Good morning, friends!

Every time I have the nerve to make plans, things go dramatically different.

Last weekend, I wrote about how excited I was to watch the Thanksgiving Parade with our 2-year-old daughter in person, but that didn’t quite turn out the way I planned.

On Nov. 22, my husband, daughter, and I welcomed our son Leo three-and-a-half weeks early. (You may not have known I was pregnant because just like with our daughter, we kept this part of our lives private to enjoy the process.)

Although the exhaustion is real, it’s overshadowed by the joy and marvel of new life. Right now, time is at a complete standstill. I’m spending every second staring at this perfect tiny human and wondering how on earth he didn’t exist before this moment.

I’m also so thankful to share this moment with all of you, and it means the world that you’ve been with me during every life milestone in the last six years. I always struggle with how much to share about what’s going on with me personally, but I’ve found that The Profile readers make up the most supportive community on the internet.

With that, I want to let you know what I’m up to now. I’m going to direct 100% of my focus to this baby for the next few weeks, but I will still be making an appearance in your inboxes every Sunday morning.

Starting next week, for the next six Sundays, I'll be publishing a mix of new and old profiles, podcasts, interviews, and documentaries. The columns at the top will be new — I've worked ahead to make sure there’s fresh material each week. (I will also be publishing a new interview I’m very excited about in the coming weeks.)

As for now, I’m getting a plethora of baby kisses and re-reading the post I published in January of 2022 titled, ‘10 Practical Pieces of Advice for First-Time Parents,’ and reminding myself of this reader’s advice: “A baby waking up every two hours is temporary. A kid who will only eat chips is temporary. A temper tantrum — temporary.”

Everything — the good, the bad, and the painful — is fleeting. I’m hyper-aware that one day I’ll refer to the life I’m living today as “the good old days,” and I’ll miss them tremendously. So I plan on making the most of every single second.

I’ll see you all soon!

Polina

PROFILES.

— The secretive hedge fund exec searching for deep-sea treasure [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The fund manager who still believes in a $1M bitcoin price
— The Instagram influencer teaching financial literacy
— The agent to the world’s biggest authors
— The tennis star who loves pickleball

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The secretive hedge fund exec searching for deep-sea treasure: For years a shipwreck hunter has battled governments and rivals over the ocean floor’s riches. He’s kept his identity a secret, until now. He may be the most prolific of them all—the most successful shipwreck hunter in modern times, perhaps in all of history. His name is Anthony Clake, and he’s a 43-year-old hedge fund executive who rarely leaves dry land. (Bloomberg; reply to this email if you can’t access the article)

“There were three key questions about any given shipwreck: Can you find it? Can you fund it? Can you keep it?”

The fund manager who still believes in a $1M bitcoin price: Cathie Wood still expects the price of bitcoin to hit $1 million someday. The founder of ARK Investment Management built the firm into an investor darling during the Covid-19 pandemic with successful bets on largely unprofitable, “disruptive” technology companies. But she was caught flat-footed once interest rates began rising. Here’s what she had to say about the current state of the economy and her fund’s role in it. (WSJ; complementary link provided)

“A lot of people thought that the bankruptcy of FTX, Celsius and Three Arrows was going to be the end of bitcoin. And quite the opposite happened.”

The Instagram influencer teaching financial literacy: Sixty-five percent of Gen-Zers and 74% of millennials say they believe they are starting further behind financially than earlier generations at their age. Enter Mrs. Dow Jones. Instagram personal finance guru Haley Sacks wants to convince a pessimistic generation that wealth is within reach. She seeks to educate about the stock market and IRAs (often using Kardashian memes) to a new generation seeking security and stability in an economy far bleaker than their parents’. (Bustle)

“The American dream has really changed. I’m a millionaire who rents, you know what I mean?”

The agent to the world’s biggest authors: Andrew Wylie is agent to an extraordinary number of the planet’s biggest authors. His knack for making highbrow writers very rich helped to define a literary era. He has helped to define the global literary canon. His critics argue that he has also hastened the demise of the literary culture he claims to defend. But is his reign now coming to an end? (The Guardian)

“The most important thing is to get paid.”

The tennis star who loves pickleball: Venus Williams lives in Florida, where, in addition to her tennis career, she oversees a portfolio of businesses that includes her EleVen by Venus Williams lifestyle and activewear line and her interior-design company, V Starr. In this short Q&A, she discusses her family’s favorite inside joke, how she prioritizes mental health, and her stance on pickleball. (WSJ; complementary link provided)

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