- The Wolf on Wealth
- Posts
- New post
New post
Davis Richardson
July 24, 2026
Good Morning. Millions of men in their prime don’t work. Plus, the attack of Hugging Face, an iconic sports ritual, and Grok’s historically accurate Odyssey reboot (forwarded this email? Join 523k readers).
Missed yesterday? Our most clicked link: Most expensive US school districts
TOP STORY TODAY
Americans Stop Working
A record 105.8 million American adults are now outside the labor force, according to June data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. That's more than during COVID or the Great Recession, after 832,000 people dropped out in June alone.
The number counts everyone 16 and up who isn't working or job hunting. Retirees make up roughly half. But 23.3 million are on disability or illness benefits, and 5.3 million have simply stopped looking.
The startling pattern: roughly 7 million prime-age men, ages 25 to 54, aren't working or seeking work. Labor economists note aging societies like Japan are raising participation rates while America's falls.
Pan Am Ghost Found
Explorers announced yesterday they found the wreck of the Pan Am Clipper Endeavor off Puerto Rico, 74 years after it crashed. The 1952 water landing killed 52 of the 69 people aboard.
Everyone survived the initial ditching after two engines failed minutes out of San Juan. But panic, a language barrier, and shark fears kept passengers buckled in as the tail broke off and the fuselage sank.
A torpedo-shaped underwater drone spotted the Pan Am logo 2,000 feet down on its first attempt, aluminum still gleaming. The legacy: this crash is the reason every flight now opens with a safety briefing.
Ella Ties Whitney, Mariah
Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" logged its 14th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, tying Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey for the longest run by a solo female artist.
The song now matches Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and Carey's "We Belong Together" (holiday songs excluded). It pulled 24 million streams, 51 million radio airplay impressions, and 7,000 US sales last week alone.
One more week puts Langley alone in the record books. Meanwhile, Stella Lefty grabbed her first top 10 with "Boston" at No. 6, and Olivia Dean claimed the Radio Songs crown.
GET 1% BETTER
Jordan Belfort’s 4-Second Rule for Sales
The Wolf of Wall Street built his entire sales system on one hidden truth: prospects decide in the first 4 seconds whether they'll buy from you.
In that window, Belfort says you must establish three things.
You're sharp as a tack.
You're enthusiastic as hell.
You're an expert in your field.
Miss any one, and no script saves you. Nail all three, and the rest of the conversation is just logistics.
The kicker: this applies to every pitch in your life. Asking for a raise. Selling your boss on an idea. Negotiating a car price. You're always selling. The first 4 seconds decide if anyone's buying.
Two questions to free your thinking
What assumptions am I making, that I’m not aware I’m making, that gives me what I see?
What might I now invent, that I haven’t yet invented, that would give me other choices?
TRENDING
5 Stories
▲ SpaceX-Tesla merger speculation surges after Musk refuses to commit either way on shareholder call
▲ Alphabet capex balloons to $205B guidance as free cash flow turns negative for first time in nearly two decades
▲ Nuclear deal hands Saudi Arabia a 30-year civilian program with American companies shutting out foreign rivals
▲ Amazon layoffs hit its artificial general intelligence unit even as company spends $200B on AI buildout
▲ AI film "Gods Don't Give Gifts" hits movie theaters Oct. 30 in first fully AI-generated theatrical release | Make your own AI short*