• I took my first cruise on one of the largest ships, Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas.
• My seven-night trip was full of surprises, from the size of my room to the quality of the food.
• The port stops were shorter than I expected, and I found myself getting lost on the giant ship.

Before April 2022, I had never seen a cruise ship in real life.

Prior to becoming a travel reporter, most of my trips were limited to visiting family in faraway places and budget road trips across the US, where I stayed in campsites, parking lots, and cheap Airbnbs.

I'd traveled by car, bus, train, and plane, but the only boat I'd ever been on was a ferry.

That changed three years ago, when I took my first cruise on one of the world's largest cruise ships, Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas.

During my seven-night Caribbean voyage, the ship sailed round-trip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Roatán, Honduras; Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico; and Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas. 

While I'd seen cruise ships on TV and in movies, I couldn't understand how big these vessels were until I saw one myself. On board, I felt like I was in a small town in the middle of the ocean.

Since this was a new form of transportation, my voyage was full of surprises. I learned that cruising is a lifestyle in itself, and while it's not necessarily for me, I can see what draws people to this type of vacation time and again.

For $2,000, I spent seven nights in an ocean-view stateroom on deck 8. The cruise was on sale, as it was originally priced at $3,000.

The ship has 18 decks and 2,867 staterooms, according to Royal Caribbean. 

I booked a mid-tier room — a step above interior staterooms with no windows, a step below staterooms with a balcony, and two steps below a suite.

My 179-square-foot cabin had a private bathroom, a king-size bed, and an ocean view.

I was surprised by how big the sale was with such a big discount. To me, $1,000 feels like a huge difference in price for the same vacation.

I thought I'd feel cramped since the room was only 179 square feet. But when I stepped inside, the cabin felt surprisingly spacious.

I thought the stateroom made great use of a small space with plenty of storage for my clothes and other belongings. There were two closets for hanging space and more drawers than I used. 

An attendant serviced my room twice a day — more than I've experienced at hotels or in Airbnbs.

After leaving to start my day each morning, a stateroom attendant cleaned my room. And after I left for dinner each night, they came back to clean up again. Every evening, they brought me fresh towels — sometimes creatively folded — and a flyer featuring the next day's schedule on the ship with the weather, dress code, and any other important information, such as a time change. 

This surprised me because I am used to having my room serviced once daily, if at all, during my hotel stays, and never in Airbnbs.

I assumed I'd have a small porthole window like I've seen on ships in TV shows and movies. But my rectangular window was much bigger than I expected.

An electronic shade over the window could be brought down during the day to reveal some grand views. I loved waking up after a night at sea to a front-row view of the place I'd be visiting that day. 

While windowless rooms are cheaper, I couldn't imagine staying in a room without one. My oceanview stateroom cost about $300 more than an entry-level room.

I didn't realize booking a room at the front of the ship would result in a bumpier ride.

I booked a stateroom at the front of deck eight and felt constant motion in my room.

Some nights were rockier than others. On the roughest nights, I heard and felt a similar sensation to thunder beneath me every few minutes. Loud thumps and heavy vibrations in my room sounded like large pieces of furniture falling. The first night this happened, I feared the worst, but over time, I realized that this was a normal aspect of cruising — but one I would likely never get used to. 

After talking to seasoned cruisers on the ship, several told me that the front of the ship is one of the worst places to be for feeling motion. Higher decks in the middle of the ship feel calmer and more stable, they said. 

Next time, I'd choose a room in the middle of the ship. 

All cruises mandate a training session for guests on what to do in an emergency. But I was surprised that mine was available to watch on-demand in my cabin.

All I had to do for safety training was watch a couple of videos — either on my room TV or on the Royal Caribbean app — and then check into my assembly station, the area that I was assigned to go to in case of an emergency. At the assembly station, an attendant checked via the Royal Caribbean app that I had completed the mandatory training.

I was expecting to attend a large safety training session once I got on the ship, so this alternative was a breeze. 

The ship has 24 elevators, but taking the stairs was often faster.

Since there were so many elevators on the ship, I expected them to be a pretty efficient way to get around. But they were often so crowded and slow that I took the stairs instead. By the middle of my trip, unless I was going all the way up to the pool decks, I always opted for the stairs to save time. 

The ship was harder to navigate than expected, and I often got lost on my way to specific venues.

The ship has 16 guest decks; each deck is divided into three sections — forward, middle, and aft. 

It took me a few days to get used to the sections, and I often found myself heading to the right deck but the wrong section of the ship. Luckily, there were maps on every floor, which I used until the morning I left. 

In the communal indoor spaces, I was surprised that I didn't even feel like I was on a ship.

If I woke up on deck five of Wonder of the Seas with no memory of my cruise, I'd think I was in a shopping mall. 

Aside from the slight movement of the ship, the indoor decks were so big that, as a cruise newbie, it was hard to believe that I was on a gigantic boat in the middle of the ocean. Everywhere I looked, I saw shops, stands, restaurants, large sculptures, and a unique ceiling structure that reminded me of the malls I've visited. 

Throughout the trip, I heard more live music than I thought I would, often in the background of the ship's activities.

Aside from music festivals, I've never heard more live music on a trip than on this cruise. On the communal decks, musicians played for hours while people relaxed and played around them. I was also surprised by the eclectic mix of genres I heard, from rock to jazz to classical. 

In addition to the music hall, where concerts were regularly held, live bands performed on indoor and outdoor communal decks. Some people watched, while others listened while swimming, relaxing, or walking around. 

I thought formal nights would be enforced more.

I like to be comfy, so I was dreading formal nights going into this cruise. 

I brought one fancy dress with me to wear whenever I needed. But on the first formal night, I realized that the dress code wasn't strictly enforced. People wore a range of outfits, from evening gowns to T-shirts. 

For the rest of the trip, I also relaxed my interpretation of the dress code. 

Some of the best meals I had were included in the rate.

One of the unique things about cruising is that most meals, snacks, and drinks are included in the cruise rate.

However, on large ships like Wonder of the Seas, more than a dozen restaurants with specialty offerings like sushi are not included, and incur additional charges, either as a one-time fee or by the dish.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the most delicious and satisfying meals I had were in the restaurants included for guests.

