The nanny for the super rich

Spriha Srivastava, November 25, 2022

Hello, Insiders. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

This is Spriha Srivastava, filling in for Nicholas Carlson. I’m Insider’s London bureau chief and international executive editor. Our US team is off for Thanksgiving holiday, but our global newsrooms are still in action.

It’s already starting to look a lot like Christmas here in London and I am hoping to get my tree up this weekend.

But while it’s festive all around, surging inflation in the UK means the cost of living has increased at its fastest rate in over 40 years. Food and energy prices have gone up and everything feels a lot more expensive this year, including the Christmas tree.

But the pain is not just limited to the UK. Food shortages and rising prices have been a big theme globally in 2022. The American Farm Bureau Federation says the cost of turkey is up by more than a fifth compared to last year as a result of supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine, while some farms have also been hit by bird flu.

Did you find your Thanksgiving dinner more expensive this year? Let me know at insidertoday@insider.com.

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The latest

• Elon Musk fired dozens more Twitter staff the night before Thanksgiving, people familiar with the matter told Insider. It comes days after saying he was done with layoffs. Read the full report here.

• World Cup 2022: England vs USA. Our London newsroom wishes the best of luck to our friends across the pond today — but not too much luck, of course. Here’s how to watch the game.

• LIVE: We’ve found the best Black Friday deals. You can view all the biggest discounts here — but before you purchase, you may want to know which major retailers will be charging customers to return items. 

The big story

Jane Fox Photography

A British nanny who worked for billionaire families shared the wildest things she ever witnessed.

Kathryn Lord has traveled the world looking after the kids of the super rich, often flying first class with the family’s private chef. It’s a life few can even glimpse at, and her experiences are as outlandish as you might imagine.

Lord told us about when one parent handed her their credit card, and said she wasn’t allowed to refuse anything their child asked for. On another occasion, a family had a chef on call 24 hours a day, and would wake them up in the middle of the night if they got hungry. Even being waited on by butlers, Lord said, takes some getting used to.

While working for the world’s 1% gave Lord access to a certain kind of lifestyle, there is one thing she would change about the experience.

Read the full story here.

Top reads

Contributor/Getty Images

• One of Russia’s biggest tech giants wants out of the country. Amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Yandex — often referred to as Russia’s Google — is looking to cut ties with the country, according to the New York Times. The exit could deliver a massive blow to Vladimir Putin. Read more here.

• Companies from Starbucks to Disney are turning to their old CEOs. Disney stunned Hollywood by reinstating Bob Iger as CEO, less than three years after he left the post — but it’s not the only business bringing back a familiar face. Starbucks, Apple, and Dell have all seen success returning to former leadership. Find out why.

• “I wear pigtails to my waitressing job because men tip better.” That’s according to 22-year-old server Katelyn Boss, who works at a sports bar in Utah. When she first started waitressing, she struggled to make tips. But after watching the “pigtail theory” on TikTok, she made her first $100 tip. “It grosses me out, but the money is worth it” — read Boss’ story here.

• Caroline Ellison has emerged as a viral character amid the FTX implosion. She rose to the top job at Alameda Research, a trading firm that borrowed customer funds from FTX to cover its losses and make risky bets, while leaving behind a trail of online hot takes about crypto, race science, and polyamory. Here are some of her most striking quotes.

• Former members of an “orgasm cult” are speaking out. In a new Netflix documentary, ex-members of OneTaste — a San Francisco company centered around “orgasmic meditation” — say its founders and other leaders encouraged them to have sex to settle arguments and heal from trauma. Read the full story.

Today’s sound bite

“I’ve worked 37 years in advertising. Everything great in life and in business is born outta great communication. Sex is no different.”

Cindy Gallop, founder, Make Love, Not Porn, on only dating younger men. Check out the full segment in today’s episode of The Refresh from Insider.

Watch this

The Sitarmakers of Miraj in India have been crafting musical instruments out of pumpkins for almost 200 years. They are known for making the tanpura, a string instrument used by classical singers to find the perfect tone. Watch their story.

Today’s team

This edition was curated by Spriha Srivastava, and edited by Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan, and Shona Ghosh. Get in touch: insidertoday@insider.com.

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