The midterms are shaping up to be a battle of bank accounts as much as ballot boxes, and one industry in particular is putting an enormous amount of money behind its political priorities.
The cryptocurrency industry has emerged as one of the largest sources of political cash in the 2026 elections, pouring roughly $200 million into the midterm cycle as it seeks to elect a Congress willing to rewrite the rules governing digital assets.
Four major crypto interests alone — Ripple Labs and co-founder Chris Larsen, Coinbase, the Winklevoss twins, and Crypto.com — have contributed roughly $202 million during the election cycle, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/08/28/us/politics/billionaire-midterms-donors.html">New York Times</a> campaign-finance data published Friday. 
Ripple and Larsen have given $65.7 million, according to the Times. Coinbase has contributed $55.2 million, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have given $42.7 million, and Crypto.com has contributed another $38.6 million.
At the center of that effort is Fairshake, a crypto-focused super PAC whose affiliated groups operate on both sides of the aisle. Fairshake had raised nearly $137 million during the 2026 elections by July, according to <a href="https://perma.cc/9HD8-SKG9">FEC records</a>.
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/which-midterm-candidates-is-crypto-industry-backing-2026-08-03/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Reuters</a> reported in August that the industry has backed a bipartisan collection of candidates who have generally supported crypto-friendly candidates. Congress has already delivered one major victory on that front, with President Donald Trump signing the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-sends-genius-act-to-trump-passes-two-other-crypto-bills">GENIUS Act</a> last year, establishing a federal regulatory framework for dollar-backed stablecoins. 
Now, the industry is pushing for the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/what-is-us-senates-landmark-crypto-bill-2026-07-22/">CLARITY Act</a>, which would establish broader rules for digital assets and delineate regulatory authority over the industry.
The legislation has become a major priority for crypto companies, which have spent more than $225 million on lobbying since Trump returned to the White House, according to the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/352a15ac-53c4-46eb-b75e-957f0388dc79?syn-25a6b1a6=1">Financial Times</a>. 
The bill passed the House but has encountered resistance in the Senate, including from Republicans concerned about its implications for traditional financial institutions.
Not to be outdone, traditional partisan mega-donors such as Republicans Jeff Yass, Miriam Adelson, Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, Paul Singer, Ken Griffin and Democrats George and Alex Soros remain major players, pouring hundreds of millions into races across the country.
But the Times&#8217; list of the 20 largest donors shows how quickly technology and industry-specific political interests have moved into the upper echelon of campaign finance. 
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, along with their venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, lead the list with $115.3 million in contributions. Elon Musk follows with $90.5 million, while OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife Anna have contributed $50 million.
Andreessen Horowitz is a major funder of Fairshake while also backing Leading the Future, a super PAC focused on electing politicians favorable to the artificial intelligence industry. 
Reuters reported that the firm has contributed more than $81 million to political action committees focused primarily on crypto and AI, while its founders have also made personal contributions.
For all the tech dollars pouring into the political arena, however, the traditional party structures remain <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-democrats-cash-crunch-and-what-it-means-for-2026-and-beyond">the sweetest plum</a>. 
Republican committees and allied congressional super PACs entered the general election with roughly $657 million in cash on hand, compared with approximately $334 million for Democratic committees and their allied organizations. President Trump&#8217;s MAGA Inc. super PAC adds another enormous reservoir of Republican-aligned money, with more than $400 million available heading into the final months of the campaign.
With the general election approaching, the cryptocurrency industry has amassed enough political firepower to make sure lawmakers in both parties are listening.

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That six-digit code you race to copy before it expires could eventually be a thing of the past.
A new technology rolling out across America’s three biggest wireless carriers could allow banks to verify customers without sending them a text message at all.
Glide.id launched a public beta of <a href="https://www.glide.id/blog/magicalauth-beta-launches-on-ios-and-android-across-all-three-major-u-s-carriers">MagicalAuth</a> this month across AT&amp;T, T-Mobile, and Verizon on both iPhones and Android devices. The technology is meant to replace the familiar security codes Americans receive when logging into bank accounts and other sensitive services.
Instead of sending a temporary number that customers have to type in themselves, MagicalAuth uses a cryptographic key tied to the SIM or eSIM already inside a phone. According to Glide, that allows the carrier network to help confirm the correct device is being used without sending the customer a code.
That also means there’s no six-digit number sitting in a text message waiting to be stolen.
Scammers have found plenty of ways to get their hands on those codes. Some pose as bank employees and simply ask victims to read the number back to them. Others use fake login pages or SIM-swap schemes to gain access to a victim’s phone number.
There’s plenty of money at stake.
Americans reported $15.9 billion in fraud losses in 2025, according to the <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/03/ftc-testifies-joint-economic-committee-agencys-efforts-combat-fraud">Federal Trade Commission</a>. Imposter scams topped the list of reported fraud and accounted for more than $3.5 billion in losses.
Glide says its system also checks for recent SIM changes, which could help flag a potential SIM-swap attack before a newly activated SIM is used to access an account.
But don’t delete your text messages just yet.
The technology may be available across the three major carriers, but individual banks and other companies still have to adopt it. Glide says it is currently wrapping up initial pilots with major financial institutions and fintech companies.
It also won’t stop every scam. A fraudster could still impersonate a bank employee or convince someone to transfer money voluntarily.
But when it comes to stealing that little six-digit number from your phone, scammers could eventually have one less trick to work with.