There were a handful of buffets with all different types of food, and the main dining room served a three-course meal with varying menu items each night. These complimentary options satisfied every single one of my cravings. One of my best meals was in the main dining room, where I was seated alone. 

 

I found that reservations for restaurants and shows on the ship fill up fast, so it's important to plan ahead to do exactly what you want.

The cruise ship was full of activities and restaurants that I could go to any time, but some restaurants, like the specialty ones, and all the shows on board, required reservations that I made through the Royal Caribbean app.

However, getting reservations for the show and meal times I wanted on the day of was often hard. So, I started making reservations days before each event, depending on its popularity.

For example, the circus-like acrobatic water show in the Aquatheater seemed to be the most popular and hardest reservation to get. I tried to get one on the day of the event, but couldn't find any availability until a show two nights later.

But even with extensive preparations, planning anything on a cruise ship was subject to change.

The excursion I was most thrilled about —  a hot air balloon ride over the Bahamas — was canceled the day of because the winds were too high.

It was on the last day of my trip, and with only one day in port, it could not be rescheduled. It was the experience I was looking forward to most, so I was disappointed. On a cruise ship, I learned that all plans are subject to change based on things outside the crew's control, like the weather. 

I thought the port stops would be longer.

Since we traveled such a long way to each port, I wrongfully assumed we'd spend more time in them. The ship usually docked in the morning, around 8 a.m., and left in the early afternoon. 

I thought I'd have time to explore the port for a while after each excursion, but some of my excursions took the entire day, getting me back to the boat just in time for departure. I also hoped to see what these places looked like at night, but we never departed after sundown. 

Although I got a taste of the Caribbean, I didn't have enough time to get a sense of each place, which made me realize that I would probably prefer to vacation in just one place and have time to truly explore it. 

I'm so glad I finally know what it's like to cruise on a giant ship, but I'll probably take a plane next time.

Overall, my trip left me in awe. I learned there's nothing like looking out from the top deck and seeing only the ocean surrounding you.

But next time I want to visit the Caribbean, I'll take a plane to one place and explore it deeply. 

• Elon Musk and Donald Trump have had a tumultuous relationship over the years.
• While the two traded barbs during Trump's first presidency, they've become political allies.
• Musk officially joined the administration, but recently criticized Trump's "big, beautiful bill."

Elon Musk and Donald Trump have had something of an on-again-off-again relationship over the years.

The world's richest person and the two-time president of the United States weren't always close, but became singular political allies, with Musk calling himself "first buddy" following Trump's 2024 victory and donating more than $200 million toward pro-Trump super PACs.

At the beginning of Trump's second term, Musk was frequently seen on the president's side and served as the de facto head of the White House DOGE office, the cost-cutting initiative that made waves throughout the federal government.

In May, Musk started to separate himself somewhat from Trump, saying he'd devote more time to his businesses and spend less money on politics.

By early June, it appeared that their relationship was blowing up in real time as the two publicly disagreed over the "Big, Beautiful Bill."

Here's how the two billionaires reached this point.

November 2016: Musk says Trump is 'not the right guy' for the job

Just before the 2016 presidential election, Musk told CNBC he didn't think Trump should be president. 

"I feel a bit stronger that he is not the right guy. He doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States," Musk said. 

The billionaire added that Hillary Clinton's economic and environmental policies were the "right ones."

December 2016: Musk appointed to Trump's advisory councils

After he won the presidency, Trump appointed Musk to two economic advisory councils, along with other business leaders like Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. 

Musk received criticism for working with the controversial president, but he defended his choice by saying he was using the position to lobby for better environmental and immigration policies. 

June 2017: Musk cut ties with the White House in protest of Trump's environmental policies

On June 1, 2017, after Trump announced the US would pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, Musk resigned from his roles on presidential advisory boards. 

"Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world," Musk said in a tweet announcing his departure.

Musk's goal for Tesla is to curb dependence on fossil fuels through electric vehicles, solar power, and stationary energy storage. 

January 2020: 'One of our great geniuses'

During a January 2020 interview with CNBC, Trump praised Musk's accomplishments and intelligence. 

"You have to give him credit," the former president said, referring to Tesla becoming more valuable than Ford and General Motors. "He's also doing the rockets. He likes rockets. And he's doing good at rockets too, by the way." 

Trump went on to call Musk "one of our great geniuses" and likened him to Thomas Edison. 

May 2020: Trump backs up Musk in feud with California's COVID-19 rules

As the pandemic gripped the US in early 2020, Musk clashed with California public-health officials who forced Tesla to temporarily shut down its factory there. Trump voiced his support for Musk. 

"California should let Tesla & @elonmusk open the plant, NOW," Trump tweeted in May 2020. "It can be done Fast & Safely!"

"Thank you!" Musk replied. 

May 2022: Musk said he would reinstate Trump's Twitter account

In May, Musk said he would unban Trump as Twitter's new owner. 

Musk called the ban a "morally bad decision" and "foolish to the extreme" in an interview with the Financial Times. Twitter kicked Trump off its platform following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. 

The Tesla billionaire has called himself a "free speech absolutist," and one of his key goals for taking Twitter private was to loosen content moderation. 

July 2022: Trump calls Musk a 'bullshit artist'

In July, Trump took aim at Musk, saying the businessman voted for him but later denied it. 

"You know [Musk] said the other day 'Oh, I've never voted for a Republican,'" Trump said during a Saturday rally in Anchorage, Alaska. "I said 'I didn't know that.' He told me he voted for me. So he's another bullshit artist."

On Monday, Musk tweeted that Trump's claim was "not true."

July 2022: Musk says Trump shouldn't run again

Musk stopped short of attacking Trump personally, but said he shouldn't run for president again. 

"I don't hate the man, but it's time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset. Dems should also call off the attack – don't make it so that Trump's only way to survive is to regain the Presidency," he tweeted. 

He continued: "Do we really want a bull in a china shop situation every single day!? Also, I think the legal maximum age for start of Presidential term should be 69." Trump is 76 years old. 

