menu_open Columnists
Sydney Lake

Sydney Lake

Fortune

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

The average American homeowner lost $9,200 in home equity during the last year. It’s not a collapse but a ‘long-term market correction’

Borrower equity is the third-highest ever recorded, but Leo Pond from Four Seasons Sotheby’s told Fortune that a fast climb uphill has turned into a...

previous day 3

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Under Armour’s CEO says micromanagement is ‘totally underestimated’ in business: ‘There’s too much lost on pretense’

Kevin Plank believes in an 80-20 management rule.

16.09.2025 3

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Canadians don’t want to live in America and it shows: The number of Canadians searching for U.S. homes is down 20% year over year

The steepest decline came in April after Trump’s tariff announcements.

15.09.2025 3

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Milestones like marriage and parenthood are so delayed for millennials and Gen Z many of them are skipping out on life insurance, report finds

“We failed you 1,000 times over,” one expert told Fortune exclusively. “We don't educate you at the time that you're going through your benefit...

15.09.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Klarna goes public as millions of Americans rely on buy-now, pay-later. Experts worry it’s snowballing ‘quickly into a serious financial burden’

New data about BNPL comes at the heels of Klarna’s IPO on Wednesday.

10.09.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Sam Altman says people are starting to talk like AI, making some human interactions ‘feel very fake’

“Real people have picked up quirks of LLM-speak,” the OpenAI CEO said.

09.09.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

‘Quiet luxury’ is coming for the housing market, The Corcoran Group CEO says. It’s not just the Hamptons, Aspen, and Miami anymore

Wealthy buyers are expanding their housing horizons.

09.09.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Nike’s ‘Why do it?’ campaign has a Gen Z twist—But branding experts are skeptical, saying it messes with one of the most iconic taglines in history

Nike just launched a new 60-second ad featuring Carlos Alcaraz, Saquon Barkley, Caitlin Clark, and LeBron James.

05.09.2025 5

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Americans say $74,000 a year is the ‘perfect salary.’ But that would make buying a house affordable in only two states

Even doubling that “perfect salary” to $148,000 won’t get you a house in every state.

05.09.2025 6

Fortune

Sydney Lake

The U.S. housing market is ‘finally starting to listen’ to homebuyers plagued by high mortgage rates and home prices, economist says

Mark Fleming’s analysis is based on First American’s Real House Price Index, which, unlike other home-price indexes, accounts for inflation.

03.09.2025 6

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Paris Hilton took out a mortgage on the $63 million mansion she bought from Mark Wahlberg. Here’s why that’s actually a smart financial decision

The reality star made a savvy move in financing her megamansion.

03.09.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

There’s an upside to Trump tariff disruptions that could boost the bottom line for American businesses, global supply chain expert says

Kerim Kfuri outlines five ways businesses can tackle tariffs.

29.08.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

In a frozen luxury housing market, buyers are asking to ‘try before you buy’ and having sleepovers in multimillion-dollar mansions

Sellers are trying new tactics to get the most money for their homes.

28.08.2025 3

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Millennials and Gen Z are gambling on a big mortgage-rate drop, using ARMs and refinancing. But that could be a ‘financial ticking time bomb’

About two-thirds of recent younger homebuyers hope for a mortgage rate drop soon, according to a Truework study.

26.08.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Cracker Barrel’s first rebrand in nearly 50 years backfired. The company’s stock lost nearly $100 million after introducing a more minimalist look

The restaurant chain has gotten heat, accused of going too woke.

23.08.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Gen Z spends hundreds a month on ‘treat culture,’ justifying it with the challenges of daily life

Some Gen Zers are spending hundreds of dollars on little treats each month.

20.08.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Housing shrinkflation is here to stay. New homes are 11% smaller but 74% more expensive than a decade ago

The “death of the hallway” continues.

19.08.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Silicon Valley talent keeps getting recycled, so this CEO uses a ‘moneyball’ approach for uncovering hidden AI geniuses in the new era

HelloSky takes a different approach to recruiting top tech candidates.

17.08.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Even a 1% mortgage rate drop could be enough to ‘unlock’ the frozen housing market, Oxford Economics says

A lower rate should be “enough of an incentive” for some homeowners to sell their homes and trade up, opening up inventory.

13.08.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

How Nvidia’s billionaire CEO went from Denny’s dishwasher to leading a company with a $4.3 trillion market cap

“I’m still working on being a good CEO,” Jensen Huang said in an interview at his alma mater, Stanford University.

12.08.2025 2

Fortune

Sydney Lake

The price premium on new-construction homes is dissolving. New home prices dropped in 30% of large U.S. cities last quarter

Builders also continue to offer mortgage-rate buydowns and other incentives to make new builds attractive to buyers.

11.08.2025 8

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Oakley’s billionaire founder is the latest victim of the sluggish luxury housing market—but the profit he could still make shows an underlying problem

Some ultra-wealthy luxury home sellers are being forced to drop the prices of their listings.

07.08.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Gen Zers are flocking to these Midwest housing markets where homes are about 30% cheaper than the coasts

Seven of the 10 most affordable metros for young homeowners are in the Midwest.