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President Donald Trump has unleashed his massive $400 million war chest for the first time this year in a hotly contested GOP primary as party officials worry the president has yet to focus on key battleground races.
On Monday, Trump <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00892471/2009583//se">Super PAC MAGA, Inc.</a> made its first significant spending since November 2025, pouring $827,711 into GOTV calls and text messages for Darline Graham in Tuesday’s South Carolina Senate GOP runoff. The group last reported more than $403 million cash on hand.
The South Carolina race appears personal to the president, who hand-picked Darline Graham to fill the shoes of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/08/25/2026/trump-tries-to-pull-darline-graham-to-victory">telling a tele-rally </a>audience that he “got her into this whole thing” and “has to make sure she gets in.”
The last-minute push for Graham marks the <a href="https://x.com/rpyers/status/2091977182835097913?s=20">first time</a> Trump has tapped into his hundreds of millions since coming to the rescue of Rep. Matt Van Epps in Tennessee’s closer-than-expected 7th Congressional District special election.
The money dump in South Carolina highlights Trump’s increasing involvement in divisive and hotly contested GOP primaries as he continues to withhold money from key battleground states and races with just 70 days to go until Election Day. 
“Well, I’ve raised a lot, and nobody knows what it is, but I will tell you it’s about $850 million,” Trump said, <a href="https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/2090929512590582107?s=20">teasing</a> his financial involvement in the midterms. “I’ll be spending a lot of that money, and my own money, for candidates that I think are good — Republican candidates that I think are good.”
MAGA, Inc. may be calculating that voter engagement will intensify closer to Election Day, making a larger spending push in late September and October more effective.
“When you add the $850 million to all of the other money that we’ve raised, we’re in very good shape,” Trump added in an August 21 gaggle with reporters.
Perhaps no candidate is more eager for Trump’s financial firepower than Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is locked in a tight Senate race with Democrat James Talarico.
Over the weekend, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/greg-abbott-downplays-gop-fears-about-texas-turning-blue?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Greg+Abbott+Has+A+Message+For+Those+Betting+On+Texas+Turning+Blue">downplayed fears </a>that Democrats could flip the Lone Star State blue this year and seize control of the U.S. Senate. “Well, let’s put it in context where Ken Paxton is in his campaign, and that is he was in a three-month-long runoff that demanded capital, it demanded campaigning, demanded his attention, and so he’s just now catching up in the campaign process with Talarico,” Abbott told ABC News.
“Talarico got away with something, and that is with Ken Paxton campaigning against John Cornyn as opposed to Talarico,” he added.
The Senate GOP’s fundraising arms have continued to withhold money from Paxton’s campaign after Trump led the effort to oust incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/greg-abbott-downplays-gop-fears-about-texas-turning-blue?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Greg+Abbott+Has+A+Message+For+Those+Betting+On+Texas+Turning+Blue">The Daily Wire</a> reported. Since then, Talarico has dominated the airwaves while Paxton has struggled to raise money in one of the nation’s largest and most expensive states for statewide campaigns. The <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/senate/general/2026/texas/talarico-vs-paxton">RealClearPolitics</a> polling average gives Talarico a nearly two-point advantage.
With control of both the House and Senate up for grabs, Republicans face significant headwinds heading into Election Day, including <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">elevated gas prices</a>, the lingering <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-iranian-protests-intensify-as-citizens-demand-end-to-ayatollah-rule?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=U.S.+Hammers+Iran+After+Tehran%E2%80%99s+Attempt+To+Take+Out+American+Troops">war with Iran</a>, and President Trump’s low approval ratings. The latest <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/state-of-the-union/generic-congressional-vote">RealClearPolitics </a>polling average gives Democrats a roughly 6.4-percentage-point lead on the generic congressional ballot.

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Tech billionaire Elon Musk reportedly plans to fund a massive ground operation to boost Republicans and spend up to $200 million ahead of the November midterm elections. 
Musk plans to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-jumps-back-in-to-help-with-trumps-midterm-fight">relaunch America PAC</a>, the same political group that spent hundreds of millions helping elect President Donald Trump in 2024, with a heavy focus on battleground states. The revived operation will prioritize door-knocking, digital advertising, and direct mail to energize conservative voters who typically skip midterms.
The former DOGE chief, who quit Washington after a falling out with the White House, is expected to spend between $100 million and $200 million, with a major focus on Texas, where <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/texas-senate-election-winner">one prediction market</a> currently favors Democrat James Talarico to upset Republican Ken Paxton in the make-or-break U.S. Senate race. <a href="https://archive.ph/Hsut7#selection-1927.104-1927.127">Wired</a> first reported on the development. 
“America PAC was an essential partner for our historic GOTV operation in 2024, and their return for 2026 is a huge boost for Republicans across the country,” James Blair, President Trump’s senior political adviser, told <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/29/musk-pac-midterm-election">Axios</a> in July. “We will again outsmart our opponents and ruthlessly execute our mission for the GOP between now and Election Day.” 
It’s a striking reversal for the X owner, who just <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-goes-after-trump-over-epstein-files-time-to-drop-the-really-big-bomb">last year accused Trump </a>of covering up convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and implied the president himself was implicated.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!” Musk said in June 2025, before adding a follow-up: “Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”
“This is an unfortunate episode from Elon,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-responds-to-elon-musk-epstein-claims-an-unfortunate-episode-from-elon?utm_source=chatgpt.com">The Daily Wire</a> at the time, saying Musk was “unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted.”
Musk, who also threatened to financially back a third political party, later de-escalated the feud and deleted several of his most inflammatory social media posts — including his Epstein allegations — and publicly acknowledged that some of his attacks on Trump “went too far.” 
Following the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Musk and Trump publicly reconciled at <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1969870768201777180?s=20">Kirk’s memorial service</a> in Arizona, where the two shook hands and spoke for the first time since their falling out. The reunion fulfilled a promise the late conservative activist made, who also helped elect Trump and transform an entire generation of young conservatives. 
“I know both these guys… I am hopeful, optimistic, and will do everything I possibly can to try and bring this back together,” Kirk <a href="https://www.wral.com/archive/22170145/">said</a> in June of last year.
Since then, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has been a social media advocate for the administration’s policies, despite recently acknowledging he got “carried away” during his brief stint with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. 
“I think I got a little too involved in politics,” Musk <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5988248-doge-initiative-shut-down/">told</a> The Economist. “I got carried away, frankly.”
Still, Musk&#8217;s cash infusion will add to Republicans’ already formidable financial advantage heading into the midterms. President Trump’s super PAC has amassed a $400 million war chest. In contrast, the Democratic National Committee reportedly owes about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flat-broke-dnc-meltdown-sparks-panic-on-the-left" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$2 million</a><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flat-broke-dnc-meltdown-sparks-panic-on-the-left">. </a>
With control of both the House and Senate up for grabs, Republicans face significant headwinds heading into Election Day, including <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">elevated gas prices</a>, the lingering <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-iranian-protests-intensify-as-citizens-demand-end-to-ayatollah-rule?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=U.S.+Hammers+Iran+After+Tehran%E2%80%99s+Attempt+To+Take+Out+American+Troops">war with Iran</a>, and President Trump’s low approval ratings. The latest <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/state-of-the-union/generic-congressional-vote">RealClearPolitics </a>polling average gives Democrats a roughly 6.5-percentage point lead on the generic congressional ballot.

