Good morning, friends!

When you spend months working on a profile, certain quotes get permanently lodged into your mind.

I started reporting this piece on real estate entrepreneur Ryan Serhant back in February. I consumed hours of his videos, read his books, and listened to podcast after podcast. But it wasn’t until I shadowed him for a full day that I saw the mask slip and the human underneath emerge.

When I asked him if there had been a personal cost to his success, he got quiet. He started thinking through all the tradeoffs he’s made to build his company.

Online, Ryan is all energy — charismatic, enthusiastic, always “on.” But in person, I could sense a trace of loneliness. When I asked why he started seeing a therapist last year, he told me, “Because I have no one else to talk to.”

That moment surprised me. Then he added: “How do I stop caring about what other people think, and just live my life? But under the public eye, it’s hard, you know? It is hard. That’s why sometimes I yearn for a career where no one knows what I’m doing except the people that I work with.”

The hardest part of profiling public figures is getting past their media training. Most have rehearsed their stories to perfection. But by the time I met with Ryan, I had already interviewed dozens of people around him. I knew where to press, what to ask, and which patterns to explore. And eventually, the façade cracked.

At the very end of our time together, he said something I haven’t been able to forget:

“I’m definitely the kind of person who needs the adrenaline so I can use it as fuel. But if you’re not careful, that fuel will also burn your house down.”

The thing that lifts you up is often the same thing that threatens to destroy you.

Success is a double-edged sword. It doesn’t guarantee happiness, fulfillment, or peace. It’s shaped by what you bring to it, and what you’re willing to give up along the way.

I hope you take the time to read this one, and as always, I’d love to hear what you think.

Ryan Serhant Won’t Stop Until He’s No. 1

Polina Pompliano · May 7

In the greenroom at the TODAY show, Ryan Serhant, dressed in a tailored sage suit and sporting his signature gray hair, flips through notes as producers buzz around him.

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PROFILES.

— The real estate mogul who wants to be No. 1 [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The heir to the Soros empire
— The billionaire aiming to build the first $1B women’s sports franchise
— The man who will give away $200 billion
— The Unabomber’s brother

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The real estate mogul who wants to be No. 1: You may have seen real estate entrepreneur Ryan Serhant described as charismatic, likable, authentic, and enthusiastic — and he is all of those things. But underneath the polished exterior is something darker, more complicated, and far more potent.Serhant is driven by “revenge, for sure, 100 percent,” he says. “Success is the best revenge.” For Serhant, success isn’t an option. It’s the only outcome. (The Profile)

“I’m going for a grand slam here. There is no Plan B. There is no Serhant Two. It all has to work.”

The heir to the Soros empire: Alex Soros, son of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, has quietly become one of the most influential figures in American politics. Now overseeing a $20 billion foundation and major political donations, he’s trying to shape the future of the Democratic Party while navigating skepticism about his leadership and public image. Equal parts intellectual, insider, and reluctant heir, Soros operates from a position of immense access and power—yet offers few clear answers about his long-term vision. As the U.S. enters a new era of political volatility, Soros finds himself both at the center of the action and unsure of the path forward. (New York Magazine; alternate link)

The billionaire aiming to build the first $1 billion women’s sports franchise: When Breanna Stewart, the WNBA’s biggest star, became a free agent, Clara Wu Tsai didn’t just pitch her on basketball. She chartered a boat in Istanbul and offered a bold vision: help build a championship team and revolutionize women’s sports. Since buying the struggling New York Liberty, Wu Tsai has turned it into the league’s crown jewel — with better pay, perks, and packed arenas. Now, with a title under her belt and a billion-dollar valuation in her sights, she’s proving what happens when you actually invest in women. (Bloomberg; alternate link)

“Like all women’s sports, the team had been underestimated and underfunded. We changed that.”

The man who will give away $200 billion: The Gates Foundation, one of the most powerful forces in global public health, just announced it will shut down in 2045 — after 25 years of pouring over $100 billion into life-saving initiatives. Bill Gates plans to double down in the next two decades, spending his fortune to help end preventable child deaths, eradicate infectious diseases, and lift millions out of poverty. Gates remains defiantly optimistic: “You can accuse me of being an optimistic person. I just think I’m being realistic.” (New York Times Magazine; alternate link)

“This money should go back to society in the way that it has the best chance of causing something positive to happen.”

The Unabomber’s brother: David Kaczynski turned in his own brother, the Unabomber, to the FBI — then spent nearly three decades trying to reconcile with him through a one-sided stream of letters. Despite being vilified by Ted, David never stopped writing, driven by love, regret, and a promise to their mother to never abandon him. The story traces their fractured bond from a shared childhood in Illinois to parallel lives of isolation, and ultimately, to the silence of death. In the end, it’s a haunting meditation on family, forgiveness, and the toll of moral conviction. (New York Times Magazine; alternate link)

“Waves of anger and desperation born of utter helplessness can never be harnessed to produce skillful means for generating social change.”

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