Polo Lifestyles-Haiti July-August 2025: WOMEN+POWER

V O L U M E I X / I S S U E I V / J U LY - A U G U S T 2 0 2 5

LA SAISON FRANCAISE: TROPHEES CHAMPLATREUX, BOURBON & PGH · CARTIER QUEEN'S CUP GREENWICH POLO: EAST COAST OPEN

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WOMEN THE WOMEN OF THE VIEW POWER SARA HAINS, ANA NAVARRO SUNNY HOSTIN, JOY BEHAR ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN & WHOOPI GOLDBERG

ANA BOTIN · DEB H AAL AND · CHERYL LEE RALPH · HUNTER SCH AFER BEYONCÉ · GIORGIA MELONI · GISELE PELICOT · ANNA WINTOUR G AY L E K I N G · E L I S A B E T H M O S S · C O C O G A U F F · L A U R A C AT E N A J A N E F R A S E R · C H R I S T Y W A LT O N · J U L I E S W E E T · C H R I S K A J A N I CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM · LESLIE FRANK · LISA SU · KENDALL & KYLIE L AURA MODI · MIA MOT TLEY · MARY BARRA · MACKENZIE SCOT T BECKY ROBINSON · OLIVA MUNN · SHAN BOODRAM MEGHAN GRACIDA · SIMONE BILES · SZA · THE WENTE SISTERS TAY L O R S W I F T · M E L I N D A F R E N C H G AT E S & M O R E

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Ambassador Claude-Alix Bertrand Publisher

Joshua Jakobitz Editor-in-Chief

Dr. Michael J. Snell

Lifestyles & Luxury Automobile Contributor

William Smith

Copy Editor & Wine Contributor

Claire Barrett

Joey Velez Wellness Contributor

Christina Albina

Head of Photography

Style Contributor

Dana Romita

Raphael K. Dapaah

Luxury Real Estate Contributor

Art Contributor

Brand Representatives

Amritlal अमृत

Ascension Contributor

Dr. Michael J. Snell - NYC Miriam P. Owens - NYC

Tom Landry

Design Contributor Polo Photographers

Katerina Morgan Justine Jacquemot Irina Kazaridi Helen Cruden Pascal Renauldon Kathrin Gralla

Contributing Photographers

Xavier Merchet-Thau Aubrey Chandler Eric Carré Eva Espresso Rob Miskowitch Margarita Crotto

Polo Lifestyles is a publication of HT Polo Publishing Co. 995 Detroit Avenue, Suite A Concord, CA 94518 Cover photo of "The View" co-hosts by the Jeff Lipsky Reprinted with permission from ABC Content Copyright © Polo Lifestyles 2025 All Rights Reserved.

For information or to advertise Contact marketing@pololifestyles.com Read online at www.pololifestyles.com On Instagram & Facebook @pololifestyles A proud partner of Issuu, NZ Polo Open, House On Third U.S. Polo Assn., The Impression and Mixam

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WWW.PO LO WW W. P O L O L ILFIFES E S TTYYLES L E S ..COM COM

PLETTENBURG POLO CLUB Plett Polo Festival SA Open Ladies Polo ROLAND GARROS POLO CLUB DE CHANTILLY Polo Nations Cup Inaugural Women's Polo Nations Cup Arena Polo World Championships French Women's Open Barnes French Open GUARDS POLO CLUB Cartier Queen's Cup Outsourcing, Inc. Royal Windsor Cup Aston Martin Prince of Wales Cup COWDRAY PARK POLO CLUB British Open Polo Championship for the Cowdray Gold Cup British Ladies Open Championship Challenge Cup WIMBLEDON SANTA BARBARA POLO & RACQUET CLUB Silver Cup Robert Skene Trophy America Cup Pacific Coast Open HAMPTONS POLO CLUB Monty Waterbury

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SCOREBOARDS & COCKTAILS

THE FRENCH SEASON

PHOTOS FROM DOMAIN DE CHANTILLY Page 26

POLO LIFESTYLES EDITORS & CONTRIBUTORS

Ambassador Claude-Alix Bertrand Publisher Polo Lifestyles @haiti_polo_captain

Eric Carré

Photographer EC Photography @ti_carre

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Josh Jakobitz

Editor-in-Chief Polo Lifestyles @joshuajakobitz

Claire Barrett

Copy Editor & Contributor

@clairebarrettphoto

@willismith_2000

Claire Barrett Photography May & Stanley Smith Charitable Trust

Eva Espresso Photographer

Eva Espresso Photography

@Eva.espresso

William Smith

Head of Photography

Katerina Morgan

Polo Photographer Horse Polo Art Gallery @horsepoloartgallery

Raphael K. Dapaah Art Contributor Dapaah Gallery @dapaahgallery

Amritlal अमृत

Ascension Contributor Monarch Visionary @monarch_visionary

Michael J. Snell

Lifestyles & Luxury Automobiles Contributor @agnello_1

Joey Velez

Wellness Columnist

Velez Mental Performance

@velezmentalhealth

Dana Romita

Real Estate Contributor Douglas Elliman @danaromita

Tom Landry

Design Contributor House on Third @tomlandry2

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Chanel partners with L'Opera National, page 69

Beaches and oceans are cleaner than ever, page 82

How ChatGPT rewires your brain, page 93

Thirst-quenching summer classics, page 194

WOMEN++POWER

THE WOMEN OF "THE VIEW" PAGE 98

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HE WOMEN+POWER COVER CAN BE A HOTLY CONTESTED – EVEN CONTENTIOUS – TOPIC AT OUR OFFICE LEADING UP TO PUBLICATION. THE LOGISTICS OF HAVING MULTIPLE COVER POSSIBILITIES ORGANIZED AND WORKING WITH DIFFERENT PR COMPANIES, PROMISING NOTHING AND ASKING FOR PATIENCE SIX TIMES DAY, CAN BE DAUNTING. AND, OF COURSE, THERE’S THE ENDLESS NEWS CYCLE. THIS YEAR, THE NEWS CYCLE WAS THE DETERMINING FACTOR WHEN SELECTING THE LADIES OF "THE VIEW" FOR THE COVER.

Whoopi Goldberg, specifically, needs only one name to be recognized since her Sister Act days, and may be the most controversial woman in the world. She is most definitely the most inflammatory woman in the United States. I probably don’t need to tell you that she’s in hot water at the moment for comments she made on-air comparing the plight of Iranians and African-Americans. But look, it’s her job to be opinionated and controversial. We watch "The View" because we want – no, we need – to hear what the ladies are going to say about X, Y and Z. It gives critics the fodder they need to survive another ratings showdown and it gives their supporters something to talk about around the water cooler or over cocktails after work (you can guess my preference).

So, yes, this year’s most-powerful place goes to the ladies of "The View," led by Whoopi Goldberg, an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony superfecta) winner, a largerthan-life personality and, yes, perhaps most surprisingly, a first-time finalist of WOMEN+POWER. Congratulations, dear Whoopi, and congratulations to our other 72 finalists as well as all the nominees. May 2025 end on a better note for women than it started on.

Josh Jakobitz Editor-in-Chief josh@pololifestyles.com

VOLUME IX / ISSUE IV / JULY - AUGUST 2025

robbreport Tucked into the Dorset Downs on England's Jurassic Coast, Chedington Court is the definitive English manor

forbes How much did the Bezos-Sanchez nuptials really cost? Forbes investigates...

santabarbarapoloclub The first of four (of 8) teams have been announced for the 16-Goal Series in Santa Barbara

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taittinger Layers of rosé, served with a fork

lacoste Lacoste presents its dual-purpose beachtennis club bag for 2026

saks Party in the front @loewe monogram in the back only at Saks

townandcountrymag What has four legs and better airline status than most travelers?

lv_collectibles Bags and trunks presented at Louis Vuitton S/S26 runway

becauseofmarketing How has tennis culture shaped the world of advertising?

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Click and comment on our choices... Tag @pololifestyles.

We will share noteworthy comments with you next month.

paulfuentes_photo Cowboys at the Edris House, where nostalgia meets mid-century magic

kathi.fuchsx

A dinner setting to remember for a long time

thewhisperingangel Returning as the official rosé of the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic

globalpolo From Wellington to the United Kingdom, the polo season is your passport to the world as Winston Churchill used to say

f1 Team standings for F1 with an almightly lead at the top for McLaren

dolcegabbana_casa Inspired by the majestic and precious art of the Majolica the #DG pattern brings character to @fstaormina

tomsamet Truer words have never been spoken - at least after the rosé has been opened

uspoloassneur The perfect outfit does exist from U.S. Polo Assn

downtonabbey_official The third and final installment of the motion pictures series will hit theaters September 12

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TROPHEE PGH POLO DU DOMAINE DE CHANTILLY PAGE 26

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTINE JACQUEMOT

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LA SAISON FRANCAISE

TROPHEE PGH • POLO DE CHANTILLY

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SUMMARY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTINE JACQUEMOT

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SUMMARY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTINE JACQUEMOT

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LA SAISON FRANCAISE

TROPHEE PGH • POLO DE CHANTILLY

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GREENWICH POLO SEASON

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B Y F R O Y L Á N C A B A L L E R O / P H O T O G R A P H S B Y D I A N A N AVA S & R E B E C C A F O LT Z

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GREENWICH POLO SEASON THE SUMMERTIME EAST COAST POLO DESTINATION

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AGUA ALTA CUP IN CAREYES, MEXICO

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B Y F R O Y L Á N C A B A L L E R O / P H O T O G R A P H S B Y D I A N A N AVA S & R E B E C C A F O LT Z

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AGUA ALTA CUP IN CAREYES, MEXICO PAGE 38

B Y F R O Y L Á N C A B A L L E R O / P H O T O G R A P H S B Y D I A N A N AVA S & R E B E C C A F O LT Z

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CARTIER QUEEN'S CUP 2025 PAGE 42

P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y PA B L O R A M I R E Z F O R G U A R D S P O L O C L U B

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A powerhouse in the Gauntlet of Polo, Park Place earned its first USPA Gold Cup victory this spring and followed it with another milestone achievement—winning the Cartier Queen’s

Cup for the first time in team history at the Guards Polo Club in England. In a hard-fought final, the team in blue edged past La Dolfina/Marques de Riscal, 9-8.

Captained by well-known 10-goaler T E X T C O U RT E S Y G L O B A L P O L O S P O RT S

Poroto Cambiaso, La Dolfina is a fellow Gauntlet mainstay, making the international triumph even more significant.

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CARTIER QUEEN'S CUP 2025

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P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y PA B L O R A M I R E Z F O R G U A R D S P O L O C L U B

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CARTIER QUEEN'S CUP 2025

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P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y PA B L O R A M I R E Z F O R G U A R D S P O L O C L U B

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SAINT-TROPEZ SUN TROPHY HARAS DE GASSIN, FRANCE

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P H O T O S C O U RT E S Y S T- T R O P E Z P O L O C L U B

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SAINT-TROPEZ SUN TROPHY HARAS DE GASSIN, FRANCE

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P H O T O S C O U RT E S Y S T- T R O P E Z P O L O C L U B

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LA SAISON FRANCAISE TROPHEE BOURBON 2025

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HE MUSTANG POLO TEAM WON THE 2025 TROPHÉE BOURBON IN A FIERCELY CONTESTED FINAL ON THE MAIN FIELD AT THE POLO CLUB DE CHANTILLY.

But Mustang Polo Team, who had lost to them in the qualifiers, came out of halftime more determined than ever.

With a rock-solid defense and a relentless Gaston Beguerie (scorer of 5 out of his team’s 8 goals), they turned the match around, supported by a cohesive and focused team effort.

The first three chukkers were open and dynamic, with a slight edge for La Berta.

Congrats to all for a great afternoon of polo — just the way we love it!

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTINE JACQUEMOT

BPP: Santos Vega Milonga Sentimental (Dolfina Entallado x Santos Vega Muñeca Brava), played in chukkers 3 & 5. This 8-year-old mare, newly arrived in France this year, belongs to Gaston Beguerie and was bred by his family. Domador : Joaquín López MVP : Lucie Venot (Mustang Polo Team)

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C O N T E N T C O U RT E S Y R & B P R E S S E

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LA SAISON FRANCAISE TROPHEE BOURBON 2025

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTINE JACQUEMOT

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LA SAISON FRANCAISE TROPHEE BOURBON 2025

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTINE JACQUEMOT

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LA SAISON FRANCAISE TROPHEE CHAMPLATREUX

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTINE JACQUEMOT

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CHANEL DRESSES

L'OPERA DE PARIS

Hofesh Shechter's new full-length ballet, "Red Carpet," previewed June 10 at the Palais Garnier

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HANEL HAS PARTNERED WITH THE PARIS OPERA TO CREATE THE COSTUMES FOR RED CARPET, A NEW FULL-LENGTH BALLET

BY INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED CHOREOGRAPHER HOFESH SHECHTER. THE WORK PREMIERED AT THE PALAIS GARNIER ON JUNE 10, FOLLOWING A SPECIAL YOUTH PREVIEW ON JUNE 7, AND MARKS THE LATEST CHAPTER IN CHANEL’S ONGOING SUPPORT OF THE OPÉRA NATIONAL DE PARIS AS A MAJOR PATRON. Commissioned specifically for the Paris Opera Ballet, Red Carpet brings

Shechter’s visceral and dynamic choreography into a theatrical cabaret setting, complete with red velvet curtains, live music, and a charged atmosphere of dark glamour. Thirteen dancers—six women and seven men—inhabit a stage that shifts between festive spectacle and physical intensity, accompanied by a four-piece band.

Designed in collaboration with the Paris Opera’s ateliers, the Chanel costumes reflect the dual spirit of elegance and movement. Drawing inspiration from eveningwear, the looks include tuxedos, cocktail jackets, long lamé and sequined dresses, pink bouclé tailoring, and dramatic accessories such as camellias, gloves, and statement earrings.

to move like second skins, symbolizing emotional and physical release.

The project highlights the maison’s deep commitment to artistic innovation and contemporary performance.

Red Carpet will run in Paris through July 14 before traveling to San Francisco and New York in the fall. A filmed version, produced by Floris Bernard and supported by the Orange Foundation, will be available on the Paris Opera’s streaming platform, POP. For Chanel, Red Carpet continues a tradition of cultural patronage rooted in fashion’s power to shape narrative and emotion—on stage as much as on the runway.

As the ballet progresses, the dancers shed these embellished silhouettes to reveal minimal undergarments designed C O N T E N T C O U RT E S Y T H E I M P R E S S I O N

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CHANEL'S CONTINUED COSTUME PATRONAGE OF THE OPERA NATIONAL DE PARIS

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Explore the details of the new Continental GTC Azure now

Visit your local Bentley dealer today and drive off in a new Bentley

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S E L F R I D G E'S P R O P O S E S A

MEMBERS-ONLY

FOURTH-FLOOR CLUB

HIGH SOCIET

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ELFRIDGES IS PLANNING TO OPEN AN INVITATION-ONLY MEMBERS’ CLUB WITHIN ITS OXFORD STREET FLAGSHIP AS PART OF A BROADER EFFORT TO DIVERSIFY REVENUE AND DEEPEN ENGAGEMENT WITH HIGH-SPENDING CUSTOMERS.

A planning application submitted to Westminster City Council details a £100 million project to convert 630 square meters of fourth-floor office space into a hospitality-focused venue called 40 Duke, set to open as early as spring 2026.

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The proposed space will include a bar, lounge, private dining room, and outdoor dining area. This move comes at a challenging moment for the company.

Selfridges reported an almost £42 million loss in the fiscal year ending February 2024, with a 1% decline in revenue.

While some of the loss was attributed to accounting changes, the drop in sales— despite high inflation—points to ongoing difficulties in achieving meaningful sales growth, particularly after the elimination of VAT-free shopping for international tourists.

Backed by Thailand’s Central Group and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Selfridges appears to be leaning further

C O N T E N T C O U RT E S Y T H E I M P R E S S I O N

into experience-driven retail. While nearby competitors like Marks & Spencer and John Lewis are repurposing retail space into offices, Selfridges is banking on a different strategy: turning its store into a high-end social hotspot.

Private clubs have become increasingly popular among luxury brands looking to build community and loyalty with affluent consumers. Harrods opened a similar concept in Shanghai in 2023, but opted for an off-site model targeting high-net-worth clients abroad. In contrast, Selfridges is integrating its club directly into the flagship, pushing the store beyond retail, into experience and atmosphere.

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The luxury department store proposes a £100M fourth-floor transformation amid push for new revenue streams

TY

If approved by the council’s planning committee, the project would signal a broader evolution in what department stores can be: less transactional, more experiential. For Selfridges, 40 Duke could become a template for how legacy retailers can navigate a market that increasingly values atmosphere as much as access.

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THE HEART’S ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD IS YOUR SUPERPOWER TRAINING HEART-BRAIN COHERENCE

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HE HEART IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUMPING BLOOD TO THE ENTIRE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM SO THAT ORGANS, TISSUES, AND CELLS RECEIVE NUTRIENTS AND OXYGEN AND WASTE, SUCH AS CARBON DIOXIDE, IS ELIMINATED.

Research is proving the heart may be as intricate as the brain, referred to as “the little brain.” The heart-brain actually sends more communication to the headbrain than the other way around.

The heart beats before the brain forms.

When the brain is dead, the heart continues to beat so long as it has oxygen. In PAGE 78

fact, the heart has 40,000 neurons and the ability to process, learn, and remember. It also has its own emotions. Thanks to the field of neuro-cardiology, we are learning more about the intuitive nature of the heart and how we can apply this information to the relationship we have with ourselves and others.

state. The brain receives this input which affects whether higher cognitive functions can be accessed to self-regulate.

The Heartmath Institute has been leading research related to heart-brain coherence. According to Research Director Dr. Rollin McCraty, “Coherence is the state when the heart, mind, and emotions are in energetic alignment and cooperation.

It is a state that builds resilience.” When the parasympathetic and the sympathetic system are out of sync from emotions such as anger, anxiety, or frustration, this produces an erratic rhythm or incoherent

When harmonious interactions exist among the body’s systems, this is referred to as physiological coherence. As this increases, so does the brain’s alpha activity which supports stress relief and creativity.