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The Trump administration is moving to claw back tens of millions of dollars in pandemic relief that went to celebrities, music artists, and entertainment industry elites.
The Small Business Administration announced Tuesday that it has referred $34 million in outstanding Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) debt to the Treasury Department, marking the first time the federal government has referred unresolved debt from the program to the Treasury for collection.
The move is part of a broader effort by SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler to recover pandemic-era funds that the agency says were improperly awarded or remain outstanding. 
“Under the Biden Administration, the SVOG program became one of the biggest cash-grabs of the pandemic,” Loeffler said in a statement first obtained by The Daily Wire. “For the last year, the Trump SBA has been working to recoup funds meant for struggling small arts and entertainment businesses that ended up lining the pockets of celebrities, music artists, and elite talent agents.”
“Today’s $34 million referral to the Treasury Department is only the first one,” she added, saying the agency will continue using “every lawful tool to claw back unmerited SVOG payments.”
The Treasury referral comes after recipients failed to resolve outstanding repayment obligations through the SBA’s debt-resolution process. The $34 million figure includes principal, applicable administrative costs, and accrued interest. The Biden administration never referred the outstanding SVOG debts to the Treasury for collection, according to the SBA.
The SVOG program was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide emergency assistance to live venue operators, promoters, theatrical producers, performing arts organizations, museums, movie theaters, and talent representatives whose businesses were affected by pandemic-related shutdowns and revenue losses.
Congress authorized $16.25 billion for the program, with individual applicants eligible for grants of up to $10 million. 
But the program ultimately became a source of millions of dollars in federal aid for some of the entertainment industry&#8217;s wealthiest names. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lil-wayne-chris-brown-covid-relief-funds-svog-grant-2024-12">Business Insider</a> previously reported that musicians including Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Marshmello, Steve Aoki, and members of Alice in Chains received millions of dollars through the program.
Lil Wayne&#8217;s touring company received an $8.9 million grant. Records reviewed by Business Insider showed that more than $1.3 million was spent on private-jet flights and more than $460,000 on clothing and accessories, while nearly $88,000 was charged to taxpayers for a concert the rapper did not ultimately perform.
Chris Brown&#8217;s touring company received $10 million, with approximately $5.1 million going to Brown personally. His company also charged nearly $80,000 to the grant for his birthday party.
Marshmello received $9.9 million, while Steve Aoki&#8217;s touring company received millions more. Business Insider reported that Aoki&#8217;s company used approximately $1.9 million of its grant for officer pay.
The program&#8217;s rules allowed recipients to spend grant money on a broad range of authorized business expenses, including payroll and owner compensation. That meant wealthy artists could qualify through corporate entities connected to their touring operations even if they personally possessed substantial assets, provided their businesses met the program&#8217;s eligibility requirements.
The grants were intended to help keep struggling businesses in the live entertainment industry afloat during the pandemic, when venues and performances were shut down across the country.
Instead, critics have pointed to instances in which large sums flowed to already wealthy entertainers and their business managers.
The SBA now says it is attempting to recover money it determined was improperly awarded or remains subject to repayment.
The agency began issuing rescission and demand letters to SVOG recipients in June 2025. Those recipients were given opportunities to appeal the agency&#8217;s determinations or enter repayment agreements before the SBA pursued additional collection measures.
The agency says it has recovered more than $50 million through voluntary and involuntary payments since the Trump administration began its recovery effort.
The SBA said additional referrals could follow as it continues reviewing outstanding awards and resolving recipients&#8217; repayment obligations. The SBA&#8217;s Office of Inspector General identified approximately $544 million in potentially improper SVOG payments. It also found that 2,590 awards worth approximately $4.8 billion remained open more than a year after they were supposed to have been closed out.
A separate 2025 inspector general report found that 1,080 SVOG grants remained open as of May 2025, meaning the agency had not yet fully accounted for how the funds were used. Roughly two-thirds of those recipients had either failed to submit required audits or failed to respond to questions about their use of the funds.
The program&#8217;s problems began almost immediately after Congress authorized the grants.
In 2021, amid pressure from lawmakers to get money out to struggling entertainment businesses as quickly as possible, the Biden administration directed SBA personnel to “presume applicant assertions to be true” and expedited the review of applications under $500,000. As many as two-thirds of approved applicants were reportedly on the Treasury Department&#8217;s Do Not Pay List. The SBA says its current effort is intended to restore accountability and ensure that pandemic-relief programs do not become a permanent loss for taxpayers.

