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EQUITY & DEBT CAPITAL MARKETS Global Macro Observations By Neal Berger INVESTING 10
Chart: As for stocks, the market is exhibiting classic bear market activity. Bear markets tend to fall precipitously and then plateau and chop around sideways until there is general exhaustion and apathy amongst short sellers at which point the market resumes it’s next leg lower. It is telling that both stocks and bonds failed to move lower on the higher than anticipated June CPI and PPI numbers. Price action dictates that we are in the midst of a countertrend rally which can be vicious as shorts are forced to cover. The current stability of bonds is reinforcing the notion that inflation is softening anecdotally and the economy is weakening to a point where Central Banks may not need to be as aggressive in hiking rates to quell inflation. I believe this notion is fallacious. Even
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On a longer term basis, the overall direction of risk assets will be heavily influenced by Central Banks’ posture toward liquidity. This has been true during the bull market when central banks injected unprecedented amounts of liquidity into the system. In an effort to dampen inflationary pressures across the globe, central banks must extract liquidity from the system and markets will follow downward. It is more than coincidence that equities, bonds, cryptos, NFTs, SPACs, private company valuations, etc. are all down markedly at the same time. Different stripes of the same liquidity fueled Zebra. Investors can have risk adjusted returns by seeking to capture what I believe is a multiyear re-pricing of risk assets to the downside. We seek to make as much as possible during market declines (defined as global equity and bond markets) and, seek to avoid material losses during inevitable periods of market rally.
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The US Central Bank raised interest rates by 75 bps on July 27th as expected. This takes the Fed Funds target range up to 2.25%-2.50%. Powell has guIded the markets to expect further interest rate increases in the meeting(s) ahead including the Sept. 20-21 meeting. The question is whether the Fed will hike 50 bps or 75 bps at this meeting. Either way, the Fed Funds rate will be approximately 3% by end of September, 2022. With a 3%+ Fed Funds rate likely over the near term, the US interest rate curve is very expensive (meaning yields are too low) at below 3% all the way out to 30-year bonds. When considered in the context of the recent 9%+ annual inflation print, the yields are outright wackadoodle. Bond yields across the curve and across the globe are very likely to rise steadily and appreciably ahead. While the magnitude of the move is yet to be determined, we are at yield levels relative to inflation where I comfortably believe the rise in market interest rates will be measured in the 100s of basis points. The fundamental combination of rising overnight interest rates coupled with global inflationary pressures far steeper and longer lasting than anticipated, point to further sharp declines in bond prices. Make no mistake, we are in a bear market for bonds. One needn’t be a technical analysis genius to observe that the trend in bond yields is higher despite the current brief pause we are experiencing over the past couple of weeks. Investors should take the chance to unload yield sensitive securities while the getting is good.
further moderate rate hikes and a slowing of inflation make 5-year yields under 3% and 10 -year notes at 2.62% look absurd. The markets are still awash in central bank provided liquidity and we’re merely at the beginning stages of the reversal of excess liquidity. Stocks are in a bear market, the trend is lower, the phenomena is global and investors should take this chance to exit risk assets. More likely, investors will attempt to buy this dip and provide fuel for the next selloff after this current respite.
INVESTING 12
The majority of Mendoza’s portfolio companies (80%) are helmed by CEOs from diverse backgrounds, often yielding investors astounding 10-20x returns—by comparison, only 2% of venture capital funding ever goes to minority communities.
How ADRIAN & MENDOZASENOFER
Mendoza Ventures started as our own family office with only our money as a small pilot fund because we wanted
What is the role Mendoza Ventures is playing? There are so few women and Latinos in FinTech, AI or cybersecurity, that they usually find us due to our track record. We now have 15 portfolio companies that we’ve funded. For us, we’ve always equated diversity with performance and our Fund I will be a top decile fund, because of diversity. Our performance record demonstrates this. Our first acquisition was two Latino founders that returned a 10x back to us in five months. Our second diverse lead company is a 120-person team with a female founder and roughly 50% women that’s returning 22x back to us. These diverse founders aren’t just performing, they’re overperforming.
Leaned Into Diversity For Astronomical Returns
Mendoza Ventures Success Stories
When Adrian and Senofer Mendoza launched their Family Office in 2016, a giant question mark hung over the risk. In the aftermath of the 2008 Financial Crisis, when the Dow was plunging 800 points a day, the pilot fund chartered by two former tech founders in Boston seemed like a longshot. By Davis Oliver But the couple assessed the landscape and recognized an opportunity to create something meaningful: an investment vehicle for diverse founders that delivered astronomical returns for participants. Fast forward to 2022, Mendoza Ventures has emerged as one of the leading funds specializing in cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, and FinTech, selecting startups which use these tools to support historically underrepresented communities. They have proven you can do well by communities and get venture style returns.
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Impact Wealth caught up with the Bostonbased power couple to discuss why investing in diversity is a must, for both the bottom line and a better world.
Financial juggernauts have noticed Mendoza’s playbook: Bank of America is anchoring the company’s third fund, a $100 million fintech and cybersecurity fund, and sought Adrian and Senofer’s counsel on how to better incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (ESG) into their investing practices and getting diverse led fintechs into their ecosystem.
The LatinX led cybersecurity platform GoodDogLabs returned 10X in 5 months after an aquisition; the female-led design software Canvas GFX which has over $3M in revenue; and the fintech Listo which offers financial products to underserved communities. All have an angle which benefits marginalized angles, from Listo’s ability to build credit scores, to AI companies utilizing algorithms that do not factor in customers’ zip codes, and access to financial products using fintech as bridge to underrepresented communities.
One of the things that we see from the venture side, is that when money's made in venture, all of that capital gets recycled. If it goes back into other funds, it becomes philanthropy, it starts new businesses. For us, it's about participating in the wealth creation process, not just for diverse founders, but also for diverse investors. We have a parallel $10 million fund to allow investors of color to come in at smaller minimums alongside Bank of America. What has been your most successful investment? I think the 10x in five months was pretty successful. These were Latino founders and we had the ability to transform their lives. It showed that what we do in venture works. They needed an investor to come in who was savvy on how M&A works and how you can work with clients to develop the product. Tell us about this new fund that you have that you're raising capital for? We are raising $100 million which is similar to what we did before, but now on a bigger scale to the series A to C. We've seen in the last couple of years, a generation of diverse and female founders, who are finding a new generation of seed investors. Most diverse lead funds are sub $40 million. We are one of the first Latinx and female lead funds, that's now breaking the $100 million ceiling. We've lined up the first four investments and we are growing our team and just opened an office in San Francisco. Also one of our CPAs actually validated a program called QSBS, which allows us to exclude up to $10 million of capital gains for each investment. Not only will investors make money investing in a diverse lead fund that's invested in diverse founders that's affecting diverse communities, but they'll get a tax benefit at the end of it. Where do you see the biggest growth in tech? We look at three verticals, AI, FinTech and cybersecurity which work together. We have cybersecurity AI companies that are working with FinTech. One of our companies, Senso.ai, is an AI company that's actually helping predict when customers start wanting to find a new mortgage. Their AI algorithms look at the purchasing power of a home and the pre-approval of credit without any bias, and that's what they're selling to the banks. There hasn't been enough real world application in this space in ways that actually benefit users. We've got companies that are helping build credit scores for the Latino market and companies that are closing the wealth gap for underrepresented communities and millennials. We're really creating a massive impact with these founders that grow these companies because of the expertise that we have. For us, it's participatingaboutinthe wealth creation process, not just for diverse founders, but also for diverse investors. We have a parallel $10 million fund to allow investors of color to come in at smaller minimums alongside Bank of America. Adrian and Senofer Mendoza
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On a Mission to End Economic Inequality for Investors of Hillary Latos
INVESTING 16
CJ FOLLINI Founder
Noyack Capital By
18 care, medical office buildings, long term acute care centers, hospital land and life sciences. We have some of the largest portfolios of Life Science properties in the private family office realm. These are very deep networks for us. We are also investing in a tokenized portfolio of investment grade fine art starting with a $5 million portfolio seeded by us.
INVESTING
How do you think that the regulatory and compliance factors will impact your fund and your investment decisions?
What are the main differences between this strategy and what you did before? I'm now investing for 1000s of people instead of nine. Since I gained 23% IRR in a variety of strategies with a very low risk profile over 30 plus years, I think more people should benefit from that skill and track record.
