The CEO of Anastasia Beverly Hills says she had to beg for a $500 credit card before she could start her beauty empire
Before she became the CEO of a global beauty brand with celebrity clients, Anastasia Soare needed a $500 credit card.
When she arrived in the US in 1989 as an immigrant, "nobody paid attention," the founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills said. At the time, she was an aesthetician with zero credit history and limited English — and a bold idea that needed backing.
"I went to Wells Fargo and had to beg the manager to give me a $500 credit card," she recalled. "Thirty-four years ago, they didn't throw at you with credit cards like what they are doing right now."
Soare made the comments on a panel at the 28th Milken Institute Global Conference on Wednesday. The conference, held in California this year, draws global leaders, tech executives, and experts to discuss finance, innovation, and global markets.
In 2000, Soare launched her first product line to bring her signature shaping techniques and tools to anyone who wanted beautiful brows. Since then, Anastasia Beverly Hills has become synonymous with eyebrows in the beauty world. The brand's celebrity clients include the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Kendall Jenner, and Kim Kardashian. In May 2024, Forbes estimated Soare's net worth at $900 million.
Soare shared the credit card anecdote as part of her pursuit of the American dream — one that started decades earlier in communist Romania.
At 15, her grandfather would take her into a small room, shut the windows and curtains, and tune into a banned radio station called "Voice of America."
"He used to tell me that I did a big mistake coming to Romania. The communist regime took everything away from us," she said.
"You should go to America," Soare recounted her grandfather saying. "That is the American dream."
Under the communist regime in Romania, entrepreneurship didn't exist. "You worked only for the government, and that's it. You couldn't be an entrepreneur," Soares said.
But Soare knew she wanted more. "I wanted first to show myself what I'm capable of doing," she said.
Chasing the American dream
When Soare arrived, she started working as an aesthetician — one of the few jobs that didn't require "perfect English," she said.
She noticed a gap in the beauty market — nobody paid attention to eyebrows. Believing in the potential of eyebrows as a business idea, she began doing clients' brows for free, as it wasn't "considered a service" then.
"My husband thought I am totally crazy," she said. "You don't know how to write a check, you don't have a credit card, you barely speak the language, and you want to open a business. Not even American people born here own a business," she recalled her husband saying.
But Soare went all in. "What do I have to lose?" she thought.
From that little room, she built a clientele. Then she opened a salon in Beverly Hills. "The rest is history," she said.
"I am proud to say that I invented a category in the beauty industry that didn't exist before," she said at the panel.
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Double-Whammy When AGI Embeds With Humanoid Robots And Occupies Both White-Collar And Blue-Collar Jobs
AGI will be embedded into humanoid robots, which makes white-collar and blue-collar jobs a target ... More for walking/talking automation. In today's column, I examine the highly worrisome qualms expressed that the advent of artificial general intelligence (AGI) is likely to usurp white-collar jobs. The stated concern is that since AGI will be on par with human intellect, any job that relies principally on intellectual pursuits such as typical white-collar work will be taken over via the use of AGI. Employers will realize that rather than dealing with human white-collar workers, they can more readily get the job done via AGI. This, in turn, has led to a rising call that people should aim toward blue-collar jobs, doing so because (presumably) those forms of employment will not be undercut via AGI. Sorry to say, that misses the bigger picture, namely that AGI when combined with humanoid robots is coming not only for white-collar jobs but also blue-collar jobs too. It is a proverbial double-whammy when it comes to the attainment of AGI. Let's talk about it. This analysis of an innovative AI breakthrough is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI, including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here). First, some fundamentals are required to set the stage for this weighty discussion. There is a great deal of research going on to further advance AI. The general goal is to either reach artificial general intelligence (AGI) or maybe even the outstretched possibility of achieving artificial superintelligence (ASI). AGI is AI that is considered on par with human intellect and can seemingly match our intelligence. ASI is AI that has gone beyond human intellect and would be superior in many if not all feasible ways. The idea is that ASI would be able to run circles around humans by outthinking us at every turn. For more details on the nature of conventional AI versus AGI and ASI, see my analysis at the link here. We have not yet attained AGI. In fact, it is unknown as to whether we will reach AGI, or that maybe AGI will be achievable in decades or perhaps centuries