This calmer yet focused state improves:

Positive emotions such as compassion and love generate a harmonious pattern in the heart’s rhythm, leading to coherence and greater emotional regulation.

•

Learning

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Making better choices

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An expanded view of options

BY J E S S I C A I. M O R A L E S/S P E C I A L TO P O LO L I F E S T Y L E S

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The upside is plentiful as to why we should increase our heart’s harmony.

With an electrical component about 60 times greater and an electromagnetic energy field 5,000 times greater than the brain’s, the heart has a significant influence on the body down to the cellular level. The brain’s rhythms along with the respiratory and blood pressure rhythms entrain with the heart’s rhythm. This is the optimal state for human functioning.

The heart’s energy is said to reach about three feet outside of the physical body and can be detected in another person sitting nearby via an electrocardiogram (ECG). Can you bring to mind someone who, without even speaking a word, makes you feel light just by being in their presence? Have you ever been told, “You have such a positive energy about you”? The potential of how far our heart’s electromagnetic energy field can reach continues to be studied as technology plays catch-up.

Additional benefits of heart-brain coherence include: •

Reduction in stress

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Adaptability to change

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Psychosocial well-being

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Higher cognitive capacity

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Performance improvement

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Resilience/Problem-solving

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Mental Clarity/Emotional stability

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Access to intuition and creativity

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Regenerative process/Anti-aging

HOW CAN WE INCREASE HEART COHERENCE? As the brain is able to be re-trained through neuroplasticity, so can the

heart. In the same way, we build mental habits, we can develop new heart habits.

Whatever the heart informs the brain, the brain responds accordingly. It takes changing what we have hard-wired in the communication exchange between the heart and the brain, and between the neurons in the heart, just like rewiring the communication between neurons in the brain.

If it has become the “norm” for the heart to feel chronic stress or anger, it is accustomed to communicating this to the brain. The brain triggers the body’s response in the form of stress hormones, constricted blood vessels, increased blood pressure, chronic inflammation, and basically makes the heart work harder.

Putting the heart through constant emotional distress disrupts the body’s balance and can lead to physical disease. As many have said, “Happiness is a choice,” and so is sustainable joy.

Just as neuroplasticity is described as training the brain through learning, what if we trained our hearts using positive emotions so that the brain more consistently releases chemicals that support healing and well-being? By increasing awareness of what we are “feeding” the command center, we can be intentional about what we allow in, what we give permission to spread to the rest of the body, and even how we inspire others to feel around us.

Following are steps to stimulate positive emotions for greater heart-brain coherence: Bring focused attention to your heart.

You can also place your hand(s) over it for a physical connection.

Use Dr. Andrew Weil’s 4-7-8 Relaxing Breath Technique. Breathe in for four seconds, hold for seven seconds, and exhale

slowly with a whooshing sound for eight seconds. Repeat four times. This lowers the heart rate.

Recall something that makes you feel love, joy, or thankfulness. You can also create this in your imagination such as spending time with a child, a pet, or in spiritual presence.

Amplify positive emotions that come forth such as amusement, hope, or inspiration. You can even give them happy or soothing colors. Allow a smile to form as you savor the moment.

Visualize sending these feelings (aka, input) from your heart to your brain. Be as creative as you’d like, such as picturing them as healing light energy or shooting stars as your brain tingles.

Expand to other areas of your body including cells and organs. Notice how they respond. Perhaps your cells are now vibrating with the energy of joy. I see my cells dancing!

If the preference is not to focus on controlled breathing or to bypass some of the steps above due to time, simply bringing up positive emotions that invoke calm through the heart-space will cause coherence. Studies show that a prayer of gratitude or “heartfelt love” also increases cardiac coherence. These are easy-to-execute interventions one can do any time anywhere.

As with any new practice, repetition is key to making it familiar to the brain as to the heart. Doing any variation of these exercises right before bedtime can lead to deeply restful and restorative sleep as it clears out concerns. Be purposeful about what your final thoughts are before you hit the sack as they will flow right into sleep.

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GOOD NEWS FOR SUMMER T H A N K S TO P O L I C I E S A N D R E G U L AT I O N S

THERE ARE FEWER PLASTIC BAGS ON BEACHES AND IN OCEANS

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K . R . C A L L A W AY / S P E C I A L T O P O L O L I F E S T Y L E S

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I

T TURNS OUT ELIMINATING THE “PAPER OR PLASTIC” QUESTION THROUGH PLASTIC BAG REGULATION IS EFFECTIVELY REDUCING THE NUMBER OF BAGS FOUND IN SHORELINE LITTER ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

rates than other plastic items, says Erin Murphy, the ocean plastics science and research manager at the environmental advocacy nonprofit Ocean Conservancy, who was not involved in the research.

She added that in 2024 alone, the conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup volunteers gathered up more than a million plastic bags.

A new analysis of shoreline cleanup data finds that areas with plastic bag bans or consumer fees have fewer bags turning up in their litter. The research offers some of the strongest evidence yet that regulating plastic bag use makes a difference in reducing the amount of plastic waste in marine ecosystems.

In addition to getting into the environment at high rates, plastic bags also pose a heightened threat to marine wildlife.

Wildlife can become entangled in or smothered by these bags or can mistake them for food, like jellyfish, a favorite among many species. These interactions with plastic can lead to the deaths of endangered and common animals alike and can even contribute to broader population declines.

A HEIGHTENED THREAT TO MARINE WILDLIFE “We find, largely, that all the regulations do show a decrease in plastic bag litter as a share of total litter on these shores,” says Kimberly Oremus, co-author of the research paper and an assistant professor of marine science and policy at the University of Delaware. The total reduction ranged between 25 percent and 47 percent, the study found.

About 20 metric tons of plastic end up in the environment each year, estimates the International Union for Conservation of Nature—that amounts to over 2.4 kilograms of plastic for each person on Earth.

Plastic bags are particularly prevalent in marine ecosystems. They are very difficult to recycle and, because they are lightweight and have a large surface area for wind to catch, they blow out of the trash and into the environment at higher

COUNTING THE PLASTIC BAGS “One big challenge in studying the effects and regulations of plastics is actually measuring this pollutant in the environment,” says Anna Papp, co-author of the research paper.

To overcome this challenge, the study used crowd-funded data from beach cleanups. The data was collected by the Ocean Conservancy as part of their Trash Information and Data for Education and Solutions (TIDES) project. Nearly 19 million people have participated in the data collection worldwide.

The study also examined plastic bag policies at various geographical scales between 2017 and 2023. The earliest plastic bag policies in the U.S. were implemented around 2007, researchers say,

but an uptick in the mid-2010s more directly led to the policies analyzed in the study.

While the data provides insight into how the share of plastic bags found among shoreline litter has changed due to policy measures, an important caveat remains: Plastic litter has been increasing overall. Plastic production doubled from 234 million to 460 million tons between 2000 and 2019—and without mitigation, it is only expected to rise, according to a recent report from the French-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

SOME REGULATIONS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS Still, the researchers noted that not all regulations worked equally well. Total bans and consumer fees resulted in greater decreases than partial bans, which still allow businesses to use thicker, potentially reusable plastic bags. The researchers also found that regulation was most effective in places that had a high baseline of plastic bag litter before the bans or fees went into place.

The study data seems to indicate that consumer fees were the most effective option for mitigating plastic bag litter, though the paper’s authors say more research is needed to confirm this finding.

“These policies are effective, but they’re not a panacea for all plastic litter,” Oremus said. “Anyone who’s looking at regulations for plastic broadly needs to think beyond just the consumption side of plastic.”

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THE POWER OF

HEALING STORIES

that the healing process could be lengthy, hard and ugly, but worth it.” She decided to heal through natural modalities: some 1,000-year-old practices and plant medicine. Yet, she underestimated the depth of what needed to be resolved.

Grief and pain can be your biggest teachers, if you do not suppress them. The only way to heal the pain is to feel the pain, she learned.

She’s just published her first book, “My Drumbeats,” recounting the journey that starts with her childhood and culminates toward ayahuasca ceremonies at Rythmia Life Enhancement Center, in Costa Rica, where she was guided by revered shamans to release pain and suffering that backdated her very existence. Her ayahuasca sessions were, by far, the most revealing and life-changing experiences.

She made peace with ghosts who had inhabited her since childhood as well as deeply rooted trauma that she wasn’t even aware of.

Vorbe’s intention with writing this book was to share her story, invite others to join her and to welcome readers along on a journey of liberation. “’My Drumbeats’ is my own form of activism toward the collective consciousness,” she said.

The all-too familiar combination of grief and pain sent Miami-based designer and now author, Anick Vorbe, into a years-long journey through the deepest parts of her soul and into the light of emotional liberation.

“When my younger brother unexpectedly died, I felt myself being pulled into a deep depression, and this pause made me reassess every single aspect of my life.

I knew it was time to take care of unresolved issues,” Vorbe told Polo Lifestyles.

The clinical options – anti-depressants and mood stabilizers – seemed just that: clinical. Vorbe wanted to heal and get to the root of (what she assumed was simply) her depression.

As literature trends have shifted from highly romanticized works and tonguein-cheek best-sellers, readers are demanding more authenticity in content.

“My Drumbeats” delivers raw, unfiltered emotional trauma. It also reveals that the road less-traveled to healing is the one worth the risk, if you take it.

“I knew that medication would just be a Band-Aid, and that it would not deal with the deeply rooted trauma,” she said.

“I didn’t want to bypass the pain. I knew

“My Drumbeats” is an inspirational memoir with the power to illuminate others. “My Drumbeats” is available on Amazon.

J O S H U A J A K O B I T Z / E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F, P O L O L I F E S T Y L E S

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REISSUED

Unapologetic color, high-polish surfaces, and a rediscovery of pleasure in form

Frank, dining table, Meridiani

At this year's Salone del Mobile in Milan, the mood was clear: Italian haute design is turning up the volume.

A distinct revival of the late ’60s and ’70s aesthetic coursed through the pavilions, with a confident nod to the radical, sculptural forms of that era. Think modular seating that feels spaceage but sexy, curvilinear silhouettes and a liberated approach to scale that favored generous proportions over minimalism.

BOOST BRAIN HEALTH ONE STEP AT A TIME

High gloss made a return, with bold lacquered finishes. Cabinetry gleamed in deep jewel tones, tables shimmered in candy-coated reds and petrol blues, and even smaller pieces like consoles and sideboards were finished like sports cars. Bold color was the new neutral, leaning into rich palettes that felt deliberately cinematic: aubergine, chartreuse, terracotta, and sapphire. There is a opulence to it, but also a kind of chic defiance of the “quiet luxury” that has dominated RESEARCH SUGGESTS YOU SHOULD recent years.

LACE UP YOUR SHOES AND HIT THE ROAD

photo courtesy / Acerbis by Pietro Russo

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B Y M A RT H A M U R P H Y / S P E C I A L T O P O L O L I F E S T Y L E S

Trench, chair, Acerbis

Butter, sofa, Tacchini

of desire

OBJECTS

Tact & Trace, mirror, Tacchini

Undeniable opulence in both form and tone

Cascade, pendant, Lladro

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Fluid Joinery, side table, Cassina

Glass took center stage-but not as a supporting material. It was thick, tinted, textured, and often sculptural. Brands like Glas Italia and Gallotti & Radice showcased experimental uses of the medium: gradient fades, undulating surfaces, even glass legs that seemed to levitate tabletops.

Altogether, these trends signaled a shift toward emotional design- a move away from austere overtly beige minimalism and toward bold, sensory-rich environments.

3

Arch, side tables, David/ Nicolas

Treflo, coffee table, Cassina

If the Salone is any indication, the coming year in Italian design will be one of emboldened, sensory rich luxury--the message was clear: interior design is embracing excess again, but with precision. written by: designers House on Third

WWW.HOUSEONTHIRD.COM

Avant Garde, lounge chair, Bonaldo

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RELIANCE ON CHATGPT MIGHT BE (SHOCKING) BAD FOR YOUR BRAIN

A

N MIT STUDY FINDS THAT HEAVY RELIANCE ON AI TOOLS LIKE CHATGPT CAN DULL MEMORY, WEAKEN CRITICAL THINKING, AND LEAD TO LAZIER WRITING. If you value critical thinking, you may want to rethink your use of ChatGPT. As graduates proudly show off using ChatGPT for final projects, and with 89% of students admitting to using it for homework, have you ever wondered what effect this is having on our brains?

A new study conducted by researchers at MIT split 54 participants (aged 18 to 39 from the Boston area) into three groups. Each was tasked with writing 20-minute essays based on SAT prompts using either OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s comparatively more traditional search engine, or their own brains.

Researchers then used electroencephalogram (or EEG) to record brain activity across 32 regions. Of the three groups, those assisted by ChatGPT engaged their brains the least and “consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.”

The study found that using ChatGPT reduced activity in brain regions associated with memory and learning, as “some ‘human thinking’ and planning” was offloaded to the LLM. Unsurprisingly, ChatGPT users felt less ownership over their essays compared to the other groups. They also struggled to recall or quote from their own essays shortly after submitting them— showing how reliance on the LLM bypassed deep memory processes.

Over several months, those using ChatGPT became lazier with each essay. By the end of the study, their work amounted to little more than copyand-paste. Two English teachers who assessed the essays called them largely “soulless.” The paper’s lead author, Nataliya Kosmyna, told Time: “It was more like, ‘Just give me the essay, refine this sentence, edit it, and I’m done.’”

By comparison, the group using their own brains showed the highest neural connectivity, were more engaged and curious, and expressed greater satisfaction with their essays. The Google Search group also showed high satisfaction and active brain function.

Given how frequently ChatGPT is now used in educational settings, these findings give cause for concern.

A February 2025 OpenAI report on ChatGPT use among college-aged

users found that more than one-quarter of their ChatGPT conversations were education-related. The report also revealed that the top five uses for students were writing-centered: starting papers and projects (49%), summarizing long texts (48%), brainstorming creative projects (45%), exploring new topics (44%), and revising writing (44%).

The MIT paper has not yet been peer-reviewed, and its sample size is relatively small. However, the authors believed it was important to release the findings to draw attention to the damaging long-term impact that use of large language models may have on our brains—as more and more people outsource everything from work tasks to texting.

“What really motivated me to put it out now before waiting for a full peer review is that I am afraid in 6–8 months, there will be some policymaker who decides, ‘Let’s do GPT kindergarten.’

I think that would be absolutely bad and detrimental,” Kosmyna told Time.

“Developing brains are at the highest risk.”

Next time you are struggling with a writing task, stick with it. Your brain will thank you.

E V E U P TO N-C L A R K/S P E C I A L TO P O LO L I F E S T Y L E S

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POLO LIFESTYLES

THE WOMEN WHO ARE CHANGING OUR WORLD FOR THE BETTER EVERY DAY

CURATED BY WILLIAM SMITH, AMRITLAL SINGH, KATERINA MORGAN, JOSHUA JAKOBITZ AND CLAUDE-ALIX BERTRAND PAGE 96

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WOMEN + POWER THE WOMEN OF "THE VIEW"

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WOMEN + POWER

"THE VIEW"

THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL TABLE OF WOMEN ON TV "REPULSIVE. UNINFORMED. DISGUSTING."

T

HESE ARE THE COMMENTS LEFT ON CREDIBLE NEWS WEB SITE COMMENT SECTIONS IN STORIES RELATED TO ABC’S WOMEN OF “THE VIEW.” PERHAPS, UNIRONICALLY, THESE ARE THE SAME TERMS USED TO CONDEMN WOMEN FOR CENTURIES. THE FACES CHANGE, BUT THE CRITICS JUST RECYCLE THEIR TIRED VERBIAGE AND INSULTS.

In the 1600s, women were burned, boiled, hanged, put in stocks or marked

with letters identifying their cultural crimes (think: “The Scarlet Letter”).

Today, loud, opinionated, passionate women are simply mocked by critics online, threatened behind the scenes and on social media and stalked as they go about their daily (private) lives. And, to be clear, the comments on credible new sites are tame compared to what exists out there in the world of Quora, Twitter and Reddit.

Back in 1997, when the late Barbara Walters conceptualized and formed “The View,” she must have known it would immediately be five-alarm-level drama. As the show’s first moderator, she hand-picked the rotating cast of women co-hosts until her retirement in 2014. For 28 years, the show has provided women of all generations a

platform to debate politics, pop culture and lifestyle issues. Season 1 starred Meredith Vieira as moderator, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos, and Walters as the four permanent co-hosts, with Joy Behar filling in during Walters’ absences. Behar’s comedic personality quickly endeared her to fans, and before long, she joined “The View” full time as the fifth co-host.

THE LADIES Today, “The View” is moderated by the EGOT-winning (inflammatory, polarizing, radical, hilarious, passionate) Whoopi Goldberg, who’s joined by Sunny Hostin, Sara Hines, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Ana Navarro and, of course, cast original Joy Behar. Goldberg appears in this same issue of Polo PA G E 99

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JOY BEHAR

SARA HAINES

SUNNY HOSTIN

Lifestyles’ WOMEN+POWER as an individual for her personal contributions to media and philanthropy. Don’t miss her profile starting on page XX.

as a guest co-host, Haines joined “The View” as a permanent co-host in 2016.

She left briefly to purse other media projects, but returned full-time for the 24th season of “The View.”

ed during the mid-90s. She served in a number of Republican administrations, including as part of the transition team for Florida Governor Jeb Bush in 1998 and also as his Director of Immigration Policy. She also served as ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. She later served as the National Co-Chair of the Hispanic Advisory Council for John McCain in 2008 and Jon Huntsman Jr. in 2012. In February 2014, she became a political commentator for ABC News. In addition, she is also a political commentator on CNN and CNN en Español. Navarro became a contributor on “The View” in 2013.

Hostin began her career as a law clerk to retired Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals Robert M. Bell and later became a trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division. Hostin left the Antitrust Division to become a federal prosecutor, specializing in child sex crimes. She began corresponding on network television as a legal analyst for The O’Reilly Factor, eventually moving to CNN and later “The View.”

