In the era of streaming and sovereign money, uncapped, globally funded sports—not U.S. salary-capped leagues—now set the market ceiling for athlete pay. Three more takeaways 1. Star density drives pay. Sports where one person carries the whole product (boxing, golf, F1) funnel far more revenue to a
In a time when crypto wealth is increasingly fragmented and anonymized, this list is a stark reminder that the largest fortunes ever—led by Satoshi’s untouched billion-dollar trove—were held by individuals, often in full view, before the era of DAOs, multisigs, and collapse. ✍️ If you work at a
President Trump is a Crypto Billionaire (~$3B). Trump’s 2025 financial disclosures show that while his real estate empire is stagnant, he has quietly repositioned himself as a crypto whale and media stock speculator—placing him squarely in the middle of two of the most volatile, politically charged markets on
Nepotism, abolishing term limits, slurping oil profits, and monopolizing national revenues can apparently prove just as scalable—and far more reliable—than innovation and the free market. Three quick takeaways 1. Monarchies mint money: Four of the five richest rulers inherited both the throne and the treasury, turning state coffers
From Larry Ellison’s utopian tech-lab on Lāna‘i to Epstein’s secretive island of infamy, private islands have become the billionaire class’s ultimate blank slate — where sustainability experiments, PR promises, and moral vacuums all find their place. 🏝️ Island ownership varies more by intent than net worth. Some use
Peanut-based foods are staples, not snacks, in much of Africa and Asia—driving Burkina Faso, Myanmar, and Chad to the top of the global peanut butter consumption leaderboard despite limited industrial food sectors. Key Takeaways 1. Population size doesn't predict per-person habits: The U.S. and China are
Every night, more than 27 million guest spaces are available across hotels, Airbnbs, hostels, and cruise ships. That’s roughly one for every 300 people on Earth, underscoring just how embedded travel has become in the global economy, lifestyle, and housing systems. TAKEAWAYS * Short-term rentals now rival traditional hospitality. Airbnb
Amid warnings from the WTO that world merchandise trade could slip into outright decline this year and with Red‑Sea shipping lanes still only partly restored, the map below helps anchor where trade is still most deeply regionalised—and how big those regional arteries really are. Three things that jump
Today, we look at a visual summary of the graphic styles of the last century of the second millennium. Technology, fine art, politics and world events continually shaped and broke emerging styles of communication in a way that can be visually tracked in this newly designed poster. With the help
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After releasing my latest graphic on the Voronoi app, the community hastily rallied around a single sentiment: this list should be adjusted for inflation. I've heard you! Amongst other things, this required a comprehensive list of all animated films throughout history to do properly, as well as a
![Highest Grossing Animated Films [Extended]](/content/images/size/w600/2025/04/AnimatedHeavyweights2.jpg)
Building on yesterday's post, I extended the highest grossing animated films list to include the top 18 films. When storytelling goes beyond the bounds of our physical reality, what rises to the top? What modern myths win the mass popularity contest? I think this list reveals some fascinating
Ne Zha 2, a Chinese animated sequel based on a mythological anti-hero, has become the highest-grossing animated film of all time with $2.1 billion in earnings. It surpasses global hits like Frozen II, The Lion King, and Inside Out 2, signaling a major shift in the global animation landscape.
The workplace has gone through massive changes from the perspective of the worker, and yet it's core elements have remained: a chair for your body, a desk for your tools. Here's a simplified look at the last 50+ years of the default workplace. Some notes from
In just three years, China unleashed a wave of concrete construction that eclipsed what took the United States a full century to build — a material manifestation of its rapid rise as an industrial superpower. Takeaways: 1. The Hoover Dam, once a symbol of industrial might, is barely a blip compared
In 1963, Americans consumed an average of 4,345 cigarettes per person per year, reflecting the peak of national cigarette use before health warnings and regulations reduced smoking rates. 1. This figure includes non-smokers, meaning actual smokers likely consumed far more—often a pack or more per day. 2. Cigarette
Scammers aren’t just sending clumsy phishing emails anymore — they’re using AI-generated messages, deepfake voice calls, and even cloned writing styles to fool businesses. That’s why email fraud isn’t just growing — it’s exploding, with losses projected to hit $11 billion by 2027. The Data: This visual
Each year, the average American coffee drinker consumes 116 gallons of coffee—a daily ritual with a surprisingly vast ecological footprint, stretching from tropical farms to trendy coffee shops across the U.S. Takeaways * 🌱 This annual habit demands beans from 33 coffee trees, each cultivated through months of labor and
A year ago this month, Boston Dynamics revealed its all-new humanoid robot, Atlas. This marked a shift in their strategy from hydraulic servos to electric– a stronger, more robust actuation suite that showed their seriousness when it came to competing to be the leader in the next wave of consumer
The F-47 is the latest link in a chain of warplanes, each built for the battles of its time, now leading to a future where information and machines fight alongside pilots. Infographic Takeaways: * Inflation-adjusted costs reveal a nearly 200-fold increase in fighter jet expenses from the 1945 F-80 to the
In just over 70 years, America has transformed from a manufacturing powerhouse into a service-dominated economy—services now make up 71% of GDP, nearly doubling their share since 1953. Key Takeaways: * Manufacturing has collapsed from 31% to just 10% of GDP, reflecting offshoring, automation, and the rise of global supply
Globally, 69% of all freshwater withdrawals go toward agriculture, making farming the largest consumer of the planet’s most vital resource. This breakdown comes from FAO’s AQUASTAT database, the UN’s global information system on water and agriculture. The data reflects global freshwater withdrawals, not total water use (which