from now. The AGI attainment dates that are floating around are wildly varying and wildly unsubstantiated by any credible evidence or ironclad logic. ASI is even more beyond the pale when it comes to where we are currently with conventional AI. Before launching into the primary matter at hand in this discussion, let's contemplate a famous quote attributed to Charles Kettering, a legendary inventor, who said, 'A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.' I bring this up because those loud clamors right now about the assumption that AGI will replace white-collar workers are only seeing half of the problem. The problem as they see it is that since AGI is intellectually on par with humans, and since white-collar workers mainly use intellect in their work endeavors, AGI is going to be used in place of humans for white-collar work. I will in a moment explain why that's only half of the problem and there is a demonstrative need to more carefully and fully articulate the nature of the problem. On a related facet, the belief that AGI will axiomatically replace white-collar labor makes a number of other related key assumptions. I shall briefly explore those and then come back to why the problem itself is only half-baked. The cost of using AGI for doing white-collar work will need to be presumably a better ROI choice over human workers. If not, then an employer would be wiser to stick with humans rather than employing AGI. There seems to often be an unstated belief that AGI is necessarily going to be a less costly route than employing humans. We don't know yet what the cost of using AGI will be. It could be highly expensive. Indeed, some are worried that the world will divide into the AGI haves and AGI have-nots, partially due to the exorbitant cost that AGI might involve. If AGI is free to use, well, that would seem to be the nail in the coffin related to using human workers for the same capacity. Another angle is that AGI is relatively inexpensive in comparison to human labor. In that case, the use of AGI is likely to win over human labor usage. But if the cost of AGI is nearer to the cost of human labor (all in), or more so, then employers would rationally need to weigh the use of one versus the other. Note that when referring to the cost of human labor, there is more to that calculation than simply the dollar-hour labor rate per se. There are lots of other less apparent costs, such as the cost to manage human labor, the cost of dealing with HR-related issues, and many other factors that come into the weighty matter. Thus, an AGI versus human labor ROI will be more complex than it might seem at an initial glance. In addition, keep in mind that AGI would seemingly be readily switched on and off, and have other capacities that human labor would not equally tend to allow. Assume that by and large the advent of AGI will decimate the need for white-collar human labor. The refrain right now is that people should begin tilting toward blue-collar jobs as an alternative to white-collar jobs. This is a logical form of thinking in the sense that AGI as an intellectual mechanism would be unable to compete in jobs that involve hands-on work. A plumber needs to come to your house and do hands-on work to fix your plumbing. This is a physicality that entails arriving at your physical home, physically bringing and using tools, and physically repairing your faulty home plumbing. A truck driver likewise needs to sit in the cab of a truck and drive the vehicle. These are physically based tasks. There is no getting around the fact that these are hands-on activities. Aha, yes, those are physical tasks, but that doesn't necessarily mean that only human hands can perform them. The gradual emergence of humanoid robots will provide an alternative to human hands. A humanoid robot is a type of robot that is built to resemble a human in form and function. You've undoubtedly seen those types of robots in the many online video recordings showing them walking, jumping, grasping at objects, and so on. A tremendous amount of active research and development is taking place to devise humanoid robots. They look comical right now. You watch those videos and laugh when the robot trips over a mere stick lying on the ground, something that a human would seldom trip over. You scoff when a robot tries to grasp a coffee cup and inadvertently spills most of the coffee. It all seems humorous and a silly pursuit. Keep in mind that we are all observing the development process while it is still taking place. At some point, those guffaws of the humanoid robots will lessen. Humanoid robots will be as smooth and graceful as humans. This will continue to be honed. Eventually, humanoid robots will be less prone to physical errors that humans make. In a sense, the physicality of a humanoid robot will be on par with humans, if not better, due to its mechanical properties. Do not discount the coming era of quite physically capable humanoid robots. You might remember that in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the fictional character known as The Strawman lacked a brain. Without seeming to anthropomorphize humanoid robots, the current situation is that those robots typically use a form of AI that is below the sophistication level of modern generative AI. That's fine for now due to the need to first ensure that the physical