In 2009, Haines became NBC Today’s fourth-hour›s contributing correspondent until departing in 2013. In 2013, she became an ABC News correspondent as well as the pop news anchor for the weekend editions of Good Morning America. After multiple appearances PAGE 100

Griffin was the White House director of strategic communications and Assistant to the President in 2020. In addition to appearing on CNN as a commentator, her work as a co-host of “The View” earned for a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award.

Born in 1971 to a wealthy land-owning agricultural family in Nicaragua, Ana Navarro and her family sought asylum in the United States while her father stayed behind to fight with the Contras movement, supported by the Reagan administration. During her first year in university, Navarro campaigned for aid to the Contras. As a law student, Navarro successfully fought to keep Nicaraguan refugees from being deport-

Behar has spent her entire career in entertainment. She started in the early 1980s as a receptionist and later a producer on Good Morning America.

She was a stand-up comedian and made appearances on ABC’s Good Morning America and The New Show.

W W W. P O L O L I F E S T Y L E S . C O M

WHOOPI GOLDBERG

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN

ANA NAVARRO

In 1987, she hosted a variety talk show on Lifetime Television called Way Off Broadway that included Larry David as a writer and performer. She also hosted the show Live from Queens; was a regular on NBC’s Baby Boom; and continued to work the comedy club circuit. She had minor film roles including Cookie, This Is My Life, and Manhattan Murder Mystery. In the early 1990s, she hosted a talk-show on 77 WABC radio in New York City. She also made appearances on HBO comedy specials One Night Stand and Women of the Night 2. She joined “The View” in its inaugural season in 1997 as a guest co-host, filling in for Walters.

long ratings in more than three and a half years. According to ABC analysis of Nielsen data, “The View” averaged 3.078 million viewers during the week of Nov. 4, making it the tops among daytime broadcast network talk and news shows.

“The View” also continues to be No. 1 in households and total viewers among daytime broadcast talk shows and news programs for the fifth straight season, according to ABC.

RATINGS The U.S. presidential election results weighed heavily last November on “The View” hosts — and perhaps its viewers as well, as they tuned in en masse to give the daytime talker its best week-

Specifically on Wednesday, Nov. 6 — the day after the election — “The View” attracted 4.470 million viewers, which made it the show’s most-watched episode since Barbara Walters’ farewell episode on May 16, 2014.

Year-to-year, “The View” was up 24% in total viewers (3.078 million vs. 2.489 million), up 22% with women 25-54 (270,000 vs. 221,000) and up 33% with women 18-49 (270,000 vs. 145,000).

This season, “The View” has been up year-to-year in nine of ten weeks. All told, the show is up 9% in total viewers (2.614 million vs. 2.406 million) season to date compared to last year.

Goldberg, Behar, Hostin and Haines are all returning to The View for Season 27, and many of them have signed on to continue in the near future. Navarro and Griffin are also expected to return for Season 27.

As “The View” rapidly approaches its 30th anniversary, the formula proves it’s a winning one: a table of six professionals and experts with contradictory ideas and ideals, opinions and experiences.

It’s like having brunch or dinner with five of your friends, getting into it, disagreeing, walking away from the table to cool off in the bathroom; but still able to depart as friends after the check is settled.

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WOMEN + POWER

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM THE PRESIDENT OF MEXICO

It would be logical for a profile about Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that centers on the highly fraught trade wars and border issues between Mexico and the United States. Sheinbaum has remained steadfast in her positions on both of these hot topics, staring down the White House and calling their bluffs.

But far beyond the trade and border issues, Sheinbaum is responsible for a country that's been in societal turmoil and economic freefall for decades. To address her homegrown issues, she is cracking down on government fraud and theft, set on returning to the Mexican people - and sstate what is rightfully theirs. Sheinbaum said recently that her administration is working to reach an agreement with a former public official accused of transferring hundreds of millions of dollars in allegedly illicit funds from Mexico to investment accounts and other assets in Florida.

During her morning press conference, Sheinbaum said Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit, led by Pablo Gómez, is negotiating with Genaro García Luna, the country’s former secretary of public safety. She said the goal is for García Luna to return the money that he and his wife allegedly diverted from the Mexican government during former President Felipe Calderón’s administration, which ran from 2006 to 2012.

“There is an ongoing process to reach an agreement regarding the information and the return of the resources,” Sheinbaum said. “On Friday, I received a note from Pablo Gómez stating that they are in this process, and I ask Pablo to inform us about how it’s going.”

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ANNA WINTOUR THE MOST-POWERFUL FIGURE IN FASHION

Anna Wintour, the long-time global editorial director of Vogue, is taking a step back from her editorial duties at the fashion publication.

“She is still very much staying at Condé Nast and Vogue,” Vogue publisher Condé Nast said in a statement to CBS News.

She will continue to oversee Vogue globally in her post as the publication’s global editorial director, while Vogue U.S. will recruit a new head of editorial content to replace her as editor-in-chief.

Wintour on Thursday announced the new job title, head of editorial content, American Vogue.

Wintour, 75, remains at the top of Vogue’s masthead, as she retains her title as Vogue’s global editorial director.

She is also the chief content officer for Condé Nast. In that role, she will continue to oversee media brands including Wired, Vanity Fair, GQ and Condé Nast Traveler.

Wintour became editor-in-chief of Vogue in 1988 and is widely considered to be the most powerful figure in the fashion industry, believed to have inspired Meryl Streep’s icy Miranda Priestly, editor of the fictional Runway magazine, in the 2006 film “The Devil Wears Prada.”

“It was entertainment. It was not a true rendition of what happens within this magazine,” Wintour told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” in 2009.

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BEYONCÉ

BREAKING HER OWN CONCERT RECORDS Beyoncé is back, in case you hadn’t heard. Across 12 shows in May, the Cowboy Carter Tour grossed $157.4 million and sold 567,000 tickets, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.

It’s the second biggest reported monthly gross in Boxscore history – second only to herself. Beyoncé brought in $179.3 million in August 2023, in the heat of the Renaissance World Tour. Since the monthly charts launched in 2019, there have only been seven instances of nine-digit grosses, and Beyoncé is responsible for four of them.

After kicking off the Cowboy Carter Tour with one show on April 28, Beyoncé continued her Los Angeles

run with four more shows at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium on May 1, 4, 7, and 9. Then she hit Chicago, with three shows at Soldier Field before rounding out the month with five shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (New York area).

Those runs grossed $44.6 million ($55.7 million including the April 28 show), $42.5 million, and $70.3 million, respectively, running the table at Nos. 1, 2, and 3 on Top Boxscores.

As previously reported, the L.A. batch became 2025’s biggest reported single-venue engagement and went down as the fifth biggest ever. And as predicted, Beyoncé outdid herself in New York. Now, the MetLife dates reign – not only as the biggest of 2025, but as the biggest stadium engage-

ment in Boxscore history.

May marks Beyoncé’s fifth month at No. 1 on Top Tours, out of seven total appearances on the chart. She ties Trans-Siberian Orchestra for the second-most time on top, behind a threeway tie between Bad Bunny, Coldplay, and Elton John, each with seven.

The Cowboy Carter Tour has grossed $269.8 million and sold 1.1 million tickets in its first 22 shows, including L.A.’s opening night in April and nine shows in June, in London and Paris. It has already out-earned all of Beyoncé’s previous tours except for the Renaissance World Tour, which brought in $579.8 million over 56 shows in 2023.

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WOMEN + POWER

U.S. SENATORS

AMY KLOBUCHAR, ELIZABETH WARREN AND SUSAN COLLINS TAKE ON THE POWERS THAT-BE AMY KLOBUCHARD, D-MINN. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., called for fellow lawmakers and the general public to tone down incendiary rhetoric, while hailing a slain Democratic state lawmaker as “one of the most consequential speakers in Minnesota history.”

“This is an ongoing threat to elected officials overall,” Klobuchar told Morning Edition. “We in Washington, throughout our country, people who are engaging in this rhetoric that has inflamed an already difficult time in our country have to look in the mirror.”

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The former presidential candidate was also the chair of the inauguration committee for the 2025 presidential transition in the United States. She is a frequent speaker at Democratic Party events and fundraisers and splits her time between Washington, D.C. and her home state of Minnesota.

ELIZABETH WARREN, D-MASS. The White House wants to abolish the Department of Education. As a former public school teacher, Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, is fighting back with the “Save Our Schools” campaign.

Senator Warren is collecting and amplifying stories of real-life impact; leading oversight and investigations to hold the administration accountable, including the Education Secretary and the Department of Government Efficiency; and bringing students, teachers, parents, and unions into the fight to protect access to public education.

“The federal government has invested in our public schools,” Warren said in an exclusive interview with ABC News.

“Taking that away from our kids so that a handful of billionaires can be even richer is just plain ugly, and I will fight it with everything I’ve got.”

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SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, D-MASS.

Warren suggested she is working with students, teachers, parents and unions to “sound the alarm” nationwide.

“My starting point with this campaign is that I know the power of telling stories and the power it brings to organize people into the fight. We need numbers to win, and this is how we start,” Warren said.

SUSAN COLLINS, R-MAINE After a campaign promise to bring in out-sized federal dollars for Maine, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins won reelection during Trump’s first term, overcoming a record amount of spending against her and defying public polls.

At the start of the president’s second term, Collins rose to the helm of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the first time a Mainer has chaired one of the upper chamber’s most powerful committees in 92 years.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS, R-MAINE

However, Maine’s longest-serving member of Congress has reached this pinnacle of authority as the U.S. president is attempting to flip the system on its head. His administration, by Collins’ own admission, has unjustly rescinded congressionally appropriated funds, at times singling out Maine in what are widely considered retaliatory actions over the state’s defiance of his executive order rolling back transgender rights.

During Trump’s second term so far, Collins, a Republican, has bucked the executive periodically, particularly with attempts to reign in tariffs by reasserting congressional control and voting against a budget framework passed by the Senate in April because of possible cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal health program for low-income people and some people with disabilities. Though, in the budget currently being considered, she is supportive of adding work

requirements to limit Medicaid eligibility. Some of her constituents want to see more public pushback.

“I focus on results, not rhetoric,” Collins said in an interview. “My goal is not to get on Fox News and MSNBC and rant and rave.”

Outlining her strategy for Maine Morning Star, Collins said she’s had success restoring some funding largely due to conversations outside of public view, relying on her long-developed relationships.

“It is far more effective for me to, for example, restore the funding that the administration wants to cut for the Low Income Heating Assistance Program, LIHEAP, which is so important to the state of Maine, than it is to go make a fiery speech to anywhere that doesn’t result in any change,” Collins said.

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WOMEN + POWER

MACKENZIE SCOTT PHILANTHROPIST EXTRAORDINAIRE

Since MacKenzie Scott’s marriage to Jeff Bezos ended six years ago, she has shaken up the nonprofit world with her particular brand of billion-dollar generosity.

This year marks the sixth anniversary after the author and mom of four’s divorce from the Amazon founder became official in 2019, resulting in an approximately $36 billion settlement.

Since then, the 54-year-old Scott, who is currently 68th on Forbes’ billionaires list, has “transformed” philanthropy with her sizable, unrestricted donations, according to a three-year study published by the Center for Effective Philanthropy in February: She has given PAGE 108

away more than $19 billion to more than 2,000 organizations.

“It could take decades to truly understand the effects these gifts have had on nonprofits and the sector at large,” the report reads. “However, after five years of giving, the reported effects of her gifts on recipient organizations … remain overwhelmingly positive.”

Scott’s new chapter in philanthropy began with her split from Bezos. The two share four children — three sons and a daughter.

Bezos retained 75 percent of the former couple’s Amazon shares, which was about 12 percent of the company, while

MacKenzie kept roughly four percent, The New York Times reported at the time.

Last year, she made headlines when she announced she was giving away $640 million to 361 nonprofit groups across the country, which were chosen from over 6,000 applicants.

“Each of these 361 community-led non-profits was elevated by peer organizations and a round-2 evaluation panel for their outstanding work advancing the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means,” Scott wrote in a post on her Yield Giving website, “and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles.”

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In 2019, Scott also made the Giving Pledge, which is a list of billionaires who’ve pledged to donate half of their fortunes.

“I have no doubt that tremendous value comes when people act quickly on the impulse to give. No drive has more positive ripple effects than the desire to be of service,” she wrote in a letter.

“My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty,” she added.

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WHOOPI GOLDBERG THE MOST INFLAMMATORY VOICE ON TELEVISION

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WOMEN + POWER WHOOPI GOLDBERG

No other woman in 2025 can make tongue wags like Whoopi Goldberg.

As a co-host on “The View,” she’s well-known – beloved and hated – for her hard-line positions, reactions and inflammatory comments. As the July issue goes to press, Goldberg has been noticeably absent from the talk show following her remarks comparing the situation in Iran to the situation of Black Americans in the United States.

But isn’t that what makes her the perfect mid-morning punching bag for all the syndicates and commentators who hang onto her every word, regurgitating, twisting and reframing her dialogues and diatribes? Barbara Walters, who created “The View” in 1997, added

Goldberg to the co-host lineup in 2007 specifically for her controversial ideas and penchant for dramatic monologues. She is one of few people to receive an Emmy Award, Grammy Award, Academy Award, and Tony Award, collectively known as the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). In 2001, she received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

“I want little girls to have what we used to call baseball cards for their new favorite players, and I want them to follow just like I used to follow Mickey Mantle,” Goldberg said.

On June 13, Goldberg appeared on the CBS Mornings to announce that she had co-founded an all-women’s sports network, AWSN, that is now streaming on Pluto TV. Goldberg told CNBC her childhood passion for sports and desire for greater female representation in the field inspired her to start the network.

The network will air 2,000 hours of live sports the remainder of this year and into 2025. It will feature a wide range of sports from soccer, basketball, volleyball and field hockey to cricket, judo and table tennis.

AWSN is also available via international partners in India, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines.

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ANA BOTIN

A PROMINENT FIGURE IN BANKING Ana Botín is Executive Chair of Banco Santander, one of the largest and most efficient banks in the world, serving 175 million customers across Europe, North America and South America.

Botín began her career at JP Morgan in New York, and in 1988 joined Santander where she led businesses in Latin America, Spain and the UK, before being appointed Executive Chair of the group board in 2014.

She is Chair of the Institute of International Finance and the WEF International Business Council, as well as being a member of the board of the Coca-Cola company.

She is also the founder and Chair of the charities, Fundación CyD and Empieza por Educar.

Ana Patricia Botin-Sanz de Sautuola y O’Shea is the oldest of the six children of the late Emilio Botin, scion of the banking family, and Paloma O’Shea, a marchioness and accomplished pianist.

While the bank was created in 1857 to facilitate trade between the northern Spanish port of Santander and Latin America, the Botin family’s involvement dates to the early 1900s when her great-great-grandfather took the helm.

Their dominance has endured even though the family owns only 1.2 per cent of the shares.

It means she was born into something akin to a “royal family” and has lived “under the microscope” of scrutiny, according to one person who knows the bank well. Her brother in law was the late Seve Ballesteros with whom, in an illustration of her fierce competitiveness, she could reputedly hold her own in a game of golf.

Botin has insisted she wanted to be a journalist, not follow in her family’s footsteps. Her education was international. She boarded at St Mary’s School Ascot, in Berkshire, then took an economics degree at the private women’s college Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania, which she completed at Harvard. From there she joined JP Morgan in New York.

She spent eight years with the bank before returning to Spain to lead Santander’s rapid expansion across Latin America under the guidance of her father. She left suddenly in 1998 after a power struggle over the takeover of local rival Central Hispano where the management was concerned about Botin family dominance. Four years later she returned to run the newly acquired domestic bank Banesto.

In 2010 she was parachuted in to run the UK arm after its chief Antonio Horta-Osorio quit to lead the stricken Lloyds Banking Group.

An Anglophile, she shot to prominence in Britain where banks were

in disgrace after the banking crisis.

She was made an honorary dame five years later.

The sudden death of her father in 2014 from a heart attack at the age of 79 meant she returned to Spain to become group executive chairman. The role is unusual in corporate Britain and much of Europe, where the chair is usually an independent non-executive director working alongside a chief executive.

The bank still has a chief executive, the appointment of which has not always gone smoothly. In 2018 she tried to hire her father’s close confidant Andrea Orcel — dubbed the Ronaldo of banking for his deal-making skills. They fell out over his demands for a pay deal of more than €60 million. Orcel took the bank to court, which told Santander to pay him €43.4 million. Santander is contesting the settlement.

Botin has rejected suggestions that nepotism helped her to the top. In 2004 she told Time magazine that she had “started at the bottom. Nobody has given me anything”. As unlikely as that might sound, Lord Burns, the former mandarin who was chair of Abbey when it was bought by Santander, recalled: “Her father gave her no quarter at all.”

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WOMEN + POWER TAYLOR SWIFT

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TAYLOR SWIFT GLOBAL POP ICON & INFLUENCER

It’s now been roughly six weeks since Taylor Swift made headlines across the music industry for regaining ownership of all her masters after a long and grueling process for the 35-year-old artist.

Swift announced the news on social media and shared an in-depth letter on her website.

“All of the music I’ve ever made... now belongs... to me,” Swift wrote. “And all my music videos. All the concert films.

The album art and photography. The unreleased songs. The memories. The magic. The madness. Every single era.

My entire life’s work.”

Since wrapping up her record-breaking “Eras Tour” in December—which

spanned nearly two years and featured 149 shows across 21 countries—Swift has laid fairly low in 2025 and hasn’t released any new music this year.

That said, she’s still near the top of most streaming platforms, and on Friday, some historic news was announced: Swift is on the verge of a major milestone.

Her hit song, “Cruel Summer,” is now just 60 million streams away from reaching 3 billion streams on Spotify.

This would be Swift’s first song to reach that milestone, which is estimated to happen in roughly 40 days.

It was also revealed on Friday that “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” reached a major milestone, surpassing 100 million

streams on Spotify in 2025 alone— becoming her 13th song this year to achieve that feat.

While there haven’t been any rumors of new music just yet in 2025, Swift did reveal in her letter that she has completed the full re-recording of her self-titled debut album, “Taylor Swift.”

