Beyoncé's first billion and getting back into the flow of work (not easy, not really happening tbh)

Beyoncé hits 10 figures, the richest Californians are heading to Florida, and my favorite loafers are on sale and under $70! Let’s get into it.

Beyoncé is officially a billionaire

In a world where most big money news tends to frequently be about men in tech (yawn), I am personally thrilled for Beyonce’s billionaire status. Her Renaissance tour grossed $600 million, then she went ahead and did it again with the Cowboy Carter Tour (ok, technically that one netted $400 million, but that’s still INCREDIBLE). Apparently, Renaissance and Cowboy Carter are the first two in a trilogy, which means more is coming?!

…But that doesn’t mean she’s leaving California

A new ballot proposal in CA would impose a 5% tax on the assets of all California-based billionaires, which could bring in around $100 billion. That money would be used toward healthcare funding. A couple of notable billionaires are scrambling to get their stacks out quick: Larry Page (Google co-founder) is moving some of his companies to Florida, and Peter Thiel and David Sacks (both venture capitalists) opened new offices in Miami and Austin, respectively. So far, no news of Beyoncé fleeing California.

A new electric vehicle maker is topping Tesla, by a lot

In 2025, Tesla sold 1.64 million cars (for comparison, Toyota sold 2.5 million cars last year, and 1.2 million of those were electric). BYD, an EV maker out of China, sold a whopping 2.26 million cars. Rivian took a hit too; this is partially because the U.S. did away with a $7,500 tax credit for buyers of electric vehicles.

I spent New Year’s Eve in Tahoe with my friends, trying my hardest not to think about the state of my inbox come Monday (it was exactly as bad as I thought it would be). New Year’s delusion led us all to buy merch at the local bar, which was definitely a good idea because we’ll for sure wear it again (not!). Now I’m back, staring at this shirt that’s in a dramatic pile on the carpet of my bedroom, digging myself out of an avalanche of emails, Slack pings, and “urgent” requests. Can we please all regroup on the meaning of “urgent”?

Sorry did I mention I got loafers for Christmas? Yes? Ok well now I’m reminding you! Chunky turtleneck + wool coat + loafers = main character in a Hallmark movie energy, even though I fully live in the opposite of an adorable mountain town (at sea level, never snows).

Getting back into work mode after the holidays gets harder every year, not gonna sugarcoat it. What I struggle with the most is the onslaught: SO many emails, so many Slacks, and I still have to keep up with all the normal everyday tasks. Layer on top of that yearly planning and all the inevitable changes that come with January energy, and the beginning of the year can really make a gal question whether she really needs a roof over her head or if…maybe…living on a beach forever…would do. So that you don’t quit your job in a beach-fueled rage, follow these steps:

Do not try to “catch up.” You will fail (sorry). Instead, open your inbox and do one single, mechanical pass where you only do three things: archive obvious noise, flag anything that truly requires your brain, and reply with a placeholder sentence when needed. Something like “Got this, circling back tomorrow” counts!! Do the same thing for Slack. The key is organizing your inboxes so that you actually have the bandwidth to make decisions. Maybe tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!