movements of the robots get refined. I have discussed that a said-to-be realm of Physical AI is going to be a huge breakthrough with incredible ramifications, see my analysis at the link here. The idea underlying Physical AI is that the AI of today is being uplifted by doing data training on the physical world. This also tends to include the use of World Models, consisting of broad constructions about how the physical world works, such as that we are bound to operate under conditions of gravity, and other physical laws of nature, see the link here. The bottom line here is that there will be a close pairing of robust AI with humanoid robots. Imagine what a humanoid robot can accomplish if it is paired with AGI. I'll break the suspense and point out that AGI paired with humanoid robots means that those robots readily enter the blue-collar worker realm. Suppose your plumbing needs fixing. No worries, a humanoid robot that encompasses AGI will be sent to your home. The AGI is astute enough to carry on conversations with you, and the AGI also fully operates the robot to undertake the plumbing tasks. How did the AGI-paired humanoid robot get to your home? Easy-peasy, it drove a car or truck to get there. I've previously predicted that all the work on devising autonomous vehicles and self-driving cars will get shaken up once we have suitable humanoid robots devised. There won't be a need for a vehicle to contain self-driving capabilities. A humanoid robot will simply sit in the driver's seat and drive the vehicle. This is a much more open-ended solution than having to craft components that go into and onto a vehicle to enable self-driving. See my coverage at the link here. Timing Is Notable One of the reasons that many do not give much thought to the pairing of AGI with humanoid robots is that today's humanoid robots seem extraordinarily rudimentary and incapable of performing physical dexterity tasks on par with human capabilities. Meanwhile, there is brazen talk that AGI is just around the corner. AGI is said to be within our grasp. Let's give the timing considerations a bit of scrutiny. There are three primary timing angles: A skeptic would insist that there is a fourth possibility, consisting of the possibility that we never achieve AGI and/or we fail to achieve sufficiently physically capable humanoid robots. I am going to reject that possibility. Perhaps I am overly optimistic, but it seems to me that we will eventually attain AGI, and we will eventually attain physically capable humanoid robots. I shall next respectively consider each of the three genuinely reasonable possibilities. What if we manage to attain AGI before we manage to achieve physically fluent humanoid robots? That's just fine. We would indubitably put AGI to work as a partner with humans in figuring out how we can push along the budding humanoid robot development process. It seems nearly obvious that with AGI's capable assistance, we would overcome any bottlenecks and soon enough arrive at top-notch physically adept humanoid robots. At that juncture, we would then toss AGI into the humanoid robots and have ourselves quite an amazing combination. Suppose that we devise very physically adept humanoid robots but have not yet arrived at AGI. Are we in a pickle? Nope. We could use conventional advanced AI inside those humanoid robots. The combination would certainly be good enough for a wide variety of tasks. The odds are that we would need to be cautious about where such robots are utilized. Nonetheless, we would have essentially walking, talking, and productive humanoid robots. If AGI never happens, oh well, we end up with pretty good humanoid robots. On the other hand, once we arrive at AGI, those humanoid robots will be stellar. It's just a matter of time. Let's consider the potential of AGI and humanoid robots perchance being attained around the same time. Assume that this timing isn't due to an outright cross-mixing with each other. They just so happen to advance on a similar timeline. I tend to believe that's the most likely of the three scenarios. Here's why. First, despite all the hubris about AGI being within earshot, perhaps in the next year or two, which is a popular pronouncement by many AI luminaries, I tend to side with recent surveys of AI developers that put the date around the year 2040 (see my coverage at the link here). Some AI luminaires sneakily play with the definition of AGI in hopes of making their predictions come true sooner, akin to moving the goalposts to easily score points. For my coverage on Sam Altman's efforts of moving the cheese regarding AGI attainment, see the link here. Second, if you are willing to entertain the year 2040 as a potential date for achieving AGI, that's about 15 years from now. In my estimation, the advancements being made in humanoid robots will readily progress such that by 2040 they will be very physically adept. Probably be sooner, but let's go with the year 2040 for ease of contemplation. In my view, we will likely have humanoid robots doing well enough that they will be put into use prior to arriving at AGI. The pinnacle of robust humanoid robots and the attainment of AGI will roughly coincide with each other. Two peas in a pod. In an upcoming column posting, I will examine the enormous consequences of having AGI paired with fully physically capable humanoid robots. As