I know that the old ways of family office co investing are dead or are soon to be. What you're seeing is a utilization of the 1933 Investment Act updated with the 2012 Jobs Act. But when you spread risk around a larger base, it is easier to take risks. If you spread risk amongst three families, you don't take risks and you pass on deals or you don't see the benefits of them. Being part of that small group as I was for a very long time will not succeed in the future in my opinion. I strongly believe that family offices must decide what it is they can tolerate in terms of the legal construction, Regulation D is a wide audience of SEC compliant instruments. Regulation A is even a wider audience of non-accredited investors. What we're doing is joining these two circles in a co-investment at the asset level. The power of the many over the risk of the few. That is the essence of our strategy. You are betting big on supply chain investments. Supply chains are a simple bet. Ecommerce, which requires an enormous amount of sup ply chain per capita, is growing at a pace far, exponentially larger than the growth of supply chain assets and they're going to require more than what is currently being made. And where are you getting your deal flow? It’s networks upon networks, because we are pretty targeted in our assets strategy. I know every single commercial real estate broker, around 500, that does supply chain assets in this country, and I know them very well. I also know almost every family office that invests in supply chain assets in this country, I know what they have, how long they’ve owned them, which family member is suing whom, I know what their pain points are and plans for the future. I can identify the opportuni ties. That's where deal flow comes from these circles. Another network circle is develop ers, they have their own pain points, goals, and things that they need, and I know the 20 to 30 of the largest developers in each of the supply chain asset classes. I say to them, you're going to need capital in the next two or three years, you should come talk to us first with advantageous deals, not public retail. If you want to talk privately about something, we can help you proactively.
How will your investment strategy create impact?
I think people's lives can be changed by mak ing investments accessible that put the inves tor first. Phase two would be to co invest with non-accredited investors, and then the impact of the accessibility to be successful in private investments becomes enormous and that impact is flowing from the accredited investor family offices. They're helping others and not only are they being impacted, but they're now creating and transferring impact. This is a very engaging future that I want to be part of. Every family foundation exists to create impact. I believe the greatest impact is diminishing economic inequality, not by redistribution. I don't believe in redistribution, but I do believe it offers an opportunity for all people to take advantage. If family offices and larger investors have access to this oppor tunity, they can share that opportunity, not by diminishing theirs, but by offering more that is the greatest impact on this planet, and I believe probably dwarfs all other all other discriminatory impacts that can be addressed. Blackstone was quoted as saying the $1 mil lion and up below institutional investor is now a $79 trillion, not billion, potential impact. Im agine if that 79 trillion could offer some of that opportunity to $5,000 and up, what would that market be? That's almost incalculable.
“Advisory Bank” with decades of experience, Norton Advisory, Member of PH Robb Legacy Alliance is boutique insurance consulting firm with strong emphasis in estate planning and tax mitigation. We collaborate with financial, tax and legal advisors of ultra-high net worth families, their businesses, and Family Offices in order to critically evaluate, develop and administer high-impact insurance and estate planning solutions. For more information contact me at Irene linkedin.com/in/irene-norton-a9713115b@Nortonadvisorygroup.comorcall(212)574-7943 SolutionsCreative for a Shared Vision •
20 Renowned algorithm developer, and IW contributor Michael Markowski, has used his proprietary method to forecast the S&P 500’s significant crashes for over a decade. He utilized one of his algorithms to predict the collapses of the US' five largest brokers including Lehman, Bear Stearns, and Merrill Lynch in a September 2007 Equities Magazine article. In a September 2018, Fox Business interview Mr. Markowski emphatically predicted the violent Q4 2018 correction and the precise 34% decline of the 2020 correction. He is the director of strategies for AlphaTack.com a developer of strategies to grow assets against the wind, and is also the director of research for DynastyWealth.com. Mr. Markowski has developed numerous high-performance algorithms since entering the capital markets with Merrill Lynch in 1977. He is an experienced analyst, portfolio manager, and underwriter of IPOs and an expert on market sentiment, secular markets, and identifying stocks with 10X upside potential. His updated forecast for the month of August 2022 S&P bottom is 943.39. At this bottom the S&P will have declined by 80.42% from its January 4, 2020 all-time high of 4818.62. The table below contains all of Mr. Markowski’s S&P 500 forecasted bottoms and percentage-declines for the first seven months of 2022 that range from 78.10% to 81.72%. ImpactWealth.org has published Mr. Markowski’s monthly updates, until the S&P 500’s real dividend yield (DivY) goes from negative to positive. The S&P 500 bottom and percentage decline forecasts are calculated from the S&P 500’s monthly DivY. The DivY is computed by subtracting the monthly change in the Consumer Price Index, i.e., the inflation rate, from the S&P 500’s nominal yield. The table below depicts how the Div/Y was computed for the first seven months of 2022. The DivY has been negative since February 2021. S&P 500 Real Dividend Yields Projected Low & % Decline from High to Low Month Real Dividend Yield S&P 500 Low Target % Decline from 1/4/2022 High 07/2022 −6.89% 943.39 –80.40% 06/2022 –7.38% 880.75 –81.72% 05/2022 –7.03% 924.60 –80.82% 04/2022 –6.73% 965.82 –79.95% 03/2022 –7.11% 914.02 –81.03% 02/2022 –6.43% 1010.86 –79.02% 01/2022 –6.17% 1053.48 –78.10% S&P 500 Real Div/Y Computations & Inflation 2022 Month NominalYield (CPI−Inflation%Change) =Div/Real 07/2022 1.61% 8.50% −6.89% 06/2022 1.72% 9.10% −7.38% 05/2022 1.57% 8.60% −7.03% 04/2022 1.57% 8.30% −6.73% 03/2022 1.39% 8.50% −7.11% 02/2022 1.44% 7.87% −6.43% 01/2022 1.39% 7.48% −6.17% NR = Not Reported until 8/10/2022 NC = Not Calculable until CPI % Change is Reported Mr. Markowski is also forecasting the S&P 500 to bottom and the U.S. to enter into its Third Great Depression in 2023. This prediction is based on the high correlation between the S&P 500’s real (inflation adjusted) dividend yield status (positive or negative) and performance of the index. When the dividend yield was negative, the S&P 500 underperformed and was crash-prone vs. when the dividend yield was positive the S&P 500 had its best performances. alphatack.com/michael-markowski/ Markowski Forecasts S&P to Bottom at 943.39 A DECLINE OF 80.40% FROM 4818.62 PEAK By Paul Langemann, Economist, BullNBears.com INVESTING
Markowski's 2007 Prediction for Collapse of five largest Wall Street Brokers " "
By Hillary Latos
From the young age of 19, Joe Williams was destined to work in real estate and through a legal loophole became one of the youngest real estate agents in the state of Texas. The rest shall we say is history… In 1983 he established Keller Williams Realty with Gary Keller in a single office in Austin which has grown to become the world’s largest privately owned real estate franchise now operating with over 200,000+ residential agents and 2,500 commercial associates in over 54 countries. Considered by many to be the “Southwest Airlines” of the real estate brokerage industry, Keller Williams is the top volume and transaction producer in the USA with over $1.5 Billion in profit sharing over and above the commissions paid to their agent partners and has earned a reputation as a top training organization and profitable franchise operator.
With 45 years of experience as an agent, broker, builder, developer and fund manager Williams can detect the next explosive growth in real estate drawing on his vast wealth of knowledge and historical experience riding the ebbs and flows of market cycles. “It’s one thing to have fun becoming #1, it’s a whole other thing to be able to remain there. We’ve done that for close to 38 years now,” Williams asserts. Recounting his fascinating journey, Joe Williams speaks to Impact Wealth about building a company from scratch, surviving two major downturns, disrupting the industry, and how the post pandemic workplace is creating new markets with impressive growth opportunities for real estate investors. I understand you had an interesting start to your real estate career at a very early age? It started when I was 19 years old, and I fell in love with the idea of sales. I’m a people person at heart. I'd been working retail for three years throughout high school and one of our best customers was a real estate broker. One day, I asked him specifically about the real estate business. He invited me to come by his office on a Saturday morning so we could discuss it as he knew me well. It sounded like something I'd really like to do so he started filling out the state application. But, we both found a catch! Turns out, in Texas you had to be 21 to get licensed! However, a quick call to a fraternity brother revealed a quirk in the law! You see, I’d lost
JOE WILLIAMS
Shares His Secrets for Success and the Next Big Real Estate Boom
22
Joe surveys one of their many developments in and around Central Texas amid a booming technology market
PROFILE
A rendering of the new Single Family Rental [SFR] type communities springing up all over America where renters all have plenty of ground space to enjoy along with private yards
23 my dad at 10 years old, but the state had a helpful provision that in this case, a surviving spouse’s oldest son could hold contractual majority at the age of 19, thus I became one of the youngest licensed agents in Texas! I immediately dove into selling houses as a sophomore while at junior college and then transferred to The University of Texas in Austin in 1974 as they had a real estate program they’d just installed at their business school! I’m a very lucky guy as I’ve lived in Austin ever since! As one of the largest real estate franchises on the planet, did you ever think this was going to happen when you opened in 1983? We started as a two-man shop and all we were trying to do at the time was just to come up with a better ‘ “mousetrap”. But in 1986 to 1990 the oil market crashed, and oil dropped to $8.50 a barrel which precipitated the S&L implosion. When that happened, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Colorado just literally got flushed down the toilet. We lost all but two banks in Austin, swallowed up by the FDIC and tons of empty RE you couldn’t give away. All the builders were taking bankruptcy and the government formed the Resolution Trust Corporation [RTC] and started auctioning off all the bank assets for two years. Even the old timers had never seen anything this bad since the depression.” The local board of Realtors dropped from 6,200 to 2,700 agents! There were no buyers and tons of inventory. It was surreal in many ways. This made us reevaluate how brokers and agents work together and ended up totally rewriting the rules of how RE Brokers and agents can work together by changing four fundamental ideas about the brokerage business. It wasn’t an overnight fix but by 1989 we franchised our first office and then slowly started to gain momentum. KW hit its stride in the early 2000’s with the classic “hockey stick” growth curve. During the 2007 – 2011 Great Recession Keller Williams was the only major RE Franchise to post positive growth!