July 2022: Trump lashes out

Trump then went on the offensive, posting a lengthy attack on Musk on Truth Social, the social media company he founded. 

"When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether it's electric cars that don't drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere, without which subsidies he'd be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, 'drop to your knees and beg,' and he would have done it," Trump said in a post that criticized two of Musk's ventures, Tesla and the rocket company SpaceX. 

"Lmaooo," Musk responded on Twitter.

October 2022: Trump cheers Musk's Twitter deal but says he won't return

Following Musk's official buyout of Twitter on Thursday, Trump posted to Truth Social, cheering the deal. 

"I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that truly hate our country," he said. He added that he likes Truth Social better than other platforms, echoing comments from earlier this year in which he ruled out a return to Twitter. 

On Monday, Musk joked about the potential of welcoming the former president back to his newly acquired platform.

"If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if Trump is coming back on this platform, Twitter would be minting money!," the Tesla CEO tweeted. 

May 2023: Musk hosts Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' glitchy debut

Musk and other right-leaning voices in Silicon Valley initially supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis ended 2022 as Trump's best-positioned primary challenger. In November 2022, as DeSantis was skyrocketing to acclaim, Musk said he would endorse him. In March 2023, after enduring Trump's attacks for months, DeSantis prepared to make history by formally announcing his campaign in an interview on Twitter.

The initial few minutes were a glitchy disaster. Trump and his allies ruthlessly mocked DeSantis' "Space" with Musk and venture capitalist David Sachs. DeSantis' interview later proceeded, but his campaign was dogged for days with negative headlines.

September 2023: A Trump-style border wall is needed, Musk says

Musk live-streamed a visit to the US-Mexico border on Twitter, which he had rebranded as "X." Musk said that one of Trump's signature policies was necessary during his visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, to get a first-person look at what local officials called a crisis at the border.

"We actually do need a wall and we need to require people to have some shred of evidence to claim asylum to enter, as everyone is doing that," Musk wrote on X. "It's a hack that you can literally Google to know exactly what to say! Will find out more when I visit Eagle Pass maybe as soon as tomorrow."

Like Trump and others on the right, Musk had criticized the broader consensus in Washington for focusing too much on Russia's unprovoked war against Ukraine in comparison to domestic issues like migration. 

March 2024: Trump tries to woo Musk, but the billionaire says he won't give him money.

Trump tried to woo Musk during a meeting at the former president's Mar-a-Lago resort. According to The New York Times, Trump met with Musk and a few other GOP megadonors when the former president's campaign was particularly cash-strapped. After the Times published its report, Musk said he would not be "donating money to either candidate for US President." 

It wasn't clear who Musk meant in terms of the second candidate. He had repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden, who looked poised to be headed toward a rematch with Trump.

July 2024: Musk endorses Trump after the former president is shot

Musk said he "fully endorsed" Trump after the former president was shot during a political rally ahead of the Republican National Convention. The billionaire's endorsement marked a major turning point in his yearslong political evolution from an Obama voter. Days later, it would come to light that Musk pressed Trump to select Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate.

Trump announced Vance as his vice presidential pick at the Republican National Convention.

The ticket, Musk wrote on X, "resounds with victory."

It wasn't just his public support that Musk was offering. In July, The Wall Street Journal reported Musk had pledged roughly $45 million to support a pro-Trump super PAC. Musk later said he would donate far less, but his rebranding into a loyal member of the MAGA right was complete.

August 2024: Trump joins Musk for a highly anticipated interview

Trump, who ended the Republican National Convention primed for victory, stumbled after Biden abruptly dropped out of the 2024 race. The former president and his allies have struggled to attack Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee.

Amid Harris' early media blitz, Trump joined Musk on a two-hour livestream on X that garnered an audience of over 1 million listeners. The conversation covered topics ranging from a retelling of Trump's assassination attempt to illegal immigration to Musk's potential role with a government efficiency commission.

In August, Trump began floating the idea that he "certainly would" consider adding Musk to his Cabinet or an advisory role. The Tesla CEO responded by tweeting an AI-generated photo of himself on a podium emblazoned with the acronym "D.O.G.E"—Department of Government Efficiency.

"I am willing to serve," he wrote above the image.

September 2024: Musk says he's ready to serve if Trump gives him an advisory role

In September, Trump softened the suggestion of Musk joining his Cabinet due to his time constraints with running his various business ventures, the Washington Post reported. However, he also said that Musk could "consult with the country" and help give "some very good ideas."

Musk then replied to a tweet about the Washington Post article, expressing his enthusiasm.

"I can't wait. There is a lot of waste and needless regulation in government that needs to go," he wrote.

He later said on X that he "looked forward to serving" the country and would be willing to do with without any pay, title, or recognition.

October 2024: Musk speaks at Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania

Musk joined Trump onstage during the former president's rally, hosted on October 5 in the same location where Trump survived an assassination attempt in July. Musk sported an all-black "Make America Great Again" cap and briefly addressed the crowd, saying that voter turnout for Trump this year was essential or "this will be the last election." 

"President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution," Musk said. "He must win to preserve democracy in America."

The next day, Musk's America PAC announced that it would offer $47 to each person who refers registered voters residing in swing states to sign a petition "in support for the First and Second Amendments."

By October, the PAC had reportedly already spent over $80 million on the election, with over $8.2 million spread across 18 competitive House races for the GOP. 

The Tesla CEO later told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he might face "vengeance" if Trump loses the election.

November 2024: Trump wins the presidency and names Musk his administration

Musk was by Trump's side on election night at Mar-a-Lago, helping celebrate his victory.

Nearly a week after his 2024 presidential election win, Trump announced that Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were chosen to lead a newly minted Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE, as Musk likes to call it, in reference to the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin).

"Together, these two wonderful Americans will pay the way for my Administration to dismantle the Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies," Trump said in a statement. 

It's unclear whether the department will formally exist within the government, though Trump said the office would "provide advice and guidance from outside of Government" and work directly with the White House and Office of Management & Budget.

Musk responded in a post on X that the Department of Government Efficiency will be post all their actions online "for maximum transparency." 

"Anytime the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know!" Musk wrote. "We will also have a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining."