“I’ve already completely re-recorded my entire debut album, and I really love how it sounds now,” Swift said. “Those 2 albums can still have their moments to re-emerge when the time is right, if that would be something you guys would be excited about. But if it happens, it won’t be from a place of sadness and longing for what I wish I could have. It will just be a celebration now.”

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WOMEN + POWER PRIME MINISTER MIA MOTTLEY

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MIA MOTTLEY BARBADOS' VISIONARY LEADER

The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, told leaders at the annual U.N. general debate last September that, over the last four years, the world has faced ‘poly-crises.’ “We continue to wrestle with the climate crisis as a human family, We grapple with the legacy of the pandemic,” she said, adding that “we are now regrettably confronted by multiple theaters of war and scenes of horror and famine flowing from that war, armed conflict, instead of pursuing the development of citizens of every country.”

Citing Ukraine and Gaza, as well as Sudan, Mottley said that the world could not “afford the distraction of war,” saying that, “if ever there was a time to pause and to reset, it is now collectively, collectively as an international community and individually, as leaders in each of our countries.”

She said it was incumbent on leaders to “deliver new opportunities and solutions to these crises which dampen economic growth, which restrict the ambitions of our people and numb our sense of the beauty and goodness that the world ought to be offering,” She added this reset is what “all of our

citizens are demanding.”

Simply put she said that too many people “go to bed with their belly hungry.”

An inability to reset globally will foster “a crisis of confidence in the existing international order, which must become inclusive and responsive for all,” she said.

This global reset should target our rules and institutions, aiming to end discrimination and processes that create firstand second-class citizens depending on your nation of origin, she continued.

Recalling that 2024 was the final year of the UN Decade, Mottley said that while much had been achieved, Barbados and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) were joining the growing chorus for the immediate proclamation of a second Decade to address the matter of reparations for slavery and colonialism.

in the area of peace and security,” she noted.

However, Mottley added that the UN, and especially the Security Council, needs reform, underlining that the current configuration of permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council “has no place in the 21st century.”

The Barbadian Prime Minister highlighted areas where she felt reason for optimism including the adoption by global leaders of the Pact for the Future, a landmark declaration that sets out the commitment by countries around the world to foster sustainable development, peace and stronger global governance.

Ultimately, she said, “Above all else, we need a global reset on peace. There needs to be global peace. It can’t be too difficult to work for peace.”

As wars continue to rage around the world, the UN she said has an important role. “There are few areas where the world is more in need of the United Nations acting as the United Nations to secure the objectives of the Charter than

“Above all else, we need a global reset on peace. There needs to be global peace.

It can’t be too difficult to work for peace.”

- Mia Mottley Prime Minister of Barbados

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HUNTER SCHAFER ACTOR, MODEL AND FASHION MUSE

Hunter Schafer says, “It’s important to just keep track of where things are in our country,” a day after the “Euphoria” star posted a video in which she revealed her new passport had been issued with a male gender marker.

Speaking on the red carpet at the Independent Spirit Awards, the 26-year-old actor, who is trans, said she felt “it was a good, necessary point” to share. Schafer, also a presenter at the award show, was nominated for best lead performance for “Cuckoo. ” Under an executive order instituting a new and narrow federal governPAGE 118

ment definition of the sexes, the federal government defines sex as only male or female and says that must be reflected on official documents, like passports. The State Department, responsible for passports, is no longer issuing passports with the “X” marker that’s been available since 2021 and is not honoring requests to change gender markers between “M” and “F.” Having had female gender markers on her license and passport since she was a teenager, Schafer marked “female” on her application — but received a passport that identified her as male, she said.

The State Department said in response to a request for comment that it was implementing the executive order but declined to comment on specific cases, citing privacy laws and restrictions.

“It doesn’t really change anything about me or my trans-ness. However, it does make my life a little harder,” Schafer said, sharing she has to travel for the first time with the new passport soon. “Trans people are beautiful. We are never going to stop existing. I’m never going to stop being trans. A letter and a passport can’t change that,” she concluded.

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WOMEN + POWER

BECKY ROBINSON COMEDIAN AND STAR OF "ENTITLED HOUSEWIFE"

Becky Robinson is the comedian behind “Entitled Housewife,” one of the funniest spoofs on mom culture we’ve seen.

cocktails with the same ferocity) and the tribulations of marriage and kids (as in, it’s not all #soblessed).

Her character sends up all-too-recognizable parts of modern motherhood, from mommy wine culture (in her case, displayed through a devotion to White Claw and an eschewing of Dry January), country club ladies (who golf and enjoy

After falling down a rabbit hole watching her hilarious (and definitely NSFW!) YouTube series, we knew we had to ask Robinson where “Entitled Housewife” comes from, what’s next and more.

Here’s what she said.

“I think moms are the toughest cookies on the planet,” said Robinson, “And have had to go through so much and find reasons to laugh through different kinds of pain with their comrades, families, co-workers – and this character showcases that and let’s us see behind the curtain of how they maintain some sort of sanity through the chaos that is life.

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COCO GAUFF THE FRENCH OPEN'S CHAMPION

Coco Gauff said the French Open was a championship she always wanted to win, so much so that she believes her comefrom-behind finals win over world No. 1 Arya Sabalenka at Roland Garros was meant to be. The best American women’s tennis player since Serena Williams just didn’t realize the trophy she grew up seeing on television isn’t the one the winner gets -- and “it’s really small,” Gauff said.

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miniature French Open trophy she got as a prize.

In a video posted to her TikTok account from a private jet coming back to the United States from France, Gauff explained that the trophy she was pictured with after defeating Sabalenka remained with the tournament.

The 21-year-old then revealed the smaller version she got to bring home and compared it to a small Perrier water bottle and a glass to demonstrate its size.

“It’s like a mini replica of the trophy and

I guess to compare it, it’s really small,” Gauff said. “... but it’s the memories that matter the most.”

Gauff became the first American since Williams to win the French Open, and it comes three years after she took a humbling defeat to Iga Swiatek in the French Open final. Gauff, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, previously won the U.S. Open in 2023, but this title ended up being more dramatic. Gauff lost the opening set to Sabalenka in a tiebreaker before coming back to win the final two sets of the match.

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JULIE SWEET LEADERSHIP IN CONSULTING INDUSTRY

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet has a plaque in her home that says, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.” “I look at it every day when I think about where I need to take our company, and where I need to continue to learn as a company,” she said at the Fortune Most Powerful Women conference in Riyadh.

Accenture’s chair and CEO, Julie Sweet, has shared the motto she repeats to herself when she feels like she’s bitten off more than she can chew in her career.

Ambitiously reaching for the things that scare her has worked out well for Sweet’s career. Before joining $199 billion market-cap tech giant Accenture

in 2010 as general counsel, she spent a decade as partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. In 2019, she became Accenture’s first female CEO and took on the role of chair in 2021.

Today, the 57-year-old attorney-turned-CEO ranks second on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list. She is among just 5% of Fortune Global 500 companies helmed by a woman leader—and none of those have more employees than Accenture’s 800,000-plus.

Sweet revealed that her promotion to CEO required a hard look at the gaps in her skill set. Having climbed the corporate rankings in law, she had to seriously brush up on her tech knowl-

edge before stepping up at the tech powerhouse.

“When I joined Accenture in 2010 as the general counsel, I didn’t know what a CIO [chief information officer] was,” Sweet said on stage. “I come from a law firm. We didn’t have such a thing.

We didn’t use technology. I’m old enough to remember when we didn’t have the internet.”

Today, she says leaders—no matter their background or current industry—can’t do the top job with “deeply understanding” technology, “not as plumbing, but because AI is going to change everything in the front line.”

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LAURA MODI CEO OF BOBBIE

Laura Modi, a CEO and mother of four, is intimately familiar with the stigmas around feeding a newborn. When raising money for Bobbie, the organic formula company she co-founded, a visibly pregnant Modi pitched the idea to a male investor who scolded her for discouraging women from breastfeeding. “I went to pure motherly fury. I came back with, ‘What would you say to a woman who wasn’t able to feed their baby?’”

His loss. The market for parents who cannot breastfeed—or choose not to—is robust. Within 18 months of launching in 2021, Bobbie, whose European-style products are sought after because they omit typical additives like corn syrup, surpassed $100 million in revenue.

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Bobbie for Change, the company’s mission-driven arm, pushes for parental leave, gives free formula to moms who have had mastectomies, and has introduced legislation that would bolster U.S. manufacturing to help prevent another formula shortage like the one that created a crisis for millions of families in 2022.

When wildfires devastated Los Angeles earlier this year, Bobbie provided formula for families who lost their homes. “I didn’t get into this because I like making powdered milk,” Modi, 39, says. “Becoming a parent makes you an activist.” She believes that Bobbie’s advocacy wins over new customers.

Bobbie also partners with influencers like tennis champion

Naomi Osaka, Queer Eye’s Tan France, and cookbook author Molly Baz, who recently posed on a billboard in New York City’s Times Square breastfeeding her son while also holding a Bobbie bottle.

“We could have chosen to have her on a billboard feeding her baby a bottle, and we didn’t,” Modi says. “We respected that she was a combo feeder, and having her baby on her boob was showing the world it’s not your typical formula company. We paint a picture of all feeding journeys.”

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GISELE PELICOT THE RAPE TRIAL THAT SHOOK A NATION

Were it not for a security guard in a small-town supermarket, the world might never have known of Gisèle Pelicot—and indeed, she might have remained in her own mind a mother of three and grandmother of seven comfortably retired in picture-perfect Provence with her husband of more than 50 years, Dominique Pelicot.

Instead, Dominique’s arrest in 2020, for surreptitiously filming up the skirts of women as they shopped, shattered the veneer of domestic tranquility, culminating in a 2024 rape trial the likes of which France—and much of the world—had rarely seen. The evidence was as overwhelming as it was chilling: police found more than 20,000 photos and videos on PAGE 124

Dominique’s laptop and other devices showing Gisèle, drugged into unconsciousness by her husband, being raped on their bed by more than 70 different men without her knowledge over nearly a decade; Dominique marked one folder of videos simply “Abuse.”

The horrors, and Gisèle’s response to them, made headlines around the world as she defiantly chose to waive her legal right to anonymity. By the time Dominique Pelicot, 72, and 50 others were convicted last December of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault, Gisèle had gone from obscurity to global icon in the campaign against sexual violence, training a deeply unsettling microscope on its darkest corners.

A diminutive presence in the Avignon courthouse, clad in tailored shirts and fine scarves, Gisèle, 72, insisted on attending the entire three-month trial and having the horrific footage aired publicly before her attackers. For many French, she defined heroism: an ordinary person taking extraordinary actions.

Thousands marched in support. Murals of her face appeared across the country.

A banner hung from Avignon’s ancient ramparts reading, Merci Gisèle. After the verdicts, she acknowledged her significance, telling hundreds of journalists, “I think of all the other victims whose stories remain untold ... We share the same fight.”

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WOMEN + POWER

GAYLE KING STEPPING INTO HER OWN

Gayle King responded to backlash over her Blue Origin flight on Monday, which saw an all-female crew including the “CBS Mornings” anchor, pop star Katy Perry and journalist and philanthropist Lauren Sánchez take an eight-minute trip into space.

Though its purpose was meant to bring attention to women in aeronautics, the flight via the Jeff Bezos-founded space tech company also drew plenty of criticism — even from other celebrities. In an interview on “Today,” Olivia Munn called it “gluttonous,” adding: “There are so many other things that are so important in the world right now. What

are you guys going to do up in space?”

Amy Schumer, Olivia Wilde and Emily Ratajkowski have also chimed in.

When asked her response to the backlash in a post-flight interview with Extra, King said: “I think it’s good that we can really address it … because I was one of those people before I went on this flight and before I became educated. ‘Why are we spending so much money on space when there’s so much to do on Earth?’ I was one of those people.”

However, King said her mind changed when she looked at “what Blue Origin does” and “what their intention is,” which

she said is “to figure out a way to harness the waste here and put it in space to make the Earth a better place.” King noted that “we use space technology all the time” via GPS and satellites, and that “every time a flight goes up, they get some type of information that can be used for something else.”

She continued: “So I wish people would do more due diligence. And then my question is, have y’all been to space? Go to space or go to Blue Origin and see what they do and then come back and say, ‘This is a terrible thing.’”

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ELISABETH MOSS ACTING, PRODUCING & DIRECTING

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Elisabeth Moss has bid farewell to her character, June Osborn, from Hulu's “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

When it premiered in 2017, the Hulu series felt like an urgent response to the political turbulence of the presidency — and it was also a leveling-up for Moss, already an Emmy favorite for her role on “Mad Men.” If Peggy, her “Mad Men” secretary-turned-copywriter, was a standard-bearer for the mid-century women’s movement, then June, the enslaved Handmaid who takes on her theocratic captors, thrusts her brand of feminism right into a charged present moment.

As “Handmaid’s Tale” has gone on, Moss’ role evolved: She became an executive producer and a director, helming four episodes in the sixth and final season, including the finale. And, while June’s struggle for freedom has animated the series, Moss’ own life has changed; she’s worked increasingly frequently in film and on TV. And she’s become a mother, changing her relationship to a character whose decision-making is governed by her desire to be reunited with her daughter.

“This whole series has always been about the same thing. It’s the same thing that I fell in love with in the first episode, and the reason I said yes to it, and it’s the same story we’re telling in the final scene.

It’s about how this woman will never, ever give up fighting for her children. That has been her story from the beginning, and it’s her story in the final scene. The fact that what she starts with is what she ends with, to me, is so genius. And I can say that, because it’s not my idea. To me, there is no better way to say what the show is than her telling her story,” said Moss.

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CHERYL LEE RALPH FROM BROADWAY TO BROADCAST TELEVISION

Decades before Sheryl Lee Ralph became an Emmy-winning scene stealer on Abbott Elementary, she was serving up expertly timed laughs on another workplace sitcom.

It’s a Living debuted in 1980. Boasting an excellent pedigree — it was executive produced by Paul Junger Witt (Soap, The Golden Girls) — the show was set in a fictional restaurant called Above the Top, filmed inside the real (and still operational) Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. It followed a group of wisecracking waitresses and their mercurial maître d’ boss (Marian Mercer) through their professional and personal lives.

Despite cast chemistry and sharp writing, the show was a ratings dud.

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The showrunners recast several roles and renamed it Making a Living for its second season. While THR‘s October 1981 review called it a, “Solid sitcom with some sturdy jokes derived from fairly well-realized characterizations,” it was canceled at the end of that season.

But when reruns started performing well in syndication, It’s a Living was revived in 1985 with some casting tweaks. Breakout star Ann Jillian lasted one year in the new version before being sidelined with a much-publicized breast cancer battle.

And in 1986, a then-29-year-old Ralph — already nominated for a Tony in 1982 for her role in Broadway’s Dreamgirls — landed her first series regular gig,

debuting the upbeat Ginger St. James in the show’s fourth season. Ralph stayed with the show until its sixth and final season in 1989, before finding a new generation of fans playing stepmother and high school principal to Brandy Norwood on Moesha, which ran on UPN from 1996 to 2001 and earned Ralph five NAACP Image Award nominations.

Ralph’s portrayal of kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard on Abbott Elementary has earned her three supporting actress Emmy nominations, and her win in 2022 made her the second Black woman to earn the award after 227‘s Jackée Harry in 1987.

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OLIVIA MUNN FINDING HER VOICE POST-CANCER

When Olivia Munn was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023, she struggled even to tell her family. Her now husband, comedian John Mulaney, had to break the news to her relatives because “the words got stuck in my throat,” the actor says.

Later, she found her voice in a big way.

In a March 2024 Instagram post, Munn detailed her winding health journey. Just months before her diagnosis, she had a clean mammogram and tested negative for numerous genetic signatures associated with cancer. It wasn’t until her ob-gyn used the Tyrer-Cuzick Risk Assessment Calculator—a simple tool that concluded Munn had a 37% chance of developing

breast cancer—that she pursued additional testing, which revealed fast-growing cancer in both breasts. She had a double mastectomy shortly thereafter, and subsequently had her uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries removed to stop production of hormones that could feed her disease.

It was because her diagnosis was so unexpected that Munn decided to speak out.

“I look at videos of me laughing with my son, running around in the park, feeling and looking healthy—all the while having this really aggressive, fast-moving cancer spreading through my breasts,” she says. “I thought, ‘Man, there’s so

many women out there just like me.’ They might have no idea. And it may be too late by the time they find out.”

Munn’s candor has had a tangible impact.

After she came forward, the National Cancer Institute saw an uptick in use of the type of screening test she took, and at least one person—journalist Alison Hall—has gone public about being diagnosed as a result. “It was everything that I had hoped would happen,” Munn says.

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LESLIE FRANK MAKING WINE THAT GIVES BACK

Mergers and acquisitions in the wine world have become commonplace and many of these transactions yield marked transitions, often to the detriment of those who’ve come to love the brand.

In 2021, fans of Napa Valley’s Frank Family Vineyards learned it was being sold to Treasury America, a division of Australia-based Treasury Wine Estates.

Thankfully and with great wisdom, the change of ownership kept founders Rich and Leslie Frank wholly deployed as ambassadors for the brand they built together over the past three decades.

Leslie’s presence in Frank Family Vineyards, and in Napa Valley generally, is palpable and from the heart. But the first thing one observes about Leslie is her elegance and chic style. Rich’s long career in television and film provides ample opportunities to express that style on red carpets aplenty. When pressed on this point, Leslie told Polo Lifestyles, “I love fashion, and I do keep up on the trends.

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my close friend and stylist Elyse Walker helps keep me fashionable.” Walker has eponymous stores in several locations, including in Napa’s St. Helena.

That keen appreciation of aesthetics also extends to architecture and interior design. In 2023, The Miller House opened on the vineyard grounds. Dubbed a “hospitality barn,” Leslie said it was “born from my vision to build a unique and special entertaining area for guests to connect over wine, food, and shared moments.”

It’s a stunningly gorgeous edifice with a copious use of glass, neutral and soothing color schemes, and inviting, intimate spaces. It feels as naturally and effortlessly elegant as its designer.