05.08.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Not even a 0% mortgage rate would make buying a house affordable in these 6 U.S. cities

Home prices are at the crux of the housing affordability crisis in the U.S.

03.08.2025 9

Fortune

Sydney Lake

The friendship premium: A majority of people would trade 20% in salary to work with close friends, KPMG survey finds

The loneliness epidemic plagues the workplace.

02.08.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Zillow say mortgage rates can’t fall enough for Americans to afford a home

Mortgage rates are approaching 7%, but one Zillow analyst says even a 0% interest rate still wouldn't make a typical home affordable in some areas.

31.07.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Bill Gates’ $645 million superyacht—the first ever to be powered by hydrogen—is for sale. A yachtie calls it ‘a modern engineering marvel, period’

The Microsoft cofounder reportedly commissioned the superyacht a few years ago.

31.07.2025 50

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Americans spend an entire week’s worth of pay on rent every month—and in some cities, a full two weeks of income is just going to housing

Due to rent inflation, Americans are paying 66% more each month on housing than 17 years ago.

25.07.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Oxford Economics says the crumbling housing market will continue deteriorating because of two key factors

Home prices are 55% higher than they were at the beginning of 2020.

24.07.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Homeowners are pouring their equity into renovations because there’s ‘no incentive’ to sell in today’s housing market

The days of buying a dream home are over but the home renovations market is barreling ahead.

24.07.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

The American Dream is no longer red, white, and blue—it’s gray. There are now more homebuyers over age 70 than under 35

Home buyers need to make six figures to afford a median-priced home in the U.S.

23.07.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Mark Cuban says the AI war ‘will get ugly’ and intellectual property ‘is KING’ in the AI world

Major tech companies are shelling out for top AI talent.

22.07.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Gen Z has regrets: 1 in 4 say they wish they hadn’t gone to college or would’ve picked a higher-paying industry

Younger generations feel stuck when it comes to choosing to go to college or get a job.

20.07.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Amazon Ring’s founder is back as CEO with a hard pivot to AI. How Jamie Siminoff went from ‘Shark Tank’ reject to $1 billion brand

Ring’s founder wants to get the company back to his original vision.

17.07.2025 3

Fortune

Sydney Lake

This car-repair chain’s revenue skyrocketed 130x in the past five years—and 83% of its workforce doesn’t have a college degree, including its CEO

Matt Ebert reflects on how he came into the car collision repair industry “literally, by accident.”

13.07.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Over 30 million homeowners don’t have a mortgage right now. Here’s why that’s a big warning sign about the housing market

Homeowners also aren’t borrowing against their homes because interest rates are too high.

11.07.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

AI can make anyone rich: Mark Cuban says it could turn ‘just one dude in a basement’ into a trillionaire

The billionaire "Shark Tank" star and former Dallas Mavericks owner is a dedicated AI user.

07.07.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Dating apps are doomed because Gen Z is locked in on meet-cutes, former Hinge content lead says: They want to vibe their way through meeting people

Podcaster Ilana Dunn reflects on how the dating world has changed.

07.07.2025 6

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Condo prices are falling. Gen Z and millennials: This could be your shot to break into the housing market

Condo prices dropped 2% year over year, according to Redfin.

03.07.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Home Depot made a key acquisition to corner the pro market—but some analysts say it overpaid at $4.3 billion

Home Depot continues to appeal to a contractor customer base.

01.07.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Warren Buffett says the most important financial decision you can make has nothing to do with the stock market

“I can’t overemphasize enough” how important finding the right person to marry is, Buffett said.

01.07.2025 5

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Mark Zuckerberg’s dream for AI chatbots to become your friend is as unhealthful as ‘junk food,’ Hinge CEO says

Justin McLeod warns against certain AI use cases for dating apps.

26.06.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Bumble cut 30% of its workforce—the magnitude of which JPMorgan says ‘comes as a surprise’

The dating app company announced Wednesday it would lay off 30% of its workforce.

25.06.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

TV and movies are so expensive to produce not even AI will make a significant financial difference—and the streaming wars are to blame

Content production experts warn AI might not help lower the costs of making television and movies.

24.06.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

A 35-year-old Florida man booked more than 120 free flights by posing as a flight attendant

Tiron Alexander is set to be sentenced in August.

14.06.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake

‘College doesn’t carry the same ROI it once did’: 70% of teens say their parents support them going to trade school or getting an apprenticeship

Parents are becoming more accepting of alternative post-high school plans.

13.06.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Bluesky is backfiring. Mark Cuban says the ‘lack of diversity of thought’ is actually pushing users back to X

The billionaire argues Bluesky’s liberal-heavy user base creates an echo chamber.

12.06.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake

The American dream is no longer buying a house—it’s paying off debt

Gen Zers carry an average of $94,000 in personal debt.

11.06.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s advice to young people is to work with those who outshine you

Pichai has been with Google for more than two decades.

10.06.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Elon Musk predicts a recession this year. 8 sneaky signs we actually could be headed for one

These are the weird recession indicators starting to show themselves.

06.06.2025 8

Fortune

Sydney Lake