

Positions are available in a range of settings from commercial banks and credit unions to mortgage companies and car dealerships. Employment growth of 8% is expected for loan officer jobs through 2024.

19. Fundraiser

Average salary: $56,840

Best-paying cities: Durham, North Carolina; Washington D.C.

Fundraisers raise money for nonprofit organizations like educational institutions, health-research foundations, and political campaigns. People in this position are relied upon to bring in the big bucks by making cold calls, writing grants, and organizing events. Fundraising jobs are expected to have a growth rate of 9% through 2024.

18. Administrative assistant

Average salary: $34,500

Best-paying cities: Trenton, New Jersey; Boston, Massachusetts

This position is defined by the employer, though many fill diverse roles such as operations managers, event planners, accountants, and maintenance workers. Administrative assistants provide support at all levels of an organization and are often tasked with keeping track of budgets and ensuring all departments adhere to their budgets.

In 2014, there were 2.4 million jobs in this position, but the BLS projects that number to grow by 3% within 10 years.

It turns out that eating on $2 a day is more than possible.

I know because I tried it in January. I was inspired by a young Elon Musk, who challenged himself to a minimal food budget as a teenager to see if he had what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

I don't recommend this tedious lifestyle if you can help it (and neither does Musk), but if you decide to take the "Elon Musk challenge"— or if you're looking to lower your monthly grocery bill — here are my nine best tips.

SEE ALSO: I took the 'Elon Musk Challenge' and spent only $2 a day on food for a month — and it was easier than I expected

1. Where you shop matters.

Luxury or organic grocery stores are out of the question — that's obvious. I also learned to stay away from certain, major supermarket chains. During week one, I popped into Gristedes and Food Emporium to do a bit of price comparison. While I didn't look at many products, there seemed to be enough of a price discrepancy between them and my go-to spot: the famously affordable Trader Joe's. Pasta, for example, cost about $1.60 at Gristedes (compared to $.99 at Trader Joe's) — and with a $2-a-day budget, every cent matters.

If you have an accessible Aldi, that chain tends to be even cheaper than Trader Joe's. Also, if I were to do it all over, I would've looked for steals at local markets, which I've heard have unbeatable prices.

2. Use cash.

When you have to stick to a tight budget, ditching your plastic cards for cash can make a world of difference. For one, you get a better idea of exactly how much money you're spending and how much you have remaining in your budget. Plus, there's something about physically handing over bills — watching your money disappear right before your eyes — that causes you to value it more.

At the start of January, I set aside exactly $62 in cash. After every trip to the grocery store, I would count my bills and ensure I was at (or below) my budget. The strategy worked — at the end of the month, I even had $1.07 to spare.

3. Stick to the basics.

Don't expect to whip up complex (or savory) meals. Pasta will quite literally mean plain pasta and oatmeal will quite literally mean plain oats. If you want enough calories to subsist on, flavor enhancers probably won't fit in the budget, so you might as well accept that everything is going to be considerably bland. 

That being said, I did splurge on a $2.99 package of butter. A serving of butter (1 tablespoon) ended up costing just $0.10 and the package lasted the entire month. Plus, it provided a few more calories to my day-to-day diet.

If you're going to make room in the budget for a flavor enhancer, and you'll probably want to, choose something versatile — like butter or salt — that can be used on multiple foods.

4. Don't divide your dollars by days.

I took a big picture approach to the challenge, thinking about how much money I had to spend for the entire month, rather than on a day-by-day basis. It's important to buy for value, which often means buying in bulk, so sometimes I would spend $8 at the grocery store for supplies that would last several days — other days, I spent nothing.

Of course, if you take the big picture approach, you have to be diligent about tracking exactly how much you're spending to ensure you don't run out of money down the road.

5. Accept that you'll be eating the same thing over and over again.

I purchased only nine items during the month-long challenge, which I ate repeatedly. I probably could have switched things up a bit more than I chose to, but the point is, there isn't a huge selection of dirt cheap food products that I wanted to eat.

While I predicted the monotony of eating the same things day after day would wear on me, it never did. One of the reasons I didn't get tired of my staples was because I allowed myself the occasional "luxury item": a sweet potato or egg. Not only did this strategy offer relief from pasta and oats, but it also put luxury into perspective — I've never appreciated something as simple as a baked sweet potato to the degree that I did last month.

