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The Met May Have Millions in Stolen Art. It’s Not Waiting to Be Asked to Return It.

At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in late February, an increasingly familiar scene played out: A museum was restituting a work of art, giving back something from its collection to the place where it originated—in this case, Greece. The announcement, however, was more celebratory than sheepish. It was being done with the fanfare more often associated with acquiring a great object rather than returning one. That’s because, in this case, the Met itself launched the inquiry into the sculpture’s origin.

The work in question was a small bronze sculpture of the head of a griffin, a mythological creature, made in the 7th century B.C. It had been on display at the Met since 1972. Max Hollein, the Met’s director and CEO, spoke to the assembled crowd. The piece, he said, “could not have legitimately left” Greece.

Over the last few years, museums have had to respond to inquiries—sometimes as part of legal claims that can come from countries or former owners, or are initiated by U.S. law enforcement—about works that were stolen, illegally excavated, exported or traded improperly.

But with the griffin head, the Met didn’t wait to be asked. Greek authorities weren’t attempting to reclaim it. Instead, in a turn that shows how the process of repatriation and restitution has changed, the Met took the initiative to investigate how the griffin head got into its collection. The museum found it had disappeared from the Archaeological Museum of Olympia in the 1930s.

Last year the Met appointed Lucian Simmons, a lawyer and former Sotheby’s executive, to be its first-ever head of provenance. He leads a team of 10 full-time researchers, which the Met says is the biggest staff dedicated to this task at any museum.

Simmons acts as “air-traffic control,” he said, providing support, supervision and coordination to the provenance research specialists, who are embedded within the museum’s departments.

Simmons’s broader philosophy is that more sunlight is better when it comes to determining pieces’ back stories. “We need to know the truth,” he said. “Sometimes it’s uncomfortable.”

With these claims, the stakes are often high: In 2022, local and federal authorities seized 27 objects worth a reported $13 million from the Met and returned them to Italy and Egypt, their countries of origin.

Provenance research, or finding a comprehensive record of an art object’s previous ownership and history, is “core museum work” these days, said Hollein, certainly when it comes to vetting new acquisitions. But now, more museums are examining the back story of objects they’ve had for decades and then taking action based on what they find.

“Museums used to take a wait-and-see approach,” said William M. Griswold, the director of the Cleveland Museum of Art and the chair of the cultural property task force of the Association of Art Museum Directors. “Now, they are much more proactive about investigating and finding ways to resolve issues that pertain to provenance.”

Hollein noted how much the landscape of looking into a work’s provenance had changed. “Forty, fifty years ago, nobody cared about documents. It’s not because everything was illegal. That’s just not how it worked.”

The Met has more than 1.5 million objects in its collection, six million visitors a year and an endowment of $4.5 billion.

With the griffin head, Met staffers flagged in 2018 that there were issues, and Hollein then reached out to the Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage of Greece. The mystery was never solved definitively, and hence the museum could not be sure the piece met its standards.

But it’s not gone for good. The bronze is coming back to the Met as a loan next year.

When the billionaire Leonard N. Stern, a real-estate developer and heir of the pet-product company Hartz Mountain, wanted to give the Met a collection of Bronze Age sculptures from the Cycladic Islands, which are now part of Greece, the Met couldn’t determine the art’s origin.

“Ninety percent of Cycladic art comes from unknown contexts, and a lot of it probably comes out of tombs,” said Seán Hemingway, the Met’s chief curator of Greek and Roman art.

Instead of turning down the gift, the Met worked with the Greek government and the Museum of Cycladic Art to establish a long-term partnership. The works will be owned by Greece, but most will be on display at the Met for the next 25 years, and the country will loan other Cycladic art to the museum. Separately, Stern is supporting extensive joint research and conservation projects.

Hollein said the reaction to such an offer had changed completely. “Maybe like 40 years ago, it would have been, ‘We’ll take it,’” he said. “Then maybe 10 years ago, it would have been, ‘It’s impossible for us to get right.’

Sometimes, the outcomes of provenance research don’t result in a piece being returned, as with Jean-Louis Lemoyne’s “La Crainte des Traits de l’Amour” (1739-40), a Rococo marble sculpture in the Met’s Petrie Court depicting a woman startled by a tiny Cupid.

Last year, an associate curator in the European Sculpture and Decorative Arts department flagged a gap in its ownership records. Upon further investigation, the museum confirmed that the sculpture, once owned by a branch of the Rothschild banking family, had been seized during World War II, a fact previously unknown to the museum. After being taken from the family, “it was put on a truck by Nazis in Paris,” Simmons said. “It was taken to the Jeu de Paume and then shipped to Berlin.”

Somehow, the work found its way back to the Rothschilds, who later sold it, and the Met bought it from a dealer, so it didn’t clearly call for restitution. Instead, new information explaining this history will be added to the placard describing the work, part of a new New York state legal requirement that requires New York museums to publicize when an artwork was stolen by the German Army.

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Power of the Purse. Birkins and Kellys Dominate the Collectible Handbags Category.

For those following the growing auction market for luxury handbags, and wondering what might replace the ever-dominant Hermès Birkin and Kelly styles, experts at Sotheby’s and Christie’s don’t have much news.

“Birkins and Kellys are really sharing the top position in collectors’ hearts,” says Morgane Halimi, global head of handbags and fashion at Sotheby’s. She points out that in general, every size and style of Birkin and Kelly bags saw increases in average value and client interest. “They are perennial, highly desirable, and have become status symbols. And the Mini Kelly II, which was released in 2016, is slowly becoming a hit even among young collectors.”

Max Brownawell, head of the department for handbags and accessories at Christie’s (where Hermès bags account for 90% of sales) agrees. “Really, the collectible market for bags at this price point of $10,000 and up is exclusively going to be Hermès bags,” he says. “There’s a growing number of vintage Chanel bags that are considered highly collectible and valuable as well—bags that are iconic, such as Karl Lagerfeld designs from the ’90s. But very few bags from other brands hold their value at the level of Hermès.”

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Chanel vintage classics by Lagerfeld in the ’90s are also in high demand at Sotheby’s, where Chanel is the second-best seller. “His earliest bags from the ’80s and ’90s are the most popular of all vintage Chanel bags,” Halimi says.

Even so, those bags don’t breathe the same rarefied air as Hermès. The most expensive Chanel bag to sell at non-charity auction was Lagerfeld’s personal croc-embossed lambskin tote. It was sold complete with his 2011 FIAC contemporary art fair photo pass and a tag from the Chanel Paris-Bombay 2011/12 Métiers d’Art show. Given the illustrious provenance, it broke the record for a Chanel bag, selling for €94,500 (US$107,000) at the Sotheby’s estate auction of his property in December 2021.

Chanel’s top seller of 2024 at Sotheby’s was a gold lambskin Paris-Dubai Nights Gas Jerry Can bag with gold hardware from the 2015 Cruise collection. It was estimated to sell for between $5,000 and $7,000, but went for $33,600, far exceeding expectations.

The Pinnacle Bag 

According to Sotheby’s, all 10 of the most expensive bags sold by the house in 2024 were Birkins or Kellys, and all but one was crafted from exotic crocodile or alligator skin. That lone non-exotic bag, claiming the No. 8 slot with a sale price of about $157,000, was a 2023 Midas Kelly 25 Sellier in black box calfskin leather with 18-karat gold hardware, hence its Midas label. The top spot on the list went to a 2021 Kelly 25 Himalaya with white-gold hardware set with 3.5 carats of diamonds, which sold for about $330,000.