Lately, we've taken this culture around the world. For many real estate agents in foreign lands, this is a very new approach creating a caring and sharing culture initiated by their RE broker. We want to empower them to think like “owners” and they don’t normally hear that from their foreign bosses! They travel to our educational events and we are almost embarrassed at the joy they share with us about such a new way of advancing their lives. And that’s a key ingredient, looking out for their welfare and their futures. It’s all about creating opportunity for them and
What do you attribute your success and growth to? Our whole philosophy was to teach our agent partners how to become the brand, not the corporate office. We teach them how to run their teams, give them very high commission programs and awesome support all wrapped into a culture of nurturing, learning and sharing that has truly become the secret sauce to our success. We had to teach the agents to think like “business owners”, which they actually are! Once they bought into that, you can truly develop a culture of sharing and caring. People may come to work for you because of the money or commission, but they stay for the culture you nourish. Agents are the ones who have the customers, not us, and we wanted to help them develop their businesses to own an incredible relationship with their clients.
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THE ULTIMATE PLAN B A Second Residency or Citizenship is the New ‘Must Have’ for the Wealthy Elite
Gaining a second residency or citizenship is arguably the most effective way to safeguard your freedom, wealth and family’s future. After a wakeup call in 2020, we saw that having additional options provides you with the peace of mind to maintain your mobility in times of crisis or a pandemic. There are three types of program options: residency by investment, citizenship by investment or tax residency. Depending on your individual needs and goals, Latitude has a team of experts in investment migration, based in over 20 countries worldwide including the USA, who can provide a bespoke solution and a seamless experience to obtain a second residency or citizenship. By Hillary Latos St Lucia
PROFILE
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On the flip side, the American passport was always a very strong passport to travel with but during COVID many countries banned Americans from travelling. But if you had, for example, citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis, which is only 50,000 people and is one of the smallest countries in the Western Hemisphere, you could go to 157 countries visa free. Americans who had this second passport from St. Kitts were able to travel freely to the UK, Europe and Asia.
CW: For Americans, Portugal has been very popular. The lowest investment level for residency is 280,000 Euros and you only have to spend seven days per year in Portugal. After five years and once you’ve learned some basic Portuguese, you can apply to become a natu ralized citizen of Portugal. Most people can easily handle a week-long holiday in Portugal for five years. As soon as you are granted a Portuguese passport, you will receive ac cess, settlement rights and European Union status. A Portuguese citizen has the freedom to live, work, study or retire in any of the EU member states. For succession planning, your children will have a full EU passport which is a significant advantage to US citizens. Portugal
Christopher Willis, Latitude’s Managing Director of Government Advisory and Program Delivery, has been helping peo ple immigrate and settle for 27 years, and he shares his insights on why a secondary residency and passport has become the new ‘must have’ tool for the wealthy elite.
The Latitude Advantage With 22 offices around the world, and a six-member Executive Team with a com bined industry experience of over 100 years, Latitude’s private client advisors are licensed in each of the jurisdictions that they operate in and can provide expert and comprehensive guidance to their clients from their departure country to their final destination country. With expertise in local immigration laws, customs, languages, and jurisdictions they can identify the programs that best suit their needs. We also advise governments to help them either refine their existing program or we build it from scratch.
IW: What is the fastest sec ond passport to obtain?
IW: What are the most popular programs that Americans are applying for?
CW: The quickest second passport to obtain is from one of the Caribbean programs which can take as little as three months. In St. Kitts and Nevis, they offer an accelerated applica tion process where you spend an additional $25,000 to prioritize your file, and can get a second passport in 60 days, assuming there's no due diligence issues. Prior to the pandemic most applicants for the Caribbean came from countries that had a very weak passport to travel on such as Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan, Venezuela, and South Africa. By making an investment in the Caribbean, you will receive economic citizenship, and can travel to Europe visa free without tying up your passport at an embassy. The more options you have the bet ter off you are going to be and the advantages of having another travel document is priceless.
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CW: In the Caribbean, you can make a donation to a National Fund which the government uses to fund certain projects. In exchange for that investment, and sub ject to due diligence checks, you receive your economic citizenship, which is the quickest and easiest way to do it. This is extremely popular with American clients. You can also qualify via a real estate pur chase. Family offices that want to diver sify their portfolio will buy property in the Caribbean instead of in the US and get the double benefit of an economic citizen ship as well. St. Lucia is the only country that has a bond option, where you pay into a government back bond with a zero 0% return and you get it back after five years.
IW: Are there any fast tracks to ob taining European citizenship?
CW: The only Citizenship by Investment program available in Europe is offered by Malta, which is very popular and the gold standard in the industry due to their high due
Many of our clients have moved forward with a combination of a Caribbean and European passport program. The lowest investment amount in the Caribbean is $100,000, which is very reasonable for our UHNW clients. Geographically, it is very close to the US and people are familiar with it. During the pandemic, you couldn’t travel there unless you were a citizen. In certain instances, some of our more private clients don’t want to travel under an American passport and a second passport allows them to travel incognito. Having a second passport also provides a non-traditional insurance policy in case things change very quickly and those who hold one can relocate at a moment’s notice. It is becoming more of a ‘must have’ for the wealthy elite. It’s not about what watch you’re wearing or what car you’re driving, it’s about what passports are in your pocket. Having these options will enhance your freedoms and ensure you have mobility options, if needed.
Christopher Willis Malta
PROFILE
IW: What are the advantages of choos ing citizenship by real estate invest ment vs. direct investment?
When we first meet with a client, we listen to their needs, goals, and motivations to better understand their individual profile and then proceed to advise them on their best residency or citizenship options based on their personal needs, timeline, and budget.
Christopher Willis RCIC, IMCM St Kitts & Nevis
31 diligence level. The Malta program allows for the granting of citizenship to individuals and their families who contribute to the social and economic development of the country. While the program starts from just under 1 million Euros the overall timeline is approximately 15 to 18 months. The Malta passport affords visa-free travel to over 180 countries and the right to live and work in any other EU country.
IW: How do you work with your clients?
Once onboarded, we handhold the cli ent through every step of the application process from start to finish and beyond.
He has been educated in the United Kingdom and Canada and has owned and managed immigration firms in London, Montreal and the Caribbean. He is fluent in English and French and is involved in fund raising for philanthropic causes We have a large, dedicated team handling all the paperwork and ensuring the client is in constant contact about the status of their application until they receive their new second residency or passport. It’s the usual adage, it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. In some ways, a second passport or residency is like a life insurance policy. You hope you never have to use it but should the need ever arise, you will certainly be glad you had the foresight to obtain one and help protect those who are most important in your life.
CW: When we first meet with a client, we listen to their needs, goals, and motivations to better understand their individual profile and then proceed to advise them on their best residency or citizenship options based on their personal needs, timeline, and budget. We focus on countries that have very clear and predictable pathways to get a citizenship or residency. We will also do a comprehensive initial due diligence screening to ensure our clients have a high chance for a successful application, which saves them both time and money.
Christopher Willis is the Managing Director of Latitude Consultancy and is responsible for Government Ad visory services and Programme Delivery. He has been involved in the immigration industry since 1995 and is a member of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), the Canadian As sociation of Professional Immigration Consultants (CAPIC) and the Investment Migration Council (IMC). He sits on the Board of the CAPIC Quebec chapter as well as the National lobbying committee. His office is the Regional Representative Office (RRO) for the Investment Migration Council in the Caribbean.
32 PROFILE
Impact One Founder and CEO Mikolaj Sekutowicz seeks to cut through the general confusion and skepticism surrounding the 3-letter acronym that has come to define sustainable investments, ESGs. While having guidelines for impact investments are important, Mikolaj invites those concerned with the topic to reduce the concept down its simplest building block for creating a more sustainable future on this planet: wellbeing. By Hollie McKay
IMPACT ONE Making an Impact: Investing in the Future Wellbeing Infrastructure
34 emissions emitted by the construction and use of the building; but we actually need to think about how our built environments impact our health and that of our ecosystems
Mikolaj Sekutowicz
PROFILE
To address the breadth of problems that have brought about environmental and social crises globally, Mikolaj founded the One Health Research Centre (OHRC) to establish the interdependency between human and environmental wellbeing. The research center operates jointly with the involvement of the University of Greifswald and the German Insti tute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobil ity (IKEM), and is dedicated to establishing the necessary data and expertise for an evidencebased redefinition of the legal code and pric ing of buildings, to minimalize and internalize the construction industry’s impact on human and environmental health. The OHRC pre sented its first results on the topic at COP26 in collaboration with the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research as a policy paper titled “From Building to Growing Cities”. Mikolaj explains that with poor air and water quality and a lack of sun exposure in congested cities, the medical sector will only crumble under the weight of disease and demand. With the input of the One Health Research Centre’s findings, Impact One hopes to provide some perspec tive and equilibrium to that grim reality as it endeavors to create the world’s most advanced sustainable buildings, fusing the latest cutting-edge technologies, bringing together hundreds of companies, both in local markets and from around the world. Impact One’s approach also centers largely around culture: “The cultures in which we immerse ourselves shape our mindsets and values and have guided how we interact with the world around us. If we are committed to social transformation and a greener future, we also need to work towards reshaping individuals’ behavior, consumption pat terns and interactions with their physical environments,” Mikolaj details. “Culture Seeing nature as a solution can help tackle multiple challenges simultaneously, like alleviating poverty and crime, human health, and climate change. Infrastructure and the built environment are critical entry points for cultivating nature-positive and wellbeing-centered cities.