Leslie’s love of philanthropy also defines how she moves in the world. “Rich and I have always shared a passion for helping people. Helping others is a core value that was instilled in both of us early on in our lives.” Most recently, wine and philanthropy once again coalesced in the

launch of Frank Family Vineyard’s 2024 Leslie Rosé with 15 percent of the proceeds from every bottle sold going to the nonprofit Dress for Success. The organization addresses gender inequity in the workplace by providing women with the services, tools, and professional attire to secure employment and advance their careers. “This organization has long held a special place in my heart. I served on the board of the Seattle chapter in the early 2000s while working as the evening news anchor for Fox13. I’ve seen firsthand the profound impact this organization has on women who are striving to build a better future.”

Last year, Leslie was elected to the Board of Directors for Treasury Wine Estates, a now majority-female Board. “Women are essential to the fabric of the wine industry…In an industry that has historically been male dominated, it’s deeply rewarding to help amplify women’s voices, build their confidence and support their development as leaders and storytellers shaping the future of the wine industry.”

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WOMEN + POWER

GIORGIA MELONI PRIME MINISTER OF ITALY

The Italian Senate approved a controversial new bill aimed at cracking down on demonstrations and expanding legal protections for law enforcement.

The Security Decree, proposed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government, passed by a vote of 109 to 69 with one abstention, following its approval in the lower house last week.

The law introduces stricter penalties for protest-related offenses, including property damage and disruptive sitins, and grants broader powers to law enforcement. It allows intelligence agents to commit certain crimes for national security purposes without facing prosecution. It also introduces the crime of injuring a police officer while on duty and allocates up to €10,000 to cover legal

fees for officers investigated over their conduct on the job.

“With the final approval of the Security Decree in the Senate, the Government takes a decisive step to strengthen the protection of citizens, the most vulnerable groups and our men and women in uniform,” Meloni said as she continues to flex her political muscle over Italy.

Other measures include longer sentences for inmates who riot or disobey orders in prisons and migrant detention centers, and new rules targeting pickpockets on public transport and especially those claiming pregnancy to avoid jail.

The decree, which Meloni has promoted under her promise of “a safer Italy,” has sparked demonstrations across

Italy in recent months, with human rights bodies accusing the government of criminalizing dissent, limiting civil liberties and curtailing the right to protest.

The law will alarm — and provide ammunition to — Meloni’s opponents, who have highlighted links between her Brothers of Italy party and fascism.

Suppressing dissent and increasing police powers are standard moves in the fascist playbook.

As European nations swing to the right in one after another, Meloni will have the political protection to double-down on her power grab, but will voters let that stand when elections come back around?

That’s the true test of power – and the jury is still out on that.

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WOMEN + POWER CATHERINE, PRINCESS OF WALES

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WOMEN + POWER

CATHERINE PRINCESS OF WALES

It was a moment of quiet strength. Sitting tall in the open carriage at Trooping the Colour on June 14, Catherine, Princess of Wales, smiled at the thousands lining the Mall. She didn’t say a word, but the message was unmistakable.

Just a year ago, Kate, 43, had taken part in the same ceremony while undergoing chemotherapy for an undisclosed form of cancer, her role more limited as she focused on healing. This time, she was present at every turn, including a significant appearance on the parade ground alongside King Charles, 76, and Queen Camilla, 77, fulfilling her role as honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards.

— Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7 — Kate is focused on the road ahead.

“She has not been able to have the privacy that a person who faces this kind of illness is normally afforded,” says a source close to the royal household.

But with her public announcement in September that she was done with chemotherapy, followed by news in January that she’s in remission, this summer marks her first stretch of true respite.

“She projected the confidence of someone who has enthusiastically reconnected with her public duties,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith said.

“She gets so much sustenance in nature, and she’s lucky to have homes in some of the most beautiful parts of Britain: in Norfolk and on the Windsor estate,” says Queen Elizabeth’s former spokeswoman Ailsa Anderson. “She’ll be able to re-energize herself.”

After an intensely challenging year — one that brought a devastating diagnosis and relentless speculation about her health even before she had the chance to tell her and Prince William’s children

As Kate and William emerge from their most difficult chapter, the princess is carefully pacing herself. “She’s being sensible, listening to what her body is telling her and easing back into public

life,” Anderson says.

Still, challenges loom. The shadow of King Charles’s cancer diagnosis, which aides now describe as a “managed” condition, means that Kate, William and their inner circle are preparing for an inevitable transition.

“There are some major shifts coming behind the scenes,” a friend tells PEOPLE. With their future roles as King and Queen drawing closer, the couple are focused on building a trusted team of top advisers. “They are really finessing what works and what doesn’t,” the friend adds.

But Kate, like William, is ready for what lies ahead. Bedell Smith, who has written extensively about Charles and the late Queen Elizabeth, recalls a saying from Elizabeth’s mother, the Queen Mother: that the position of monarch — and of their consort — is “a vocation, not a role.”

It’s a fitting description for Kate, who in recent years has embraced her duties with a new level of professionalism and purpose.

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DEB HAALAND PROTECTOR OF NATIONS

When Interior Secretary Doug Burgum took office earlier this year, he found a message from his predecessor with simple advice: enjoy the mission and the people of the Interior Department.

Deb Haaland, the Interior secretary during the Biden administration and the first Native American woman to hold the title, wrote the “welcome” PAGE 134

message on her personalized stationary on Jan. 20, her final day in office. Its content was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act request.

In looping script, Haaland wrote: “My wish for you is that you find immense joy in all this Department manages and upholds, our beautiful public lands, our Tribal Nations and the

amazing career staff.”

Halaand has now returned to New Mexico, whre she claims 35 generations of family history as part of the Pueblo of Laguna.

She is running for the state's highest office - governor - where she would succeed another WOMEN+POWER leader Michelle Lujan-Grisham, who is term-limited.

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WOMEN + POWER

CHRIS KAJANI

WINE MAKER AND GM OF BOUCHAINE Chris Kajani appears blissfully in her element, bouncing around in a well-worn pickup truck, wind whipping through her hair, arriving to a pristine viewing site within Bouchaine Vineyards’ nearly 90 acres of planted vines in California wine country’s Carneros.

She talks terroir, maritime influences, and clonal varieties of Pinot Noir as effervescently as a child recites their newly discovered ABCs. This place and this work is who she is, although the Napa Valley native took a bit of time and a circuitous path to her current perch.

A trajectory toward a career in biotech was derailed after taking many wine classes and a chance dinner party encounter with a noted Pinot Noir master, Ed Kurtzman. She went on to earn a master’s degree in viticulture and enology

from UC Davis, followed by successful stints at both Pahlmeyer Winery and Sainstsbury Winery, including as winemaker at the latter.

In 2015, she came to Bouchaine as the winemaker and general manager, the first woman to hold this position. In 2023, she was promoted to President and still retains the title of winemaker. During this time, the family-owned winery has undergone a transformation of its space and its wines. Chris oversaw the completion of a new hospitality center and a gorgeous demonstration kitchen that plays hosts to talented chefs, whose creations are paired with Bouchaine’s wines.

The winery’s outdoor areas are inviting and unpretentious.

Where Bouchaine really excels is with its wines and owners Gerret and Tatiana

Copeland have unleashed Chris’ talents, creating some of northern California’s most exquisite wines. The clonal variety bottlings of Pinot Noir create a pure experience of the grape and the terroir of individual vineyard sites when a winemaker delves deeply into the details – which Chris does in spades. Her Alsatian Blend is another favorite and one of Polo Lifestyles’ wine contributor, William Smith’s, favorite wines of 2024.

Chris has also shepherded the award-wining sustainability efforts of Bouchaine. “We live and breathe grapes and wine—but we also live on this dirt, breathe this air and drink this water. We are dedicated to leaving a gentle imprint, so that this land can be enjoyed for generations.”

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WOMEN + POWER CINDY DOUCET

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WOMEN + POWER

CINDY DOUCET MIAMI RADIO'S BELOVED DJ GETS REAL

For more than two decades, Supa Cindy was a major presence in South Florida radio. But while her professional life was flourishing, personally, she was living in fear.

Cindy Doucet a.k.a. Supa Cindy to listeners spent more than two decades as a radio host, notably behind the mic for popular hip-hop station 99 Jamz. She got her big break by interning there back in 2001, and the sky was the limit ever since. “South Florida, they know… we changed the game in radio,” Doucet said.

She kept it real on the airwaves, being relatable and connected to listeners. She’d meet them at events and festivals, eventually becoming a staple in the community.

“My community has always been the battery in my back in my whole entire radio career,” Doucet said. “I love my community so much,” she said.

controlling both her personal and professional life. “I did the community show at 99 Jamz. I was interviewing women in distress and all these organizations,” she said. “Yet, I would go home and be abused.”

A confident voice on the airwaves, used to empower and inform, was slowly diminishing. When it came to her life, there was radio silence. “I was on the radio screaming ‘girl power, queens don’t compete, let’s do this,’ but in my personal life, I was broken, sad, going crazy,” Doucet said.

It took her four attempts to leave her abuser. She finally left for good in October 2023, all because of one move.

“It ended because he attacked me in public. I was like, ‘That’s it,‘” Doucet explained.

Doucet garnered great success inside and outside of the studio, earning her own awards and proclamations, being honored not only in South Florida by community leaders and politicians, but also at the White House.

She obtained a restraining order and went into hiding. She left Miami and took a leave of absence from 99 Jamz.

When she returned to the radio station several months later, she says it wasn’t the same, so she made the difficult decision to leave the job she loved.

But behind her tireless work and her bright smile, Doucet suffered in silence, holding a big secret until she couldn’t any longer, announcing in an Instagram video that she is a survivor of domestic abuse. “I couldn’t believe it was happening to me,” she said.

“Days went by. I was more and more miserable. As soon as I got off-air, I (was) crying,” Doucet said. It’s been a long road for Doucet, and she’s still recovering from the abuse and torment. This is the first time she’s talking about it publicly, despite her fears.

Doucet says she endured domestic violence for eight years. Her abuser was not only her boyfriend, but also her manager,

“I don’t want to name him, show a picture of him with his face blurred out, nothing, because it is not about him, it

is about surviving this -- the fact that I kept it a secret for so long, and how many other victims are being silent right now?”

Doucet asked.

Dr. Delvena Thomas, a board-certified psychiatrist who treated Doucet for three years, said, “Every victim has to find their time.”

“She’s still having a lot of challenges, as she should be,” Thomas said. “This is fresh. This is not like it was 30 years ago or 20 years ago -- her healing is evolving.”

Thomas says when a person leaves an abuser, they must rediscover themselves because they are now someone different -- someone the abuser was able to change and mold. “Go back to who you were, find healthy ways to live life on a consistent basis, whether you ground yourself with prayer and/or meditation.

Try to add things to your life so that way you are able to balance, you are able to balance stress,” Thomas said.

Doucet turned to her faith and therapy.

She’s now learning how to forgive. “I don’t know how I’m here, but it has to be God because I should not be here. The things that were said and done to me should have taken me out,” she said.

The voice that was forced to be silenced is now adjusting her tone. “I want to use my voice, the voice I built for 25 years,” Doucet said. “If I could save somebody, inspire anybody -- trust me, this courage didn’t come from anywhere. I prayed for this courage.”

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JANE FRASER CEO OF CITIGROUP

Citigroup chief executive Jane Fraser is keeping hybrid work schedules—despite a wider trend across the sector toward a return-to-office. Citigroup doubled-down on Fraser’s position, rewarding her with a 33 percent salary and benefits increase over her 2024 earnings.

Fraser told top executives during a quarterly call with the bank’s managing directors that she plans to continue to let most employees work remotely up to two PAGE 138

days a week. The majority of Citigroup’s employees work on a hybrid schedule with at least three days per week in the office and up to two days remotely.

On the call, Fraser said the flexible approach to in-person working could serve as a competitive advantage and be a recruitment tool to scoop up employees looking to leave competitors over more stringent RTO mandates.

The comments follow earlier promises by the chief exec to stick to a hybrid work arrangement even after the COVID-19 pandemic. Fraser is bucking the nationwide trend on RTO and Citigroup has recognized its effectiveness. We imagine the 229,000 employees who work at Citigroup in the U.S. are equally enthusiastic about Fraser's position.

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WOMEN + POWER

SZA

MAKING MUSICAL MAGIC ON TOUR SZA revealed she had second thoughts about embarking on a stadium tour with Kendrick Lamar.

In a new conversation with rising pop star Chappell Roan, the Grammywinning artist revealed that despite her immense success, she’s battled with her own nerves and questioned her own level of celebrity that eventually bled into her decision to go on tour with an artist like K Dot. “I used to not show up to something because it was like, ‘I’m never going to win.

No one cares that I’m here. Why would I

go?’”SZA admitted. “But now it’s just like, ‘F*** it. I don’t have anything else to do, and I want to see where this door is going to lead.’”

That curiosity, she says, is what pushed her to say yes to joining Lamar on tour— even with deep fears about how she’d connect in such massive venues.

“Everybody’s going to see Kendrick. I don’t even know if I have anything to show these people that’s exciting and new,” she said. “But I’m just like, ‘I want to walk through the door. I want to see what happens in the uncertainty.’ That’s

the true magic.”

Despite her chart-topping status, SZA told Roan that she still feels like an outsider. “I always feel like the underdog.

Literally always. But that could be an internal feeling.”

As she reflected on fame, she credited curiosity as the thing that propels her forward: “There’s so much fear. But I’m too curious about what it’s going to be like to go up in that harness and… to really give my best Tina Turner impression.

I just have to follow the thread.”

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An Olympic gymnast and activist, she is recognized for her athletic achievements and advocacy for social justice.

Simone Biles continues to make headlines for both her athletic prowess and her powerful voice on social issues.

She recently sparked a national debate after standing up for the inclusion of trans athletes in sports, fiercely clapping back at critics and defending young competitors from public scrutiny.

Through it all, Biles’ continued advocacy shows she’s not afraid to take a stand and inspire open conversation.

WOMEN + POWER

SIMONE BILES ACTIVIST & ATHLETE

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MELINDA FRENCH GATES THE PRE-EMINENT PHILANTHROPIST OF OUR TIME

“What I have seen in the last six months to a year is many people who used to say one thing, have absolutely shifted,” the billionaire philanthropist said in an interview with Bloomberg recently.

French Gates also suggested that the tech billionaires who lined up behind the U.S. president at his second inauguration weren’t following their own values.

“Look, a democracy is made up by our beliefs and our investments and our values, and we, of all times right now, should be living those values out, not piv-

oting to what some comms person tells us is the right thing to do,” she said.

It’s not the first time French Gates has criticized tech billionaires in recent months.

In May, she said that Elon Musk — then the de facto head of the White House DOGE Office — should, “go out and actually see what’s going on in the world today,” before shuttering the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The billionaire philanthropist supported Vice President Kamala Harris during the

2024 election and committed $1 billion to supporting women’s issues and reproductive rights.

“I really want to make sure that women can step into their full power and advance in society in both the US and globally,” French Gates later said in an interview. “For a woman to have her full power, she needs to be able to voice what she thinks is true, make her own decisions about herself and her family, and have her own resources that she can decide where and how to spend them.”

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MARY BARRA

LEADING GENERAL MOTORS INTO THE FUTURE General Motors CEO Mary Barra earned $29.5 million in total compensation in 2024, a 6% increase from the previous year, after meeting key performance targets and steering the company to record financial results.

According to GM’s annual executive compensation report submitted to the SEC, Barra’s pay was 310 times higher than the company’s median employee compensation of $95,111.

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Barra’s pay package, the highest among Detroit’s Big Three CEOs, reflects her leadership through a year of significant profitability and stock growth.

GM shares rose 50% in 2024, a performance attributed by the company’s Compensation Committee to strong execution in both internal combustion operations and early gains from strategic investments in EVs and software.

The compensation breakdown includes a $2.1 million base salary (unchanged

since 2017), $19.5 million in stock awards, $6.6 million from incentive-based plans, and $1.2 million in additional compensation covering benefits, insurance, and company vehicles.

GM’s board credited Barra’s strategic direction for the automaker’s financial health, particularly her ability to balance legacy vehicle operations while advancing EV and tech development.

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WOMEN + POWER

LISA SU

CHAIR AND CEO OF AMD In the past decade as CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, Lisa Su, 55, engineered one of the most stunning turnarounds in technology history: AMD moved from the brink of bankruptcy to the maker of the best-performing processors in the PC market.

AMD continues to outperform, reporting year-over-year revenue growth of 36% for the March quarter, while Intel’s sales were flat for the same period. Su now faces her most formidable challenge yet—and

her biggest opportunity: competing with Nvidia in AI semiconductors.

AMD may be well positioned in the artificial-intelligence race. Su has wisely continued investing in the company’s graphics processing unit, or GPU, business, which has become the only viable alternative to Nvidia.

GPUs are poised to capture most of the AI market opportunity, estimated to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars by 2028. These chips offer more flexibility

to adapt to continual AI innovations and advances compared with specific workload-optimized custom chips.

The AI data-center market is also moving toward “full stack” rack-scale solutions.

Su astutely acquired AI infrastructure company ZT Systems to enhance AMD’s expertise in designing AI solutions across an entire system of chips, hardware, networking, and software.

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LAURA CATENA DEVELOPING WORLD-CLASS WINE

There are few families that so deservedly dominate a country’s wine making than is the case of the Catena family’s presence in Argentina. Founded in 1902, Bodega Catena Zapata is the nation’s powerhouse and as the winemaker’s website states: The story of Catena is the story of Argentine wine.

Founder Nicola Catena planted Malbec vines in his adopted country, seeking to elevate them from a traditional blending wine in Bordeaux to a world class single varietal. His grandson, Nicholas Catena Zapata, took the family-owned operation to the next level, including in the revolutionary role his daughter, Laura Catena, has manifested in developing world class wines.

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Laura currently serves as Managing Director of the family’s Bodega and founded the Catena Wine Institute, a research entity designed to study the unique terroir of Argentina and, in particular, of the higher altitudes in Mendoza that have brought much praise to the family’s wine and to Laura herself.

Her research was initially applied to Chardonnay in the winery’s Adrianna Vineyard and the result, the White Stones and White Bones bottlings, are among the most celebrated Chardonnays from the New World.