Six of the 10 most expensive bags on the list were Himalaya styles, three of which had diamond-set 18-karat white gold hardware. Himalaya bags are so named for the exotic Nile crocodile that is distinctively dyed with an ombré effect of matte white and gray, evoking the snow-capped peaks of the Asian mountain range. When fitted with precious white-gold or even platinum diamond-set hardware, Himalayas reach record prices.

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Three spots in the top 10 were limited-edition Birkin 20 Faubourg styles in American alligator, two in shades of Snow and one in Midnight black, with prices ranging from $181,000 to $234,000. The first Faubourg Birkins, modeled on the architecture of the Paris flagship on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, debuted in 2019.

At a November 2021 Christie’s Hong Kong sale, a matte-white Himalaya Diamond Retourné Kelly 28, with 18-karat white-gold hardware set with 229 diamonds totaling 9.2 carats, sold for $512,880, cracking the half-million-U.S.-dollar mark and setting the record for the most expensive handbag sold at auction.

The earliest-known Hermès Celadon Himalayas emerged in 1994, and they were phased out of production in 2008. However, that year saw a new 30cm-size matte Himalayan Birkin that remained under the radar and was reserved for the brand’s VIP collectors. Then, Jean-Paul Gaultier featured a Himalaya Birkin at the 2010 Hermès’ spring runway show, making it an instant “grail” bag, and one with surprising longevity.

In 2012, Hermès introduced the 25cm Himalaya Birkin. The following year brought the Himalaya Kelly in more sizes, with a 35cm Himalaya Kelly added to the mix in 2020. Himalaya styles in other collections started appearing in 2016.

From Mansion Global Boutique:   Want to Make a Statement With Your Furniture? Try a Box Bed .

Market Shifts

There are signs that the market for such extravagant bags has reached post-peak prices. “The most interesting trend we’ve seen is that exotic bags, which tend to sell for higher prices, have been a little bit soft,” says Brownawell. He explains that in general, exotics have come down over the last few years, while leather bags are going up steadily: “For certain sizes and styles, the prices for leather bags can sometimes be higher than the equivalent bag in an exotic.”

He attributes this trend to the growing demand for bags priced from $20,000 to $30,000, with huge numbers of buyers aspiring to ownership though they can’t possibly attain the pricier exotic Birkins and Kellys.

“It’s a much thinner market when you’re looking at bags that are in the $50,000-to-$200,000 range, and people who are buying in that higher range have a lot more ability to be picky about what they want,” he says.

The growing numbers of younger clients entering the market each season are unlikely to bid on a six-figure Himalaya Birkin right out of the gate. “They’re going to start out in leather, and they’ll probably want a black, brown, or gray leather Birkin,” Brownawell says. “That’s really where the market has been the strongest—the prices for a store-fresh, neutral-leather Birkin 25 or 30 have never been higher.”

He adds that limited editions are another bright spot—whether it’s new ones that are highly coveted for the first year after release before prices stabilize, or lesser-known vintage special editions. “Some vintage limited editions that haven’t been seen on the market could do extremely well, because I think there is a strong appetite among collectors for what they haven’t seen,” Brownawell says.

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One unexpected twist, he adds, is that some of the priciest Birkins aren’t necessarily the rarest. “If you want a diamond Himalaya Birkin, I can get you one, even two,” Brownawell says. “But there are much rarer bags out there that I probably couldn’t come up with, though it might be a much lower price point.”

At Sotheby’s, where handbags are one of the house’s fastest-growing departments, women buyers account for the majority of auctions worldwide. “We are seeing buyers as young as their 20s, with participants of our handbag auctions, both buyers and sellers, mostly in their 30s and 40s,” Halimi says. “That is significantly younger compared with some other categories sold at Sotheby’s.”

Women also make up the majority of handbag purchasers at Christie’s, where handbags are the only category dominated by female buyers. “It’s mostly women between the ages of 25 and 60,” Brownawell says. “Wealthy women, of all types—whether they are self-made, married well, or born into wealth—are attracted to Hermès bags.”

This article originally appeared in the  February 2025 issue of Mansion Global Experience Luxury.

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Wall Street Wants You to Buy Gold. It’s Still Risky.

J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs advise continuing to hold gold. BNP Paribas just raised its forecast for gold prices. For months now, BlackRock has recommended buying gold to diversify portfolios.

So far, the recommendations have been spot on. The most active gold futures contract hit another record high on Thursday, closing at $2,991.30 an ounce, marking its tenth record close in 2025. The popular SPDR Gold Shares exchange-traded fund, which tracks gold bullion, also closed at a record of $275.13.

But the megarally isn’t without risks.

Gold has now closed at record levels 10 times this year, after closing out its best year in over a decade, with 46 records in 2024. Drivers for the rally have been plentiful: Strong buying from central banks, a weaker dollar, realignment of international relationships as President Donald Trump slaps tariffs on goods from the U.S.’s closest allies, and wars abroad have pushed investors to seek safety in gold.

The conventional wisdom says the path of least resistance for gold is higher in part because prices are above their 200- and 100-day moving averages of $2,619.51 and $2,756.11, respectively, based on Wednesday’s close. When a price moves above its moving average, it is a sign that an uptrend is likely to continue.

BNP Paribas forecasts gold prices will rise above $3,100 an ounce in the second quarter of 2025. It assumes the average gold price in 2025 will be $2,990, 8% higher than its prior forecast. A price of $3,100 would represent a gain of 5.2% from its closing price on Wednesday.

“The biggest change to our previous view is the impact of the Trump tariff threats, which is resulting in fears of renewed US inflation on the one hand, and slower US and global growth expectations, on the other, driving increased safe-haven demand for gold,” David Wilson, senior commodities strategist as the bank, said in a research note Wednesday.

Still, when optimism is so widespread, it is smart to also consider the risks, even with investments such as gold that are famous for being safe.

For one, it could be said that the metal is overvalued, given that it has been in a bull market since September 2022. That raises the prospect that gold has already priced in much of its potential over the period, leaving it vulnerable to corrections. Those gains could tempt early investors to sell to lock in profits.

Gold could also struggle in a world where Washington’s efforts to overhaul the federal government prove successful, even if economists have their doubts. Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is slashing the federal workforce, which the administration has said will boost productivity, critical for economic growth, as laid-off government workers find more productive jobs in the private sector.

Economic growth and gold are inversely related. When the economy is booming, investors tend to favor riskier assets like stocks over gold, which loses its appeal.

“Such a development would be terrible news for gold whose price may then return to its historical norm, as expressed in oil-equivalent terms,” wrote Charles Gave, founder of Gavekal Research, in a research note on Wednesday. This implies a 50% fall, the note says.

On the other hand, there are plenty of reasons why prices could keep rising. An index of economic uncertainty index is high, while more tariffs would lead to inflation, both benefiting gold. The possibility that the U.S. government might value its gold holdings at market prices, rather than the current $42.2222 an ounce, would help as well.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent triggered speculation about revaluation in early February , saying the U.S. wants to monetize its balance sheet. He dismissed the idea in an interview with Bloomberg last month, but market chatter about the topic continues.