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The Daily Wire got a first look at the latest way the Trump Administration is commemorating America’s 250th birthday. The Treasury Department is unveiling a new $100 bill with President Trump’s signature. The previous $100 bill, remodeled in 2009, featured the Treasury Secretary’s signature and the Treasurer’s signature, but on the new bill, President Trump’s signature will replace the Treasurer&#8217;s.
The $100 bill itself is printed from start to finish at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C., one of only two facilities in the country capable of producing U.S. currency. The bureau&#8217;s sister facility in Fort Worth, Texas, serves as a backup printing operation, allowing the government to continue producing currency if one facility were ever taken offline. Together, the two plants can print up to $1 billion in currency per day.
Production begins with printing the reverse side of the note before Benjamin Franklin&#8217;s portrait is added. The bills are printed in large sheets, assigned unique serial numbers, cut into individual notes, counted into bundles, and packaged into shipments worth millions of dollars before entering circulation. The Daily Wire also viewed previous generations of the $100 bill dating back to 1928, highlighting the evolution of the note&#8217;s security features and design.
The $100 bill is the latest object Trump has labeled with his name. On July 4, he unveiled Trump Accounts, a tax-advantaged investment program for American children dawned with his surname. Earlier, he also placed his name on the John F. Kennedy Center after taking control of its board, renaming it the Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts. A federal appeals court later ruled that only Congress had the power to rename an institution that was dedicated to a living memorial for President John F. Kennedy. 
The Trump branding predates his presidency. As a private citizen, Trump built an empire around his name, creating Trump Tower, Trump hotels, Trump Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, Trump Vodka, Trump Ice bottled water, Trump University, Trump Magazine, Trump mattresses, and dozens of other products and properties.

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In between parties for our nation’s 250th birthday party, I spent some time over the weekend opening six new <a href="https://trumpaccounts.gov/">Trump Accounts</a> for my six children, ages three to 12. They aren’t eligible for the $1,000 baby bonus for opening the accounts, but the younger four will receive $250 each from the Dell Foundation, available to children age 10 and under in most zip codes in the country. The older two may be eligible for a share of SpaceX stock after SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell announced, on the day the accounts launched, that she would gift two million shares to America’s children between the ages of 11 and 17.
During his speech at the launch in the Oval Office, Texas Senator Ted Cruz hit on one of the most important parts of the program: a new government initiative that doesn’t make Americans dependent upon the government. Comparing the program to the New Deal, Cruz explained, &#8220;Instead of having the government taking care of everyone, Trump Accounts are about making every child and every American a capitalist. Every one of our kids is now going to be an owner of one of the biggest producers in our country.”
As the power of the Democratic Socialists of America rises, parents and children <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-the-president-believes-trump-accounts-will-push-back-on-the-communist-threat">more than ever</a> need to understand the power and opportunity that comes in a capitalist society. President Donald Trump understands that nothing can turn you into a capitalist faster than watching the market make your money grow.
Americans have been ill-served in the school system, most notably in reading and math, for a myriad of reasons. One aspect of that poor education that’s little discussed is in financial literacy. In most schools in the country, public or private, the topic of investments never comes up. Americans don’t know how to save for their future, for college, or for their retirement. Most assume that investing is only for the super rich, that the only way they can grow their net worth is in a low-interest savings account offered at their local bank.
The education component is one of the most powerful assets of the Trump Accounts. Housed within a simple and easy-to-use app, the accounts allow Americans to dive into a crash course on investing. The app offers a dozen four-minute reads on topics such as “The power of compounding,” “What is a stock?” and “What is a fractional share?”
Americans can watch the seed money they’ve received grow in real time in their accounts. For the millions of Americans without financial accounts outside of a basic checking and savings account, this is their first chance to see how compounding works in action, encouraging further research into other kinds of investment accounts. The Trump Accounts can and should serve as a gateway drug into Americans opening a 529 account with their state or their own brokerage accounts with a firm like Schwab or Fidelity.
On the app, they can load projections based on the average growth of the market based on their child’s age and a sample monthly contribution.  I can easily see how a $50 per month contribution would transform my three-year-old’s account into almost $15,000 by the time he’s 18 and over $433,000 by the time he’s 60. For my 12-year-old, that looks like over $4,000 when she’s 18 and over $231,000 when she’s 60.
That sends a powerful message: the greatest gift of compounding is time. The earlier you invest, the better. But also, it’s never too late.
That’s not to say that from a tax perspective, the Trump Accounts are the perfect vehicle for growth and sheltering. Critics have argued that other kinds of accounts, such as 529 savings accounts and Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) accounts, may be better options.
But depending on individual circumstances, the benefits for many Americans are clear: Employers (including parents who own their own S-Corp companies) and family members can easily invest in a child’s account. Philanthropists like the Dells and SpaceX can contribute and ensure that their fortunes are helping the next generation of American children instead of sinking into useless nonprofits claiming to fight climate, racism, or poverty. They can make a tangible impact fighting poverty instead of paying for office space and consultants.
Despite growing up poor (single mom on disability in a single-wide trailer park poor), I learned from my mom the basics of financial management. As a bored 22-year-old recent college graduate barely scraping by at my first job, I taught myself the stock market and used extra money I’d have spent on lunches to buy several stocks. Almost 20 years later, those investments have grown over 1,000%, from $3,600 to over $43,000.
I’ve similarly watched my children’s 529 college savings account grow astronomically. After some seed money from family at birth and regular contributions, my four-year-old’s account has already grown from $29,000 to $40,000. The value of my older three kids’ accounts has doubled.
After I got a taste of how I could make investing work for me and my family, I was hooked. Watching a few thousand dollars grow into tens of thousands has a way of doing that.
Millions of Americans are going to get their first taste of the thrill of investing and the power of capitalism thanks to the Trump Accounts. That lesson is priceless, and we’ll watch its impact compound for decades to come.
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Bethany Mandel (<a href="https://x.com/bethanyshondark" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@bethanyshondark</a>) is a homeschooling mother of six and a writer. She is the bestselling co-author, with Karol Markowicz, of &#8220;Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation.&#8221;
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