noted above, this will have a humongous impact on white-collar work and blue-collar work. There will be gargantuan economic impacts, societal impacts, cultural impacts, and so on. Some final thoughts for now. A single whammy is already being hotly debated. The debates currently tend to be preoccupied with the loss of white-collar jobs due to the attainment of AGI. A saving grace seems to be that at least blue-collar jobs are going to be around and thriving, even once AGI is attained. The world doesn't seem overly gloomy if you can cling to the upbeat posture that blue-collar tasks remain intact. The double whammy is a lot more to take in. But the double whammy is the truth. The truth needs to be faced. If you are having doubts as a human about the future, just remember the famous words of Vince Lombardi: 'Winners never quit, and quitters never win.' Humankind can handle the double whammy. Stay tuned for my upcoming coverage of what this entails.
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Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman sees sales fall as Trump trade conflicts weigh on spirits producers
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Brown-Forman Corp. reported weaker sales Thursday as the maker of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey confronts challenging market conditions amid global trade conflicts and pinched consumer spending. The Louisville, Kentucky-based spirits giant said its full-year net sales of nearly $4 billion were down 5% from a year ago, and fell 7% in in the fourth quarter. Net income was down 15% for the full fiscal year and plunged 45% in the fourth quarter ending April 30, the company said. The quarterly drop came as Brown-Forman and other U.S. spirits producers who rely heavily on foreign sales felt the reverberations from President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff plans and consumer anxiety about the economy. Brown-Forman also offered a sobering assessment for the coming year. Having steered the company through an 'extremely challenging and uncertain operating environment' in the past year, Brown-Forman CEO Lawson Whiting predicted another challenging year ahead. 'Fiscal 2025 was a year unlike any other that I've seen in the past three decades,' he said during a conference call with industry market analysts. Whiting pointed to industry figures showing that many consumers are purchasing smaller sizes of spirits. He called it unusual and said it reflects a consumer 'who's pinched and just goes to the store with a $10 bill instead of $20 and then they get the smaller size.' 'The consumer and their wallet just doesn't have as much money in it," he said. "They're spending money on things like vacations and lodging, and other things like that. But then when it trickles down and they go to the grocery store, I think in some cases, spirits have fallen out of the basket a little bit.' In its outlook for the next year, the company said the challenges include continued consumer uncertainty and the 'potential impact from currently unknown tariffs.' 'We know it's highly volatile," Leanne Cunningham, the company's CFO, said while fielding a question about tariffs during the conference call. "None of us can predict what's going on." The company believes the market volatility will "create sustained levels of consumer uncertainty, which we believe will lead to another year of below historical total distilled spirits trends,' she said. Trump has often announced changes and pauses to his sweeping tariff plans on his social media platform. Trump hiked nearly all of his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to a punishing 50% on Wednesday in a move that's set to hammer businesses from automakers to home builders, and likely push up prices for consumers even further. Brown-Forman executives said Thursday that American spirits brands mostly remain off store shelves in Canada. Trump has angered Canadians with his trade war and calls to make Canada the 51st state. Spirits makers in Kentucky have expressed fears of becoming "collateral damage' by getting caught up in trade conflicts. 'The uncertainty of the tariffs continues to weigh down distilleries large and small," Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said in a statement Thursday. "We are urging the Trump administration to help get the spirits sector back to fair and reciprocal trade with zero-for-zero tariffs with our major trading partners.' Meanwhile, Brown-Forman's full-year results showed that net sales for its whiskey products were flat. Growth from Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey and its Woodford Reserve brand was offset by the negative effect of foreign exchange and declines in other super-premium Jack Daniel's products, it said. The company will launch a new product, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Blackberry, this summer. 'BlackBerry is a globally recognized, well-established flavor trend, and naturally complements the flavor of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey," Whiting said. In January, Brown-Forman announced it was reducing its global workforce by about 12% and closing its hometown barrel-making plant in Louisville. Whiting reaffirmed Thursday that those actions are expected to produce about $70 million to $80 million in annualized cost savings.