Revaluing the U.S.’s gold holdings would show interest in the commodity by the government, potentially adding to the momentum in the price. The statutory price of gold, set by law , hasn’t moved since 1973.

The evidence for gains is strong. Just don’t completely ignore the risks when putting your money to work.

Corrections & Amplifications: The most active gold futures contract closed at $2,991.30 on Thursday. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said it closed at $2,984.30, the price of the front-month contract.

Write to Karishma Vanjani at  karishma.vanjani@dowjones.com undefined undefined

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Making a Centuries-Old English Castle Feel More Like Home

Castle Howard, one of the grandest of English country houses, is taking the long way home. The domed Yorkshire residence, designed by Baroque architect John Vanbrugh for the third Earl of Carlisle, was started in 1699 and completed at the beginning of the 19th century, only to be partially gutted by fire in 1940. The earl’s descendants have been putting it back together ever since.

Next month, that ongoing process will reach a critical point when the Tapestry Drawing Room, a once-resplendent space that fell victim to the fire, will complete a six-year-long restoration that cost about $700,000.

The castle also serves as a primary home for Nicholas Howard, a descendant of the earl, and his wife, Victoria Howard. The two have also recently redecorated their living quarters in the building, adding everything from a $32,000 fireplace to new slipcovers for the kitchen chairs.

Located about midway between London and Edinburgh, Castle Howard has served as the setting for film and TV shoots including the Netflix series “Bridgerton” and the 1980s British television series “Brideshead Revisited.” It has around 180,000 square feet of space and some 100 rooms, many of them open to the public for events and tours. For generations, members of the Howard family have lived in the relatively isolated East Wing, one of the oldest areas of the castle.

While the grandiose “state rooms,” in the Southeast Wing, were designed from the beginning to impress visitors, the East Wing was built on a smaller, if still impressive, scale. It functions as a self-contained house-within-a-house—or perhaps, a mansion-within-a-castle—with six bedrooms, five full bathrooms, and some 30 rooms in total.

Nicholas, a 72-year-old photographer, grew up with his family in the East Wing. He and Victoria, a 71-year-old retired publishing executive, have overseen the management of the castle and its 8,900 acres since 2015. The couple split their time between Castle Howard and London, but “we spend about 80% of our time here,” says Victoria.

Unlike many of Britain’s baronial country houses, which were only used seasonally, Castle Howard was “always intended as a 12-months-a-year house,” says Victoria, who was previously the CEO and publisher of HarperCollins UK. HarperCollins, like The Wall Street Journal, is owned by  News Corp .

The estate contains a whole village, called Coneysthorpe, and a number of landmark structures and elements, including the Howard family’s columned mausoleum, the massive Victorian-era Atlas Fountain, and an 18th-century obelisk designed by Vanbrugh.

The newly reconfigured Tapestry Room will be unveiled in April; a chief attraction will be its circa-1706 tapestry series depicting the four seasons. In storage during World War II, the tapestries survived the fire, which broke out while the castle was in use as a makeshift wartime girls’ school.

In the run-up to the big reveal, the Howards have been moving their art and objects around to fill in holes created by relocated pieces. An 1820s cloud study by British painter John Constable, for example, has been moved from Nicholas’s bedroom to the much-used Lake Sitting Room in the East Wing, where it joins one of the castle’s signature works of art—an early-16th century Venetian double portrait, attributed to Giorgione, that the fifth earl acquired in 1798.

The Lake Sitting Room is one of the Howards’ living spaces that has recently received a freshening up from Remy Renzullo, a 33-year-old American interior decorator, who added 19th-century French table lamps. Changes to other rooms include new French wallpaper ($3,885), and new hand-woven floor coverings ($12,952). A new Italian marble fireplace for the sitting room, based on Vanbrugh drawings, cost around $32,362.

Renzullo, who divides his time between the U.S. and Europe, also made changes to the Archbishop’s Bedroom, the family’s primary guest room, which is off limits to the public. Large naval pictures were removed in order to highlight the room’s rare 19 undefined -century Japanese wallpaper. Renzullo also redid the 18 undefined -century canopy bed with new French silk damask coverings. Viewers of “Brideshead Revisited” might remember the room as the place where Lord Marchmain, played by Laurence Olivier, dies.

“Brideshead Revisited,” based on the 1945 novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, is now indelibly linked with Castle Howard. Waugh visited the castle in the late 1930s, and the Howards believe the property at least partially inspired him to create the fictional, dome-topped Brideshead Castle. Jeffrey Manley, an American author affiliated with the Evelyn Waugh Society, said most of the details about Brideshead Castle were based on other sources, but that the conspicuous dome likely draws on Castle Howard.

Key locations in the series remain integrated into Howard family life. Nicholas and Victoria were married in the castle’s chapel, a monument to the Victorian-era Arts and Crafts movement that appeared in “Brideshead Revisited.” The Howards generally attend public services there at Easter and a few other times a year.

Though the East Wing is their base, other areas of the castle are also reserved for the family, including the New Library, which Nicholas uses as his office. The 1940 fire destroyed the space where the New Library is now located. Nicholas’ father, George Howard, used the proceeds from the filming of “Brideshead Revisited” to create and furnish the new room.

Though they have dozens of rooms to choose from, the Howards—like most families—spend much of their time in the kitchen. “It’s the warmest room in the house,” says Victoria. Nicholas does the cooking: “I do like making a decent roast,” he says, adding, apropos of the estate’s North Yorkshire setting, “I make a very good Yorkshire pudding.”

For more formal meals, the family has an adjoining dining room that Renzullo has recently reimagined. It was previously presided over by 18 undefined -century Meissen porcelain, which inspired the blue-painted walls. Renzullo repainted the walls a shade of terracotta, which now plays off rare 18 undefined -century English porcelain that had been on display in the public side of the castle. His goal, he says, was to create a room that “will read beautifully by candlelight.” The once- private Meissen has now gone over to the public side. The castle’s boundary between public and private spheres, says Victoria, can be pretty porous. “You can just swap things around.”

The couple declined to comment on how much they have spent on long-term renovation costs. Neil Quinn of Yiangou Architects, a British practice specializing in restoring historic country houses, says full renovations of historic homes can now cost between $972 to $1164 per square foot—or up to $35 million for a 30,000-square-foot home.

“There is always something needing doing, and the upkeep is enormous,” Victoria says, citing not just the house itself, but the numerous other structures and landscaping elements that make up the wider estate.

The current adult admission price is 27 pounds, or about $35, at Castle Howard, which received about 260,000 visitors in 2023, according to the UK’s Association of Leading Visitor Attractions.  In what will be an added source of income, the Howards said they plan to start renting out the whole castle on occasion for overnight stays.

For Nicholas, the pros and cons balance out.

“You live in the shop,” he says. “On the other hand, you’re living in a work of art.”

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OWN A MELBOURNE MASTERPIECE BY BYRON’S RECORD-BREAKING ARCHITECTS

Their exquisite attention to contemporary detail recently earned Melbourne-based architects, Workroom Design, ultimate bragging rights after a home they crafted broke a new price benchmark in Byron Bay. 