Outside of administrative duties, Musk has also attended "almost every meeting and many meals that Mr. Trump has had," the New York Times reported, acting as a partial advisor and confidant. The Tesla CEO also reportedly joined Trump's calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while both men were at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago club, where Musk seems to have settled in.

"Elon won't go home," Trump told NBC News jokingly. "I can't get rid of him." 

The two's close relationship has extended to a more personal friendship. Musk was seen attending Trump's Thanksgiving dinner and on the golf course with Trump and his grandchildren, where Kai Trump said he achieved "uncle status."

December 2024: Trump reaffirms he will be the next President, not Musk

While Musk and Trump are both big personalities, the President-elect made it clear that he'll be the one running the country. President-elect Donald Trump dismissed the notion that he "ceded the presidency" to Musk and said that even if the billionaire wanted to be president, he couldn't because he was born in South Africa.

"No, he's not going to be president, that I can tell you," Trump said at Turning Point USA's annual "AmericaFest" in December. "And I'm safe. You know why? He can't be? He wasn't born in this country."

Trump's comments came after Musk flexed his influence to help shut down a bipartisan emergency spending bill earlier that month. Some Republicans questioned why Trump hadn't been more active in derailing the bill, and Democrats baited the President-elect on social media with posts about Musk "calling the shots" and taking on the role of a "shadow president.

Prior to Trump addressing the subject, Trump's team also looked to shut down the idea that Musk is leading the Republican Party.

"As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR, Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view," Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition, told BI. "President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop."

January 2025: Musk and fellow billionaires celebrate Trump's inauguration

Trump was sworn into office on January 20. Several tech leaders were in attendance, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Google's Sundar Pichai. The "first buddy" was also front and center for Trump's inauguration.

Musk took the stage to celebrate at an inauguration event at the Capital One Arena, where he sparked accusations over a gesture he made that some said resembled a Nazi salute. Musk denied the allegations.

"Hopefully, people realize I'm not a Nazi. Just to be clear, I'm not a Nazi," he said during an interview with Joe Rogan.

February 2025: The White House says Musk isn't running DOGE

Though Musk has been the face of the DOGE effort, White House court filings said he has "no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself."

In the filing, Musk is described as a senior advisor to Trump with "no greater authority than other senior White House advisors." Officials have also called him a "special government employee."

Trump told reporters they can call Musk "whatever you want."

"Elon is to me a patriot," Trump said in February. "You could call him an employee, you could call him a consultant, you could call him whatever you want."

Later that month, a White House official told BI that Amy Gleason, who previously worked for US Digital Service, is the acting DOGE administrator.

March 2025: Trump buys a Tesla and calls out protesters

Despite court filings and White House officials stating otherwise, Trump told Congress that Musk is the leader of the DOGE office.

"I have created the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, perhaps you've heard of it, which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight," Trump said during his speech on March 4.

Those questioning the constitutionality of DOGE were quick to respond by letting a federal judge know about their claims that Musk is in charge.

Meanwhile, calls for a Tesla boycott are growing as Musk becomes more involved in Trump's presidency. Protests, boycotts, and vandalism at Tesla dealerships across the US have spread since the beginning of 2025.

Trump stepped in to defend Musk's electric car company on Tuesday, with Teslas on the South Lawn of the White House. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote that he'd purchase a car to show support amid the public outcry.

"The Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World's great automakers, and Elon's 'baby,' in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for," the president wrote.

April 2025: Musk announces he's stepping back from DOGE

Three months into DOGE's mission to reshape the federal workforce, Musk announced that he would be stepping back from the effort. He broke the news during an underwhelming Tesla earnings call, where earnings per share were down 71% year over year.

"Starting next month, I will be allocating far more of my time to Tesla," Musk said during the call. He added that "the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency" had been completed.

At the time, Musk said he would keep spending one or two days each week on governmental duties, so long as Trump wanted him to do so.

May 2025: Musk says he'll be spending less on politics, criticizes the Republican agenda, and announces he's leaving government for good

By May, Musk started to step back from his political activity overall. During an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum, he said he thinks he's "done enough" in terms of political contributions.

"In terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future," he said, adding that he didn't "currently see a reason" to pour money into politics. Previously, Musk had said his super PAC would contribute to 2026 midterm efforts.

A few days later, Musk told a reporter that he "probably did spend a bit too much time on politics," and that he'd "reduced that significantly in recent weeks."

Musk took a decidedly more critical tone regarding the overall Republican agenda. In an interview with CBS in late May, he said he wasn't pleased with Trump and House Republicans' "big beautiful" spending bill.

"I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk said.

And then, on May 28, Musk cut ties with DOGE and the Trump administration. The White House confirmed that it had started Musk's off-boarding process.

"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk wrote in a post on X. "The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."

Under federal law, special government employees can't serve for more than 130 days a year. Musk left the administration 128 days after the inauguration.

June 2025: Musk and Trump escalate attacks, after Tesla CEO delivers sharp rebuke against the 'Big Beautiful Bill.'

Days after stepping away from his job in the White House, Musk delivered his harshest criticism yet of the GOP spending proposal called the "Big Beautiful Bill."

"I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore," Musk wrote on X on June 3. "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it."

Some congressional Republicans, including Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee, posted that they agreed with Musk. Meanwhile, Trump has consistently defended the bill on Truth Social, including just hours before Musk's critical post on X.

In an interview with CBS News that aired June 1, Musk said, "I'm a little stuck in a bind where I'm like, well, I don't want to speak up against the administration, but I also don't want to take responsibility for everything the administration's doing."

On June 5, the barbs escalated as Musk doubled down on his criticisms and Trump threatened the CEO's businesses.

Musk began to dig up old tweets from Trump, including one where the president said in 2013, "I cannot believe the Republicans are extending the debt ceiling—I am a Republican & I am embarrassed!"

Musk quote-tweeted it with the message, "Wise words," taking a dig at Trump's very different stance on the debt ceiling today.

Trump first shot back with a softer/more diplomatic response, saying that the CEO and he "had a great relationship," but he wasn't sure if it would continue.