6. Buy food you won't get tired of.

If you're going to be eating the same things day in and day out, you have to like what you're eating. I learned this the hard way during the food-stamp challenge. Everyone told me to buy beans — they're cheap and nutritious — but I hate beans, so much that I refused to touch one of the cans I bought, despite dealing with hunger pains and fatigue for most of the week.

I'm don't recommend you buy sirloin steak for the month — you still have to be smart about what you buy — but don't fall into the trap of buying just for the cheap price tag.

President Obama's Portuguese water dogs, "Bo" and "Sunny," are just the latest "first pets" to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

In fact, nearly every commander in chief has kept a pet during their term.

America's first families have shared their quarters with an impressive menagerie of animals, from snakes to ponies to sheep.

In honor of Presidents' Day, here is a list of the presidents' "first pets."

Pets are in chronological order of each presidents' term, beginning with President Theodore Roosevelt in 1901.

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

Theodore Roosevelt: Pony named "Algonquin," (12 horses)

Source: Presidential Pet Museum, The White House

Theodore Roosevelt: Hyacinth macaw named "Eli Yale" (owl, 6 dogs, 2 cats, snake, 2 kangaroos, one-legged rooster, rabbit, flying squirrel, 5 guinea pigs, 5 bears, pig, and a raccoon)

Source: Presidential Pet Museum, The White House

William Howard Taft: Cows named "Pauline Wayne" and "Mooly Wooly"

Source: Presidential Pet Museum, The White House

Late last year, Boeing rolled out the first completed 737 Max 8 airliner at its assembly facility in Renton, Washington. The company's next-generation single-aisle airliner was presented at a ceremony in front of several thousand Boeing employees.

Over the years, the 737 family has become the bestselling airliner in the history of commercial aviation, with more than 13,000 aircraft sold since 1965. It is arguably Boeing's bread-and-butter model.

"Today marks another in a long series of milestones that our team has achieved on time, per plan, together," Boeing Vice President Keith Leverkuhn said in a statement. "With the rollout of the new 737 Max — the first new airplane of Boeing's second century — our team is upholding an incredible legacy while taking the 737 to the next level of performance."

SEE ALSO: Etihad CEO to US rivals: 'I don't know what the problem is'

Since its introduction in 1967, Boeing's 737 has helped revolutionize short- to medium-range air travel. Upon its debut, the original 737 was dubbed the "baby Boeing."

The 737 offered airlines a capable and reliable aircraft at a much lower price than Boeing's larger and more expensive 707 and 727 models — perfect for short routes between cities.

In the late 1970s, Boeing developed a generation of 737 jets called the "Classic Series." These jets offered more range and seating capacity. In addition, the Classic Series was offered with the new CFM56 turbofan engines, which provided greatly improved fuel economy and power.

Retail is an enormous and profitable industry. Global sales were projected to top $24 trillion in 2015 and are expected to grow another 3.2% this year, making the magnates who run the sector's largest companies even wealthier.

We recently released our list of the 50 richest people on earth based on data from Wealth-X, which conducts research on the super wealthy. Three people in the top 10 are in retail — including the visionaries behind Zara, Amazon, and IKEA — and 12 others cracked the list as well.

To find the wealthiest people in the world, Wealth-X looked at its database of dossiers on more than 110,000 ultra-high net-worth people and used a proprietary valuation model that takes into account each person's assets, then adjusts estimated net worth to account for currency-exchange rates, local taxes, savings rates, investment performance, and other factors. We narrowed that list down to just the billionaires in the retail industry.

Here are the 15 wealthiest people who made their billions in retail:

15. Leonardo Del Vecchio

Net worth:$19.7 billion

Age: 80

Country: Italy

Source of wealth: Self-made, Luxottica Group

Even at 80, Leonardo Del Vecchio still chairs Luxottica, the nearly $30 billion company he founded in 1961. The largest eyewear company on the planet, Luxottica not only owns Sunglass Hut, Ray-Ban, and Oakley, but also manufacturers glasses for nearly every luxury brand out there, including Burberry, Chanel, Prada, and Versace.

Though Del Vecchio started Luxottica as a tiny one-room enterprise in Milan, it now operates 10 factories worldwide, employs 35,000 people, and produces more than 65,000 pairs of glasses per day, holding a veritable monopoly on the eyewear industry.

Del Vecchio isn't all business, though. Last March, he showed his generous side by giving his Italian employees $10 million worth of shares in the company to celebrate his 80th birthday.