“The problem with our cities today is that we are completely removed from nature, our natural environment that our bodies became accustomed to over millions of years of evolu tion,” he says, pointing out that the COVID-19 pandemic serves as a good example of how the virus spread much more violently through large cities at the onset. “The fact that we have created cities where we live 90 percent of the time indoors and our skin doesn’t have enough sunlight exposure to produce all the necessary vitamin D, the hormone that regu lates our cell functions including our immune system, caused the severity of the pandemic.”
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HEALTH & WELLNESS
Remarkably Abdulla was able to recover within a year and heal from the devastation caused by his stroke, so he decided to help others and founded the Omere Institute. This organization creates individualized programs for patients that include top world class athletes, royals and other high net worth families. Abdullah is now at 41 years; how ever, he is biologically five years younger, and the advancements made by his institute have transformed his life, professionally and physically, and ameliorated his personal relationships with himself and others. His program treats the whole person and addresses the individual’s goals through holistic and technological treatments. The highly sophisticated program has two paths, Omere Health and Omere Youth. The program treats people of all ages with varied medical concerns across the spectrum of mental and physical needs. Their treatments have been successful at treating life threatening illnesses when traditional Western medicine has failed. Omere Youth specifically focuses on preven tion, strengthening health, enhancing mental clarity and wellbeing, breaking barriers, and challenges, improving lives by reversing one’s biological age. And it doesn’t stop there, the Omere Institute addresses the sensitive challenge of fertility in men and women.
Dubai Billionaire finds secret to HEALTH, YOUTH AND AGE REVERSAL
Please tell us more about your background and what you are currently doing.
I am a 41 year old father of four. I have been working for my family for 15 years as the CEO. Over the past two years my role has changed, I am now on the Board of Direc tors and Director of the Advisory Board. I was groomed since childhood to one day take over the family business. It is an excel lent career however it has its stressors.
Abdulla’s mission is to bring the program that has successfully changed his life to the world. He wants everyone to live a full and satisfying life. Abdulla shared his fascinating journey from near death to rebirth and his life’s mission to help others around the globe.
The Journey to unlocking human potential by applying humanized solutions and the science of tomorrow.
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By Mosaka Williamson and Yvonne Beri Billionaire Abdulla Fareed Al Gurg comes from a family with humble beginnings. His grandfather began his career as a postal worker and through determination, tenacity, and a strong business acumen he was able to build the family business from the ground up. What began as from a small office over 60 years ago is now the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group (ESAG) which is spread across the UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. Abdulla was poised to take over the family business, and he adopted a fast-paced jet set lifestyle traveling between Dubai and London and built the company’s real estate portfolio from the ground up to its present value at over $2 billion. However, he has faced challenges along the way. At age 36 Abdulla suffered a lifethreatening stroke which caused paralysis. He attributed the cause of the stroke to his intense corporate jet setter lifestyle, coupled with the demands of running one of Dubai’s largest family businesses. The paralysis caused by his stroke saw him bound to a wheelchair, with visible signs of active cancer markers, while experiencing hair loss, and depression. The billionaire was presented with the challenge of his life and when traditional Western medicine failed to cure him, he used this near-death experience to reevalu ate his lifestyle and seek out alternative solutions. He has seen himself as “a phoenix rising from the ashes” who took his fate and health into his own hands and discovered what he sees to be the “Fountain of Youth.” His humanized solutions have led him to develop holistic and scientifically advanced treatments to life threatening conditions.
In 2017, I became quite ill. After working in the family business for 15 years my health began to deteriorate, and I reached a point where I eventually had a stroke. I found myself in a wheelchair with one side of my body and face paralyzed. I was told that I had eight cancer biomarkers, and a list of other underlining health issues. My life changed and I saw it
Does the program also reverse cognitive decline? How would you test for that? We do have a number of individuals without something debilitating on a physical level but a psychological level, as we have cases of autism, bipolar disorder, and psychosis. These are cases that our team has man aged to help individuals with and reverse them. With our patented technologies, we can test and provide treatments. How does the Omère program addresses fertility?
The Omere Institute has had a lot of success in fertility. There have been those who have been trying to conceive for years, who were successful within six months of doing the program, and all naturally, which is extremely important.
The program consists of three parts, the Diagnostics, the Clinic and the University. The diagnostics can be done wherever the individual is based. It starts with a team that will come to you to perform your diagnostics. This is followed by the clinical phase, which is seasonal. If an individual is on a 12-month program they have 28 days of physical hand on treatments. During the seven-day period of the seasonal treatments, the individual has all their organs worked on. All the treatments are noninvasive and non-intrusive, and they're very delicate and bespoke treatments. For each treatment, there is a recovery phase. Each of our organs have different efficien cies at different times of the day. During those seven days you will have a specialist with you, who will explain everything.
Abdulla Fareed Al Gurg
How do you verify that the biological age has been reversed? Through testing your blood, we can analyze your aging blueprint, your genetics, and he reditary predisposition to illnesses and diseas es and they identify active biomarkers which include cancer markers. We provide quarterly results to our members, but our members can test their age and the aging blueprint with any lab around the world of their choice as well. They see that the results do match. We have labs in Switzerland, Italy, and Germany, and will probably have one in the US when our center is open there as well.
The Omere Institute has had a lot of suc cess in fertility. There have been those who have been trying to conceive for years, who were successful within six months of do ing the program, and all naturally, which is extremely important. We treat both men and women across all different age ranges. How can members participate without going to the clinics?
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Who are your clients? We have leading CEOs, top government of ficials, royalty, famous singers, a top golfer, a Formula One athlete, a tennis player, who are all still playing within their professions and industries, but they want to perform at their peak levels. There is also the younger genera tion coming through, who want to maintain what they are doing as it for is prevention and age reversal, which ultimately then turns into longevity. The healthier and the younger your biological age, the longer you can live a healthier and more productive life.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
THE
AbilitechTM Medical’s Transformative Impact FORWHEELCHAIRTHEARMS
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Angie Conley has spent most of her life around medical devices and innovation — an experience that’s consistently given her purpose and meaning. Growing up as the daughter of a prominent cardiologist, she learned the joy of helping others as she tagged along with her father on grand rounds. Years later, she joined Medtronic and worked on several different cardiovascular products, including pacemakers, defibrillators, heart valves, atherectomy and telemonitoring devices.
By Caroline Singer
Nearly a million people in the United States who live with weak arms are unable to independently perform “Activities of Daily Living.” Some are fortunate to have the help of a family member or a caregiver, rely ing on their help to eat, drink, brush their teeth and more. But there is a shortage of personal care attendants, and the need for ongoing support has forced many people from their homes into nursing homes.
In 2016, Conley was introduced to a 3Dprinted exoskeleton, powered by rubber bands, that helped children with rare medical conditions move their arms, sometimes for the first time ever. Watching the children’s eyes light up - and the tears of joy of their parents - was an incredible and moving ex perience. After studying this particular device and the barriers that prevented patients from wearing it, Conley founded Abilitech Medi cal and set out to build a new solution. Abilitech Medical produces medical de vices that at first glance seem straight out of science fiction — wearable technol ogy that can revolutionize the lives of those who lack full use of their arms.