Now there is a chance for Melbourne design lovers to buy their very own Workroom home in Hawthorn – at half the cost of the Byron pad. 

That prestige beach pile just sold for $33.5 million, snapped up by Chemist Warehouse billionaire couple Damien Gance and Sasha Robertson. However, the newly listed Workman creation at 73 Kooyongkoot Rd in Hawthorn is on the market with Kay & Burton Boroondara via an expressions of interest campaign guide of $13 million to $14 million. 

The Mediterranean-inspired five-bedroom, six-bathroom residence might be a world away from famed Belongil Beach but the acclaimed architects still met the brief with the same level of expert detail and finishes.  

Surrounded by lush landscaping by Ben Scott, the Hawthorn home is a modern marvel with a striking sculptural façade, a thoughtful layout and carefully considered touches from chevron oak herringbone flooring and Italian porcelain tiling, to stucco Veneziano walls, marble surfaces and fluted glass detailing. 

Beyond a covered front patio and formal foyer, the large lounge room has a striking black marble fireplace, and across the hall, there is a home office with integrated cabinetry. 

Down a glass gallery and north-facing central garden, the rest of the ground-floor layout reveals the everyday family zone. A sleek kitchen hosts a sculptural natural stone island bench, full suite of Wolf appliances, and built-in Sub-Zero refrigeration. A hidden butler’s pantry with all the trimmings has a door to the side garden, offering easy access for caterers. 

The adjoining dining and family rooms feature expanses of north-facing windows for loads of natural light, and a covered outdoor room is the perfect spot for all-weather barbecues and alfresco entertaining beside the heated pool. 

Further options for gatherings with family and friends include a lower level gold-class home cinema and a custom-designed showcase wine cellar with sculptural curved detailing. 

In addition to a guest bedroom on the lower ground floor, the upper accommodation level has four more bedrooms and a multipurpose living room. 

Each bedroom has an ensuite and built-in storage, however the palatial main bedroom wing is an oasis with a vast dressing room, a private terrace and a grand bathroom with circular freestanding bath, steam room and custom-designed vanities. 

The long list of added extras elevates the house to a dream home, thanks to inclusions such as a lift to all three levels, a six-car garage, hydronic heating, ducted air-conditioning and vacuuming, an alarm, and CCTV surveillance. 

Located in the coveted Scotch Hill enclave of Hawthorn, the tree-lined street is characterised by its stately residences and enviable position close to Melbourne’s leading private schools including Scotch College, as well as parklands, transport, and popular shopping precincts such as Camberwell Junction, Glenferrie Road, and Auburn Village. 

Expressions of interest for 73 Kooyongkoot Rd, Hawthorn close 3 April at 5pm Scott Patterson, Ross Savas and Jamie Mi of Kay & Burton Boroondara. 

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Niantic to Sell Pokemon GO, Other Games to Saudi-Backed Group in $3.5b Deal

“Pokemon GO” maker Niantic reached an agreement to sell its gaming business to Savvy Games Group’s subsidiary, Scopely, for $3.5 billion, handing the company backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund the hit mobile game along with engagement and live-experience apps.

“Pokemon GO,” one of the first videogames to use augmented reality, exploded in popularity after launching in 2016. The game allows players use their smartphone cameras to find and capture virtual creatures. The franchise amassed more than $8 billion in revenue since its inception and the game reaches players in over 190 countries and regions, Savvy Games Group said.

Niantic is also selling “Pikmin Bloom,” a game in collaboration with Nintendo that debuted in 2021, and “Monster Hunter Now,” Niantic’s most recent game that reached more than 15 million downloads following its September 2023 launch. Under the deal, Scopely will also take control of Campfire, an app that connects players, and Wayfarer, a player engagement service.

Scopely said the games and apps, which draw more than 30 million monthly active players, made more than $1 billion in revenue last year. The deal will add three games to its stable, which already includes “MONOPOLY GO!,” “Stumble Guys,” “Star Trek Fleet Command” and “MARVEL Strike Force.”

“This transaction represents one of the largest games deals made by a private company in the last decade, ranking alongside Scopely’s own acquisition by Savvy in 2023 for $4.9 billion,” Tim O’Brien, Scopely’s chief revenue officer, said in a statement.

The deal marks a major structural overhaul for Niantic. The company has struggled to come up with big hits like “Pokemon GO” and slashed dozens of jobs in recent years in an effort to focus on fewer games and develop augmented-reality technology.

Niantic said it planned to spin off its geospatial artificial-intelligence business into a new company, Niantic Spatial, once the deal with Scopely closes. The company said Niantic Spatial would get $250 million of capital, including $200 million from Niantic’s balance sheet and a $50 million investment from Scopely.

Scopely and Niantic expect the deal to close this year, subject to customary closing conditions and completion of a regulatory review.

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com

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A Bel-Air Home that Blends Modern and Historic Elements Asks $31.5m

In Los Angeles, a home with a rare combination of historic and contemporary architectural pedigree is coming on the market for $31.5 million.

The circa-1949 house in Bel-Air was originally designed, and later owned, by architect John Elgin Woolf, known for his Hollywood Regency-style. More recently, it was renovated and restored by the architect and landscape guru Mark Rios and his husband, reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Guy Ringler. Rios, one of the architects behind the renovation of the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, has designed homes for entertainment heavyweights like Clive Davis and television producer Darren Star.

Rios and Ringler paid $12 million for the roughly 8,400-square-foot, five-bedroom property in 2021 and embarked on an 18-month renovation. They moved into the house in 2023.

“We wanted to make it contemporary, but still not change the spirit and iconic quality of the architecture,” Rios said. “I kept on thinking, ‘If Jack Woolf were alive today, what would he do?’ And then also, ‘What would Mark Rios do?’”

When they purchased the property, Rios said, the home had fallen into disrepair. The layout was a relic of decades past, with servants’ quarters and separate primary-bedroom suites. A prior owner had installed an elevator from the kitchen to her dressing room to facilitate mid-party wardrobe changes.

The couple revamped the layout, converting a library into a media room with bright red walls. The new centerpiece of the home is a lounge with a fireplace and bar.

Outside, the couple aimed to make the pool area a more social setting for entertaining. They turned a pool pavilion into a Moroccan-style sitting area, which they jokingly refer to it as “the drug room” because of the psychedelic colors, Rios said.

For a recent dinner party, the couple re-created the menu from a New Year’s Eve party thrown at the house in the 1960s, serving beef wellington and “some kind of seafood mousse,” Rios said. They even hired a musician to impersonate the 1960s trumpeter and pianist Herb Alpert.

They are selling because they are spending more time at their home in Montecito, Calif., Rios said. The property is listed by Linda May of Carolwood, an affiliate of Forbes Global Properties.

Bel-Air, which was largely unaffected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, has seen a handful of deals close at $30 million or more over the past year, Zillow shows. A nearby estate with an addition by architect Paul Williams sold for $39 million in November.

Write to Katherine Clarke at Katherine.Clarke@wsj.com

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These Are the Gifts Tween Girls Will Be Happy to Receive

Tween girls are fun to shop for because they appreciate a wide range of gifts. Clothes and jewelry? Creativity kits? Room decor? Check, check, check. But the trick with this age group (generally considered from 8 to 12) is finding presents that match their maturity and don’t read as too babyish, says Jackie Schiavone, a Westport, Conn.-based fashion stylist and mum of a tween and teen girl. We asked Schiavone and other style pros to share their gift recommendations, so you can confidently shop for the tween girl on your list.