14. Dieter Schwarz

Net worth:$20.9 billion

Age: 76

Country: Germany

Source of wealth: Inheritance/self-made, Schwarz Gruppe

Dieter Schwarz joined his father's food-wholesaling business in 1973 and opened the company's first discount supermarket shortly thereafter. He took over as CEO when his father died in 1977 and rapidly expanded the business outside Germany, rebranding the company as Schwarz Gruppe.

The parent company umbrellas Lidl, a successful grocery-store chain and the second largest in Germany behind Aldi, and Kaufland, a chain of "hypermarket" stores similar to Walmart. Lidl has nearly 10,000 stores across 26 European countries and is set to break ground on US soil in 2018. Schwarz Gruppe now pulls in $85 billion in annual sales.

The German billionaire lives a quiet life out of the spotlight with his wife and two kids in their hometown of Heilbronn. He's reportedly a generous donor to educational causes.

13. Phil Knight

Net worth:$25.7 billion

Age: 77

Country: US

Source of wealth: Self-made, Nike

After a stint in the US Army, and with a Stanford MBA under his belt, Phil Knight convinced Tiger-brand shoemaker Onitsuka in the early 1960s to allow him to distribute Tiger shoes under the name Blue Ribbon Sports — the name Knight picked that predated his swoosh-logo-clad company Nike. Knight worked full-time as an accountant as he launched his new brand, and by 1968 he had built up enough of a rapport with customers that he was able to leave the CPA life behind.

Nike has built its success on celebrity and athlete-endorsement deals, starting with running prodigy Steve Prefontaine in 1973 and continuing with one of the most successful shoe marketers of all time in Michael Jordan. Nike signed him to a five-year endorsement deal in 1984 worth roughly $500,000 per year. The biggest NBA star today is still under the Nike roof, with LeBron James signing a lifetime contract with the brand in December for an undisclosed sum.

Though Knight announced plans in June to step down as Nike chairman, he's leaving the $30.6 billion — in sales — company in better shape than ever, with the stock and revenues at all-time highs.

The Rolls-Royce Wraith quite unlike any car in the world. As the adage goes, "A Rolls-Royce is a car you don't drive. It's a car in which you are driven." That may have been this case during the days of "Downton Abbey," but things have certainly changed.

With the two-door Wraith, you have a Rolls-Royce that's designed to be driven — and driven at high speed. Don't be mistaken — the Wraith isn't a spritely Lotus-esque English sports car. If you're expecting a bigger Elise with a leather-lined cockpit, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, it's far from a grand luxury limousine. This Rolls falls somewhere in the between the two extremes. 

Last year, Business Insider spent a few days behind the wheel of a 2015 Rolls-Royce Wraith, clad in a resplendent Royal Blue livery. 

SEE ALSO: 54 cars you need to see at the LA Auto Show

The Wraith isn't the first Rolls-Royce we've driven, but it's certainly the most memorable.

At the beginning of last year, we spent a few winter days behind of the wheel of the company's plush Ghost Series II sedan. It's possibly the most refined car I've ever driven.

The Wraith currently sits in the middle of the of the Rolls-Royce lineup along with ...

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, is one of the most powerful figures in tech, with a net worth of roughly $57 billion.

Today his "Everything Store" sells over $100 billion worth of goods a year.

Unfamiliar with Bezos' story?

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.

SEE ALSO: With a $57 billion fortune, Jeff Bezos is the world's wealthiest tech CEO

Jeff Bezos' mom, Jackie, was a teenager when she had him in January 1964. She had recently married Cuban immigrant Mike Bezos, who adopted Jeff. Jeff didn't learn that Mike wasn't his real father until he was 10 but says he was more fazed about learning he needed to get glasses than he was about the news.

Source. 

When Bezos was 4, his mother told his biological father, who was a circus performer at one point, to stay out of their lives. When Brad Stone interviewed his father for his book "The Everything Store," the man had no idea who his son had become.

Source.

Bezos showed signs of brilliance from an early age. When he was a toddler, he took apart his crib with a screwdriver because he wanted to sleep in a real bed.

Source.

At the figurative halfway point of the NBA season, the race to the Finals still looks like this: the Warriors and everyone else.

Golden State, even while getting every team's best shot, still looks unflappable, with just four losses in 52 games. The same teams are chasing them in the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, and perhaps even the Los Angeles Clippers, but it's the Warriors' world right now.