Abilitech Medical, Inc. is solving this problem with a device patients call the ‘wheelchair for the arms.’ Founder and CEO Angie Conley and her team have built a first-in-class solution she believes will someday become standard of care. “We are able to see an immediate physi cal impact in the first few minutes of trying our device on by helping people eat, drink or open doors, sometimes for the first time in years. And, by helping the individual, We are able to see an immediate physical impact in the first few minutes of trying our device on by helping people eat, drink or open doors, sometimes for the first time in years. And, by helping the individual, we often decrease the caregiver burden and help people engage more fully in their family and community. Angie Conley
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Developed for patients who have weak arms and live with ALS, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis or Spinal Cord Injuries, the Abilitech Assist augments arm function to restore the ability to eat, drink and perform tasks of self-care without direct help from others — literally opening doors to new found independence. In the not-so distant future, Abilitech will introduce its second product and expand its market reach to hundreds of thousands whose lives are af fected by Brachial Plexus Injuries and stroke.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
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Dr. Apa: On a Tuesday night in September, my New York office had a lab fire that absolutely devastated the space. At the time, I was boarding a plane from Dubai to New York, so excited to get home. The news was shocking, and the pictures and videos were a depress ing preview of what was waiting for me upon arrival. This fire was a curveball that funda mentally changed me, but it wasn’t all bad. It brought a renewed feeling of strength and the deepest appreciation for my team, the dental community, and our patients. I already
Dr. Apa: It was always in my head, from the time I was a kid, that I wanted to be a dentist. I couldn’t shake the vision, so I focused on making it happen. In high school, on career day, I shadowed my local dentist and that’s when things got real. He gave me audiotapes of a guy named Larry Rosenthal. He said, “Michael I’m not sure what area of dentistry you’re interested in, but there is something called cosmetic dentistry that is exciting and new. Listen to this guy’s tape; he’s creating the landscape.” Well, I listened to that tape and was hooked. I knew cosmetic dentistry was for me, and more importantly that I had to work for Larry Rosenthal. From there, many things happened, but essentially, I became Larry’s associate, then partner and, ultimately, the practice’s owner. It’s all about having real focus on the things you want in life and tuning out the distractions.
Dr. Apa: A smile makeover is about so much more than just teeth; it's about the way a smile controls the overall appearance of the face. When designing smiles, I am considering each unique facial feature and how those features work together. It's my favorite part of the process and when I feel most creative. I think that holistic approach, combined with the quality of work coming out of my lab, and the patient experience my support staff provide set us apart.
Q: Can you describe a defin ing moment in your career?
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Q: What inspired you to become a dentist, and what happened along the way to solidify that decision?
Q: You’ve built an international practice that attracts heads of state, international royalty, industry leaders and Hollywood stars. What sets Apa Aesthetic apart?
DR. APA Meet the Man Redefining Aesthetic Dentistry and Delivering Bespoke Veneers to the World’s Elite from New York to Dubai. By Hillary Latos
EDDIE SHAPIRO
PHOTOGRAPHY BY UDO SPREITZENBARTH
By having their eye on the global and international market, Nest Seekers took the time to build a strong European base and invested in their own niche and footprint to build a platform that services this community with the utmost trust. Their success lies in creating their market and developing interest in the properties they represent.
By Hillary Latos
Over time Nest Seekers became a creative agency as much as they are a brokerage firm. Shapiro was involved in the first real estate docuseries, Million Dollar Listing, which provided an insight into an industry that revamped and glamorized the role of the real estate broker. He pioneered the brokerage world on the small screen that is now ten years in the making. Harnessing the power of television and this new global platform that reached millions of viewers, Nest Seekers landed some of the most famous and high profile trophy properties in the country as exclusives. Amongst their noteworthy listings were Bel Air’s Casa Encatada- the most expensive property in the country which sold for $225 Million and Cobb Manor which was marketed as the 8th wonder of the world and sold for $150 Million.
Twenty years ago, Eddie Shapiro sought to shake up the real estate industry when he launched Nest Seekers. As a visionary and newcomer to the industry he recognized the nascent internet and television as a marketing tool, while the old guard kept to their traditional methods of advertising in print media. Though many of their competitors in top tier markets such as NY and LA have been around for 200 years, in just two decades Nest Seekers has become a global brokerage powerhouse with over $100 billion in transactions, 1500 agents and employees and 30 offices across the US, Europe and other parts of the world. Nest Seekers also ranks in the top five firms in almost every secondary market it operates in with over $10 billion in active listings and development projects. Recently they have expanded their brokerage capabilities to include yachts, fine art and soon aviation to meet their clients’ needs.
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Recognizing the internet as a powerful tool 20 years ago, Shapiro focused on using search engines and learning the science behind the search phrases, key words, and created backlinks which gave them a powerful edge over competitors and an untapped foothold in an established market. Shapiro remembers, “When social media came in, we jumped on that bandwagon right away when doubters thought it was meaningless nonsense. Just like they dismissed reality TV shows. That’s where we created a niche for ourselves by taking an international and global approach. When you use the internet, social media and television, you're naturally playing in a global landscape and you have exposure at that level, which is how we create our competitive edge.”
Shapiro contends that, “Very few agencies have the tools needed to succeed in the marketing of real estate to this community - you need the proper infrastructure to have success, you need to travel the world with your listing and have relationships in that world that people trust. At the end of the day, what has not changed is the fact that we're in a service business and we're service pro viders, it’s still a relationship and reputation based business.”
What makes Nest Seekers different from the competition?
Brokerage and Media Titan Behind Nest Seekers' Global Expansion
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A display of the visionary’s Tuscan herit age and unparalleled attention to detail and craftsmanship, Kimberly Pucci brings together her distinctive American sensibil ity in collections which include custom ized handbags, travel accessories, décor, and precious jewels. Kimberly Pucci em bodies the Art of Travel and Living. Kimberly Pucci was planning to become a lawyer, but a fateful junior year abroad at the Università degli Studi di Firenze changed everything. "Florence stopped me in my tracks," she recalls. "Everywhere I turned I was
By Caroline Singer inspired, whether it was food, wine, art or just the culture of living la dolce vita." Immedi ately after graduating from the University of Rhode Island, she returned to Florence and immersed herself in every aspect of Renais sance art— and later took a job at Ponte Vecchio, the world's most renowned jewelry destination for almost 500 years and soon she found herself working with everyone from American senators to African kings. Over the next 11 years she learned every aspect of the business, ultimately becoming Retail Director of the store. "What I really loved was sitting with the artisans as they handcraft ed a piece of jewelry," she says. "They would literally show me the entire process: how to select and set gemstones, how to transform the raw materials into a wearable work of art."
STYLE & FASHION
Kimberly Pucci Atelier + Vault, is a bespoke luxury and lifestyle brand for the discerning clientele who seeks uncompromised quality, and the finest craftsmanship Italy has to offer.
The Art of Travel & Living Embodied by KIMBERLY PUCCI
Missing her family back in Rhode Island, Kimberly built a private trunk show business in the US. "I'd fly to Chicago, or Houston, or San Francisco with four million dollars of amazing Italian jewelry in my backpack!" she laughs. "That's really how I became an entrepreneur. Women loved that I could of fer them something unique, one-of-a-kind, that they couldn't get anywhere else."
During this time, Kimberly met her hus band Alessio, a native of Tuscany studying architecture at the Università di Firenze. As her stateside success grew, the couple decided to relocate to Kimberly's native Rhode Island, but still maintain a foothold in Tuscany with their villa in Montespertoli. Kimberly continued to build her career with leading fine jewelers in the New England area, but her entrepreneurial spirit would not be denied. Now, with Kimberly Pucci Atelier and Kimberly Pucci Vault, her artistic sensibility and unparalleled expertise have found their ulti mate expression. "I am living my passion," she says. "Building relationships with my clients, and my artisans, based on uncompromising quality and integrity. It's a dream come true." True luxury allows a woman to wear exactly what she wants, when she wants. It includes her in the creative process. It expresses her individuality. It fits so perfectly with her lifestyle, she'll wear it every day. I love that I can give my clients that freedom, with the very highest level of quality and craftsmanship—and at a value the big luxury houses simply cannot offer. Kimberly Pucci
A photograph, at its essence, is simply a moment in time captured for posterity. Intuitively one responds to certain imagery initially from the perspective of subject matter but also due to the connection the viewer has to an inexplicable alchemy of light and shadow, color and contrast, a sensibility of extraordinary stillness or inspired motion, and a certain knowledge that we are seeing an utterly revised world, compliments of the camera’s lens and the photographer’s eye.
If a picture speaks 1,000 words, Christopher Micaud’s iconic photography would present a novella. Best known for his beauty and fash ion photography, Micaud’s 30-year career is reflected in his editorial and advertising work, commissioned for clients such as Vogue, The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, MAC cosmetics, L’Oréal and Dior. He has an innate ability to make the ordinary special, and the extraordinary breathtaking. His work is equally appealing for both artistic and commercial usages, his imagery leaves a lasting impression on viewers. A highly defined sense of aesthetic in both style and composition is noticeable in his work, and he is sought-after for his timeless innate sense of style and his mastery of lighting. Of Danish and French descent, he spent much of his life in Europe and North Africa. He learned the art of observation from his grand father, an avid amateur photographer. Over long early morning walks he saw how a pho tographer can use light and shadow, composi tion and perspective and transform the threedimensional world into a two-dimensional image. His French father taught him about the history, wonders, and culture of his father’s youth. His mother was an architectural and art historian who shared her deep passion of the world of art and design and was exposed to all the great artists, museums and archi tectural wonders of Europe and the States.
CHRISTOPHERMICAUDByHillaryLatos
Micaud has exhibited at the Festival de Photo in Paris, The L‘Oro exhibition in Milan, Milk Gallery in New York City, 50 Years of Fashion Harper’s Bazaar Australia, Show and book, The Art of Fashion Photography and several other books along with countless maga zines. His advertising campaigns for various luxury brands have been on view around the world in iconic locations such as the larger-than-life billboards in Times Square.