For making a personal style statement

Schiavone says that girls this age are often obsessed with initial jewelry, and Anthropologie’s 14-karat gold-plated Bubble Letter Necklace is a lovely take on the trend. The adjustable length (15 to 17 inches) on the snake-style chain means it works with different necklines and necklaces. “Tweens can stack it with other thin necklaces — think small beads and gold chains — or wear it solo as a statement piece,” Schiavone says.

For 3D design projects

“My daughter is 12 and really wants this 3D printer ,” says Brooklyn, N.Y.-based interior designer Jennifer Morris of JMorris Design . It comes with everything a tween needs to make their own toys and objects from non-toxic, biodegradable plastic. They can choose from the set’s 7,000 patterns (from toys to ornaments to planters) or create their own designs — a feature Morris appreciates. “I love giving an art gift that has creative freedom and doesn’t have a prescribed outcome,” she says.

For old-school selfies

Instant cameras, including the Instax Mini , are “the must-have tween gadget at the moment,” says Kimberly McLeod , the Toronto-based author of ” The Ultimate Book of Would You Rather Questions .” Digital natives get a kick out of seeing photos develop before their eyes, and they love the bubbly retro design and cute credit card-sized photos, she adds. This bundle supplies everything they need to capture memories: the camera (in blush pink, ice white, lilac purple, mint green or sky blue), a four-pack of Fuji film, a carrying case and a photo album.

For keeping cozy in style

Starting in the tween years, it’s “welcome to black clothing,” says Schiavone. This Sam. black and faux shearling jacket is a great gift (in fact, Schiavone has one that her daughter keeps stealing). She likes that the white faux shearling softens the black, while still feeling grown-up. Most importantly, it’s warm and cozy, with a faux sherpa lining, a sherpa-lined hood and impressive 90%-down, 10%-feather fill.

For staying inspired

A customizable letter board makes a fun gift for tweens because it lets them express themselves, says Athens, Greece-based Anna Tatsioni, lead interior designer at Decorilla , an online interior design service. This framed aqua felt board can be wall mounted or propped up on a surface and comes with 725 white and gold letters in different fonts to design with. Tweens like that they can keep changing up the message, whether it’s an inspiring quote, a personal mantra or a Taylor Swift lyric. “It also doubles as a great conversation starter when they have friends over,” Tatsioni says.

For a wardrobe staple

You can’t miss with black Lululemon Align leggings , says Schiavone. Tweens especially like the Mini Flare style because it doesn’t look like mom’s Lulus. The leggings are made from the brand’s signature super-soft and durable Nulu fabric, which means they feel wonderful and hold up well.

For screen-free fun

Morris loves this LED dart board for the fun factor. “Anything that encourages play and looks cute is a win,” she says. The acrylic target comes with a plug-in board and six darts for tweens to practice their aim — when they aren’t basking in its rainbow glow. “I love the light for an accent in a room,” Morris says.

For staying toasty — and connected

“A Bluetooth beanie hat is the gift of the season,” says Schiavone. Any tween with a smartphone, Apple Watch or iPad will love this cute pom-pom beanie with a smart upgrade: an embedded Bluetooth headset. Just pop the hat on and listen to a favorite song or podcast, or take mom’s call on the go. The knitted acrylic hat also comes in black, but Sciavone says “winter white is the way to go.”

For happy feet

Vans are back in style, and tweens are loving that they’re a bit bold and a breeze to kick on and off. In a fun color like olive green or not-so-basic black and off-white, “they’re just a classic,” says Morris.

For beauty lovers/For a beauty spree

“In the tween and teen years, half their wish list is for beauty products from Sephora, so I like to throw a gift card inside a fun cosmetic bag,” says interior designer Suzanne Flohr of Lennon and Flohr Interior Design in Charlottesville, S.C. You can personalize this Mark and Graham train case , which is made of printed canvas coated with plastic for easy cleaning. If you want to stock it with something besides a gift card, toss in Summer Fridays Holiday Lip Butter Set , a favorite of the middle-school set.

For blemish busting

“These Hero Cosmetics pimple patches may be the ultimate stocking stuffer,” says Schiavone. They’re invisible patches made with medical-grade hydrocolloid, a gel used to heal wounds and acne. When you peel the patch off, it removes gunk from the pimple, helping it to heal. “Everyone in my house uses these patches, including my son,” she says.

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Here Are the Top 1200 US Financial Advisors of 2025

The nation’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors grew their way to a new milestone.

The advisory teams that made it into this year’s ranking reported total assets under management of $6.1 trillion, for an average of $5.1 billion per team—both record highs for the dozen years during which Barron’s has ranked the Top 1,200. Last year’s ranking had $5.6 trillion in total AUM and $4.6 billion average AUM per team. In the past decade, the 1,200 cohort has increased its total AUM by 135% and its average revenue by 147%.

Amid all the growth, several advisors made big moves in this year’s rankings, including W Janet Dougherty of Cresset in Chicago, who re-entered the ranking at No. 37 in Illinois after moving from J.P. Morgan . Meanwhile, Ash Chopra of Syon Capital in San Francisco jumped 47 spots in California to No. 47; Hillary Cullen of UBS Private Wealth Management in New York rose 20 spots to No. 77; and Jon Neuhaus of Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management in Los Angeles moved up 14 spots to No. 6 in California. Fourteen percent of the Top 1,200 advisors didn’t appear in the ranking last year.

Teams Are a Trend

Top advisory practices have ridden a wave of healthy markets, but that is only part of the growth story. Whereas a decade ago many of the best advisors were sole practitioners with modest support staff, now advisors are working in increasingly complex team configurations.

These teams are allowing advisors to provide an array of wealth management services in addition to the investing expertise that usually sits at the heart of their offerings. As teams acquire more skill in estate planning, taxes, lending, and other value-adds, they are attracting and retaining more business.

For investors looking for a new financial advisor, the trend toward expansive teams is good news. For starters, larger teams have built-in redundancy that helps with succession in the event that advisors depart the practice. A team structure also creates a great training environment for younger, more diverse wealth managers—a wellspring of workers who will be sorely needed in the coming years.

As many of the advisors who built the nation’s best teams enter the late innings of their careers, an advisor shortage is brewing. A recent McKinsey study says the advisor workforce may be short 100,000 advisors by 2034.

How We Do It

The Top 1,200 is Barron’s largest advisor ranking, and it’s actually 51 individual rankings—one for each state plus Washington, D.C., with the number of advisors represented in each determined by its relative population and wealth. Advisors who wish to be considered for the ranking complete a 100-plus-question survey about their businesses, and this year’s ranking had more than 7,600 applicants, up 16% from last year.

Like all of Barron’s advisor rankings, this Top 1,200 list uses both quantitative and qualitative measures . Client assets managed by an advisor, along with the growth of those assets, are a good signifier of the general health of a practice. We also use advisors’ revenue numbers as a proxy for client satisfaction—clients vote on the way advisors are serving them with the fees they’re willing to pay. Last, we evaluate a range of qualitative elements, including regulatory records, advanced credentials and designations on a team, and the nature and structure of an advisor’s team.