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Well, folks, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I always try to be honest with you and the truth is: something terrible has happened. Elon Musk has become a trillionaire, so now … everything is ruined.
It seems like only a week ago, when Musk was just worth $900 billion and life was great in this country. I had a beautiful wife. A couple of wonderful kids. Now … I look at my family and, sure, I still love them and all, but not like I’d love a trillion dollars. I mean, that’s a lot of money! But I don’t have it and Elon Musk does, so … everything is ruined.
It’s just like they said on the socialist website Left Voice — “A trillionaire Elon Musk is a morbid symptom of capitalism.” That’s right. Capitalism simply isn’t fair. After all, the Soviet Union had socialism for 70 years and ended up with nothing. Musk shows up in a capitalist country with $2,000 just 37 years ago, and now he’s a trillionaire so … everything is ruined.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/the-andrew-klavan-show-ep-1283?contentProgram=The%20Andrew%20Klavan%20Show&amp;contentType=ShowEpisode&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-974735 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-768x128.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1536x256.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now.jpg 1800w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez was obviously right too when she said, &#8220;You can’t earn that much money&#8221; just by creating Tesla with its new energy storage systems, and Starlink, with its worldwide network of satellite connections or Neuralink, which gives paralyzed people the ability to use computers with their minds and SpaceX with its rocket ships that go into space and then come down and land safely on a platform the size of an inner tube so they can be used again and ultimately take mankind to Mars. You can’t earn that much money just by doing those things. Musk must have cheated his employees, by forcing them to work for low wages and stock options that have now made 4,500 of those employees millionaires themselves. And, okay, that might make them happy now, but wait till they find out they only have a lousy million bucks while Musk is a trillionaire so … everything is ruined.
To give credit where credit is due, a lot of politicians tried to stop this from happening. Senator Elizabeth Warren did a tribal dance to the Great Spirit of Sun and Sky who lives on Mackinac Island. Warren asked the Great Spirit of Sun and Sky to stop the fork-tongued white man from taking all that money like the whites took the land that belonged to Elizabeth Warren’s Native American ancestors. Unfortunately, the Great Spirit of Sun and Sky just looked down from Mackinac Island and said, “Whoever told that white girl she could dance?” Then he handed out cards good for a free gin and tonic at his new Sun and Sky Casino on Mackinac Island, and before we knew it, Musk was a trillionaire and … everything was ruined.
And just think what good we could have done with all that money if Musk hadn’t taken it. There are almost 800,000 homeless people in America. If Musk just divided his wealth among them, each and every homeless person could be smoking meth through a rolled hundred thousand dollar bill and talking to Venutians using a helmet made out of genuine tinfoil.
Even if Musk just gave away enough money to help one location, that would be something. For instance, there are 70,000 homeless people in the tent cities of Los Angeles alone. If Musk just gave $1 billion to the public officials there, I bet within a month, there would be some very happy public officials driving their Ferraris past the tent cities of Los Angeles. Instead, Elon Musk is a trillionaire and … everything is ruined.
Let’s face it. A trillion dollars in the hands of one individual just gives that individual too much power. With that much money, Elon Musk could come over my house and order me to do whatever he wanted, and I would have to do it, unless I didn’t want to, then I wouldn’t have to do it. Still, it would be really annoying to have Elon Musk coming to my house shouting orders at me all the time. What the hell is his problem?
Anyway, that’s the bad news. Everything is ruined. The good news is we’re going to Mars.

Everything Was Fine Until Elon Musk Became A Trillionaire

Satire

Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, who has a net worth somewhere between $450 million and $600 million, has gone viral for saying billionaires shouldn’t exist. 
The racing pro made the comments in 2023, but they quickly resurfaced now that he’s amassed a pile of wealth and is newly dating influencer Kim Kardashian, who has a personal net worth that’s close to $2 billion. Per <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/lewis-hamilton-worth-500m-dating-billionaire-kim-kardashian-wants-put-limit-wealth-">Fox News</a>, Hamilton, who races for Ferrari, is paid somewhere around $70 million per year as a salary.
Hamilton also reportedly owns six houses around the world and a 90-foot yacht, as the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/08/business/lewis-hamilton-doesnt-think-billionaires-should-exist-thats-pretty-rich-from-an-f1-driver/">reported</a>, plus has brand deals with designers including Lululemon, Dior, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, IWC Schaffhausen, and Perplexity.
One of his homes is in Monaco, where his millions are protected from taxes.
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Lewis Hamilton says there should be a limit to how much wealth one person can have
&#8220;One of the things that I struggle with every day is that there is such a disparity between the wealthy and the poor”
&#8220;When you drive around LA there&#8217;s still so many people living on the streets.… <a href="https://t.co/Br2V9PqZld">pic.twitter.com/Br2V9PqZld</a>
— Jack (@Jackkk) <a href="https://x.com/Jackkk/status/2063293682762260715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
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“If you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow,&#8221; Jay Shetty asked the seven-time world champion in a clip circulating on X, &#8220;What would it be?&#8221;
&#8220;One of the things that I struggle with every day, and it&#8217;s just how life is, and it&#8217;s been this way for thousands of years, is that there is such a disparity between the wealthy and the poor,&#8221; the F1 driver said. &#8220;When you drive around LA there&#8217;s still so many people living on the streets.”
&#8220;You shouldn&#8217;t be able to have billions, right, I think there should be a limit to how much you can have because there&#8217;s enough to go around to everyone. So, somehow create a law that creates more equality and equal access for everyone.&#8221;
The video now has a community note added, which says, “In order to avoid tax, Lewis Hamilton lives in Monaco and Switzerland. He also used a corporate leasing structure to save over £3 million in taxes when buying his £16 million private jet in 2013.”
Commenters called out Hamilton for his apparent hypocrisy.
“To the guy worth a half billion who’s dating a woman worth 2 billion wants there’d be a wealth cap on everybody else, he can go screw himself,” one person <a href="https://x.com/JerUnderhill/status/2064134155097518082">wrote</a>, echoing what most others were saying.