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The Art of Perfection
STYLE & FASHION
STYLE & FASHION 60 Black sequined one piece swimsuit by Andrea Venturoli Satin Cover up by Pareo & Juliet Diamond Jewlery by Christopher Designs Satin sandals by Serena Uziyel
61 PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTOPHER MICAUD STYLING BY ANNA CHU HAIR BY RAFAEL ESTRELLA MAKEUP BY DANIEL PAZOS / CREATIVE MANAGEMENT USING ARMANI BEAUTY DIAMOND JEWELRY BY CHRISTOPHER DESIGNS MANICURIST BELLEROOM BY AV MODELS: ANNA K, ELITE MODELS MIAMI; PATRICIO, NEXT MODELS MIAMI SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE CARILLON MIAMI WELLNESS RESORT
63 Green top by Ndigo Studio Black pants by Kabdul Bag by Tambonita Satin sandals by Serena Uziyel
65 Black sequined one piece swimsuit by Andrea Venturoli Satin Cover up by Pareo & Juliet Diamond Jewlery by Christopher Designs Satin sandals by Serena Uziyel
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Two piece green swimsuit by Kabdul Pink metallic sandals by Juliana Heels Diamond Jewelry by Christopher Designs Shoes by Serena Uziyel
Two piece green swimsuit by Kabdul Diamond Jewlery by Christopher Designs
Black one piece swimsuit by Andrea Venturoli Pink belt by Kabdul Metallic graffiti moto jacket by Kabdul Metallic sandals by Juliana Heels
Sequined wrap dress by Alvin Valley 72
White one piece swimsuit by Andrea Venturoli Diamond Jewelry by Christopher Designs 73
PHOTOGRAPHER: BRANDON WYCHE FASHION DIRECTOR: TANYA TAUTHONG-KASS IG@TANYATAUTHONGKASS ASSITANT STYLIST: BELLA NAPOLI MODEL: DANIELLE HEINKE @ WILHEMINA KEY HAIR & MAKE-UP ARTIST: AVERY GOLSON ASSISTANT HAIR & MAKE-UP ARTIST: NOURAN IBRAHEM SPECIAL THANKS TO RODNEY HALL
76 THEIA MAGENTA DRESS ERICKSON BEAMANLARUICCIFORMEARRINGSGLOVESRINGS
77 HALSTON GREEN JUMPSUIT ERICKSON BEAMANLARUICCINECKLACERINGS
ZELL CHARTREUSE ACCORDIAN PLEAT TOP & SKIRT FORM ERICKSONGLOVESBEAMAN CUFFS
ZELL RED TOP ZELL RED ERICKSONPANTSBEAMAN JEWELRY JIMMY CHOO GOLD SHOES
80 FORM GLOVES KZ_K STUDIO AMBER UTILITY PANT ERICKSON BEAMAN JEWELRY
81 SON JUNG WAN PINK TOP SON JUNG WAN MAXI SKIRT LARUCCI BRACELET ERIKSON BEAMAN JEWELRY
82 Indulging in the Luxury of Wellness while Reversing the Effects of Aging CARILLON MIAMI WELLNESS RESORT By Hillary Latos TRAVEL
Seven of the World’s Most LUXURIOUS HOTELS TO BOOK NOW By Amy Louise Bailey | @amylouise_bailey TRAVEL 84
91 Winston Preparatory School is a leading private school network for students with learning disabilities, including dyslexia, ADHD, and nonverbal learning disorders (NVLD). Winston Prep’s individualized learning model focuses on understanding each student’s learning challenges. Our expert teachers conduct daily in-depth assessments, helping each child advance at a meaningful pace and thrive! Register today for an open house at https://www.winstonprep.edu/admissions for a specific campus. New York | California | Connecticut | New Jersey | Winston Online The Winston Preparatory School does not discriminate against applicants and students on the basis of race, color, or national or ethnic origin. Finding a school for your child with a learning difference is essential.
96 didn't know how we would survive. We made all of our profits at the time in the fourth quar ter, we were going into the slow time of the year, the summer months, when he was hav ing banks call our credit line and vendors call ing, it just didn't look promising at all. He had always been able to figure out how we would be able to pay the bills. But in the spring of 1986, he didn't see how we could. It was a challenging time. He's written about this in his book called More Than a Hobby, where he talks about how he spent a lot of time just crying out to God. As a Christian family, we would pray and ask God to intervene and it felt like God did intervene because 1986 wound up being almost double the most profitable year that we had ever had. He has taught the fam ily that part of the lesson from that particular experience was the idea, the concept that our business isn't ours, we are only stewards of what God has entrusted to us and blessed us with. This is fundamental to the way we oper ate our business. In 1985 everyone was going out of business here in the oil patch, and we easily could have been one of those that would not have been around. But we do be lieve God helped us through that experience.
Please tell us about some of the obsta cles and challenges you have had to face and how you got through them We have had many challenges over time. The most recent one was COVID. We had all of our stores closed early in 2020 and were being shut down state by state. There was a twoweek period where we had all of our stores closed. We didn't know if we would survive with huge leases payable every month and no income coming in, that couldn't last for very long. Many people experienced the same thing and didn't survive COVID. Once we were able to start opening our stores we started doing very well, because our industry was a winner from COVID. We have been experienc ing a significant increase in our sales for the last couple of years which have been very good years. This period was kind of a feast or famine, where we thought we would not be able to survive to having a very good year. Another time we didn't know if we would survive, was when we were being told by the government that we had to provide abortion products to our employees for free under our health plan. This violated our Christian belief that taking a life is wrong. We believe that being a part of the abortion process would be the same as taking life. We had to sue the government which we never imagined doing. We travel frequently overseas and appreciate the freedoms that our government gives us. Our government is not perfect, our nation is not perfect, but it has been a force for good in our world in many cases. Thus, when we were told we had to provide abortion products, we felt like the only option we had was to sue our government. The fine, if we did not provide those products, was $1.2 million a day accord ing to our calculations. It was an evolving law as everybody is familiar with. We are thankful that ultimately our case went to the Supreme Court and we won. Hopefully people will ultimately realize that it was a win for all Americans because it was based on religious freedom. And while it may be what I believe today, it maybe what somebody else believes tomorrow, so it is a win for everyone in our nation. We had three times in our history that we were challenged with our survival – 1985, Covid, and the Supreme Court case, and we were fortunate to get through them all.
PHILANTHROPY
Please tell us about the history of Hobby Lobby philanthropy. In the mid-90s, when I was overseeing a lot of the accounting functions I was curious as to how much we were doing in the way of giving as a company. It was just a part of what we did as Christians. We tithe, or give 10% of our income personally to our church. I wondered if our business was giving a 10th of its income. When it was analyzed we fell short. I thought it would be nice for us to increase our giving. It was during that time, in the mid-90s, when we were introduced to a ministry we were excited about and came up with a five-year plan that would acceler ate our giving in a significant way, to a point giving would give Bible portions in over 100 countries around the world. We grew up in a Christian home, my grandfather on my dad's side was a minister of the gospel, he pastored small churches, and my grandmother, on my mother's side, would serve in youth camps at the church she grew up in. We have had this love for the Bible that has been passed down. We believe the Bible has had a great impact for good in our world and we want to encourage people to consider it and to have a copy of it in their own language. We want them to be inspired by it. That’s why a lot of our giving has focused on the Bible. How are decisions made for your philanthropic giving? Is it a team effort with your family? The capital sits in a donor-advised fund and a Hobby Lobby Giving Committee was set up. It is composed of seven family members who meet once a month to analyze and evaluate opportunities that have been approved. Once something has passed our initial evaluation, we are presented with a one-page summary sheet the committee analyzes and then votes on. Our 3rd generation, my parents’ grandkids, are not part of the decision making how ever they can attend the meeting and observe the process, to see how those decisions are made. The majority of our giving is to a few as we prefer to have more impact and give more to a few rather than give a little too many.
Steve Green
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where dad was concerned the goal couldn’t be met . It was an ambitious five-year plan. We did end up meeting that goal and at the same time we were giving over a tithe of our income. We have continued to acceler ate our giving of Hobby Lobby’s profits with half of the profits today going to charity. What's been the focus of Hobby Lobby's philanthropy? Our philanthropy covers a variety of things. However, a lot of our giving has to do with the Bible, it could be translating the Bible, the Museum of the Bible that we put in DC, or the distribution of Bibles around the world. The first ministry that expanded our We have had this love for the Bible that has been passed down. We believe the Bible has had a great impact for good in our world and we want to encourage people to consider it and to have a copy of it in their own language. We want them to be inspired by it.
How have you engaged your children with the value of that philanthropy and giving?