Laura joined her father in 1995 in the family business after graduating magna cum laude from Harvard in 1988 and then earning a medical degree from Stanford. She currently splits her time be-

tween Mendoza and San Francisco. She also has her own labels of wine, La Posta and Luca.

In a recent interview, Laura reflected on gender roles in wine in Argentina. I grew up going to the winery with my father and grandfather; I remember that wine making was a man’s world. My father always equally encouraged myself, my sister, and my brother to study hard and there were no greater expectations for the boys over the girls, which was rare. At that time in Argentina the idea was that if you were a man, you needed a good job that paid a lot of money, and if you were a woman, you needed a good husband.

And it’s not that long ago! But my father had great expectations.” Bravo to him… and to her.

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WOMEN + POWER

CHRISTINE LAGARDE IN CHARGE OF THE EURO

The euro could become a viable alternative to the dollar, earning the 20-nation bloc immense benefits, if governments could only strengthen the bloc’s financial and security architecture, ECB President Christine Lagarde said in Frankfurt.

Unnerved by erratic U.S. economic policy, global investors have been reducing their exposure to dollar assets in recent months, but many have opted for gold instead, not seeing a direct alternative.

In fact, the euro’s global role has been stagnant for decades now since the European Union’s financial institutions remain unfinished and governments have shown little appetite to embark on more integration.

“The ongoing changes create the opening

for a ‘global euro moment,’” Lagarde said at a lecture in Berlin. “The euro will not gain influence by default - it will have to earn it.”

For this, Europe needs a deeper, more liquid capital market, must bolster its legal foundations and needs to underpin its commitment to open trade with security capabilities, Lagarde argued.

The dollar’s role has been on the decline for years and now makes up 58 percent of international reserves, the lowest in decades, but still well above the euro’s 20 percent share.

Any enhanced role for the euro must coincide with greater military strength that can back up partnerships, Lagarde said.

“This is because investors – and especial-

ly official investors – also seek geopolitical assurance in another form: they invest in the assets of regions that are reliable security partners and can honor alliances with hard power,” Lagarde said at a Hertie School lecture.

Europe should also make the euro the currency of choice for businesses invoicing international trade, she said.

This could be supported by forging new trade agreements, enhanced cross-border payments and with liquidity agreements with the ECB. Reforming the domestic economy may be more pressing, however, Lagarde said. The euro area capital market is still fragmented, inefficient and lacks a truly liquid, widely available safe asset investors could flock to, she said.

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MEGHAN GRACIDA DRIVING WOMEN'S POLO FORWARD

Born and raised on the Central Coast of California, Meghan Gracida has always nurtured her athleticism and competitive spirit. As a collegiate athlete, Meghan’s perseverance, determination, and work ethic on the volleyball court would later translate into the accomplished polo player we know today.

Meghan was first introduced to the world of horses and the game of polo by her husband and polo legend, Memo Gracida in 2012. With incredible coaching and exceptional horses, Meghan quickly developed as a polo player and began PAGE 146

playing competitively in November of 2017. Since then, she has competed and won multiple national and international tournaments in both women’s and mixed polo, most notably the 2018 USPA Champions Cup, the 2019 USPA Women’s Texas Open, and the 2020 USPA Women’s Pacific Coast Open, Copa Diamanté in Argentina.

In 2022, after recovering from an 8-month health battle, Meghan returned to Argentina to play in the first ever women’s 40-goal Triple Crown.

Alongside teammates Hazel Jackson,

Milly Hine, and Clara Cassino, they made history, winning the first two legs of the series. In 2024, she lead Team Polo Lifestyles to victory in the inaugural Women Of Wellington (W.O.W.) series.

Incredibly passionate for women’s polo, Meghan is currently the U.S. Polo Association Women’s Committee Chair.

She is devoted to promoting ladies’ polo and she works to provide women more and equal playing opportunities nationally, including running the Ladies’ Polo League every Friday at her family’s polo facility, La Herradura Polo Club.

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WOMEN + POWER

CHRISTY WALTON A PHILANTHROPIST WITH A PERSPECTIVE

While she may not be a “Walton” by birth, Christy Walton married into the Walton family when she married John T. Walton, son of the founder of retailer Walmart, Sam Walton. Tragically, her husband died in a plane crash in 2005.

Upon his death, she inherited a significant fortune. She’s been consistently named among the richest women in America. Data from Forbes earlier in 2025 had her ranked as the 12th wealthiest woman in America with a net worth of $18.5 billion.

Walton has a long history of impactful philanthropy, including the donation of her historic home in California to serve as the headquarters for the International Community Foundation. Unlike many

philanthropists, however, Walton has sought to maintain a lower profile, living quietly in the American West and supporting educational, environmental, and sustainable development causes. For example, she founded iAlumbra, a collective of organizations focused on social, economic, and environmental well-being, according to the group’s Web site.

including “WE uphold and defend the Constitution,” “WE care for veterans and children,” and “WE are the world leader trusted to uphold the stability of rule of law.” The ad concluded with the famous verbiage from President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address – “Our government is of the people, by the people, for the people.”

But concerns about the erosion of democratic norms and threats to the Constitutional order in the United States catapulted Walton into the spotlight over the past several years. For example, on June 14, as rallies across the country took place under the “No Kings” banner, Walton took out a full-page ad in the New York Times with eight declarations,

Whether one agrees with her perspective or not, Walton sees clear purpose in using her voice and her philanthropy to “Secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,” to borrow yet some additionally famous words from the nation’s political lexicon.

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SHAN BOODRAM TALKING ABOUT SEXUALITY OPENLY

From a young age, Shan Boodram was interested in learning about sex and intimacy, but her interest was often met with shame. This led her to wonder if the narrative she learned about sex was right all along—that it was “wrong.” In her late teens, Boodram decided to get a library card and read every sex education book she could get her hands on. While the resources were informative, “they were so boring,” she recalls. “Sex sells, but sex ed is faceless, monotonous, predictable, and not accessible or exciting.” Since then, she’s made it her mission to change that and is now a certified sex educator (AASECT), working with couples in person to improve their sex lives.

In 2019, Boodram released her first book, The Game of Desire, and wanted to turn it into a digital class, but felt the timing wasn’t right. That is until MasterClass came along last year. The platform helped compile Boodram’s body of work and turn it into a comprehensive curriculum that not only covers sex itself but also how to talk about sex and feel more confident when meeting potential partners.

“MasterClass took their knowledge and expertise and applied it to the things I’ve been talking about for the past 20 years,” Boodram adds. “I think we pulled together something accessible, diverse, and interesting, regardless of where you are on your intimacy journey or intimacy escalator.”

So, no matter your identity, relation-

ship or commitment status, sex drive, or comfort with sex, there is something for you within this class.

Dying to know more about Boodram’s sex advice? We chatted with Boodram and watched the class, so read on to get a flavor of the spicy— and tasteful—takeaways from our conversation.

Even though we have the world at our fingertips (thanks to smartphones), “it’s normal to still feel isolated in a highly connected world,” says Boodram. Spending too much time online, swiping on dating apps, or stalking someone’s IG (we’ve all been there) can lead to something we call the “intimacy gap,” or a lack of true, genuine connection with others—romantic or otherwise.

While dating apps can be useful to determine who’s available, and who’s interested in you specifically, Boodram says they should serve as a catalyst for those real-life encounters—not as a replacement.

Meet their gaze from across the room. Face your body directly toward them. These may sound like tips from days of yore, but they’re just as applicable today as they were in a 1950s dating course. That’s because when you’re out at, say, a bar or restaurant, you’re more likely to see people staring down at their phones nowadays than trying to make eye contact, let alone flirt or hold a conversation.

Boodram says that body language, eye contact, and an opening line

mean everything. In the class, she suggests aiming your shoulders and hips toward the person you’re hoping to attract, and then giving them what she calls “the sexy eye triangle”: looking toward them, then away, and then back up and down at them. If they reciprocate in any way (i.e., a sexy look back), that’s your chance to walk over and say «Hi» or “Do you come here often?” Then, find a conversation starter that’ll lead to a flirty chat.

No matter if you’re single or in a relationship, boundaries matter, and creating boundaries should be seen as a form of love, not rejection, says Boodram. “Think of them as another act of intimacy,” she adds. Whether you’re trying to set a boundary in the bedroom or during a conversation, try a technique Boodram calls “address and redirect.” First, communicate the boundary. Then, redirect to some other options that you’d be open to.

Not only will the practice of setting boundaries protect you, but it’ll help you feel more embodied in your sexuality.

“Intimacy should be intimate and should be directed at the needs of the people that it’s addressing,” Boodram says. She hopes that with the success of this class, more can be produced on the platform with niche experiences and advice. “I want people to abundantly center themselves and their stories and ensure that the medium they learn from does so, too.”

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DR. LENA MILLER THE WOMAN HEALING THE CIVIC SYSTEM

In 2018, as presidential candidate Marianne Williamson was preparing her vision for a U.S. Department of Peace, Dr. Lena Miller, Ph.D. launched Urban Alchemy to harness the ancient Vedic wisdom of mystic rishis throughout recalled history to midwife the birthing of consciousness.

According to Custom Market Insights, the global self-improvement market is projected to reach $90.3 billion by 2033. Complementary to Tony Robbins, whose self-help empire has stacked his net worth to an estimated $600 million, Miller structured her selfless vision to serve the very streets in need of healing, PAGE 150

unraveling the emotional genius within the disheartened, yet willing.

“I’ve always conceptualized my calling as a natural expression of my purpose, much like a white blood cell’s purpose is to seek out disease in the body and heal it. It almost feels like my DNA was programmed to do the work, much the same as my eyes are green,” said Miller. “I don’t feel that I had much choice in the matter, other than to embrace it and learn to become obedient to my calling or to rebel against it through laziness, distractions, or low self-esteem.”

Urban Alchemy aims to be the gold standard for social services, supported

by outcomes and peer reviewed research.

We want to disrupt the social service field and inspire others to join in. We want to create a competition so that other social services are actively engaged in pushing the envelope, evolving, and seeking new strategies and interventions to connect, heal, and nurture our people. We want to spark the revolution in social services that is as frenzied as the one we are witnessing in AI. Those with ears to hear, let them hear. Those with eyes to see, let them see. The most valuable commodity and source of power is love. There is no other pursuit more worthy or fulfilling.”

Read the full interview online.

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WOMEN + POWER

THE WENTE SISTERS JORDAN, ALY AND NIKI WENTE

Under an hour’s drive from San Francisco, one can find California’s original wine region – the Livermore Valley.

It was there, in 1883, that pioneering winemaker., Carl H. Wente, set down both his familial and vini-cultural roots.

Today, Wente is still family-owned and operated and boasts of being the largest wine producer in the Livermore Valley with enormous reach and distribution.

It’s an increasing rarity in the wine world for family wineries to remain in family hands, passed down from one generation to the next. At Wente, fifth generation winemakers from the family, sisters Jordan, Aly, and Niki, are taking key leadership positions to confidently steward the legacy forward. Jordan serves as Senior Brand Ambassador, Aly as Senior VP for Marketing and Customer Experience and Niki as Director of Vineyard Operations.

The breadth of the involvement of all three sisters in their family’s business is deeply rooted in a commitment to the Wente legacy. “Family is really the center of everything we do at Wente – treating employees like family, working alongside my cousins, siblings, aunt, uncle and dad,” shared Aly with Polo Lifestyles.

Niki added, “When we make strategic choices, our focus is not just on growth, but on how to ensure the business stays family-owned for generations to come.”

Each sister also shared treasured memories of growing up on their family’s lands and in the vineyards. “They’ve always been a safe place, a place to feel grounded and connected… [and where] now I get to watch my own kids run wild, burning off all their energy among the vines,” shared Jordan.

As for women being the minority in the wine industry, each sister sees their

path at Wente as having been paved by the many women who came before them, mentored them, and with whom they have worked. “While women are a minority in the industry, it doesn’t feel that way at Wente,” Aly reflected, “we have women in many leadership roles throughout the business – truly leading our wines from grape to glass.”

And then there is the wine, everything from chardonnays and cabs on grocery stores shelves across the country to namesake bottlings like Niki’s Rose (reviewed in a recent issue of Polo Lifestyles) and Aly’s Pinot Noir to the Artist Series bottlings, where a percentage of the proceeds go toward grants for nonprofits provided by the Wente Foundation for Arts Education.

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EQUESTRIAN ARTISTS THREE ARTISTS, THREE MEDIUMS

ASKILD WINKELMANN

In the refined world where horses, elegance, and art intersect, our gallery stands as a curated tribute to beauty, power, and passion. As a gallerist my mission is always to give voice and space to artists who channel the nobility of the equestrian spirit through their work. This space is curated by a woman, and often powered by the exceptional creativity of women whose talents cross borders and disciplines.

Our gallery is more than a space—it’s a mission. We help collectors build unique, meaningful collections, support rising talents, and feel a deep appreciation for equestrian art as a universal language.

A language where passion meets polish, PAGE 152

where tradition meets innovation, and where women show up with brilliance and grace.

For nearly five years, we’ve nurtured a creative environment that supports emerging and established talents from both Europe and the USA—connecting equestrian enthusiasts and art collectors through pieces that speak of grace, motion, and raw emotional energy. This special Women+Power issue of Polo Lifestyle Magazine celebrates that journey and the women artists who light our gallery with their golden vision.

We present a trio of artistic expressions where gold—both literal and metaphor-

ical—becomes a symbol of strength, beauty, and the soul-deep connection between humans and horses. These works celebrate not only technical mastery but also storytelling, personal journey, and the boundless spirit of creativity.”

ASKILD WINKELMANN Gold-Infused Elegance on Silk In a unique intersection of fine art and textile innovation, German artist Askild Winkelmann introduces the world’s first equestrian paintings on 24-carat gold-infused silks. Developed in collaboration with ZLT GmbH, these works are painted on fabrics like L’Oro, Aurum, and Sona, inspired by historic textiles—from

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NICOLE KOLEKOVA

Venetian silks to Roman armor.

The shimmering surfaces interact with light in mesmerizing ways, turning every artwork into a dynamic experience. This series is more than art; it’s a celebration of ancient symbolism, equestrian grace, and modern craftsmanship—each piece breathing with golden life.

NICOLE KOLEKOVÁ Fire, Earth, and Sculpted Emotion Show Jumping and Polo art trophies, Wood kiln fired ceramic clay with natural ash finish. Available ready collections and custom made orders.

Slovak artist Nicole Koleková, trained in the restoration of historic stone sculptures, channels raw power and expressive modeling into her ceramic works.

TIZIANA DOMINGUEZ

Fascinated by animal forms—especially horses—her work captures untamed dynamism and gestures rooted in nature.

she now channels her creative energy into painting—particularly inspired by horses.

Using a rare woodkiln-firing technique, Nicole allows the elements to shape each piece with unique, unrepeatable finishes.

Her handmade ceramic trophies symbolize triumph and natural beauty, uniting skilled craftsmanship with the unpredictability of fire and earth.

Her latest body of work, influenced by the Japanese kintsugi technique, uses coffee, mixed media, and layering to explore the symbiosis between human and animal. By emphasizing cracks with golden strokes, her canvases celebrate imperfections, transformation, and emotional resilience.

TIZIANA DOMÍNGUEZ Emotional Alchemy with Mixed Media Spanish artist Tiziana Domínguez brings a deeply personal and experimental approach to equestrian art. With a background in multidisciplinary design and over a decade as creative director of the fashion house Adolfo Dominguez,

Tiziana’s work is less about capturing form and more about revealing the emotional narrative behind connection— between species, between materials, between the seen and the felt.

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WOMEN + POWER

BONNIE CHAN CEO OF HONG KONG EXCHANGES

Bonnie Y. Chan was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited on 1 March 2024.

Chan brings more than 30 years of global capital markets leadership and expertise. She has played a leading role in supporting the transformation of Hong Kong’s listed market and infrastructure, enhancing market quality, attractiveness, and efficiency, and helping position HKEX as a leading global exchange group.

Chan has held leadership roles in legal and financial services with AsiaPacific and global responsibilities.

Before becoming CEO, Chan was PAGE 154

HKEX’s Co-Chief Operating Officer, where she oversaw the Group’s key operational and strategic functions.

Ms Chan first joined HKEX as Head of IPO Transactions in 2007 from Morgan Stanley, where she spent four years leading the legal function for the investment bank’s Asia capital markets business. She rejoined HKEX in 2020 as Head of Listing, after serving as a partner at international law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell focusing on capital markets between 2010 and 2019.

Chan is a frequent contributor to the World Economic Forum and is a member of the Forum’s Centre for Financial and Monetary Systems Advisory

Council.

In Hong Kong, Chan served as a member of the Financial Services Development Council between 2015 and 2018 and was a member of its Board of Directors between 2019 to 2020. She was also a member of the Standing Committee of Company Law Reform and the Disciplinary Panel of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Chan holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Hong Kong and a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School. She is admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and an attorney at law in New York State.

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WOMEN + POWER

THE JENNER SISTERS DEFINING COMPASSION IN TODAY'S WORLD

Kylie Jenner, 27, made headlines when Forbes labeled her as the youngest “self-made billionaire”—a term that even Jenner herself understands is controversial.

“I can’t say I’ve done it by myself,” she previously told The New York Times. “If they’re just talking finances, technically, yes, I don’t have any inherited money.

But I have had a lot of help and a huge platform.”

That platform was used to turn her now$35 lip kits into a full-blown cosmetics

brand, Kylie Cosmetics, which she sold 51 percent of to global beauty company Coty for a staggering $600 million.

upwards of seven figures for promoting various brands on her popular Instagram account.

But later, Forbes discovered that the family misreported the company’s earnings and inflated its profits. Her net worth is currently estimated at $710 million—still nothing to shake a stick at, but not quite $1 billion.

Kendall Jenner is still the highest-paid model in the world with an incredible net worth of $60 million. On top of her lucrative modeling career—with brands like Balmain, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel banging down her door—she also runs a fashion line with her younger sister called Kendall + Kylie and serves as a spokesperson for the major skincare brand, Proactiv, plus her 818 tequila brand.

