Latest news with #futuregenerations
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
First Lady Melania Trump's ‘peace letter' to Putin: ‘It is time'
EXCLUSIVE: First Lady Melania Trump wrote a "peace letter" to Russian President Vladimir Putin telling him "it is time" to protect children and future generations around the globe, Fox News Digital has learned. Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the "peace letter" the first lady penned to Putin, which President Trump hand-delivered to the Russian leader before their summit in Alaska, Fox News Digital has learned. Immediately upon receiving the letter, Putin read it as the American and Russian delegations looked on. "Dear President Putin," the first lady's letter begins. "Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation's rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger." "As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation's hope," the letter continued. "As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few." "Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all—so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded," read the letter. "A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation's descendants begin their lives with a purity—an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology." The first lady continued that "in today's world, some children are forced to carry a quiet laughter, untouched by the darkness around them—a silent defiance against the forces that can potentially claim their future." "Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter," the first lady wrote. "In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone—you serve humanity itself." "Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today," she wrote. "It is time." Mrs. Trump's "peace letter" was written ahead of her husband's historic meeting with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, Friday. The high-stakes meeting was the first U.S.-Russia summit since June 2021, which was under former President Joe Biden's administration and only eight months before Putin invaded Ukraine. Though Trump and Putin had not met in person in years prior to Friday, they have spoken on the phone numerous times this year to discuss an end to the Russia's war with Ukraine. Following the meeting, President Trump, said the summit was "extremely productive," but that the parties were "not there yet" on ending the war. "There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say," Trump told the press following the meeting. "A couple of big ones that we haven't quite gotten there, but we've made some headway. So, there's no deal until there's a deal." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Washington D.C. to meet with President Trump on Monday. "On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C., to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war. I am grateful for the invitation," Zelenskyy wrote on X. Zelenskyy said Trump told him about the main points of his meeting with Putin, adding that he fully supports Trump's proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
3 Tools the Wealthiest Americans Use To Safeguard Their Generational Wealth
When you imagine the wealthiest people you know — whether in real life or on the covers of magazines — you know that hard work or good luck (or a combination of both) likely played a role in building their fortunes. But keeping that wealth intact for decades — and ensuring it benefits future generations — takes deliberate planning and the right financial tools. For You: Check Out: And because you're putting nose to the grindstone to grow and protect your own wealth, you know that building a legacy of financial security also involves a lot of effort. Still, you might not be sure exactly how the wealthy safeguard what they have worked so hard to build. To preserve what they have built and ensure it is available for future generations, high-net-worth individuals turn to a variety of tools, products and strategies — many of which could also help everyday people like you grow and protect your own wealth. As you see what the experts GOBankingRates spoke with shared, you will realize that the resources you need to reach these goals aren't so challenging to find. Diversification For Lukendric A. Washington, JD, LLM, CFP, RICP, CEO of Manifest Wealth Management, the question of how wealthy people safeguard their wealth has one very clear answer — diversification. He wants clients to make sure their wealth isn't bottled up in one kind of asset, because if that asset performs poorly, well, the bottle can break, and with it, their nest egg. 'In their investment portfolios they likely have a mixture of several, if not all, asset classes,' he said. 'Beyond the typical investment options, there are private equity options, which can be riskier and less liquid, but can also reduce the risk that one event or one bad investment will destroy their entire portfolio.' The wealthy and wise spread their assets across different categories to mitigate the risks that can come with having too much exposure to a single investment. Smart diversification can happen across industries (for example, having a portfolio with investments in different sectors) or by including alternative investments such as precious metals, real estate or even fine art. Read Next: Life Insurance Washington likens life insurance to the 'Swiss Army knife of wealth building.' It's a vivid description of the myriad functions that a properly structured life insurance plan can serve. 'If done correctly and structured appropriately, life insurance policies can help fund long-term care needs, allow for tax friendly retirements, and shift wealth from one generation to the next,' he said. He's far from alone in this opinion. Michael Unger, vice president of Investments and Planning at Coral Gables Trust, also praises life insurance for its versatility as an estate-planning tool. 'For high-net-worth families, a well-designed policy can provide immediate liquidity to pay estate taxes, so heirs are not forced to sell assets at an inopportune time,' he said. 'It also delivers a guaranteed, tax-free death benefit, which can be used to equalize inheritances among heirs or fund charitable giving.' Unger adds that, when the policy is owned by an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT), the proceeds are kept outside of the taxable estate — which minimizes tax exposure even further. Proper Estate Planning When wealthy people look to the future, there are many bright and hopeful things they want to see with their families: Weddings. Graduations. Loved ones reaching new stages of success. But they also use estate planning to help ensure that this growth continues even when they're not around to see it in person. As an estate planning attorney and founder of 2-Hour Lifestyle Lawyer, Laura Cowan is very well acquainted with how wealthy families can use a mix of wills and trusts to protect their assets and control how they are passed down. She said that wills leave instructions about what happens to your assets — who inherits what or who takes guardianship of young children. However, the downside of wills is that they usually must go through probate court, which Cowan said, 'can be public, slow and expensive.' She's seen wealthy people use trusts to anticipate pressing issues, like taxes or control over a business. For instance, a wealthy person might place shares of their company in a revocable living trust — which holds assets during your lifetime and gives you control over who manages and inherits them — to keep the business running smoothly even after they've passed away. And, critically, without any involvement from the courts via probate. Another kind of trust that wealthy people often create is the irrevocable trust, which can help protect assets from creditors and reduce estate taxes, but, as its name suggests, once you've set it up, you can't change it. Cowan also cites generation-skipping trusts as a pathway to passing wealth directly to grandchildren, or even later generations, to avoid the family paying estate taxes twice. With a charitable trust, you can support a cause close to your heart while also getting tax benefits. 