1) Connecticut may not be known for its island living, but Great Island — a ~60-acre estate on the Long Island Sound, owned by heirs of the Ziegler baking powder dynasty — is back on the market for $100m after failing to sell in 2016 when it listed for $175m.
2) It’s no coincidence that alcohol is flammable because liquor sales are on the comeback. Sales of bourbon, Tennessee whiskey, and rye whiskey were up $288m from last year to $4.6B, and alcohol overall saw $35.8B in sales, up 12% (however, these are still below pre-pandemic levels).
3) In style: ugly footwear. Last year, Birkenstock was acquired by LVMH for ~$4.9B, and this year Crocs could see $5B in sales. Deckers Outdoor Corp, maker of Uggs, Teva sandals, and Hoka sneakers — none of which are particularly sexy — is also projecting $3B in sales this year.
4) The internet, while seemingly made up of thin air, relies heavily on thousands of miles of undersea cables. When a volcano erupted near Tonga recently, the nation’s only source of internet — a 514-mile, $15m cable connecting it to Fiji — broke. It could take more than a month to fix.
5) Wanna live in Osama bin Laden’s brother’s house? Here’s your chance: Ibrahim bin Laden’s Bel-Air estate cut its list price from $28m to $26m — a steal. Ibrahim abandoned the 7.1k-square-foot home following 9/11.