We hope this year’s list will give investors a great starting point for finding the best advisor for their needs.

Corrections & Amplifications :   Jack Taylor of Truist Investment Services is No. 6 in North Carolina in Barron’s 2025 Top 1,200 Financial Advisors ranking. The advisor originally listed in that spot was removed from the ranking. All the other advisors ranked in that state moved up one place, and R. Neil Stikeleather of Merrill Wealth Management was added to the list at No. 30. Read more about our ranking and see a link to the corrected list at  barrons.com/AdvisorRanks .

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Beverly Hills Mansion Mark Wahlberg Built Is Back on the Market for $68 Million

The Beverly Hills megamansion Mark Wahlberg built is back up for sale asking $68 million.

The 6-acre European villa-style estate in the hills of South Beverly Park— with a five-hole golf course, a waterfall and 20 bathrooms—is being sold by an LLC linked to Shenzhen-based business mogul Xu Hang.

Hang, founder of a medical device company who is featured on Forbes’s list of China’s richest people with an estimated net worth of $8 billion, bought it from Wahlberg for $55 million in 2023, property records show.

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The LLC is controlled by Hang’s wife, Gu Fang, who has snapped up several celebrity- and magnate-owned homes in recent years, including Heather and Terry Dubrow’s Newport Beach chateau and Rihanna’s New York City penthouse, according to reports.

Wahlberg let go of his 90210 address and the massive custom home while relocating to Las Vegas.

Since moving, the 53-year-old “Departed” star has made headway on his plan to create a “Hollywood 2.0” in the desert state. He’s been lobbying, along with Sony Pictures and Howard Hughes Holdings, to get a movie tax bill passed that would allow Sony to build a studio in Summerlin, Nevada.

The listing marks a $13 million price hike over what the buyer paid for the home just two years ago, though Wahlberg at one point had the mansion listed for as much as $87.5 million, Mansion Global previously reported .

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The 30,000-square-foot mansion boasts a double-height foyer and a double staircase, a wood-paneled library, a two-island kitchen, glass gym and a home theater with dome ceiling detailing, according to the listing.

The lower level also has a “sophisticated tasting and smoking lounge,” the listing read.

Tucked in its own valley, according to listing photos, the grounds of the property feature an impressive circular motor court and fountain in the front and a wide lawn in the back. Beyond the lawn there’s a swimming pool and grotto, pickleball courts, basketball courts, a guest house and an abundance of patio space.

The estate was designed by Richard Landry, called the “King of the Megamansion,” who has erected homes for Kourtney Kardashian and Tom Brady.

Listing agent Ginger Glass at Compass didn’t respond immediately to a request for a comment.

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Trump Administration Could Bring an Economic ‘Detox.’ What It Means for Stocks.

As another week begins with more selling–all three major indexes are falling, with the Nasdaq Composite hit hardest–fear is undoubtedly running high in the market. The Cboe Volatility Index, Wall Street’s fear gauge, jumped 15% to 27 on Monday morning. That would be its highest close since Dec. 18, when it was at 27.62.

Uncertainty about government policy and the health of the economy is overshadowing positive data.

Tariffs are one part of the problem. Not only are they disruptive to global trade and lead to higher prices, but President Donald Trump has walked back their implementation and doubled down enough to give the market whiplash. And then there are worries about huge cuts to federal spending, including mass firings and slashing outlays for programs, with a budget fight that could lead to a government shutdown at the end of the week.

Investors have little incentive to keep the faith, especially because signs of economic weakness are starting to emerge.

“Prior to tariff uncertainty, Momentum factors were leading, and risk factor returns were stable,” notes 22V Research’s Dennis DeBusschere. “ Payrolls and PMI data indicate weaker growth at the same time tariffs are adding to uncertainty about the path of economic data and earnings.” The result is that stocks are swinging wildly, riskier names are out of favor, and defensive shares are the flavor of the month.

According to Sevens Report’s Tom Essaye, “until there’s some movement towards stable policy, the best we can hope for is a churn sideways between around 5,700 and 6,000 in the S&P 500.” The index broke below 5650 in morning trading Monday.

The problem is that the greater the losses, the more the market could be closing in on a “liquidation avalanche,” as Dohmen Capital Research’s Bert Dohmen puts it. The concern is that forced selling, such as to raise cash for margin calls on shares bought with borrowed money, or by money managers desperate to limit losses, creates a downward spiral.

Wall Street famously abhors unpredictability, but even more worrisome may be rhetoric from Washington, D.C., that indicates the Trump administration is fine with causing what it believes will be a short-lived downturn as it pursues long-term goals it considers more important.

Asked whether a recession on the way, the president declined to rule out the possibility. “I hate to predict things like that,” Trump told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. “There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, predicted “a natural adjustment as we move away from public spending to private spending, in an interview with CNBC. “The market and the economy have just become hooked, and we’ve become addicted to this government spending, and there’s going to be a detox period. There’s going to be a detox.”

As T.S. Lombard’s Dario Perkins notes, Elon Musk and others in Trump’s orbit have pointed to Argentina as a successful example of this strategy. President Javier Milei imposed strict austerity measures to combat inflation, leading to a brief recession in 2024.

Of course, “copying the policies of a country that had massive endemic corruption and was on the brink of hyperinflation is, er, problematic,” Perkins writes. “Yes, inflation is a bit high, but not so high that Musk and co should deliberately engineer a recession. Perhaps the new U.S. administration has forgotten what a ‘real’ recession is like.”

The 2008-2009 financial crisis was nearly two decades ago, and the U.S. only rebounded from the Covid-19 downturn so quickly and strongly because of huge government spending. That means it is “odd to see US policymakers talk as if they want to inflict damage on the economy, or at least do things that risk causing damage,” he notes.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Damage could snowball quickly. If big government layoffs continue at a time when hiring is already weak, it could lead to a further loss of confidence and even higher unemployment. And as history shows, recessions aren’t always quick or without damage.

“The US is not Argentina, and it is not facing an imminent debt crisis,” Perkins writes. “In any case, does anyone seriously think a recession in 2025 would lower America’s debt trajectory? Every recession I know has had the exact opposite effect.”

The good news is that we aren’t there yet. Earnings have held up well, and while the mention of tariffs in fourth-quarter conference calls was up 40% from their prior peak in 2018, mentions of a recession fell to their lowest point since the first quarter of 2018, as DataTrek Research’s Nicolas Colas notes.

“The dichotomy between record high ‘tariff’ and near-record low ‘recession’ mentions on investor calls neatly reflects the mood of corporate America,” he writes. “The C-suite is struggling to come to grips with tariff policy but remains fairly optimistic on the US economy. So far, anyway…Any change to the latter view would be unwelcomed.”

For his part, TS Lombard’s Perkins isn’t predicting a recession. Sevens Reports’ Essaye notes that concern about tariffs so far has been worse than their effects. While it makes sense to brace for volatility, “that negative scenario is not a foregone conclusion and actual facts on the economy and earnings [are] hanging on.” he says.

22V Research’s DeBusschere highlights that in aggregate, macroeconomic data still point to a very high probability that the U.S. economy is still expanding. “Over the past few weeks though, market internals have weakened to a level more consistent with economic slowdowns/heightened recession risk,” he says. “Markets are discounting a sharp slowdown that is not evident TODAY in actual data.”