Injuries have hurt some in the Western Conference playoff race, and the Eastern Conference playoff race has slowed a bit.

While we have no clue what the final standings might look like, we do know that this is a top-heavy race, and everyone is behind the Warriors.

Note: Offensive and defensive ratings measure points scored and points allowed per 100 possessions. League rankings are next to ratings.

1. Golden State Warriors

Record: 48-4, 1st in West

Offensive rating: 113.1, 1st

Defensive rating: 99.2, 2nd

One thing to know: This team is a serious threat to set an NBA record with 73 wins. With 30 games remaining, they'd have to go 25-5 to get there. With a perfect home record thus far, it's difficult to imagine them losing more than one game at home, giving them four losses to take on the road. It will be fun to watch.

2. San Antonio Spurs

Record: 45-8, 2nd in West

Offensive rating: 109.3, 3rd

Defensive rating: 95.2, 1st

One thing to know: The Spurs are a legitimate title threat, but it's of some concern that they got blown out by the Warriors and Cavs, both of which came without Tim Duncan. Though Duncan's numbers are down, he's still vital to this team. 

3. Oklahoma City Thunder

Record: 40-14, 3rd in West

Offensive rating: 110.2, 2nd

Defensive rating: 101.6, 11th

One thing to know: The Thunder are rolling, but they're facing the unpleasant proposition of losing Kevin Durant this summer — to the Warriors.

Rich people think and act differently than the rest of us. They aren't born with this "rich mentality"— they learn how and then choose to think and act this way.

It's a concept that has been in print for nearly a century — thanks to a journalist's research of more than 500 self-made millionaires in the early 20th century — and continues to gain relevance today.

In T. Harv Eker's bestselling book, "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind," the self-made millionaire identifies specific choices the wealthiest people make on a daily basis that most of us fail to emulate.

Here are 11 of them, with commentary from Eker's bestseller:

SEE ALSO: 17 things keeping you from getting rich, according to a journalist who spent his career studying millionaires

Rich people choose to be in control of their success.

"Rich people believe, 'I create my life,'" writes Eker, "while average people think, 'Life happens to me.'"

You have to be in control of your financial life, he emphasizes: "You have to believe that you are the one who creates your success, that you are the one who creates your mediocrity, and that you are the one creating your struggles around money and success. Consciously or unconsciously, it's still you."

Rich people choose to think big.

If not you, then who? That's how rich people think, Eker writes: "Big thinking and big actions lead to having both money and meaning."

"Most people choose to play small," he continues. "Why? First, because of fear. They're scared to death of failure and they're even more frightened of success. Second, people play small because they feel small. They feel unworthy. They don't feel they're good enough or important enough to make a real difference in people's lives."

Rich people choose to commit to attaining wealth.

Rather than wanting to be rich, wealthy people consciously commit to being rich.

"Getting rich takes focus, courage, knowledge, expertise, 100% of your effort, a never-give-up attitude, and of course a rich mindset," writes Eker. "If you are not fully, totally, and truly committed to creating wealth, chances are you won't."

They are able to fully commit because they have precise goals and a clear vision.

"The number one reason most people don't get what they want is that they don't know what they want," he continues. "Rich people are totally clear that they want wealth. They are unwavering in their desire ... As long as it's legal, moral, and ethical, they will do whatever it takes to have wealth."

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Men's watches are as much for telling time as they are for making a statement, and they're the only accessory that a man can truly wear every day. It's no wonder that many men enjoy collecting them — picking out different styles to go with different outfits, changing straps to suit specific occasions, and so on.

There are some general rules of thumb to consider when choosing which type of watch to wear for a lunch meeting with an important client, a night out at your local watering hole with friends, or an early-morning jog outside.

Ones with stainless-steel bands are great everyday timepieces that look especially sharp with suits. Ones with brown leather straps and colored faces work well with business-casual dress codes. And ones with rubber or canvas straps and features like LED illumination are highly practical for weekends, running errands, and working out.

If you had to narrow down — or build out — your selection to just five watches, these are the styles you'll end up wearing over and over.

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The dress watch with the black leather strap

Classic and understated is always best for formal events, be they weddings or important work engagements. A watch with a black leather strap is traditional and uncomplicated — just make sure its face isn't too boldly colored and that you've matched your leather shoes and belt to it.

Daniel Wellington Classic Sheffield Watch, 40mm, $97.33.

Tissot T-Classic Carson Chrono Automatic Watch (T0684271605100), $526.99.