'For instance, a family might create a charitable remainder trust that pays them income during their lives and leaves the rest to a charity when they die,' she said. Bottom Line The tools wealthy people use to safeguard and share their wealth across generations aren't beyond the reach of people working hard to make their first million. Finding the right resources and learning how to use them wisely is the best first step. The next step? Knowing you don't have to go it alone. 'The wealthiest Americans don't just rely on one tool,' Cowan said. 'They use a mix of trusts, family entities, life insurance, gifting strategies, and charitable funds, all coordinated by a team of advisors, CPAs, insurance agents, and estate planning attorneys. Many of these strategies work just as well for everyday families.'More From GOBankingRates 5 Steps to Take if You Want To Create Generational Wealth I'm a Financial Advisor: My Clients Who Retire Early All Do These 3 Things 4 Things You Should Do if You Want To Retire Early Dave Ramsey: The 3 Worst Mistakes People Make When Trying To Build Wealth This article originally appeared on 3 Tools the Wealthiest Americans Use To Safeguard Their Generational Wealth Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Times
17-07-2025
- Climate
- Times
English Heritage and the National Trust are on the brink — this is why
With the UK struggling on so many fronts right now I'm sure I'm not alone in seeking solace in the beauties of our countryside and the wonders of our historic built environment. If all else fails we still have inspiring landscapes, magnificent coastlines and an array of architectural masterpieces to rival any other nation's. We can surely be confident, can't we, that this heritage of natural and man-made glories will always be available for us and future generations to enjoy? Well, I hate to be the bearer of yet more bad news, but the answer to that assertion is either 'not necessarily' or a blunt 'no', depending on how pessimistic you want me to be. And after the announcements of the past few weeks I'm veering down the unremittingly gloomy route.
Bloomberg
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Ignoring a $7 Trillion Financial Disaster Won't Make It Go Away
If you had the power to prevent not just one Great Depression but two, you probably wouldn't hesitate to use it. But for some (not very mysterious) reason, that's pretty much what we do when we ignore an increasingly hot and violent climate. Two of the biggest myths about climate change are that 1) it's a problem for future generations and 2) trying to alleviate it will hurt economic growth. In fact, climate change is not just a challenge already for those of us lucky enough to be alive today, it's also an economic catastrophe. Ignoring it will be far more costly than fighting it.
Forbes
28-06-2025
- Health
- Forbes
New Study Finds Women And Young People Hit Hardest By Climate Anxiety
A young woman holds a cardboard 'No nature, no future'. (Photo by Alain Pitton/NurPhoto via Getty ... More Images) I never quite believed climate anxiety was real until about a year ago when I spoke to a couple of young people who shared that they were unsure whether they wanted to have children in the future. Their reasoning was simple and complex to shake off: who wants to bring a child into a world of droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events linked to climate change? So, when I read about the finding of the new study published in the Journal of Global Environmental Change that such anxiety particularly impacts women and young people, it stirred my curiosity. Whether one believes in climate anxiety or not, it's hard to deny that more and more young people are experiencing it. Climate anxiety responds to an uncertain future where climate change threatens long-term survival. Just a few days ago, thousands of citizens from Tuvalu—a small island nation in the Pacific facing the risk of drowning due to rising sea levels—applied for a climate-linked visa ballot to move to Australia, showcasing just how real the situation is. The reality of climate anxiety is strongly supported by academic research. The new study released this week by psychologists is not the first to report investigating the impact of climate-related anxiety. There have been many more in the past, covering many countries. For example, a survey of over 4,000 students in Germany earlier this month found that more than 40% experienced high or extreme levels of climate anxiety. Another study by Yale University found that about 64% of respondents in the US were worried about climate change. However, the new research stands out—it is the first meta-analysis, combining results from 94 studies involving 170,747 adults across 27 countries. It also underscores that women and young people are especially likely to experience climate anxiety. These studies on climate anxiety raise a key question: What are we doing about this? The growing evidence suggests the urgent need to consider the mental health aspects of climate adaptation alongside the other dimensions. They also highlight that the mental health impacts of climate change deserve to be integrated into climate and health planning more holistically. Why Addressing Climate Anxiety Is Essential to Climate Adaptation Climate adaptation isn't just about helping biodiversity and ecosystems adjust to rising temperatures, protecting jobs, housing, or migration from low-lying areas. It also means offering psychological support for people suffering from climate anxiety—whether caused by economic losses, displacement, or anxiety about the future. The American Psychological Association recommends building psychologists' capacity to help individuals cope with and adapt to climate change as a key part of its action plan for psychologists. This recommendation is critical as the number of physiologists dealing with patients who have expressed these concerns is not tiny anymore. One survey from Germany shows that 72% of psychotherapists reported having patients who raised concerns about climate change during treatment, as evidenced by a nationwide survey of 573 professionals. Breaking The Silos Between Climate And Health The intersection of climate and health—both physical and mental—is still underexplored. Understanding the climate-health nexus means examining how climate change affects health and how health systems can support climate action. This integrated understanding of climate and health calls for sustainability professionals to pay closer attention to health outcomes and for health professionals to respond to the growing pressures that climate change places on healthcare systems. The US National Academy of Medicine has begun advancing this conversation. It has started convening climate and health professionals to co-develop a roadmap for transformative action toward achieving health for all at net zero emissions. Where Do We Go From Here? It is not surprising that young people are at the forefront of climate anxiety—they are the ones who will face the long-term consequences of today's decisions. Here are two keyways forward: Managing climate action is not just about managing natural or economic resources. It's also about safeguarding people's well-being. With 1.8 billion young people under 25 in the world now, climate anxiety cannot be ignored in strategies to cope with a future of living with climate change.