The president said Musk was criticizing his bill because of the phase-out of the electric vehicle tax credit, which would likely have repercussions for Musk's Tesla.

Musk shot back within minutes on X, saying that while he thought the EV phase-out was unfair, what he really took issue with was the "MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill."

The tone soon took a sharp turn after the president threatened on the same day to terminate the federal contracts that Musk's companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, rely on, and Musk began to take credit for Trump's 2024 electoral victory.

In response to Trump's threat to cancel the government contracts, Musk said on X that he'd immediately decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which provides NASA transport to and from the International Space Station.

• I visited Seattle for the first time in May 2025 after years of dreaming about it.
• The city in the Pacific Northwest surprised me as a New Yorker.
• I found a strange tourist attraction, a free banana stand, and a tech neighborhood full of nature.

When my train arrived at Seattle's King Street Station on a sunny morning, I didn't expect the one-mile walk to my downtown hotel to feel like a hike.

I didn't think I'd find a chewing-gum-speckled wall in an alley later that afternoon. And when I felt my stomach growl while strolling the bustling streets the next day, the last thing I thought I'd see was a free snack cart.

It was my first time in the Washington city, one I've wanted to visit since I was a kid. As I developed a taste for travel in college, I found myself taking road trips from California up the coast to Portland, Oregon, to see more of the Pacific Northwest.

Still, Seattle was always too far north to include in my itinerary. In fact, I'd never had a chance to visit the state of Washington — until recently.

During a weeklong trip from my home in NYC to the west coast of North America in May 2025, I spent three days in Seattle. As a first-time visitor, I found the city to be full of surprises.

I traveled to Seattle from Vancouver, and I was surprised to find that a train ticket was less than half the price of airfare.

I've spent about 100 hours on Amtrak trains from the Northeast to the Southwest. In my experience, traveling by train in the US is typically more expensive than flying, though it depends on the route.

So when I was booking my travel from Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada to Seattle, I was shocked that a coach train ticket cost $50 compared to the $150 basic economy airfare on the same day.

I certainly paid more in hours — the train ride took four compared to the roughly 1-hour flight. Still, I was excited to travel slowly and watch landscapes transform from one country to another.

I was also shocked at how much more comfortable it was to travel in economy compared to planes.

I'd traveled in first and business class on Amtrak trains before, but this was my first trip in coach since I was a kid. So I wasn't sure how it would compare to my countless experiences flying in basic economy.

Since the ticket was less than half the price, I didn't expect the train seat to be so much cozier than the stiff, flimsy plane seats I'm used to. I even avoided the neck and back pain I usually get when flying.

On the train, the seats felt wider with more legroom than on a typical economy flight.

Walking a mile in Seattle feels more strenuous than it does in New York.

I stepped off the Amtrak train in Seattle around noon. It was my first time stretching my legs since I'd boarded in Vancouver four hours earlier. With an indie-rock soundtrack in my earbuds and the sun shining above me, I was excited to lug my suitcase on foot to my hotel one mile away.

But I quickly learned that a mile in Seattle doesn't feel like a mile in New York. The route was almost entirely uphill. When I stopped to catch my breath at an intersection, I noticed the street to my right climbed up even taller for as far as I could see.

In my city, I walk a lot, but most of the roads are relatively flat. So I wasn't expecting to feel so exhausted after just one mile.

I was excited to visit the iconic Pike Place Market but surprised to learn that it hasn't always been a car-free space.

Situated next to the coast in Downtown Seattle, Pike Place Market is an iconic outdoor market with over 200 stores and restaurants. I've been hearing about it for decades, so I spent my first afternoon in Seattle perusing the nine-acre shopping hub.

On a sunny Thursday afternoon, the market was crowded with locals and tourists alike. I shuffled my way through what felt like a line to get a peek at the fresh seafood. When I needed a break from the mob, I found refuge inside a used bookstore.

Every so often, a delivery truck would drive through, dividing the crowd into two tightly packed globs, but most cars weren't allowed to drive through Pike Place Market. This made sense to me, since each passing vehicle halted the pedestrian flow.

But I was surprised to learn that the open-air market's cobblestone streets are normally open to all cars — the city is testing a ban on cars aside from vendors, delivery drivers, and those with disabilities, the Seattle Times reported in April. The temporary ban began on April 23 and will continue until the end of summer.

I was lucky enough to inadvertently schedule my trip during the ban. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if cars could freely move through the already crowded market.

I stumbled upon the popular tourist attraction, The Gum Wall, in Seattle.

While wandering the narrow alleyways around Pike Place Market, I was slowed down by groups of tourists stopping to take selfies in front of a vibrant brick wall. The wall was spackled with an array of hues from peach to periwinkle.

At first, I thought the specks of color were dried-up chunks of paint. But when I saw a pedestrian pull a gooey wad out of their mouth and stick it on the brick wall, I realized the wall was a gum canvas.

I was shocked and a little grossed out upon my realization, but when I focused on how the wall actually looked rather than the germ-infested materials, I thought it was a playful work of art.

Before you ask, no, I didn't add my own contribution to the Seattle gum wall.

I was surprised to find a three-story target downtown.

I lost my charging port somewhere between Vancouver and Seattle, so I headed to a Target near my downtown hotel. Back home in NYC, the Targets I frequent are small and offer little more than a drug store.

So, I was shocked to learn that this location was a 96,000-square-foot, three-story establishment. While still smaller than Targets you'll find outside of cities, according to the Seattle Times, the store had a wide variety of groceries, toiletries, and tech products.

There were so many aisles of home goods that I thought I could decorate my entire apartment with its offerings.

I wasn't expecting the tech neighborhood to be so full of nature.

Seattle has long been known as a tech hub where software engineers move in droves to work at big companies like Amazon and Google.

Locals told me I could find the booming scene in the South Lake Union neighborhood, home of the original Amazon headquarters. The company's presence in more than 30 office buildings led to the neighborhood's nickname, "Amazonia."

Before visiting, I expected to find nothing but business-centric streets lined with glass skyscrapers in a tech-fueled neighborhood. So I was surprised by the large presence of nature in South Lake Union.