Junghans Max Bill Automatic Stainless Steel and Leather Watch, $1,095.

On Tuesday, the US agreed to authorize nearly 110 daily commercial flights to Havana and nine other destinations on the communist island — a historic move that restores commercial air travel for the first time in nearly 50 years.

While political and economic negotiations are underway to end the stiff US-Cuba relationship, the world is flocking to Cuba to experience the surreal time warp of this tropical nation.

Business Insider decided to do the same and sent three reporters in June to Cuba's capital, Havana.

Here's an overview of our Cuban adventure.

Graham Flanagan and Tyler Greenfield contributed to this report.

SEE ALSO: Here's what it's like to stay in an Airbnb in Cuba, where everything looked great but was actually broken

We booked our visa with Cuba Travel Services and paid $900 for a round-trip charter flight with Sun Country Airlines from JFK in New York City to José Martí in Havana.

We noticed a lot of people on our flight brought flat-screen TVs and other large electronics for their Cuban relatives.

We arrived five hours before our flight and needed every minute to pick up our tickets and visas, check in, and go through security. The process, thus far, was quite painless.

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If you suspect your boss is about to jump ship, you shouldn't just sit back and watch. 

"Your boss's decision to leave the company can affect your career in a positive or negative way, depending on the circumstances," says Lynn Taylor, a national-workplace expert, leadership coach, and author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant." "While you should continue to focus on doing the best work you can, you're also wise to take a number of proactive, defensive career steps."

Here's what to do if you think your boss is about to quit: 

SEE ALSO: 17 signs your boss is about to quit

Keep your cool.

This is a bad time to panic, says Taylor. "Just because your boss may be bailing doesn't mean that your job is at risk. Try to be rational and don't say or do anything impulsive; get the facts by staying aware, and take your time to think things through."

Keep your eyes and ears open.

Is your boss's looming departure the tip of the iceberg? Keep your radar up to see if other changes might be forthcoming, such as a mass exodus, department shutdown, product or service discontinuation, budget cutback, or other issues, she advises.

Do your research.

If you suspect that your boss is about to bolt, it's time to pursue some discreet research and take some proactive steps.

"Look at your job security and prospects," says Taylor. "You may find yourself in a unique opportunity to take on much greater responsibility. You may need to make a tough decision to leave because of broader, unforeseen circumstances. Or, the move may just keep your career in neutral. Whatever the implications, they're worth analyzing during a major event like this so you keep your long-term career goals on track."

It can be difficult to concentrate when your boss seems to have lost interest in their job, the company, and maybe even you.

"If you feel as if your manager has 'checked out,' it's a natural reaction to want to know why," says Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert, leadership coach, and author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant.""Now it's time to put the puzzle together to evaluate whether they may have one foot out the door."

She says if you suspect your boss is about to quit and you remain vigilant, the signs will become increasingly apparent. "The behaviors are far different if your manager is not performing to par and is trying to preempt termination, versus wanting to leave for greener pastures. But the common denominator, regardless of the reason for the impending departure, is a change in routine."

It's important to pay attention because your boss's job status can link to your own job security and affect your career — for better or worse.

Here are 17 signs your boss is about to jump ship:

SEE ALSO: What to do if you think your boss is about to quit

There are changes in patterns and behavior.

This is a noticeable theme among many of the signs that your boss is about to bolt, Taylor says. "Nothing is consistent with past behavior. Your boss used to be friendly, now they're in virtual lock-down. Your boss used to be Mr. Introvert, and now acts like he's just won the state lottery. They may become suddenly apathetic or very intense. Much depends on whether they must scramble for a new job — or are relieved they finally found a way out."

There's been a reorganization.

If your company has reorganized or downsized, your boss may quit because they see the writing on the wall, Taylor says. "They may leave before a layoff, or the event may exacerbate the fact that their job was already at risk."

You notice a shift in intensity.

If your boss feels comfortable about an impending new job, he or she is more likely to be lax about upcoming deadlines, she explains. 

Let's face it: gossips get a bad rap.

Smugly looking down from a moral high ground — and secure in the knowledge that we don't share their character flaw — we often dismiss those who are obsessed with the doings of others as shallow.

Indeed, in its rawest form, gossip is a strategy used by individuals to further their own reputations and interests at the expense of others. Studies that I have conducted confirm that gossip can be used in cruel ways for selfish purposes.