Lewis Hamilton

F1 Star Declared War On Billionaires And Then He Started Dating One

Auto racing

Billionaire

Entertainment

Formula One

Kim Kardashian

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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Do people who are really, ridiculously rich deserve our sympathy?
Radical progressives think the answer is no if the murder <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-murder-of-brian-thompson-how-individual-acts-of-evil-get-justified">victim is a healthcare CEO</a>. Certain mainstream journalists believe the same about at least one millionaire socialite who owns keys to a private beach on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. 
In case you haven’t seen it, the latest “author telling lies” controversy revolves around Belle Burden, a New York City heiress who wrote a memoir detailing the breakup of her marriage. 
“Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage” started out as a Modern Love column and eventually was turned into a full-length memoir that went viral. Book clubs and avid readers were drawn by the schadenfreude of a rich, beautiful woman being abandoned by her husband of two decades for reasons that are still frustratingly unclear. 
Yes, he had an affair and got caught. As Burden’s memoir explained, her husband “James” (really hedge fund executive Henry Davis) calmly explained to her in the aftermath of getting caught that rather than trying counseling or finding a path back to trust, he was unhappy with the marriage and wanted out. 
The book was highly praised until it wasn’t. The New Yorker published an exposé at the end of May titled “What’s Missing From Belle Burden’s ‘Strangers,’” laying bare some of the details the author reportedly fudged about her financial situation. 
While Burden expressed alarm at the prospect of losing multiple properties after blindly trusting her husband and adding his name to the deeds without protecting the generational wealth her family had built, the publication noted with disdain that Burden would have remained super rich no matter what. Journalist Jessica Winter accused the socialite of overexaggerating the severity of the situation and, crucially, of not being anywhere near poor enough post-divorce. 
“No reasonable person would demand that she provide a forensic accounting of her finances in the memoir. Yet its impression of candor may suffer in light of what Burden leaves out of the narrative,” Winter <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/whats-missing-from-belle-burdens-strangers">wrote</a>. She later concluded, “[Burden’s] long-term financial security, as opposed to her emotional security, was never at risk. It might be difficult for anyone in her position to separate one from the other.”
The fine details of Burden’s tax returns aren’t even the point here. What’s very revealing is how quickly the online discourse changed from sympathy for a woman who had her entire life blown up overnight to scorn for someone who didn’t tell the whole truth about how much money she had. “Belle Burden’s Memoir Made Me Feel Poor,” one Substack writer titled her reaction piece. 
It led to questions like, are rich people allowed to be sad? Are they allowed to mourn the loss of their life partners if they still have a lot of money left when that person leaves them? 
Burden said in a statement to the New Yorker: “When I wrote ‘Strangers,’ I shared my heartache, my mistakes, and my shame. I owned my privilege as plainly as I could, and I respected the privacy of sealed court records. I stand by everything I wrote, including the fear I felt from my ex-husband’s threats, the contributions I made and could make to my family, and what happened to me financially and emotionally in my marriage and divorce,” she said to the New Yorker. “While I didn’t intend it, I am glad that women have taken my story as motivation for insisting on financial transparency in their marriages.”
I’ll admit, as someone who does not boast Vanderbilts in my lineage and who has never owned a vacation home, I found it a little jarring when I read “Strangers” earlier this year. But the moments that stuck out to me most had nothing to do with money. Burden shares three children with her ex-husband, and, according to her, he didn’t fight for custody at all. Instead, he allegedly told her, “I thought I was happy but I’m not. I thought I wanted our life, but I don’t. You can have the house and the apartment. You can have custody of the kids.”
According to her book, her husband said, “I don’t want it. I don’t want any of it.”
Rejection of his wife is bad enough. But a man rejecting his children and, according to her, seeming happy enough seeing them infrequently in the coming weeks and months, is an absolute tragedy. I try to imagine being in a similar situation and would almost certainly feel more heartbroken about my husband abandoning our children than I would about him rejecting me. 
Sympathy for any aspect of Burden’s messy divorce is hard to come by after the New Yorker journalist tore her story to shreds. There are multiple think pieces and exposés that essentially say we shouldn’t care anymore because she lied about the finances. Burden was never in danger of ending up homeless, they argue, so we shouldn’t care about her memoir anymore at all.
While the financial fallout of her divorce does feature prominently in the memoir, the more pressing issue Burden focuses on is trying to glean an explanation from her ex. She asks why he left her alone when she expected to grow old with him. Why did he abandon what she believed to be a stable, loving relationship in favor of something else? 
“This was not just an affair. This was not just a rejection of me,” Burden wrote in the book. “He was abandoning all of it, and all of us.”
Anyone who has actually read the book can see this woman’s pain laid bare. Meanwhile, the whole conversation has changed to figuring out how much Burden has in her multiple trusts. As if having millions of dollars makes the sacred covenant of marriage dispensable. 
“I don’t know if he made the decision to leave suddenly after being caught, or if he’d carefully planned his exit for years,” she wrote. “I don’t know what role the pandemic played. I don’t know how much of it was about money. I don’t know how much of it was about me.”
“I don’t know why he left. I don’t think I ever will,” Burden added.
Memoirs in general should be taken with a grain of salt. They are one person’s perspective on a situation and shouldn’t be read as non-fiction. They sit somewhere in between — not totally true, but not untrue. Burden added a disclaimer, saying the book &#8220;recounts events as accurately as I can remember them.&#8221; Memoirs are meant to be entertaining, and they are always deeply personal and emotionally vulnerable. Would it kill us to show a little grace to the person writing them? 
And then there’s the question of whether any journalists would have dug into this woman’s tax returns if she were poor or even middle class. Maybe they would have. But it does seem that any exaggerations or half-truths would have been reported less gleefully if Burden had fewer commas in her bank account.
Somewhere along the way, we&#8217;ve decided that grief only counts if it happens to the right people. A husband can abandon his wife, reject his children, blow up a family, and leave emotional devastation in his wake. But if the woman left behind still has money in the bank, we&#8217;re told not to feel sorry for her.
The question isn&#8217;t whether Belle Burden is rich or if she really lost everything when her husband left. It’s whether we&#8217;re allowed to have sympathy for rich women when they, like the rest of us, often do face tragedy.