The neighborhood borders Lake Union, where I explored a waterfront park filled with runners, bicyclists, picnickers, and geese. Locals said the park is dead on the weekends, but tech workers frequent it during the week. Nearby, the Google building had a whole forest of trees on the rooftop.

I'd never seen a free banana stand before.

The pop of color caught my eye while strolling through "Amazonia. In an outdoor space between Amazon buildings in South Lake Union, the bright yellow trailer is hard to miss.

I got a closer look and saw boxes full of bananas beneath the awning, and a sign that read, "Take one — not just for Amazonians but for anyone in the community."

I didn't expect to find a free snack stand in the middle of a city. Amazon previously told Business Insider that founder Jeff Bezos came up with the idea to provide a complimentary healthy snack with no wrapper. The stand first opened in 2015.

I wasn't expecting to see an active volcano so close to a major city.

From a hotel's rooftop deck, a local pointed to a mountain in the distance and told me it was an active volcano.

I could hardly see the volcano through the haze, but they told me Mount Rainier, which last erupted in 1894, was more visible on clear days.

I was shocked to learn that this city, home to nearly 800,000 people, is so close to what could be a natural disaster. According to the Seattle Office of Emergency Management, the city is a safe distance away from a potential blast's flow, but water and power resources could be affected.

My trip to Seattle was everything I hoped it would be and more.

Seattle's mix of natural and urban lifestyles reminded me of my previous trips to Pacific Northwestern cities, which comforted me.

But I was surprised by Seattle's unique attributes, from Pike Place Market to the oddly alluring gum wall.

And since it was so different from NYC, I definitely plan to return to Seattle to get another break from the Big Apple.

• Sarah Anderson and her husband have road-tripped through 33 states over the past decade.
• Anderson shared her favorite hidden-gem destinations for summer road trips in the US.
• These destinations offer alternatives to crowded national parks during the summer.

Sarah Anderson and her husband, Myles, have been road-tripping across the US for a decade. Each year, they've traveled roughly 7,000 miles, covering 33 states and countless campgrounds from east to west.

As summer approaches and national parks around the country are bound to get crowded, Anderson shared with Business Insider lesser-known natural destinations that will give you a unique and secluded experience.

Avoid crowded trails in Custer State Park in South Dakota.

Anderson said one of the most underrated trips they've ever taken was to South Dakota in the summer of 2022, where they spent the Fourth of July camping at Custer State Park.

"We were able to get a last-minute camping spot, and it wasn't crowded," she said. "You could spend a week there because it's so beautiful, and there's so much hiking."

It was a sunny 75 degrees Fahrenheit — perfect for hiking, Anderson said. During her hikes, Anderson appreciated the park's unique geographic features.

"Custer Park is known for having these rock spires. I've never seen anything like it," she said. "You get a really good reflection of the rock formations on Sylvan Lake."

The park is also full of grasslands and wildlife, from donkeys to bison, she added.

"You can drive from Custer to Badlands National Park, and you can also stop by Mount Rushmore," Anderson said. "So you can easily make a whole road trip there."

Explore diverse landscapes in eastern Idaho.

In July 2023, Anderson explored hidden gems in eastern Idaho.

"Grand Teton National Park is really popular, but on the other side of the Tetons, the Idaho Teton Valley isn't very popular," Anderson said. "They have amazing wildflower hikes, mountains, and waterfalls."

Anderson said she also explored sand dunes nearby.

"No one was there when we went except for a few people on ATVs," she said. "But for sunset, we had the sand dunes completely to ourselves."

Sedona is quiet in late summer.

"Sedona, Arizona, is obviously a really popular destination, but a lot of people don't visit during the summer because it's really hot," Anderson said. But when she went in late August 2024, temperatures had cooled down a bit, and there were still no crowds.

"It would be a good destination for people who don't mind getting up early to hike and or like hiking at sunset," she said. "We hiked at sunrise and sunset to beat the heat, and we had a lot of the trails to ourselves."

Anderson recommends staying at Ambiente Sedona, an adults-only hotel, and spending the hottest hours of the day at the pool.

In South Carolina, avoid crowds in Charleston with a canoe trip in the Edisto River.

"In South Carolina, everybody goes to Charleston, but we went to this place called Carolina Heritage Outfitters in the Edisto River area of South Carolina," Anderson said.

Carolina Heritage Outfitters is a tour company that offers treehouse camping by canoe. Anderson told BI that her tour guide said it's a popular activity among locals.

"You canoe downstream a very easy 10 miles to a treehouse, stay overnight, and then canoe 10 miles back to the tour company," Anderson said. "That was one of the coolest things that we've done. We travel all the time, and we've never done anything like that."

Check out Wyoming's lesser-known natural escapes.

Anderson said she's been to Wyoming many times.

"I think, in general, it's underrated as a state to visit for tourism. It is obviously popular because of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park," she said. "But you don't really hear about people going other than that."

South of the Tetons in Wyoming, the Wind River Range offers a similar experience and is far less crowded, Anderson said. For maximum privacy, Anderson recommends pitching a tent at the free campsites in the Green River Lakes area, as she did in July 2024.

"You do have to prepare because it is remote, there's no service, and we took a 20-mile dirt road to get there," she said. "But there's nobody else around. You can go swimming, and the landscapes are so beautiful."

Medicine Bow National Forest is another underrated destination in southern Wyoming.

"We went there in the summer of 2023, and they have amazing lakes and mountain peaks that made me surprised that it's not more popular," Anderson said.

Visit a California ski hub in the summer.

"Mammoth Lakes in California is really popular during the winter because it has great skiing," Anderson said. "Fewer people go during the summer, but it's one of the best hiking destinations we've been to."

Anderson went in 2022 and hiked through mountains, swam and kayaked in the lakes, and marveled at waterfalls.

"It's like a quintessential summer experience," she said.

• Shooting Star in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has been ranked as one of the top golf courses in the US.
• The golf exclusive club requires an invitation and has a long waitlist for membership.
• From the golf course to the clubhouse, here's a look inside the private mountain oasis.