The problem is that as long as chaotic moves in Washington, D.C., continue, that won’t matter for stocks.

“Although the U.S. will still likely avoid a recession this year, investor sentiment does appear to be headed toward another recession scare,” writes Paulsen Perspectives’ Jim Paulsen. “An actual recession would probably result in a bear market, but even an ongoing or worsening ‘fear’ of recession will likely magnify the current stock market correction.”

When the market gets clarity about what comes next, prices can recover. But until then, it is hard to see how stocks can rise consistently. Just the fear of a recession is enough to weigh on markets.

Write to Teresa Rivas at teresa.rivas@barrons.com

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S’Mores With More. Giving the Fireside Classic an Elevated Spin.

One of America’s greatest contributions to the pantheon of sweet treats is the s’more. Nothing more than a simple combination of chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker (preferably heated up over a crackling fire), s’mores have become a beloved pastime among kids of all ages, and in recent years the once-humble dessert has evolved in a number of ways.

Countless restaurants and resorts have elevated the combination, creating unique offerings that barely resemble the original version. The best part of these fine-dining iterations is that they can be made in the (warm) comfort of home.

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Mansion Global Experience Luxury consulted with a range of culinary talent from across the U.S., seeking out their spins on the beloved dessert. From drinkable and dippable versions to fanciful concoctions made with luxurious ingredients, these recipes will change how you look at s’mores.

The Elvis

One of the toniest hotels in the nation’s capital, Salamander Washington DC, serves this decadent creation at its lobby-level lounge or on the picturesque terrace restaurant overlooking the Washington Marina. “When reimagining the classic s’mores, I wanted to create something truly unique,” says Leanne Wood, pastry sous-chef. “The first combination that came to mind was peanut butter and bananas—a pairing I’ve always adored. I wanted to take it even further and add a bold twist. That’s when the idea of bacon came into play, leading to the creation of tequila-candied bacon. How could I resist combining these iconic flavors into an elevated s’mores experience?”

Ingredients 

Makes four servings

8 pieces of milk chocolate bars

8 graham crackers broken into squares

8 marshmallows

8 tablespoons peanut butter

2 bananas, slightly green

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1/4 cup dark Anejo Tequila

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 pound bacon

For Tequila Brown Sugar Bacon

Heat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay bacon slices in a single layer on the baking sheet (using two if they won’t fit on one). Brush bacon on both sides with tequila. Sprinkle brown sugar on both sides of the bacon. Bake until crispy, for about 25–30 minutes. Remove bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate, and let cool for at least five minutes before serving.

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Directions

Melt butter in a frying pan and gently fry the bananas, being careful not to mash them. When bananas are browned on each side, sprinkle lightly with brown sugar and remove from heat. Top a graham cracker with a square of chocolate. Spread peanut butter generously over another graham-cracker square. Toast a marshmallow and add it to your chocolate and graham-cracker stack. Top with a few caramelized bananas and tequila brown sugar bacon slices. Combine the two crackers to form a sandwich.

S’mores Milk Punch

When it comes to the winter season, Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans provides a memorable environment, especially when patrons indulge in this drinkable take on s’mores at the posh Chandelier Bar. “This drink pulls on our sentimental heartstrings and makes us feel immersed in the festivities,” says chef-partner Alon Shaya. “Milk punch might be trendy today, but this creamy and rich format has been a part of the New Orleans cocktail scene for generations.”

Ingredients 

Makes one serving

1.5 ounce bourbon

1 ounce heavy cream

0.75 ounce Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao

0.25 ounce simple syrup

1 small graham cracker

Mini marshmallows (or one large marshmallow)

Freshly shaved nutmeg

Directions

Fill a shaker with ice and add the liquids. Shake vigorously for 5 to 7 seconds. Fill an Old Fashioned glass with fresh ice and strain the liquids through the shaker and into the glass. Garnish with nutmeg, graham cracker, and as many marshmallows as desired.

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Maple-Bacon Savory S’mores

Befitting its status as one of Vermont’s most elevated luxury slopeside communities, Spruce Peak—located at the base of Stowe’s imposing Mount Mansfield—serves up s’mores in style. Guests of The Lodge at Spruce Peak can enjoy this savory take on the classic at cozy venues such as the WhistlePig Pavilion and Alpine Hall. “When brainstorming ideas for a wedding group who wanted an over-the-top s’mores bar, we came up with the idea to swap out the traditional marshmallow with raclette cheese—a melty alpine-style cheese that is no stranger to fire,” says executive chef Sean Blomgren. “The savory-sweet pairing of the smoky cheese with our signature maple-bacon jam makes for an unforgettable twist on the traditional s’more.”

Ingredients 

Makes four to eight servings

16 black pepper-thyme crackers (or suitable store-bought alternative)

1/2 cup maple-bacon jam

1/2 pound Raclette cheese, cut into eight 2-inch by 2-inch rectangles, ½-inch thick

Roasting sticks

For Maple-Bacon Jam

1 pound bacon, diced

1 large shallot, diced

½ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup Vermont maple syrup

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

2 sprigs thyme

Use a heavy-bottomed shallow pan and render bacon until browned and crispy. Drain most of the bacon fat and add shallots to sweat. Once translucent, add remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat until syrupy. Makes 2 cups.

Directions

Make maple-bacon jam ahead of time. When ready to assemble, skewer cheese pieces with two long sticks for stability. Roast over an open fire until bubbly and starting to melt (too melty and the cheese will fall into the fire). Place cheese onto one cracker at a time, and top with bacon jam. Top each with a second cracker to form savory s’mores.

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S’mores Martini

It doesn’t get much cozier than Lake Placid’s Whiteface Lodge in the heart of New York’s Adirondacks. This indulgent cocktail can be enjoyed at Peak 47’s copper-topped bar or while seated outside in one of the resort’s rustic lean-tos. “This cocktail was crafted to perfectly complement the cozy, inviting atmosphere of Peak 47, capturing the essence of Whiteface Lodge—whether you’re savoring it at the bar or relaxing by the fireplace,” says chef Michael Jacobs.

Ingredients 

Makes one serving

1 ounce Mozart Chocolate Cream Liqueur

1 ounce Smirnoff Vanilla vodka

1.5 ounces Bailey’s Irish Cream

Ghirardelli chocolate syrup

Crushed graham crackers

2 marshmallows

Directions

Line the rim of a chilled coupe glass with chocolate syrup, and roll the rim onto crushed graham crackers. Combine liquids in a shaker; shake and double-strain into the glass. Place two marshmallows on a toothpick. Toast the marshmallows by briefly lighting them on fire. Allow the flames to naturally extinguish, or carefully blow them out if needed. Once toasted, place the marshmallows on top of the glass.

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Lux S’mores Fondue

Guests of The Gwen, a Luxury Collection Hotel rooted in the history and heritage of downtown Chicago in the 1930s, can enjoy this sociable, communal take on the classic. “There’s something magical about gathering around a fire pit on a winter night,” says executive chef Matt Jergens. “This fondue was inspired by that very feeling—a warm, cozy experience meant to bring friends and family together on our rooftop terrace, sharing laughter, stories, and that perfect bite of melted chocolate by the glow of the fire pits and city lights.”