Heart crying crystal tears

The Left’s New Rule About Human Suffering

divorce

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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RSVP like you mean it, y’all, because it’s wedding season. But this year, standing by your bestie as she says “I do” comes with a soul-crushing price tag. Grab a bottle of Veuve and get ready for a shocking lesson in “girl math.” 
Just like Kristen Wiig’s character in “Bridesmaids,” <a href="https://youtu.be/sf9038zMVgo?t=22">“I’m excited, and I feel relaxed, and I’m ready to parrrrrr-tayyyyyy!”</a> The <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/issues/2026/04/14/world-economic-outlook-april-2026">economy’s sluggish</a>, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/style/marriage-decline-delay.html">people are less likely to get married</a>, but the <a href="https://www.theknotww.com/press-releases/the-knot-worldwide-unveils-2026-real-weddings-study">$100 billion</a> wedding industry in the U.S. continues to thrive. 
Roughly 2 million couples tied the knot in 2025, with <a href="https://www.theknotww.com/press-releases/the-knot-worldwide-unveils-2026-real-weddings-study">77%</a> of those who said the economy affected their plans claiming they spent more, not less. Apparently, “something borrowed” refers to all the cash in the wedding party’s savings accounts. 
These days, the average wedding costs <a href="https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/smart-money/average-wedding-cost">$36,000</a>, but it’s not surprising to see couples shell out <a href="https://www.zola.com/expert-advice/whats-the-average-cost-of-a-wedding">$100,000</a> or more for the party of the year. <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/09/06/lifestyle/why-gen-z-is-saying-no-to-being-a-bridesmaid-and-its-not-just-the-cost/">Allison Cullman</a>, vice president of marketing for wedding planning site Zola, blames extravagant spending on the limitless inspiration of social media. Decades before, brides were stuck with “wedding magazines and binders.” 
With <a href="https://www.eonline.com/photos/38028/2026-celebrity-weddings">high-profile nuptials</a> from stars like Lainey Wilson already on the books for #WeddingSzn26, and <a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/04/09/entertainment/taylor-swift-and-travis-kelces-wedding-date-and-location-revealed-as-save-the-dates-go-out/">Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s</a> semi-secret ceremony likely to flood social media in July, there’s a cultural script to go big or go home when it comes to the big bash. 
As Kansas City Chiefs co-owner <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/18/sports/chiefs-heiress-gracie-hunts-lavish-wedding-will-feature-14-bridesmaids/">Clark Hunt</a>’s daughter Gracie Hunt recently revealed via Instagram, every detail matters. The billionaire heiress invited <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DYYIIGRJUaL/">14 bridesmaids</a> to participate in her upcoming wedding. We can assume Hunt and Co. covered the fresh flowers, catering, personalized bubbly, and Sugarfina champagne gummy bears. But the rest of the #BrideTribe probably spent significant dough on floral tea dresses, matching clutches, hair, makeup, and party heels.
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“There is something so special about being surrounded by women who make you feel stronger, wiser, softer, and closer to Jesus just by knowing them,” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DYaDqYfDmb3/?img_index=1">Gracie posted</a>. “My heart is overwhelmingly grateful for each of these friendships and the gift of getting to do life together.”
It’s a blindingly beautiful message. But logistically, these warm fuzzies come at a price. For those who might not be funded by an heiress bride, the cost of entry into this bridal supporting cast is astronomical compared to the estimated <a href="https://www.theknot.com/content/wedding-guest-cost">$610</a> to be a regular wedding guest. 
This is the reality. Bridesmaids throw down on <a href="https://thewed.com/magazine/the-real-cost-of-being-a-bridesmaid-in-2026">dresses</a>, shoes, shapewear, jewelry, alterations, bachelorette blowouts, travel, lodging, spray tans, and Instagrammable looks for the wedding weekend.
All-in, the bridesmaid life can cost anywhere from $1,500 to <a href="https://www.brides.com/cost-of-being-a-bridesmaid-2025-11702605">$5,000</a> per wedding. The tally only rises from there for destination ceremonies, bachelorette vacations, plus-ones, and babysitters. And don’t forget to peep those bridal shower and wedding registries. Waterford crystal flutes don’t buy themselves.
Add to that the potential emotional cost of a viral wardrobe malfunction during the reception entrance, like the bridesmaid who did “<a href="https://www.boredpanda.com/bridesmaid-wardrobe-malfunction-wedding-dance-goes-viral/">The Worm</a>” in a dress she may never want to show her face in again. This is your gift for agreeing to give 100% support with zero decision-making ability regarding the festivities.
“I cannot believe I have to walk down the aisle in front of 200 people looking like something you drink when you’re nauseous,” Rachel said on “<a href="https://youtu.be/81J7Oco3_VQ?t=20">Friends</a>” while dressed in a Pepto-colored tulle disaster of a bridesmaid’s dress. Pay up, girl. You wouldn’t want your BFF4EVR to catch wind that you aren’t in it to win it.
Even when your eyes are wide open, surprise expenditures add up fast. “My total costs ended up being $3,500 at the end of the year after a bunch of events (that I didn&#8217;t know I had to pay for) and keeping up with the bougie tastes of the other bridesmaids,” noted one reluctant <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/wedding/comments/1px1tzo/comment/nwaboxq/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">wedding attendant</a>. “I sincerely regret saying yes because I ended up being extremely stressed over money all the time (I was not making much then).”
Someone else spelled out the truth for everyone but the newlyweds when they <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/wedding/comments/1px1tzo/comment/nwe6s0t/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">wrote</a>, “While your wedding might be the most important day of your life, it&#8217;s not the most important day for everyone else.” 
There’s an emotional cost as well since you weren’t invited to be a bridesmaid for nothing. Maybe you were best friends as kids, you held each other’s hair after college parties, or you cried with each other through heartbreak. Can you put a price on hurt feelings or strained friendships after declining a bridesmaid proposal? And there’s the inevitable knife to the gut when you see the #LoveAtFirstSwipe and #BrideOrDie carousels on Instagram, minus you. It’s even worse if several different friends are getting hitched in the same year.
Still, despite the social pressure to say yes to the financial mess, some would-be bridesmaids are unapologetically saying “no thanks” to the gig. 
“We need to normalize saying no to being people’s bridesmaids,” one maid of honor posted to <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@steph_greenstreet/video/7396553847906372897">TikTok</a>. “This is hard work … it’s okay to assess whether you can do it.”
One <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TheGirlSurvivalGuide/comments/vcsyno/comment/ichhc5g/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">Redditor</a> wished they had spoken up before being subjected to an over-the-top bridesmaid proposal. “I really felt forced to say yes because I was handed a box of goodies including a personalized wine glass, and asked at the same time as others, in front of a room full of people,” they said. “It [was] so not me, I was really bummed that my friend didn’t know me well enough not to ask me like that.”
“Being in someone’s wedding is much more expensive than simply attending,” Chicago-based wedding planner, <a href="https://www.thecut.com/article/how-to-rsvp-no-wedding-invitation.html">Kia Marie</a>, says. “It can cost $4,000 or $5,000 or more, between the dress, the makeup, the bachelorette party, travel expenses, staying in a hotel for multiple days — that’s not money that anyone should take lightly.”
Hey … [Repeatedly taps a fork on a wine glass] … before this all ends in shredded peonies and a shattered champagne tower at some Airbnb villa in the South of France, can we agree to bring normal weddings back? We’re trying to get good people hitched, not gatekeep marriage for the .01%. 
Here comes everyone to tell us they got married in a trash bag in the alleyway behind the courthouse for $18 and they’ve been happily married for 90 years. (Okay, maybe <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/comments/1naaiud/comment/ncsytiq/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">that’s</a> not for everyone.) But a <a href="https://simplyeloped.com/blog/why-do-couples-elope/">70% increase</a> in elopements shows more couples are going for intentional, personal, and often more affordable weddings. 
Others are skipping the formal ceremony in favor of relaxed <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/key-wedding-micro-trends-of-2026">parties</a> (and exchanging rings privately). Potluck buffets, dual-purpose engagement-to-wedding bands, and bespoke cakes all signal smaller wedding day budgets — and savings that get passed down to bridesmaids-turned-guests of honor. 
If all goes well, the whole crew gets to spend a day celebrating the ultimate commitment between two of their favorite people. And pretend like they’re hearing “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtOvBOTyX00&amp;list=RDrtOvBOTyX00&amp;start_radio=1">A Thousand Years</a>” by Christina Perri at a wedding for the very first time, till death do us part.