On top of her cosmetics, the mother of two launched a skincare line, Kylie Skin.

She also serves as a brand ambassador for companies like Adidas and gets paid

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MORE WOMEN WHO NEED NO INTRODUCTION

WOMEN+POWER KIM KARDASHIAN WEST INFLUENCER AND EXECUTIVE

THE MONDAVI SISTERS SCIONS OF NAPA VALLEY

JENNIFER LOPEZ

RECORDING ARTIST AND ACTOR

SHONDA RHIMES

TV WRITER AND PRODUCER PAGE 156

MICHELLE OBAMA

DEMOCRATIC PARTY VISIONARY

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GRETA THUNBERG

OPRAH WINFREY

CLIMATE ACTIVIST

ENTREPRENEUR

MEGHAN MARKLE

THE DUCHESS OF SUSSEX

MERYL STREEP ACTOR

LAUREN SANCHEZ PHILANTHROPIST

KRIS JENNER

MOMAGER OF THE KARDASHIANS

URSULA VON DER LEYEN

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FASHION & STYLE

TIFFANY RE-IMAGINES "BIRD ON A ROCK" ELI SAAB COUTURE ALESSANDRO MICHELE'S VALENTINO PA G E 161

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TIFFANY & CO.

RE-IMAGINES BIRD ON A ROCK AS A GEM-STUDDED TIMEPIECE TRIO

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T

IFFANY & CO. HAS UNVEILED THE BIRD ON A ROCK LEGACY WATCH COLLECTION, A TRIO OF TIMEPIECES THAT BRINGS ONE OF ITS MOST ICONIC JEWELRY MOTIFS INTO THE REALM OF FINE WATCHMAKING. THE NEW COLLECTION IS A TRIBUTE TO THE LEGENDARY JEAN SCHLUMBERGER, WHOSE IMAGINATIVE RENDERINGS OF FLORA AND FAUNA HELPED DEFINE THE HOUSE’S IDENTITY AND CONTINUES TO SHAPE ITS DESIGN DNA.

Each watch reinterprets Schlumberger’s original Bird on a Rock brooch—a

diamond-studded bird perched atop a large colored gemstone—into an elegant and mechanically complex statement piece. Anchored by rare stones including morganite and tanzanite, the watches merge fine gemology with artisan-level horological detail. Snow-set diamonds, 18k gold birds hand-assembled with over 100 stones each, and engraved mother-of-pearl dials balance the charm of Schlumberger’s archival vision with the precision of Tiffany’s contemporary craftsmanship.

Originally conceived in the 1960s, Schlumberger’s bird became synonymous with playful opulence and imaginative naturalism. With this watch collection, Tiffany & Co. reframes that legacy through a contemporary lens—translating ornamental whimsy into functional sculpture. Even minute elements, such as double-pronged settings modeled after

talons and gem-viewing lenses at the back of each case, speak to a collector-level attention to detail and a celebration of craftsmanship.

This launch also affirms Tiffany’s broader commitment to design-driven storytelling under the stewardship of LVMH. As high jewelry brands increasingly explore timekeeping as a narrative and aesthetic extension of their core identity, Tiffany’s Bird on a Rock watches carve out a distinctive position as objets d’art where legacy, innovation, and precision collide.

With Schlumberger’s influence as its foundation, the Bird on a Rock Legacy Watch Collection signals a new chapter for Tiffany—one that honors the past while reasserting its place in the future of collectible luxury design.

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ELI SAAB COUTURE

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ELI SAAB COUTURE

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ALESSANDRO MICHELE

PRESENTS HIS DEBUT VALENTINO

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VALENTINO

A

NEW CHAPTER HAS BEGUN FOR VALENTINO, ONE DRAPED IN GRANDEUR, EXTRAVAGANCE, AND AN UNAPOLOGETIC EMBRACE OF MAXIMALISM. Alessandro Michele’s debut couture collection for the house was nothing short of stunning—dramatic, decadent, and undeniably couture. It was a showcase that kept us guessing, offering look after look that felt distinct yet united by a

singular artistic vision. The anticipation surrounding Michele’s interpretation of Valentino was high, and he met it with a collection that was as lavish as it was deliberate, as historical as it was modern.

From the outset, it was clear that Michele had taken the house into fresh territory while still acknowledging its DNA. Yet, amidst the visual feast, he balanced his signature excess with moments of restraint, incorporating black and white looks that grounded the collection while

maintaining its opulence.

Michele’s brilliance has always been in his ability to create a cohesive whole from seemingly disparate elements, and this collection was no exception. If it’s a list, as he notes in his 200-page show notes, it’s written by the same hand. This ethos was evident in how he paired aristocratic, old-world glamour with Valentino’s contemporary spirit. Some pieces felt plucked straight from a grand oil portrait—if I were to sit for one today, it would certainly be in one of these looks.

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VALENTINO

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Find a Home that Suits your Lifestyle

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MANSION OF THE MONTH

2680 TRADER ROAD JACKSON, WYOMING 83001 UNITED STATES

$23,000,000 USD BEDROOMS 6 | BATHROOMS 6 FULL AND 2 PARTIAL | INTERIOR 7,234 SQ FT. | EXTERIOR 11.59 ACRES PAGE 180

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N

EW CONSTRUCTION IN GROS VENTRE NORTH WITH SOARING VIEWS

Located in the gated Gros Ventre North subdivision, in the heart of Jackson, Wyoming, is this newly constructed architectural masterpiece. Boasting exquisite craftsmanship and attention to detail, this home offers an unparalleled living experience amidst the breathtaking backdrop of the Teton Range.

At the heart of the main level is the expansive Great Room adorned with vaulted ceilings and exposed steel beams. Gather around the floor-toceiling stone fireplace or express your culinary creativity in the chef ’s kitchen, outfitted with top-of-the-line appliances, tailor-made finishes, and a butler’s pantry.

Floor-to-ceiling windows and telescoping doors flood this room with natural light and provide seamless access to the expansive deck, complete with a covered outdoor dining area, a built-in grill, and an outdoor fireplace, perfect for entertaining against the backdrop of Wyoming’s natural splendor.

Step into opulence as you enter the spacious Primary Suite. Featuring his and her walk-in closets and a spa-like bathroom complete with a double vanity, double showers, a freestanding bathtub, and an outdoor shower, this retreat boasts privacy and comfort.

Relax and unwind on the private deck, offering a sweeping panorama of the Teton Range, or enjoy the warmth and comfort of the double-sided fireplace perfectly situated in front of a built-in reading nook. There is a private office located between the Primary Suite and the Great Room, designed for productivity and inspiration. With a private covered deck offering sweeping views of the surrounding mountains, this office becomes a private retreat within the expansive home.

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Adjacent to the office is the mudroom, a transitional space crafted with custom millwork and thoughtful design elements. Here, gear, jackets, and shoes find a stylish home, keeping the main living area pristine and clutter-free. Adjacent to the mudroom, is the upstairs laundry room and an additional coat closet to meet all your storage and cleaning PAGE 182

needs. At the center of the home where the main level and lower level meet is a causeway flanked by expansive two-story windows which saturate the home with natural light while providing endless views of the surrounding wilderness.

Located on the lower level is the entertainment and media room. Unwind in the sprawling Media Room, equipped

with a full-sized wet bar featuring a wine fridge, ice machine, and dishwasher.

Built-in shelves offer ample space for entertainment, books, and art. Indulge in recreation and relaxation within the gym and sauna, with seamless outdoor access to the meticulously landscaped backyard and built-in hot tub, creating an oasis of luxury and relaxation.

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Additionally, attached to the Media Room is a spare Flex Room with an ensuite bathroom that is perfect for supplementary accommodations for guests.

The south wing of the lower level is the dedicated guest wing, with four en-suite bedrooms, each offering incredible wilderness and mountain views.

The garage is a haven for recreation enthusiasts, with expansive storage solutions ensuring that every vehicle, tool, recreational equipment, or seasonal gear finds its designated place. This six car garage bay designed to provide maximum utility and with over 1,500 square feet this space can easily house all of your

standard and recreational vehicles.

Whether hosting family gatherings or entertaining friends and guests, this home epitomizes refined living in the heart of Jackson, Wyoming. Experience architectural excellence, where every detail has been meticulously curated for the discerning homeowner.

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MANSION OF THE MONTH

LISTING AGENT Jake Kilgrow O: +1 307.413.2822 O: +1 307.733.9009 jake.kilgrow@sothebysrealty.com Jackson Hole Sotheby's International Realty 185 West Broadway Jackson, WY 83001

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FRENCH DESIGN IN D.C. 6431 GEORGETOWN PIKE, MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

$22,500,000 USD | | 10 BEDROOMS | 14 BATHROOMS 22,000 SQ FT. Timeless architecture, unparalleled scale and one of America’s most prestigious addresses in McLean, Virginia just minutes from Washington, DC. 6431 Georgetown Pike encompasses nearly 4 acres and spans 22,000 square feet across 4 levels with 10 en suite bedrooms.

French design has made a significant impact in the United States, particularly in the Washington D. C. region, Palm Beach, Bel Air and Beverly Hills, reflecting classic elegance and sophistication.

A sweeping private drive leads to stately wrought iron gates revealing a breathtaking approach to the center of the home within a large motor court. Captivating iron work carries through to the double front doors. It’s a first impression that radiates enduring sophistication that transcends trends.

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What you’ll find inside this Langley Farms home are interiors designed for modern living at the highest level. A gleaming Italian marble foyer offers front-toback views from the moment you enter.

Exquisite floor-to-ceiling millwork, white oak hardwoods and hand forged iron railings are thoughtfully integrated throughout the home, creating a subtle continuity reflecting the highest quality craftsmanship and design.

An oversized living room is tailor made for large scale entertaining as well as intimate gatherings featuring full height windows with panoramic garden views, a wet bar and a trellis plaster ceiling. The graceful moldings are showcased across the main level including the dining room currently set for 12 guests, a handsome paneled fireside library, and a coffered

ceiling in the great room. The principal kitchen features multiple satellite work areas, including an adjacent catering kitchen and butlers pantry.

The second level primary bedroom retreat spans an impressive 3,300 square feet, with it’s own sitting room and a private terrace, each elegantly appointed with fireplaces. The suite features a double vanity bathroom with a standalone soaking tub as a central design component, and a spacious shower, enveloped in beautiful tile work and luxurious fixtures. An extraordinary two-story primary bedroom closet redefines luxury, showcasing top-of-theline Italian cabinetry meticulously crafted to optimize space and style.

Every detail invites homeowners to display their wardrobes and accessories in an elegant, thoughtfully designed environment.

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The builders are offering an opportunity to add an additional two-room closet with kitchenette and full bathroom by seamlessly incorporating a passageway from the bathroom into the currently designated separate second-floor apartment.

The second level includes 3 elegantly appointed en suite bedrooms, and the third level also features 3 en suite bedrooms. The lower level offers 2 more en suite bedrooms, ensuring privacy and ample accommodations for large families, guests and staff, with each floor thoughtfully equipped with its own kitchen and

laundry room. The lower level is a spectacular haven for leisure, featuring a tiered screening room, a dedicated spa with dry sauna and steam room, a wellness relaxation room, a massage room, a glam room, a gym, and a stylish lounge with a gracefully contoured wet bar and direct access to a private outdoor area that beautifully mirrors a serene park setting.

The rear grounds are anchored by a swimming pool adorned with elegant waterfall and fountain features, complemented by a floor to ceiling waterfall. This outdoor retreat also features a retractable 200 inch

television, and a covered dining area with a built-in grilling kitchen. Behind the scenes, the entire property is self-sufficient with smart home technology controlling lighting, sound, HVAC and security systems.

The residence includes 5 deep garage bays and enough secure hardscape for 30 cars.

Additionally, furnishings can be included in the purchase offering an attractive opportunity for an effortless transition. 6431 Georgetown Pike showcases meticulous craftsmanship, infusing warmth throughout and accentuating its classic beauty.

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WEISSENHAUS SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN, 23758 GERMANY

85,000,000 EUROS GERMANY’S MOST EXCLUSIVE PRIVATE COASTAL ESTATE A MASTERPIECE OF HERITAGE

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ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY TO OWN ONE OF EUROPE’S MOST EXCLUSIVE PRIVATE ESTATES— WEISSENHAUS, A FULLY GATED, ULTRA-PRIVATE COASTAL SANCTUARY SPANNING 180 ACRES ALONG THE PRISTINE BALTIC SEA. PAGE 190

With over two miles of private beachfront, this historic noble estate has been meticulously re-imagined into a trophy property, world-class resort, and investment opportunity.

The estate features 40 restored historic buildings, 70 exquisite suites, villas, and grand residences, a 27,000 sq. ft. award-winning spa, and four Michelinlevel dining experiences. An exclusive recording studio and event venue comple-

ment its limitless potential—whether as a legacy estate, luxury retreat, or visionary business project.

Weissenhaus is a masterpiece of heritage and innovation, offering unmatched privacy, security, and prestige. A rare asset designed for connoisseurs, creators, and global investors.

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Polo Lifestyles Vine Finds In Search of Solace

Perfect Summer Sippers from Italy and Spain

WILLIAM SMITH @willismith_2000 COPY EDITOR & CONTRIBUTOR

S

To fill that desire, in this month’s Vine Finds, we profile a few perfect summer sippers from Spain and Italy.

UMMER HAS OFFICIALLY ARRIVED AND MANY OF US WILL BE TAKING TO THE GREAT OUTDOORS. AND IN ADDITION TO STAYING PROPERLY HYDRATED WITH AMPLE AMOUNTS OF H2O, THE DESIRE FOR A THIRST-QUENCHING ADULT BEVERAGE TO ENJOY WHILE DINING AL FRESCO OR SIMPLY SPENDING TIME ON THE PATIO WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY IS REAL.

As always, Salud!

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Destilerias Manuel Acha and Lustau Spanish White Vermouth I was recently in the Pacific Northwest and had an incredible meal at the James Beard Award-recognized restaurant Coquine in Portland. It’s an off-thebeaten-path, neighborhood joint that ditches pretense and delivers in every way. In addition to the Chef ’s extraordinary talents, her co-proprietor and husband, Ksandek Podbielski, runs an incredible beverage program. I was lucky enough to score a seat at the small and intimate bar where Ksandek took care of my pairings for the establishment’s tasting menu, and it started off

with my new favorite summer wine cocktail.

I was served a simple mix of Destilerías Manuel Acha Vino Vermouth Blanco and sparkling water with an orange twist. Floral aromas (especially elderflower), the botanicals burst on the palate with hints of both sweet and bitter and the effervescence of the sparkling water creates an incredibly refreshing aperitif or anytime refreshing cocktail. I enjoyed it so much I ventured next door to Coquine’s market and took a bottle to go.

Vermouth is for more than just martinis, and the bespoke cocktail culture has the wine-based beverage celebrated in new ways. Wine aficionados are also embracing the fortified wine to expand the wine repertoire among a shrinking consumer base. And while

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To fill the summertime thirst-quenching desire, in this month’s Vine Finds, we profile a few perfect summer sippers from Spain and Italy.

Italy may be the birthplace of vermouth, Achca is from the Basque region where there is also a rich history of enjoying vermouth.

From the north of Spain to the south, I also explored additional Spanish vermouths and loved Bodegas Lustau Vermut Blanco. Based in Jerez de la Frontera, this vermouth is ensconced in the region’s dominant wine production and is made using Fino and Moscatel sherries. A more bitter and herbal flavor profile than the Acha – and less floral – it was delicious prepared in the same fashion or try it with a splash of pink grapefruit soda.

By all means, if you explore these and other vermouths, try them on their own -- they are “sipping vermouths” after all.

But also, don’t be afraid to experiment a bit with different citruses, juices, bitters, or other flavorful additions that pique your fancy.

Regaleali Rosé and Bianco The Tasca d’Almerita family have been making wine for nearly 200 years in Sicily and as the country’s wines have reemerged and new producers are staking claims to creating some of the

world’s best wines, this family remains as relevant as ever. To underscore the point, in 2019, Wine Enthusiast magazine named them, “European Winery of the Year.”

The family’s main estate, Tenuta Regaleali, is comprised of 550 hectares (or nearly 1,360 acres) and sits in the very heart of the island. Over the years, four more estates have been added such that the family’s wine production now encompasses fruit grown from one coast to the other – and Etna – and is released under five different labels that reflect the various “tenute” or estates.

Dedicated to and recognized for their sustainability efforts, the family’s sense of intergenerational stewardship is unwavering.

I stumbled upon the Regaleali 2023 Le Rosé, I am embarrassed to admit, at an obscenely discounted price at a local grocery outlet in Oregon’s Willamette Valley during a recent visit. (And yes, I did indeed buy Italian wine in Oregon and bring it home in my checked luggage.) I was gobsmacked. This is not a subtle rosé in any sense. This is a rosé for red wine drinkers. And it is sublime.

Made from the indigenous Sicilian grape Nerello Mascalese, and from vines cultivated by the family since the 1970s, the grape is best known for making single varietal light- to medium-bodied reds akin to Pinot Noir. Here it shows up in an even lighter version, but with all that fruit intensity up front and set along a linear, crisp minerality. A nod to the intensity of the potential flavor profile is evident immediately in the bold, attention grabbing, pink hue. Aromas of roses, dried herbs, and big ripe red berries, that fruit delivers a semblance of a red wine, but a zippy acidity cuts through as does a hint of tartness and spice. By far, one of the most unique and satisfying rosé wines I’ve ever tasted. And with a retail price hovering around $20, a wine that punches above its price point.

I’d be remiss not to also acknowledge the 2023 Regaleali Bianco, a wine the family has made for nearly 70 years.

A blend of native Inzolia, Catarrato, and Greciano grapes, with a touch of Chardonnay added for balance, it’s mineral driven with notes of citrus and green apple and has a beautiful long, saline finish.