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PHILANTHROPY
We were somewhat tricked into it, and the reason why I say this is that it wasn't some thing we were planning on doing. My brother opened a Christian bookstore which sells the largest selection of Bibles in the country. He had mentioned from time to time that it'd be neat to open a Bible Museum. This wasn't something that we were actively doing or planning. Then a group of guys that wanted to put a Bible Museum in Dallas asked if we would help them acquire a building for a museum. We were looking for a while, but nothing developed. Then they mentioned an artifact that we could buy at a real good deal. We offered to buy that artifact for their museum which started our collection. As a result of the downturn in our economy in 2008 and 2009, our collection expanded quickly. From a single item that Cambridge's University was selling at a Sotheby’s auction to a whole 10,000 piece collection that belonged to a collector who had been collecting for 30 years. As our collection grew, we simply had a feeling of obligation. We had the resources to get started and a collection that was rolling. Those guys had the expertise, but they had neither the resources nor a collection. This just became our project. Then we started to think what if God did not want the museum in Dallas. I felt the museum needed to be where it would have the most impact. I looked at the largest 10 metros and the other two cities that stood out to me were New York City and Washington, DC. Thus we were looking at all three cities, Dallas, DC, and New York City. We
In addition to being able to observe our monthly meetings, we also have given the 3rd generation consisting of my kids and my brother's kids a small fund to learn about philanthropy. They get together to make giving decisions on their own. They have been able to present what's on their heart and organizations or ministries that they have vetted and are excited about to the larger Giving Committee. In some cases, we've sup ported their initiatives. We have gotten them engaged by letting them observe and by letting them make decisions for themselves. What inspired your family to start Mu seum of the Bible? What are your ex pectations from the museum and how it will influence people and society?
The mission of the museum is to inspire all people to engage with the Bible. If after a few hours in the Museum our visitor leaves and as a result engages with their Bible, we will have accomplished our goal and I believe it will serve our visitor well. This book has blessed our family, it's informed our business and served our nation well. None are perfect, but to the degree each has followed its principles it has served each well. My personal mis sion is to first raise my family to believe and follow the principles that God's given us in His Word because I believe this book is what it claims to be. Secondly I want to encourage as many people as I can to consider it and hope that they would accept and embrace its message of a loving God. It's a gift that's offered to those that accepted that.
99 conducted a survey, and the survey showed it would be best attended in Washington, DC. We focused on DC when the building we are in became available and it was acquired. We bought the facility for $50 million a few blocks from the National Mall and started renova tions in 2015. It was a rapid and exciting journey to our opening in November of 2017. What are some of the highlights of the museum and the most significant artifacts that you have? We look at the Bible in three ways, the Bible's history, its impact, and its narrative. One of the visitor’s favorites is our Thea awardwinning, 30-minute experience, where visitors encounter significant narratives from the Hebrew Bible, including the stories of Noah's ark, the burning bush, and Passover. So it is not an artifact, it is an experience, a walk through, built by designers that build exhibits for Disney. The exhibit has won many awards and prestigious awards for that industry. Our museum has different floors with different exhibits. The narrative floor gives the visitor an idea of the Bible stories. The history floor is where we have more of the artifacts. There are some significant artifacts including some of the oldest portions of the Bible, including a portion of the book of John and the book of Romans. We have a significant codex of the Pentateuch that is one of only five known in the world. There are some significant arti facts, but in my mind the most emotionally significant artifact is a replica of an artifact- the great Isaiah scroll, which is a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The second floor is the impact floor where we show how the Bible has had an impact around the world. And a particu lar item on that floor that I would point out would be a replica of the Gutenberg Press. We have heard Elvis’s bible is popular and shows the influence the bible had on the former King of Rock ‘n Roll. Yes we have Elvis’s bibles on display with his original notes. One of his favorite quotes was, that to judge a man by his worst deed is like judging the ocean by a single wave. So, a lot of his comments were in the Psalms and we have the notes he made in the bible and it clearly had an impact on his life. What's your mission? And how would you like to be remembered? The museum’s goal is to present the facts of the Bible. On the history floor we look back at the oldest evidence for the Bible. The earliest evidence starts with the archeological record. Then we move into the manuscript evidence and on to the print and digital age. We end the history floor by looking into the future, the effort to finish translating the Bible into every language. The impact floor shows how the Bible has had an impact in every area of life. We don’t hide from the fact that some have manipulated this book to justify what they wanted. For example, we had a slave Bible exhibit. A bible printed for slaves where Exodus was taken out. That is the book that tells of the children of Israel being freed from slavery. My argument is don't blame the Bible for man's misuse. When the Bible has been followed as designed, it has been good for mankind in every area of life. The third way we look at the Bible is its narrative. We want people to know what the Bible story is.
NANCY DAVIS on a Mission to Erase MS and Make the World a Better Place
Nancy Davis is a woman on a mission, the Denver born Californian has dedicated her life to her children, husband, and making the world a better place. She is a jewelry and clothing designer, author, and she has spent the past few years dedicating her life to finding a cure for multiple sclerosis and helping those battling drug addiction. In 1991, at age 33, Nancy was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and was facing the battle of her life. She was told by doctors that she would be lucky to retain the ability to merely operate a remote control on her television. However, she realized she was too young and had a lot more to do in her life.
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PHILANTHROPY
By Mosaka Williamson
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In 1993 she founded Race to Erase MS, an organization dedicated to funding innova tive and successful methods of eliminating Multiple Sclerosis and helping others. Her fun draising began with a gala held at an intimate ski getaway weekend in Aspen, Colorado. And since its inception, Race to Erase MS has grown into an annual celebrity benefit that has gained the support of many key individu als in the entertainment and fashion indus tries, and to date, the Race to Erase MS has raised over $50 million for multiple sclerosis research. Her fundraising efforts have made a huge impact on the fight to combat the illness. When Nancy first started her journey, there was no known cure or drugs on the mar ket to treat individuals suffering from multiple sclerosis. Her foundation has funded scientific discoveries and in March of 2017 it was critical in the development of Ocrevus, the fifteenth drug to receive FDA approval. Today there are now 23 FDA approved drugs designed to stop the progression of MS, and there are many more treatments being developed every day.
Nancy’s work has gained the attention of notable people. In 2002 she held the “Race to Erase” Gala with Tommy Hilfiger. As a thank you gift to performers of the event Natalie Cole, Donna Summer and Sela Ward were given necklaces bearing a powerful symbol.
Impact Wealth: Please take us back to the beginning, when your life changed and you knew that things would never be the same.
Nancy Davis
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Nancy Davis: When I was diagnosed with MS there was no known cause, cure, drugs on the market, and there was very little hope for those diagnosed with the illness. I was told by medical professionals “you have an impossible disease, just go home and go to bed.” I couldn’t believe it! I replied “What do you mean go to bed? How long should I do that for a few days? For a week? What's going on?” And they said “Forever, If you're lucky you’re most likely going to be able to operate a remote control for a TV set from now on, and that is it.” I thought “Oh, my God, I'm 33 and this is not exactly what I had planned for my life.” I had three young sons, and I was in the prime of my life, so naturally I was in denial. I didn’t want my children to have to take care of me. I needed a second opinion and I saw many prestigious specialists and they were all doing the same type of research and telling me the same exact thing. I knew that I needed to I knew that I needed to put together the best and the brightest and get them to work as a team, this way I could ensure that there was a group of brilliant people who were able to develop innovative and unique research. I needed a dream team to come up with a cure quickly, this way I could save people’s lives.
Impact Wealth recently sat down with Nancy Davis to discuss her endeav ors with her various organizations and why they are of particular importance to her and encompass her life’s work.
The event was a success and sparked the creation of Peace & Love Jewelry by Nancy Davis. As Chief Designer of Peace and Love, her iconic pieces are worn by the likes of Halle Berry, Brooke Shields, Nicole Richie, Paris and Nicky Hilton, Sharon and Kelly Osborne, and Avril Lavigne, Tommy Hilfiger, Bill Maher, Don Henley and Elton John among others. Another meaningful cause that is dear to Nancy’s heart is Cure Addiction Now (CAN). This organization is dedicated to the un derstanding, treatment and cure of drug addiction. This organization works to remove the stigma of the disease while linking together multidisciplinary scientific and medical expertise to advance the under standing of the causes of addiction. The organization works with medical profession als from Mount Sinai, Harvard, UCLA, Scripps, University of Washington and Johns Hopkins.
Impact Wealth: What do you think caused the blood clot?
Nancy Davis: I'm in the middle of writing my book, which should be out in the next six months called “Just One More Day”. And I hope that will help other people going through grief as I was just so devastated. My son Jason was a screenwriter. When he was 12 years old he was in a movie with Chris Farley called Beverly Hills Ninja. We couldn't believe it when Chris died. My son wrote this amazing script in honor of Chris called “Just One More Day” which was optioned at the time for a TV movie of the week. It was never made but the story was so unique. Writing my book has been very cathartic and thought if I could have him back for one day, how would I spend it? And the book just started writing itself. I would do anything in the world have Jason back for One More Day.
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Nancy Davis: I really believe he was one of the first people with COVID. That particu lar weekend I was away with my daughter skiing in Aspen and my husband was with him and he said he was very sick. He was sick to his stomach. He had a bad cold, and this was around February 16th. Two weeks later, the world shutdown but they were not able to diagnose COVID at that time. I am not 100% sure because they couldn’t diagnose it, but he definitely died of the double pulmonary embolism, and you have to factor in years of drug abuse. Impact Wealth: Besides your charities, what other projects are you working on?
