Insider Today: The ultrarich’s life hacks

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July 15, 2023

Hello, Insiders! We made it to the weekend again. If the travel hack skiplagging is confusing to you — don’t worry! The money-saving loophole (when you book a flight with a layover in your intended destination) only exists because airlines break one of the basic laws of geometry.

What's on tap today:

Travel: Book those tickets — airfare is finally dropping.
Health: When light-headedness at the gym is actually a stroke.
Culture: A “demonic” Taylor Swift vinyl.

But first: Do you really want to live forever?

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THE BIG STORY

Lengths for longevity

mihtiander/Getty Images

Military workouts. Cold Plunges. Getting blood-plasma transfusions from your teenager. The ultrarich are ultra into finding new ways to live longer.

"Biological age" — which is meant to measure how healthy your cells and organs are — is one of the hottest buzz words. For example, a 62-year-old longevity researcher claims his body is as healthy as a 42 year old’s. And he said he achieved this through diet, exercise, sleep, supplements, and additional curated factors.

Other wealthy people are installing $65,000 cold plunge pools to stave off aging and improve mental acuity. Meanwhile, a different longevity researcher (and other longevity seekers) started taking a $1 daily prescription pill that successfully extended the lives of flies, worms, and mice.

But tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson is an extreme example of the ultrarich seeking longevity solutions. The 45 year old has a $2 million annual regimen that he claims reduced his biological age by five years:

His longevity routine includes taking 100 supplements a day and eating 70 pounds of vegetables per month.
Johnson also received blood-plasma transfusions from his 17-year-old son. (Spoiler alert: it wasn’t very effective.)
His daily “Green Giant” smoothie includes spermidine powder, collagen peptides, and other supplements.

Let us know how far you’d go to try to live longer: insidertoday@insider.com

READ ON

WEEKEND LISTS

3 things in travel

Olha Gubachova/Getty Images

A tourist got roasted for comparing traveling to the Amalfi Coast to “manual labor.” She had to fly, take a train, and then walk up stairs with her bags. But unsympathetic critics blasted her for not doing enough research.
Takeoff time: Airfare is finally dropping. Plane tickets reached record highs in 2022. But domestic flight prices in June were 19% lower than the same time last year, continuing a downward airfare trend.
Pet CPR and wine tasting: becoming a flight attendant on a private plane. Cindy Kowalewski underwent a rigorous screening and training process before landing the job. She had to learn how to plate food, do cybersecurity trainings, and more.

3 things in health

rudigobbo/Getty Images

Unconventional ways to cool down during the summer. Air conditioners are great. But scientists revealed five alternative cooling methods, like using menthol (popular among athletes), that will save your electricity bill.
Weight-loss drugs Ozempic, Wegovy, and Saxenda are under investigation. Regulators are looking into dozens of claims that people who’ve taken the injectible drugs experienced suicidal thoughts and self harm.
Lightheadedness in the gym was actually a stroke. A 33-year-old man felt light-headed during a workout class. He tried to push through the discomfort, but it turned out he was having a stroke. Now he wants people to know what to look out for.

3 things in culture

tiktok/@mischief_marauder

A demonic Taylor Swift “Speak Now” vinyl. A woman ordered a special edition of the album straight off the official website. But what came was extra special — the vinyl played “creepy” electronic music with an ominous voice.
Six cringey things millennials do online. Using the cry-laughing emoji. Saying “I did a thing.” Posting boomerangs (or landscape photos) on stories. The list goes on. And younger users are making fun of their embarrassing online behavior.
Celebrities and brands that responded to a couple’s wedding invitation. A couple sent blundered wedding invites to celebrities and brands they admired (including Disneyland, Chick-fil-A, Justin Bieber, and Dolly Parton). And they documented who responded.

LAST LOOK

Cliff home

Royal Caribbean International

Tour this man’s underground house carved inside a cliff. The sandstone home features decorative stones, mosaic tiles, and more. Nissim Kahlon, the homeowner, spent 50 years carving it.

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