At the same time, how many can walk away from a juicy story about one of their acquaintances and keep it to themselves? Surely, each of us has had firsthand experience with the difficulty of keeping spectacular news about someone else a secret.

When disparaging gossip, we overlook the fact that it's an essential part of what makes the social world tick; the nasty side of gossip overshadows the more benign ways in which it functions.

In fact, gossip can actually be thought of not as a character flaw, but as a highly evolved social skill. Those who can't do it well often have difficulty maintaining relationships, and can find themselves on the outside looking in.

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As social creatures, we're hardwired to gossip.

Like it or not, we are the descendants of busybodies. Evolutionary psychologists believe that our preoccupation with the lives of others is a byproduct of a prehistoric brain.

According to scientists, because our prehistoric ancestors lived in relatively small groups, they knew one another intimately. In order to ward off enemies and survive in their harsh natural environment, our ancestors needed to cooperate with in-group members. But they also recognized that these same in-group members were their main competitors for mates and limited resources.

Living under such conditions, our ancestors faced a number of adaptive social problems: who's reliable and trustworthy? Who's a cheater? Who would make the best mate? How can friendships, alliances and family obligations be balanced?

In this sort of environment, an intense interest in the private dealings of other people would have certainly been handy — and strongly favored by natural selection. People who were the best at harnessing their social intelligence to interpret, predict — and influence — the behavior of others became more successful than those who were not.

The genes of those individuals were passed along from one generation to the next.

Avoiding gossip: a one-way ticket to social isolation.

Today, good gossipers are influential and popular members of their social groups.

Sharing secrets is one way people bond, and sharing gossip with another person is a sign of deep trust: you're signaling that you believe that the person will not use this sensitive information against you.

Therefore, someone skillful at gossip will have a good rapport with a large network of people. At the same time, they'll be discreetly knowledgeable about what's going on throughout the group.

On the other hand, someone who is not part of, say, the office gossip network is an outsider — someone neither trusted nor accepted by the group. Presenting yourself as a self-righteous soul who refuses to participate in gossip will ultimately end up being nothing more than a ticket to social isolation.

In the workplace, studies have shown that harmless gossiping with one's colleagues can build group cohesiveness and boost morale.

Gossip also helps to socialize newcomers into groups by resolving ambiguity about group norms and values. In other words, listening to the judgments that people make about the behavior of others helps the newbie figure out what's acceptable and what isn't.

Fear of whispers keeps us in check.

On the flip side, the awareness that others are likely talking about us can keep us in line.

Among a group of friends or coworkers, the threat of becoming the target of gossip can actually be a positive force: it can deter "free-riders" and cheaters who might be tempted to slack off or take advantage of others.

Biologist Robert Trivers has discussed the evolutionary importance of detecting gross cheaters (those who fail to reciprocate altruistic acts) and subtle cheaters (those who reciprocate but give much less than they get). Gossip can actually shame these free riders, reining them in.

Studies of California cattle ranchers, Maine lobster fishers, and college rowing teams confirm that gossip is used in a variety of settings to hold individuals accountable. In each of these groups, individuals who violated expectations about sharing resources or meeting responsibilities became targets of gossip and ostracism. This, in turn, pressured them to become better members of the group.

For example, lobstermen who didn't respect well-established group norms about when and how lobsters could be harvested were quickly exposed by their colleagues. Their fellow lobstermen temporarily shunned them and, for a while, refused to work with them.

For more than 200 years, Madame Tussauds has been making wax figures that are so lifelike you might think you're standing next to the actual person they were modeled after.

Madame Tussauds' more than 20 global locations are home to wax figures of famous people like Jimmy Fallon, Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Lima, and even Barack Obama. The opportunity to take a photo with their favorite celebrities (even if in wax form) is highly appealing to tourists, and Madame Tussauds is usually packed. 

When it comes to a celebrity's wax replica, every single detail is carefully recorded — from exact eye color to visible tattoos, moles, and beauty marks.

Each figure is made at Madame Tussauds' central studios in London, then sent to their assigned location around the world.

Here's how the incredibly lifelike wax figures are made.

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Each figure takes a total of 15 artists three to four months to complete. The New York City location adds seven new figures each year, and globally the company aims to make about 230 figures in total. The first step of the process is a sitting with the celebrity.

During the sitting, more than 250 measurements of the celebrity are taken, including finding their exact hair, eye, and skin color.

After the sitting is done, the figure is sculpted in clay.