Nestled beneath the Grand Tetons in one of Jackson Hole, Wyoming's most expensive neighborhoods, PGA pros tee up at one of the most celebrated golf courses in the US, ranking no. 1 in Golf Digest's best in Wyoming and earning a spot on the top 100 US courses in 2023 and 2024.

I'm talking about Shooting Star, a members-only club in Teton Village. You have to be invited to join, and a representative of Shooting Star told Business Insider last year that the club had an extensive waitlist.

It's also not cheap. Shooting Star didn't share its current membership price with BI, but when the club opened in 2009, it had 189 members and a $100,000 membership fee.

During a trip to Jackson Hole in September 2024, I got an exclusive club tour, and it felt like a millionaire's playhouse. Take a look inside.

Welcome to the ultra-exclusive Shooting Star of Jackson Hole.

Shooting Star's history dates back to the 1930s when the Resor family created Snake River Ranch, now known as the largest working cattle ranch in Jackson Hole.

Shooting Star owner and operator John Resor transformed a section of the ranch into an exclusive golf course, club, and residential community. It was a $130 million project.

Shooting Star is in Jackson Hole's Teton Village neighborhood.

Roughly 22 miles from Jackson, Shooting Star is sandwiched between Snake River Ranch and Jackson Hole Resort.

The 1,300-acre space has a clubhouse, a golf course and shop, a pool deck, a barn, and residential lodges.

When I toured the property, I thought the clubhouse looked like a luxury ranch. The expansive building overlooked the golf course and a 25-meter lap pool.

The clubhouse opens to a grand foyer with a Western aesthetic.

I spotted nods to the American West when I stepped inside the clubhouse. An animal skull and realistic paintings of cattle at Snake River Ranch decorated the foyer walls.

I also noticed a range of natural textures, from the wood floors and ceiling moldings to the leather seats in front of the large stone fireplace.

Outside, the 18-hole golf course looked like a painting.

I'm no golfer, but it was instantly clear why Golf Digest ranked this a top 100 course in the US.

The 250-acre course looked dynamic, with aspen and evergreen trees dotting hills parted by 50 acres of water hazards, including ponds and streams. It was designed by Tom Fazio, who also designed Donald Trump's golf clubs in Westchester, New York, and Pine Hill, New Jersey.

Fazio also designed multiple courses at the exclusive Vintage Club in Indian Wells, California, where Bill Gates purchased a home for $12.5 million in 1999.

The golf course blended in so seamlessly with its surroundings that I thought it was a naturally occurring landscape, but the land was actually reformed with a design goal of making each hole unique.

According to a Shooting Star brochure, the process included moving 2 million cubic yards of dirt, planting more than 2,500 trees, and carving out 50 acres of lakes.

For a handful of PGA pros, including the golf club's director Ben Polland, Shooting Star is more than a home course — it's a day job.

From the course, I could see the resident cabins and lodges.

According to Jackson Hole Sotheby's International Realty, most homes didn't hit the market. However, the available listings include two-acre plots of land for $15.5 million and three-bedroom, four-bathroom cabins for $11.75 million.

Next to the clubhouse, the Alpine Barn is used in ski season.

In the winter, Shooting Star becomes a skier's haven, and the Alpine Barn is the hub.

Inside, there were nearly 200 lockers. During ski season, the barn shows movies and serves complimentary food. A shuttle takes skiers to the nearby Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to hit the slopes, but there's also a track around the course's perimeter for a short run.

Back inside, the second floor of the clubhouse houses a fitness center.

The 2,400-square-foot facility had smart cardio equipment with large screens overlooking the swimming pool and barn. A handful of workout studios offered classes like yoga and pilates.

Outside, there were also tennis and pickleball courts.

The spa was on the same floor.

I entered one of the six treatment rooms and thought it felt serene.

Limestone and wood moldings texturized the walls. There was a fireplace, cozy seating, and two treatment beds.

Natural light poured in from the window at the back of the room. There was a gigantic stainless steel tub in front of it.

Bathing in there with a view of the course and the surrounding Tetons would be a dream.

The spa bathroom had amenities akin to a luxury hotel.

I spotted glass jars containing toothbrushes, razors, hair ties, eye drops, and over-the-counter pain and allergy medication.

Back downstairs, there was a restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining.

The dining room had a wood-burning fire pit inside. Out on the patio, members could dine right next to the golf course.

Before I headed out, I got to check out a miniature version of the property inside the clubhouse.

The property feels vast, so seeing it all planned out on one table helped me better understand the course and development.

I left with a sense of what it might be like to be a member of such an exclusive club in an epic location.

• Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates shares three kids with his ex-wife Melinda French Gates.
• His eldest daughter is a med school graduate and his youngest a startup cofounder.
• Here's what we know about the children of one of the world's richest men.

Bill Gates' story is a quintessential example of the American entrepreneurial dream: A brilliant math whiz, Gates was 19 when he dropped out of Harvard and cofounded Microsoft with his friend, the late Paul Allen, in 1975.

Nearly 50 years later, Gates' net worth of almost $108 billion makes him one of the richest and most famous men on Earth, per Forbes. He stepped down from Microsoft's board in 2020 and has cultivated his brand of philanthropy with the Gates Foundation — a venture he formerly ran with his now ex-wife Melinda French Gates, who resigned in May. 

Even before founding one of the world's most valuable companies, Gates' life was anything but ordinary. He grew up in a well-off and well-connected family, surrounded by his parents' rarefied personal and professional network. Their circle included a Cabinet secretary and a governor of Washington, according to "Hard Drive," the 1992 biography of Gates by James Wallace and Jim Erickson. (Brock Adams, who went on to become the transportation secretary in the Carter administration, is said to have introduced Gates' parents.)

His father, William Gates Sr., was a prominent corporate lawyer in Seattle and the president of the Washington State Bar Association.

His mother, Mary Gates, came from a line of successful bankers and sat on the boards of important financial and social institutions, including the nonprofit United Way. It was there, according to her New York Times obituary, that she met the former IBM chairman John Opel — a fateful connection thought to have led to IBM enlisting Microsoft to provide an operating system in the 1980s.