The One Wedding Trend Draining Young Women’s Bank Accounts

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Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright said the solution to shrinking portion sizes is simple: just ask for more.
The exec addressed the issue during an appearance this week on Yahoo! Finance. Customers have been complaining for months that fast food burgers are smaller, pre-packaged snacks have less food, and burritos from Chipotle aren&#8217;t as stuffed as they used to be. 
“If you want more, you should ask for a little more,” the fast food exec said. “I promise you, there&#8217;s never a team member on that line that is going to say no to you.”
“We will continue to put heaping spoonfuls of food in bowls and burritos,” Boatwright continued, adding that the company is focused on both portions and food quality. 
“It has always been our brand ethos, and it is still to this day,” he insisted. “We serve big, beautiful bowls and burritos. No questions asked.”
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The CEO further pushed back on claims that Chipotle employees were “skimping” on portion sizes.
“I tell my team all the time, ‘put as much food in that bowl and burrito as you possibly can,'&#8221; he told Yahoo! Finance. “‘I want the consumer to tell you, &#8216;it&#8217;s too big.'&#8221;
“We&#8217;re about abundance, we&#8217;re about value,” he went on. “Value equals benefit over price.” The exec also claimed to be “absorbing” the cost of inflation rather than passing it on to customers. He told the outlet that Chipotle is pleased to offer “an affordable price point for all walks of life, and we&#8217;re for everyone. We want everyone to have access to wholesome, nutritious food.”
Commenters were skeptical that restaurant workers would be willing to increase portion sizes without charging them extra. 
“Save this video [for] every time you walk in,” one commenter wrote.
“He said if you want more, they will give you more, but will also charge you more,” another comment said.
“Bro … have you been to Chipotle,” a third person chimed in.
“Straight lies they will 100% charge you double each time you say more,” yet another commenter agreed.
Others brought up the common complaint that delivery portions are rumored to be much smaller than those being served inside the restaurants, a problem that wouldn’t be solved by Boatwright’s suggestion to &#8220;ask for more.&#8221;

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