Ingredients

Makes four to six servings

1 cup Callebaut extra bitter Guayaquil couverture chocolate (chips or bars broken into 1-inch squares)

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup honey

Pinch sea salt

12 graham crackers

24 marshmallows

1 package of pre-made cheesecake bites or 1 full cheesecake, sliced

1 box or sleeve of shortbread cookies

3 large bananas sliced

1 package of fresh strawberries, cleaned

Directions

Combine the cream and honey in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Pour mixture over chocolate in a mixing bowl; add salt. Stir until smooth, then transfer to a traditional fondue pot over heat. (Use at least a six-cup stainless steel or ceramic fondue pot, electric or integrated burner based on preference.) Using fondue sticks or long wooden skewers, dip preferred items into the fondue and then place in between or on top of graham crackers to make a traditional s’mores bite, or create your own deconstructed s’more with the fondue.

This article originally appeared in the  February 2025 issue  of Mansion Global Experience Luxury.

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Gucci Heiress’s California Desert Home Hits the Rental Market for $28,000 a Month

A Southern California desert compound built by a Gucci heiress is now available to rent for $28,000 a month.

Located in Palm Desert, about 25 miles south of Palm Springs, the home was bought and renovated in the 1990s by Patricia Gucci, the only daughter of Aldo Gucci and granddaughter of Guccio Gucci, who founded the luxury Italian fashion house, according to The Wall Street Journal . It has been on and off both the sales and rental markets since 2012, once asking as much as $9 million, the listing history shows.

On a map the 4-acre property’s location appears totally remote, but it’s just 11 minutes from the main strip in Palm Desert, which has grocery stores, restaurants, art galleries and high-end shopping. Driving up to the property, though, it “feels like you’re going through Mars,” said listing agent Michelle Schwartz of the Agency.

“It’s a total retreat,” she said. “You have peace, remoteness, security, safety, but it’s a lot closer [to town] than people give it credit for.”

Schwartz and her colleague Adrienne Herkes brought the property to the rental market at the end of February. Schwartz couldn’t comment on the seller’s identity.

Located within a gated community in the Santa Rosa Mountains, the compound comprises a main house and two guest houses, which in total offer 10 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms and about 10,800 square feet of living space. Each guest house has its own kitchen.

Its style takes inspiration from a variety of cultures, with details including Moroccan-style wall niches, plaster walls, and a Greek-inspired built-in bed in the primary bedroom.

The seller “is a world traveler, and she’s collected energy and vibes from all different parts of the world and put them together into this property that she’s been part-time living in for all these years,” Schwartz said.

Both the compound’s tennis court and pool overlook views of the Coachella Valley, as the property sits high up on Bighorn Mountain.

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“It’s almost like you’re on top of the world,” Schwartz said. “And oftentimes, you can see bighorn animals. It’s a very natural setting.”

Schwartz added that because of the property’s high altitude, it remains about 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the base of the mountain, making it more bearable, even in the summer.

The property, which can be rented for short terms, hits the market in anticipation of the area’s slew of spring festivals, including Coachella and Stagecoach. Schwartz also thinks the property would be “perfect” for someone seeking inspiration, or even an artist in need of a backdrop for a photo shoot.

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“It’s somewhere you can think. You don’t hear anything—there’s no cars, there’s no noise,” Schwartz said. “You’re close enough to everything [in town], so you can have the nuances of everyday life and modern living, but you’re completely removed once you’re here, and you can breathe.”

Patricia Gucci, who founded the luxury travel bag brand Aviteur, couldn’t be reached for comment.

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The Stunning Collapse of the Premier League’s Most Successful Club

There was a time in European soccer when Manchester United was known as one of the smartest spenders in the game.

The club’s massive commercial empire allowed it to pay sky-high salaries, outbid rivals for talent, and turn over its squad often enough and cleverly enough to build several different dynasties. The approach was costly, but the club left no doubt that it worked.

These days, United is learning the hard way that losing can be just as expensive.

The crisis at the club runs so deep that it’s taking emergency measures everywhere it can to cut costs, despite record investment. It was less than two years ago that British petrochemicals billionaire Jim Ratcliffe paid $1.3 billion for a 25% stake in United, which he has since increased to 29%, on top of a $300 million injection of cash.

Since then, results have only gone backwards. The club has continued a streak of losing money every year since 2019. The squad is so thin that a sudden rash of injuries has left it desperately short of senior players. And United currently languishes in 14th place in the English Premier League after a 1-1 draw against Arsenal.

A midseason coaching change cost United around $28 million to pull off, according to the club’s accounts. Some $13.5 million went to previous manager Erik ten Hag and his coaching staff in severance, while the cost of bringing in Ruben Amorim and his assistants from Sporting Lisbon hit $14.5 million.

And while money goes out for correcting course on the pitch, the club is trying to find ways to save cash away from it. Last month, United announced around 200 layoffs, beyond the 250 jobs it had already cut in 2024. The club also announced plans to close its staff cafeteria and ended its policy of serving free lunches to non-players at the practice facility.

“This cannot continue,” United CEO Omar Berrada said. “These hard choices are necessary to put the club back on a stable financial footing.”

The quickest way for a club of United’s standing to do that is to qualify for the richest annual event in club soccer, the Champions League. Simply showing up for the tournament this season was worth $20 million, with bonuses paid for each draw or victory. A trip to the quarterfinals adds another $25 million, while the team that wins the whole thing could rake in more than $80 million.

But United is nowhere near a Champions League qualifying berth for next season. Its only path back into the elite would be winning this season’s Europa League, which looks far-fetched—the club is currently tied in its round-of-16 matchup against Spain’s Real Sociedad.

“If you have a football team that is playing well and are winning games then, in a certain way, it’s easier for the fans and for everybody to feel those changes,” head coach Ruben Amorim said of the restructuring at United.

Things have devolved so far that one United supporters’ group is organizing a protest outside Old Trafford ahead of Sunday’s home game against Arsenal, because it believes the club is “slowly dying.”

“For everyone in our club, it is a tough moment,” Amorim said. “People have the right to protest.”

The last time United finished outside the top 10 in England’s top tier was the 1989-90 season. Back then the creaking club was also racked by injuries and lost more games than it won, but stood by its embattled manager while fans clamored for him to be fired. Only a narrow victory in the FA Cup kept him in place. If it’s any consolation to United supporters 35 years later, that manager’s name was Alex Ferguson. He went on to turn Manchester United into one of the most successful clubs of the modern era.

These days, however, the club seems farther away from a revival than ever. The club that prided itself on its relentless goal scoring under Ferguson has netted fewer goals than 14 other teams. It hasn’t won back-to-back games in the Premier League all season. And Amorim has openly questioned the effort of some of his players.

“You can’t be at 99% every day because then you lose games against the teams that are in the Premier League,” United defender Matthijs de Ligt said. “In a lot of games, we haven’t been good enough.”

What United doesn’t seem to know is how to fix it. Amorim has defended the team’s style of play and reshuffled his squad in the hopes that there is enough cash on hand to bring in reinforcements this summer.

“But sometimes it’s a lack of results and you have to win games,” Amorim said. “I know the consequences when you don’t win.”

Write to Joshua Robinson at Joshua.Robinson@wsj.com