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SPIRITUALITY · FAITH · QUESTIONS · GROWTH · FOCUS

THE EMPATH'S PARADOX “Money has no power in the realization of one’s ultimate soul value.” – अमृत AMRITLAL अमृत

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SPIRITUALITY CONTRIBUTOR @monarch_visionary

ROM THE INDIVIDUALIZED SEED TO A DIVINE MESSENGER OF THE COLLECTIVE DREAM. EVERY MYSTIC MUST NAVIGATE A TUMULTUOUS PATH OF COMING TO TERMS WITH REALITY, ESTABLISHING THEMSELVES AS BALLAST AMONGST A SEA OF DISHARMONY. FROM A HIGHLY-SENSITIVE BEING, TO AN EMPATH, MYSTIC, AND, GRADUALLY, SAINT, OUR SPIRITUAL IDENTITY TRANSFORMS AS OUR DIVINE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COSMIC ORDER UNFOLDS. WHO BEST KNOWS THIS RITE OF PASSAGE, then the very prisoner who has transcended planes to be birthed into the full expanse of their divine service?

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No soul is insensitive to the darkness and chaos of the world. Spiritual practice trains us in mastering peace, steadfast as the eye of the storm, transforming pain as polarities converge – a living embodiment of hope, immune to the vibrations of fear that pollute the streams of consciousness. The only skill that will ever guide us home is spiritual alchemy.

The question is, as an individual who is growing ever-more spiritually sensitive to karma, how do we enter the world from a place of power – generating wealth without attachments to distorted energies of the lower chakras, emotions of greed, lust, superiority and insecurity?

While the path of renunciate, or ascetic, has for long been the ancient way of self-mastery, how do we begin to bridge our purpose while respecting the spiritual journeys of those yet awakening?

How do we cope with the hatred, judgment, cruelty and emotional backlash of spiritual fields converging? How do we monetize Hope?

A M R I T L A L अमृत / P O L O L I F E S T Y L E S

In this month’s article, we explore our potential in mastering our Kundalini energy to weather the storm as we master our emotions to bring an end to this spiritual war, from within. Monarch Visionary, Lena Miller, Urban Alchemy CEO provides insights as to how her organization is transforming the spiritual energy within the most turbulent and dangerous cities across West Coast and Southern States, and how this spiritual impetus is transforming the civic system.

CASE STUDY: URBAN ALCHEMY

The world heals when we learn to care for ourselves, prioritizing our efforts to heal the pain that lies here in our hearts now. Urban Alchemy employs over 1,300 people with 96% of their employees being formerly incarcerated individuals, providing an opportunity for those who have faced their demons, developing the sensory fire of purification, to transform the emotional energy required to uplift the streets and curb behaviors of would-be criminals.

Miller shares: “I believe Urban Alchemy

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T he Celestial Mandate for a Radical Transformation in Devotional Living

R E N E WA L · C O M M U N I T Y · S U P P O RT · E X P LO R AT I O N · E N E R G Y is simply the manifestation of the Creator’s call to its own immune system to heal its wounds and dis-ease.Just as the immune system works by recognizing viruses and other attacks through experience and memory, I believe my own and the lived experience of Urban Alchemy Practitioners make us so much more powerful to recognize the afflictions of addiction, anger, despair, and dis-ease of those on the streets in our communities.”

“We are able to extend that healing to others through the same processes we used to heal and master ourselves, by increasing our vibration to align with the resonance of the Creator.In plain language, this means to form authentic connections, to accept, and extend agape love without judgement, to those who suffer from afflictions of rejection, isolation, self-judgement, self-hatred, and shame.As we become attuned to divine frequency, our power amplifies as do the blessings.Those who also have become attuned to this frequency recognize each other and I find that my life is filled with the most amazing people and satisfying relationships.”

KUNDALINI WELL OF SPIRITUAL POWER

As the spiritual heart expands, waves of darkness and negativity immediately come crashing in, experienced as anxiety, panic attacks and other neurological systems which manifest into physical disease. Without proper practice, the heaviness of uncertainty can bring us to our knees. While the Kundalini is a spiritual well of endless potential, she is raw and unprocessed emotional and spiritual energy. Tuning into the pain and suffering of cosmic intelligence requires a steadfast practice and a heart that is

fully aligned in selfless service. Vedic meditation empowers the observer to train the vessel of cosmic consciousness for the clearing, or illumination, of the surrounding pain and chaos. This birthing through one’s own inner turmoil is how spiritual mastery initiates.

The Kundalini serves as a double-edged sword of truth. While opening the spiritual gates of cosmic evolution reveal infinite imaginative potential, she also makes clear our own weaknesses and insecurities – energetic breaches within our auric field. As a purifying flame of awareness that restructures our nervous system, the Kundalini fire will gradually reshape our entire reality as the holographic nature of the cosmos unfolds as our heart bleeds forth the light of compassion.

The Kundalini is synonymous with spiritual mercury, as well as Hermes, given its role in transformation, bridging the gap between different realms, and influencing intellect and communication.

The Kundalini fire rises up the spinal cord, similar to Mercury. Through the process, the nervous system becomes highly charged, and the observer learns through the alchemical experience of consciousness evolution, the potential for transforming spiritual energies and gradually ascending spiritual planes.

As the purifying fires of the Kundalini rise, illuminating the observer’s awareness, spiritual darkness is risen and attracted in the self-mastery process. This cosmically orchestrated journey ignites the purification process through which consciousness is remembered, reborn and evolved through its own self-realization. This is Dharma at its finest.

Harnessing the Kundalini fire requires

self-introspection, self-evolution and self-compassion. As many spiritual warriors awaken from pain, it is important to sense our worth through our efforts to deliver our golden vision, while purifying the shades of ego that block us from receiving the cosmic power that delivers us upon our missions.

Miller shares: “I believe that Urban Alchemy’s acceptance and support from law enforcement has been one of the most impactful manifestations of transformation. Interestingly, it is the one thing that has not been really acknowledged or celebrated as a tangible example of the reality of an alternative paradigm. In the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, there was a mass call for a transformation of law enforcement. Despite the rhetoric and strategic plans, there was no systematic adopPA G E 199

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SPIRITUALITY · FAITH · QUESTIONS · GROWTH · FOCUS tion of an overhaul of law enforcement methodology or a plan from community organizers to take back the regulation of our neighborhoods.”

“Meanwhile, Urban Alchemy was quietly implementing what is now the largest Community Based Public Safety (CBPS) organization in the country.

Urban Alchemy currently offers CBPS services in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Birmingham, Portland, Austin, Santa Fe, and Atlanta. Our CBPS models were developed and implemented by men who spent decades in maximum security prisons. These formally incarcerated partner with police departments, 911, and paramedics to respond to individuals in the throes of addiction, mental illness, and other disorganized behaviors. While skeptical at first, the Police departments have become some of the biggest advocates, defenders, and allies of Urban Alchemy; as, they have observed our work ethic, technique, and integrity in very difficult situations. Who would have ever imagined that what would emerge from the noise of police reform would be a non-profit, created by former “lifers” who work in partnership with Police, to provide interventions that include trauma informed care, compassion, and patience to our most vulnerable citizens.”

“Who would have ever imagined that former “lifers” would develop trusting and supportive relationships with law enforcement or that law enforcement would be advocating for their cities to hire these men and women to support their peacekeeping efforts. Although this is a story that is no has is acknowledged or celebrated, it is happening quietly all over the country. Moreover, it is being documented by Stanford University and PAGE 200

other academic and civic organizations.”

AMRIT AND THE CELESTIAL SEALS OF ILLUMINATION

When you give yourself permission to dream, you realize your potential is to become all that you need. Our visions, dreams and aspirations are all divinely inspired. Every one of our cells serves a spiritual function from which electrical sense is generated. The entire body can be seen as a cosmic antenna whereby protein receptors within our DNA act to regulate genetic expression. The ultimate goal of this cosmic expression of life is to generate the sweet light of awareness.

Nestled within each chakra lotus is radiant celestial seal of illumination, of cosmic awareness. These seals remain dormant until the pain of living, under our current levels of stress, drives us inwards into self-discovery and spiritual revelation. As these seals are unlocked, resonant waves of cosmic consciousness begin to penetrate through the body’s subtle energy fields, clearing blockages to spiritual abundance from the higher self, while creating pathways within the collective heart-mind complex for the divine broadcast to manifest.

As divine awareness, revealed through the celestial seals of illumination, integrates into one’s consciousness, the body naturally secretes the spirit molecule, Amrit, the soma of the Milky Way, the nectar of illumination. As this divine elixir of rejuvenation moves through the body’s internal system, the auric field begins to reestablish its etheric template, providing strength and immunity from spiritual warfare, while also raising the body’s cellular attunement to cosmic power source to elevate thought field frequencies.

When we truly sit with our pain and devasting emotions, our celestial seals of illumination, our divine awareness is naturally activated through the inward cultivation of our consciousness. Known as Vedic meditation, detailed in the quantum sciences, through the alchemical fire of our self-harvested awareness, our consciousness integrates back into the planetary consciousness, unlocking the abundant gates of cosmic consciousness. As the higher self emerges, we must detach from all prior perceptions, as we bask in a new sense for self-development and surrender our senses to a deeper connection to life that naturally conspires to deliver us to our highest.

Miller shares: “Much like the coordination of the meditators in early studies, Urban Alchemy provides a structure and goal to transform the emotional and spiritual climate, except instead of gathering in a quiet place and meditating in silence, they stand on corners of the most dangerous intersections in the country and engage with the people. They acknowledge the presence of all those who walk by, of those laying in the streets, smoking dope, having a psychotic episode, or seeking a friendly conversation.”

“Their meditation is a spoken prayer to the people.it is engagement, it is connection. It is love. It is when you experience this miracle that you begin to truly understand that love is the true source of power in our world. When I realized that truth, I experienced profound relief and gratitude. After all, of all the potential forces holding together the molecules that comprise the web of our existence, isn’t it reassuring to know that substance is love after all. But it is so obvious, love binds, it is the ultimate adhesive. It tran-

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R E N E WA L · C O M M U N I T Y · S U P P O RT · E X P LO R AT I O N · E N E R G Y scends the physical and moves through the ether. What other substance is strong enough to bind every molecule on this earth together in both substance and spirit. It has always been and will always be love.”

GUIDED BY THE SWEET HUM OF PEACE AS OUR GOLDEN CURRENCY

Consciousness speaks to our senses through emerging beauties that inspire our imagination to further behold the grace of cosmic peace resounding into heaven’s crystallization. Pratyahara, the fifth limb of yoga, is the practice of withdrawing the senses from external stimuli and turning inward. It’s a process of observing the senses and their reactions, then consciously choosing to disengage from them, creating space for inner focus and deeper meditation.

By withdrawing from our sense-attachment to our perceived reality which we have each created for ourselves, we grow in awareness of what we have manifested for ourselves, and what we are capable of as the inner fire burns away our false sense attachments, allowing for the purification and empowerment of the energies around us. Just as we have been indoctrinated into our own spiritual chains and mental enslavement, we can also burn them away as we guide others into the light of our collective soul purpose.

Miller shares: “Through metaphysics they found both control and freedom even in the most dehumanizing and restrictive environments. Through alchemy they learned a formula to systematically impact reality by shifting their consciousness. This ability is documented in several peer reviewed scientific studies in the 1980’s, known as the Maharishi effect, where orga-

nized meditation proved to significantly decrease crime in over 48 major cities across America. Today, this effect has been commodified in various movements aimed at teaching people to manifest their reality. While many of these approaches emphasize the visualizing and emotional aspects of manifestation, they usually don’t put as much emphasis on the practice. Alchemy is the practice of manifestation. The practice is the prayer. The prayer amplified through more practice becomes the reality.”

Miller further opines upon the spiritual impact emerging across the nation: “As I travel throughout the country and meet with Practitioners, they tell me their personal stories of redemption and how Urban Alchemy saved and/or transformed their lives. The same individuals that were the most destructive and deadly influence in their communities have now become the most powerful force for change. They are compelled to balance their internal scales of justice to right their wrongs and change the world in a way that the average person simply cannot conjure up the motivation for.

These are men and women who have experienced true hell on earth in the streets and then in the bowels of maximum-security prisons, and decades of solitary confinement.”

“These are men and women who thought they would die in prison who reached out for their Creator in their darkest moments of despair and found the light. These are the individuals who Urban Alchemy has cultivated, nurtured and structured to change the world. As they see their efforts actually impact their environments and the quality of life for so many segments of the public, as they see Urban Alchemy grow, as they move up in the agency from

bathroom attendants to Supervisors, to Directors, and even Chiefs, they recognize that they do indeed have the power to change the world for the better. More importantly, the recognize their own power and courage to change themselves in order to activate the transformation of the vibrational frequency of their environments.”

The Ayurvedic art of Abhyanga removes us from the endless chatter of our monkey-brains, and welcomes us into a deep sensual awareness of our bodies to activate cellular regeneration. Applying such a routine to your practice supports the natural sense-detachment from lower frequency thoughtforms to empower the body’s natural healing potential, revealed through the celestial seals of illumination.

AHO healing oil, which can be purchased at www.Healogy5.com,contains five specific carrier oils—each selected for their unique medicinal properties— and a curated array of essential oils, this blend is designed to support all major organ systems, from the heart and lungs to the liver and kidneys.

While the lower self dwells in the world of fear, worry, guilt, shame and separation, upon the path to our higher self, we burn all such feelings away, establishing a new regime for emotional and spiritual freedom upon which we are guided to create foundations for living that are based upon our ancestral ways. To be a true leader, you must invest in your own vision. To overcome the darkness before us, we must succeed where our ancestors failed, while building upon their lessons to harness our collective spiritual strength. Use the code CHAKRAS at www.Healogy5.com, for 40% of proceeds to be donated to the Agroecology Fund.

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YOU BELONG

HOW TO COPE WITH IMPOSTOR SYNDROME COACH JOEY VELEZ

MENTAL WELLNESS CONTRIBUTOR @velezmentalperformance

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LOVE WATCHING THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS PLAY BASKETBALL. SPECIFICALLY, THE WAY STEPH CURRY PLAYS THE GAME, HOW HE HAS CHANGED THE GAME, AND THE JOY HE IS TO WATCH. Curry makes it look so easy, but the truth of the matter is, it is not easy and Curry experiences similar struggles to the every day person.

Recently, Curry came out and spoke about his experiences dealing with impostor syndrome, stating that he experiences doubt and is he doing what he needs to do to take care of his family and fulfill his potential. Maybe this is something that you have experienced: Am I good enough? Do I know enough?

Do I have what it takes?

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All common questions asked as you make your way to the top of the leaderboard. While you may not be able to stop the thoughts from happening, you can do something to manage them more effectively.

WHAT IS IMPOSTOR SYNDROME? The definition of impostor syndrome is the persistent inability to believe that one’s success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one’s own efforts or skills. Essentially, an individual feels inadequate or feels they will be found out by others as not being good enough.

There are five different types of impostor syndrome: the perfectionist, the superhero, the expert, the natural genius, and the soloist.

The Perfectionist holds high standards for themselves and others, viewing any imperfection as a sign of their incompetence. They may over-prepare, overwork, and engage in constant self-criticism. The Superhero believes they must constantly be at their peak, overworking and taking on excessive responsibiliJ O E Y V E L E Z / P O LO L I F E S T Y L E S

ties to prove their worth. They often struggle with work-life balance and may feel overwhelmed by the pressure to constantly achieve.

The Expert is fixated on knowledge and feels like they must know everything there is to know in their field. They may seek excessive qualifications or certifications to feel competent, fearing situations where their knowledge might be questioned. The Natural Genius believes competence should come easily and quickly, viewing any struggle or effort as a sign of inadequacy. They may become frustrated when learning requires patience and practice, believing they should have mastered skills effortlessly.

The Soloist strongly resists asking for help or receiving support, viewing collaboration as a sign of weakness. They may strive for independence and feel their achievements are invalid if they require assistance.

Impostor syndrome develops several different ways, but a big contributor is your environment. Early on, the praise and criticism you received from parents and coaches had profound impact on

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THOUGHTS MATTER

your feelings of competence. While both need to be given in order to improve your skill set, they can send the mixed message that you are not good enough, thus contributing to the impostor feelings. Other environmental factors include being in highly competitive environments that can amplify the feelings of inadequacy. It is the sense that no matter how well you do, there is someone doing just as good or better and you are at risk of losing your coveted top spot.

COPING WITH IMPOSTOR SYNDROME While you may not be able to eliminate feeling like an impostor completely, you can learn to live with those thoughts and continue to be productive. One important factor in overcoming impostor syndrome is to share your feelings with other people. Not only can this reduce the loneliness that often accompanies feeling like an impostor, but can also open doors for others to share what they see in you.

A common theme within impostor syndrome is emphasizing your failures or weaknesses, so a part of overcom-

ing impostor syndrome is to actually share your failures with other people, but to also celebrate your successes.

Discussing failures in a group can help paint a more realistic portrait of what other people are struggling with. Not only can this be helpful in terms of not bottling up your emotions, but can also lead you to helping other people with their journey. You should also celebrate your successes because those who struggle with impostor feelings tend to brush off their successes. If someone congratulates you, do not move on too fast. Take time to applaud yourself to help internalize your success.

It is easier for us as humans to show compassion toward other people, but is more difficult to show self-compassion, which is vital in overcoming feelings of being an impostor. This could look like observing when your impostor feelings surface and how you respond to them and learning to recognize those feelings of fear and learning to truly be OK as you are. It is important to look at yourself without your accomplishments because accomplishments are not tied to your value.

Finally, let go of the idea of being perfect. With impostor syndrome, there is a tendency to set extremely high standards of what it means to be successful.

Adjusting your standards for success can make it easier to see and internalize your accomplishments. This is not to say you should lower your standards, however, switch your focus to being more about your progress rather than aiming for perfection. When you do not meet your standards it is easy to see yourself as a failure. It is okay to acknowledge that you failed, but being able to reframe these failures as opportunities to learn and grow can help you move you toward the success you are seeking.

FINAL THOUGHTS When performing at a high level or in a competitive environment, it is easy to feel like an impostor. However, having these thoughts does not have to mean the end of the world. Learning to work and live with these feelings as opposed to trying to eliminate them can help you continue on your journey toward being successful. It is all about adjusting your focus and reframing what it means to be successful.

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BUGATTI TOURBILLON Perfection in every detail.

Pour l'éternité.

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