"My parents were well off — my dad did well as a lawyer, took us on great trips, we had a really nice house," Gates said in the 2019 Netflix documentary "Inside Bill's Brain."

"And I've had so much luck in terms of all these opportunities."

Despite his very public life, his three children with French Gates — Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe — have largely avoided the spotlight for most of their upbringing. 

Like their father, the three Gates children attended Seattle's elite Lakeside School, a private high school that has been recognized for excellence in STEM subjects — and that received a $40 million donation from Bill Gates in 2005 to build its financial aid fund. (Bill Gates and Paul Allen met at Lakeside and went on to build Microsoft together.)

As they've gotten older, they've stepped more into the public eye, and more details have emerged about their interests, professions, and family life. 

Gates recently said his children will get "less than 1%" of his fortune when he dies. But they may also inherit the family foundation, where most of his money will go.

Here's all we know about Bill Gates' children.

Gates and his children did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Jennifer Gates Nassar

Jennifer Gates Nassar, who goes by Jenn, is the oldest of the Gates children at 28 years old.

A decorated equestrian, Gates Nassar started riding horses when she was six. Her father has shelled out millions of dollars to support her passion, including buying a California horse farm for $18 million and acquiring several parcels of land in Wellington, Florida, to build an equestrian facility.

In 2018, Gates Nassar received her undergraduate degree in human biology from Stanford University, where a computer science building was named for her father after he donated $6 million to the project in 1996.

She then attended the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, from which she graduated in May. She's continuing at Mt. Sinai for her residency in pediatric research. During medical school, she also completed a Master's in Public Health at Columbia University — perhaps a natural interest given her parents' extensive philanthropic activity in the space.

"Can't believe we've reached this moment, a little girl's childhood aspiration come true," she wrote on Instagram. "It's been a whirlwind of learning, exams, late nights, tears, discipline, and many moments of self-doubt, but the highs certainly outweighed the lows these past 5 years."

In October 2021, she married Egyptian equestrian Nayel Nassar. In February 2023, reports surfaced that they bought a $51 million New York City penthouse with six bedrooms and a plunge pool. The next month, they welcomed their first child, Leila, and in October, Gates Nassar gave birth to their second daughter, Mia.

"I'm over the moon for you, @jenngatesnassar and @nayelnassar—and overjoyed for our whole family," Bill Gates commented on the Instagram post announcing Mia's birth.

In a 2020 interview with the equestrian lifestyle publication Sidelines, Gates Nassar discussed growing up wealthy.

"I was born into a huge situation of privilege," she said. "I think it's about using those opportunities and learning from them to find things that I'm passionate about and hopefully make the world a little bit of a better place."

She recently posted about visiting Kenya, where she learned about childhood health and development in the country.

Rory John Gates

Rory John Gates, who is in his mid-20s, is Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates' only son and the most private of their children. He maintains private social media accounts, and his sisters and parents rarely post photos of him.

His mother did, however, write an essay about him in 2017. Titled "How I Raised a Feminist Son," she describes as a "great son and a great brother" who "inherited his parents' obsessive love of puzzles."

In 2022, he graduated from the University of Chicago, where, based on a photo posted on Facebook, he appears to have been active in moot court. At the time of his graduation, Jennifer Gates Nassar wrote that he had achieved a double major and master's degree.

Little is publicly known about what the middle Gates child has been up to since he graduated, but a Puck report from last year gave some clues, saying that he is seen as a "rich target for Democratic social-climbers, influence-peddlers, and all variety of money chasers."

Phoebe Gates

Phoebe Gates, 22, is the youngest of the Gates children.

After graduating from high school in 2021, she followed her sister to Stanford. She graduated in June after three years with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology. Her mom, Melinda French Gates, delivered the university's commencement address.

In a story that Gates wrote for Nylon about her graduation, she documented the day, including a party she cohosted that featured speeches from her famous parents and a piggyback ride from her boyfriend Arthur Donald — the grandson of Sir Paul McCartney.

She has long shown an interest in fashion, interning at British Vogue and posting on social media from fashion weeks in Copenhagen, New York, and Paris. Sustainability is often a theme of her content, which highlights vintage and secondhand stores and celebrates designers who don't use real leather and fur.

That has culminated in her cofounding Phia, a sustainable fashion tech platform that launched in beta this fall. The site and its browser extension crawl secondhand marketplaces to find specific items in an effort to help shoppers find deals and prevent waste.

Her father told The New York Times he was glad she didn't ask him to back the startup.

"I thought, 'Oh boy, she's going to come and ask,'" Gates said. "I would have kept her on a short leash and be doing business reviews, which I would have found tricky, and I probably would have been overly nice, but wondered if it was the right thing to do. Luckily, it never happened."

In 2025, Phoebe also launched a podcast called "The Burnouts" with her former roommate and current cofounder Sofia Kianni.

Gates shares her parents' passion for public health. She's attended the UN General Assembly with her mother and spent time in Rwanda with Partners in Health, a nonprofit that has received funding from the Gates Foundation.

Like her mother, Gates often publicly discusses issues of gender equality, including in essays for Vogue and Teen Vogue, at philanthropic gatherings, and on social media, where she frequently posts about reproductive rights.

She's given thousands to Democrats and Democratic causes, including to Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Democratic Party of Montana, per data from OpenSecrets. According to Puck, she receives a "giving allowance" that makes it possible for her to cut the checks.

Perhaps the most public of the Gates children — she's got over 450,000 Instagram followers and a partnership with Tiffany & Co. — she's given glimpses into their upbringing, including strict rules around technology. The siblings were not allowed to use their phones before bed, she told Bustle, and to get around the rule, she created a cardboard decoy.

"I thought I could dupe my dad, and it worked, actually, for a couple nights," she told the outlet earlier this year. "And then my mom came home and was like, 'This is literally a piece of cardboard you're plugging in. You're using your phone in your room.' Oh, my gosh, I remember getting in trouble for that."

It hasn't always been easy being Gates's daughter. In the Netflix documentary "What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates," she said she lost friends because of a conspiracy theory suggesting her father used COVID-19 vaccines to implant microchips into recipients.

"I've even had friends cut me off because of these vaccine rumors," she said.