California, you have to get a prescription from a doctor and it costs around $55. In other plac es I've heard they give it away for free. Narcan should be in every house, it should be in every Uber car. My daughter just filmed something with Narcan. It's really important. It's from their point of view, they are devastated that they lost their brother, he was the light of every one's life. He was so funny,so much fun and talented. He died at the beginning of COVID two years ago of a double pulmonary embo lism, which is caused by a blood clot in your leg that goes up to your lungs and cuts your breathing off in the middle of the night. He had been sober for nine months at that point.
PHILANTHROPY
IW: What are some of the biggest accomplish ments you’ve achieved with Victoria’s Voice?
IW: How has your business changed since 2008? What type of lessons did you learn that has led to your success?
IW: Tell us more about your latest docuse ries, “Queen of Versailles Reigns Again”
The original documentary turned out to be going in the wrong direction but things are going really well now. We have a huge hotel and casino in Las Vegas which is the former Hilton, where Elvis Presley sang. Our latest docuseries, “The Queen of Versailles Reigns Again” is number one on Discovery+.
DS: Business is great. I learned not to put all your eggs in one basket. The banks are your best friends in good times and your worst enemy in bad times. But we came through it and we're doing record sales, and we're finishing up Versailles.
DS: We lost our 18 year old daughter to a drug overdose seven years ago and now that's been our primary focus. Not building a house or business but saving lives from drugs. We started Victoria’s Voice which has been doing a great job saving thousands of lives. That's re ally our focus, everything else is unimportant compared to how many people are dying. You’ve probably heard that over 100,000 people died last year from the drug epidemic. It’s getting worse. It's going up 20-30% every year, and that is why we are fighting it.
By Mosaka Williamson Though David and Jackie Siegel are best known for the Westgate timeshare properties, and for building their lavish 90,000 square foot mansion known as Orlando's Versailles, they suffered an unthinkable tragedy in 2015 when their 18 year old daughter Victoria died of a drug overdose. They realized that no matter what socioeconomic class a family is in, money cannot replace the tragedy of losing a child which motivated the Siegels to create Victoria’s Voice Foundation, which they believe her death can save thousands of lives. Their lives have become more public now with the hit docuseries on Discovery+ “The Queen of Versailles Reigns Again” but they use this media platform to not only chronicle the building of their expansive manse but to educate millions about the silent bullets killing loved ones through drug addiction and overdose and how to recognize signs and prevent an overdose before it’s too late. Impact Wealth Magazine sat down with the Siegels to learn more about their accomplishments and tireless fight against the drug epidemic to save thousands of lives through the Victoria’s Voice Foundation.
JS: When we were on our honeymoon to France we visited Versailles, and David decided he wanted to build a house on land we owned for our growing fam free and clear. One thing that's nice with the TV show is the people producing it are all par ents too, and they're worried about the drug epidemic. They are following me through my journey with Victoria's Voice and increas ing awareness about the drug epidemic.
JS: There's talks of a Broadway show com ing out about the Queen of Versailles, which I think is going to be amazing. We're glad to be involved with the 1640 Society. David always says at the end of your life people remember you for what you've done rather than how much money you made in your life.
Jackie: We got The CARA Act bill passed to provide over a billon dollars to fund the drug epidemic and distribute Narcan across the ily and give it a name so we decided on Versailles. I didn't know that people named their houses, besides the White House. We met with the architects and the house kept increasing in size as we had more chil dren. I met a photographer in California at the Versace store opening in Beverly Hills, who happened to be a documentarian. She want ed to document the building of this house, but then the crash of 2008 happened and the banks made us list the house for $100 million.
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on a Mission to Fight the Drug Epidemic and Save Thousands of Lives through Victoria’s Voice
JS: David decided he would never be in debt to a bank or ever again, so we own Versailles
JS: Versailles is number three and family is number two. It took me a while, to get my strength back and get out there in the world. I am on this mission to save lives from drugs after we lost our daughter. We have seven other children, and we really need to get our family home finished which will be a great place where we can host events and fundraisers for Victoria's Voice. We're really getting a lot of national public ity through this house which really helps Victoria's Voice, as her legacy is also a part of this house. We have symbols of butter flies throughout the house in semi precious stones in the floors and the chandeliers, which are symbols for our late daughter Victoria. We even have a helicopter landing.
IW: What do you think is happening in the world now that's causing an upsurge in drug abuse?
IW: What signals should parents look for in order to prevent them from losing someone?
JS: There are a lot of vital signs, one of the most important signals is a change in person
108 country about five years ago. David spoke to the House and Senate about passing this bill, and now everyone knows of Narcan. In two counties alone in Florida, they’ve used Narcan over two thousand times already each year, and using it every day, so we know that we've saved several thousands of lives. We have developed an incredible educa tion program called Victory Academy that tackles low self esteem, teaches life skills and provides parents with critical information. We're involved with Mrs. America, which is the married woman's pageant. All of those women have children or are plan ning on having children. We will have like these beautiful winners with a sash and a crown that will become instant celebri ties in every state. I speak and warn other parents about the signs to recognize if their child is doing drugs behind their back and how to address their children, so hopefully they won’t lose their children like we did.
JS: We're doing things on a national level and my husband is a very powerful man, and very passionate about saving our next generation. We thought that with our hard work and efforts that the number of deaths would actually decline. Since COVID, with the stay at home order, the masks, and the fact that kids couldn't go to school for one to two years has affected their mental health. The lack of stimulation and parents losing their jobs and businesses, and the isolation has contributed to the increase of overdoses. Some people are self medicating with drugs and some people are bored. The unfortu nate thing now with open borders is that fentanyl is coming in much more freely. More than 90% of the drugs that were kind of safe like street marijuana are now deadly if they're laced with fentanyl. COVID related is sues and fentanyl are the two big culprits. The leading cause of death for people from ages 12 to 45 is a drug overdose which is worse than the COVID pandemic. It's almost like invisible bullets are killing our next generation.
DS: We're trying to educate people that as long as there is Narcan, it will bring them back 100% of the time. However, they have 90 minutes to get the person to the emergency room to start detox ing. The drugs shut down the sensors in their brain that control our breathing. They can't return home, they must start rehab. It takes a minimum of 90 days to get rehab and it could take a year. They are the most vulnerable after 30 days because they are more susceptible to overdose. We’re trying to educate people, so many people are dying. We have speakers who go into schools to speak with students all over the country, we have reached over a hundred fifty thousand in the last 2 years. We have a book called Victoria's Voice containing my daughter’s diary that we distribute around the country and we're very active on the drug front. The drug epidemic is our number one priority.
ality or attitude. If they're locking themselves in the room or if they're not coming home and they want to sleep over at their friend's house all the time. They are tired, have drop ping grades, absent from school, change of friends, getting into bad groups, having less interest in activities, and anything unproduc tive. We have all of this in our brochures and books. I wish we saw the signs, but we didn't see them. She was our oldest of eight kids and we just thought she was a normal teenager with mood swings. We want to warn other parents to not miss it and let their teenagers slip through their fingers.
I certainly didn’t know this was going to be my path in life, but I’m glad to be able to do something about this and hop ing that with our show on Discovery+, we can raise even more awareness. I am on this mission to save lives from drugs after we lost our daughter. We have seven other children, and we really need to get our family home finished which will be a great place where we can host events and fundraisers for Victoria's Voice. Jackie Siegel
IW: Are your children also involved with Victoria’s Voice?
The other children are studying accounting and finance. They're building their niche to be the next generation of the company.
Jackie: Our kids are not spoiled. If they ever want a new car, they have to work and earn a new car. When they turn 16, they get hand me down cars. My husband is teaching the two boys how to go in and develop land and how to get the permits.
IW: Do any of your children have an interest in the family business?
JS:100%, it was very traumatic for the kids. They attend and speak at our events. We've had speakers go to thousands of schools in 17 states so far. When our kids come and speak to a group of their peers, I think it has more of an impact when it is a peer to a peer. It’s one thing for a 55 or 60 year old person to tell a kid not to do drugs and about their experience, but it's another thing when they see a teenag er telling them about losing their sister. I have twins in ninth grade and the drug epidemic is so bad that we were at a dinner and one of my twins was looking at her phone and she looked like she just saw a ghost. One of her classmates just died of a drug overdose after she ordered pills through Instagram, which was pure fentanyl. It’s happening every day.
DS: Parents need to test their children for drugs. Parents need to tell their kids that they are about to be tested and even if they don't test them this will keep them from using drugs. Fear is a great deterrent. They need to realize that around 12 and 13 years is the age that they start experimenting. They usually start with marijuana, which leads to harder drugs like heroin. Most drug addicts start with marijuana as the gateway drug, so when you see the states that are legal izing it, that’s the worst thing they can do.
JS: Another message that I would give to parents is to do things with your kids, whether it's planning a trip, or doing an activity such as bike riding. You have to spend time as a family, the family unit is really important.
David's going to ensure that when he passes the torch someday, the company's going to be in good hands. He's a great mentor.