an hour ago
The implosion of a powerful political alliance: Trump and Musk in their own words
Last Friday, President Donald Trump heaped praise on Elon Musk as the tech billionaire prepared to leave his unorthodox White House job. Less than a week later, their potent political alliance met a dramatic end Thursday when the men attacked each other with blistering epithets. Trump threatened to go after Musk's business interests. Musk called for Trump's impeachment. Here's a look at the implosion of their relationship in their own words. 'Today it's about a man named Elon. And he's one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced. He stepped forward to put his very great talents into the service of our nation and we appreciate it. Just want to say that Elon has worked tirelessly helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations.' — Trump, May 30, Oval Office remarks ___ Trump invited cameras into the Oval Office last week to bid farewell to Musk, who said he was stepping away from his government work to focus on his businesses. Trump spoke effusively of Musk and his work with the Department of Government Efficiency for nearly 15 minutes straight. "I'll continue to be visiting here and be a friend and adviser to the president," Musk said. He marveled at the gold-tinged decorations Trump placed around the Oval Office. 'The oval office finally has the majesty that it deserves thanks to the president,' he said. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' — Musk, Tuesday, post on X. ___ Days after their Oval Office meeting, Musk escalated his previously restrained criticism of Trump's 'big, beautiful' budget bill, the president's top congressional priority. Still, he kept his critique focused on their policy disagreement. He did not go after Trump by name, even as he called on Republican lawmakers to vote down the bill and threatened political retribution against those who took Trump's side. 'In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,' Musk wrote on X. Uncharacteristically for a man who rarely lets a snub go unanswered, Trump did not respond. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Musk's views on the bill were not a surprise to Trump, and his social media posting 'doesn't change the president's opinion.' Musk continued Wednesday, approvingly sharing social media posts and memes that criticized the budget's price tag and deficit impacts, though still directing his ire at Congress. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore." -- Trump, Thursday, Oval Office meeting with the German chancellor. ___ Trump said he was 'very disappointed in Elon" and was surprised by his benefactor's criticism. The war of words escalated rapidly from there. It all played out on their respective social media platforms, with Musk posting on X and Trump on Truth Social. Musk dismissed Trump's criticism. 'Whatever,' he wrote. He shared old Trump social media posts urging lawmakers to oppose deficit spending and increasing the debt ceiling. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate," Musk posted, a reference to Musk's record political spending last year, which topped $250 million. 'Such ingratitude,' he added. Trump said Musk had worn out his welcome at the White House and was mad that Trump was changing electric vehicle policies in ways that would financially harm Musk-led Tesla. 'Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Trump wrote. He added: 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' 'Time to drop the really big bomb: Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' — Musk, Thursday, X post. ___ In a series of posts, he shined a spotlight on ties between Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who killed himself while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Some loud voices in Trump's 'Make America Great Again' movement claim Epstein's suicide was staged by powerful figures, including prominent Democrats, who feared Epstein would expose their involvement in trafficking. Trump's own FBI leaders have dismissed such speculation and there's no evidence supporting it. 'Yes,' he wrote.
