This was the second-most expensive brand I tried. A pack of eight hot dogs cost $8.49, excluding taxes and fees. Since it's a New York brand — and I live in the city — I half-expected to pay a little less for a local product.

The Sabrett hot dog fit perfectly inside the potato roll bun without hanging too much off either end.

The only flavors that came through were from the ketchup and mustard, which is a distinct no-no in my book as far as hot dogs go.

While the texture wasn't overly chewy, I thought it didn't have the distinct snap I often look for in a hot dog. 

While it wasn't bad by any means, I didn't think this brand was worth the higher price tag.

Nathan's is a New York institution famous for its annual Coney Island hot-dog-eating contest on July 4.

I managed to snag an eight-pack of these hot dogs on sale at my local Key Food.

The original price was $9.79, but I managed to get them for just $4.49, excluding tax.

It looked like a really classic hot dog you would eat on the pier in summertime: crispy on the outside, while still retaining that classic red hot-dog color.

I needed water after just a few bites of this hot dog, and I definitely couldn't imagine consuming dozens of them to win a contest.

Overall, it was a flavorful hot dog with a slightly snappy texture, but the salty aftertaste made it nothing to call home about.

The Ball Park pack of eight hot dogs cost me $8.69, excluding taxes and fees. It was the most expensive brand I tried.

I also noticed they cooked a lot faster than the other brands. While the other brands retained their red, crispy consistency in the pan, the Ball Park dogs quickly began to char and crisp up after only a minute or two of cooking.

I personally like really well-done, almost charred hot dogs, but it's something to keep in mind if you have different preferences. 

I thought the hot dog had a nice, smoky flavor that was complemented by the bun and condiments. The flavor came through, even though I wasn't crazy about what I thought was a slightly more rubbery texture.

The pack of six franks cost me $8.99 at my local Key Food grocery store, excluding taxes and fees.

This smaller package count is definitely something to consider if you're planning for a large cookout.

I wondered whether it would be less filling, or how the slightly thinner shape would affect the eating experience. 

The ketchup and mustard definitely came through but didn't overpower the hot dog's distinctly savory, beefy taste. 

Despite being the thinnest dog, it also didn't taste like an unbalanced hot-dog-to-bun ratio. Every ingredient was perfectly complementary. 

I was surprised that this brand won. Even though I call New York City home, neither of the local brands, Nathan's or Sabrett, deserved the win in my book. 

I thought Applegate's hot dog, though thinner than the others, had the best flavor and texture. It was also a great value, despite the pack being two dogs short. If I had to choose which hot dog brand to eat at my cookout, it would be Applegate hot dogs all the way.

The only way to guarantee you're getting the best-tasting meat is to ask the butcher in your local shop or grocery store to grind your desired cut for you or grind it yourself at home using a food processor.

Ground beef chuck is one meat many burger lovers prefer to use since it ranges from 15 to 20% fat.

Adding bacon to your burgers can seriously up the flavor. If your burger patties are on the thicker side, you should cook the bacon before adding it to the meat to ensure you don't eat any undercooked bacon.

If your patties are thinner or smash-burger-style, it's OK to leave the bacon raw as long as you make sure it's all properly cooked before eating.

Acheson told BI that mushrooms and onions make delicious additions to burger meat.

"You don't always have to use beef either," Acheson said. "I make this pulverized mushroom and lamb burger that tastes very woodsy and gamey."

"I love the flavor bomb that is Worcestershire sauce," Acheson said. "Balancing that with a little olive oil is just going to add a little more fat and texture to meat when it hits the grill, and help prevent it from sticking."

This sauce can be added directly to ground meat to make burger patties more moist and flavorful.

Crushed or minced garlic can easily be mixed into ground beef, pork, or even turkey before being cooked on the grill, and adds savory flavor. 

For slightly more texture, opt for a sesame-seed bun, often a summer pantry staple. However, for a softer yet still flavorful bun, butter a brioche bun, toast or grill it, and serve it with your burger.

You can also try out other alternative buns like potato rolls or even a toasted bagel.

"A really simple and delicious special sauce is creme fraîche, mayonnaise, a dash of maple syrup, and a little bit of ketchup, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and lemon juice all blended up," Acheson said.

"Having a special sauce in your arsenal is really important."

If you want to add a little creamy, tangy flavor to a cheeseburger, dollop some Thousand Island dressing on top. Thousand Island is made from a base of three popular burger condiments: mayonnaise, ketchup, and sweet pickle relish.

Adding toppings like shredded lettuce or crunchy pickle slices can also recreate the same flavor profile as a classic Big Mac. 

Topping a burger with some blue cheese crumbles is a recipe for success, Acheson said.

Some burger lovers swear by peanut butter. While this creamy, flavorful addition can, of course, be smeared on top of your patties, it can also be added directly to the meat itself.

Taste of Home reported that adding a spoonful of peanut butter to ground meat can keep your burgers juicy, thanks to the oil in the spread.

Simple garlic butter can be whipped up in just a few minutes.

You can either butter your buns with it before grilling them or drizzle it on the cooked burger patties themselves for a flavor boost.

"Onions are a staple that everyone's got around," Acheson said. "You can slow cook them, caramelize them, sweeten them with a little maple syrup or soy sauce, and cook them into a sort of onion jam."

Avocado adds creaminess to a burger without the thick texture of mayonnaise or aioli.

Unlike other leafy greens, arugula has a peppery flavor. Plus, you'll likely enjoy the layer of crunchy texture that adding greens provides.

If you happen to have a can of pineapple or pineapple slices lying around, they can make delicious burger toppings. A quick pineapple salsa with red onion and cilantro is easy to make and packs a lot of flavor.

Adding a fried egg ups the protein level and the flavor of any burger. When you bite or cut into the burger, the runny egg yolk acts almost like a sauce.

To really make this brunch-ready burger pop, add bacon, special sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.

Pickled onions are easier to make than many home cooks might think, but they add some serious flavor to any burger.

Bon Appetit's recipe for quick-pickled onions involves leaving thinly sliced red onion in a jar with apple cider vinegar, sugar, and kosher salt for at least one hour. Then, simply drain the onions and add them to your burger.

If you have some leftover pulled pork in your fridge, don't be afraid to add a little to your burger. Not only will this topping add tons of flavor and satisfy any barbecue craving, but the added protein also ensures you won't leave the barbecue hungry.

No burger topping is arguably as creamy and decadent as mac and cheese. While homemade mac and cheese may be ideal, don't be afraid to whip up a quick box of whatever boxed mac and cheese you have in your cabinets.

"You want high heat, but use the whole of the grill," Acheson said. "The grill should have two different temperature zones — one lower and one higher. You're trying to get a good crust, a good Maillard reaction from that protein on the hot side, and getting good grill marks. Then move it over to the lower side to make sure you've reached the right temperature."

You can find the full ingredient list and recipe instructions on Garten's website.

I started by preparing the caramelized onions. The recipe calls for two medium red onions, thinly sliced.

Garten says it should take about eight to 10 minutes for the onions to start to brown. I liked that this recipe didn't require a grill, making it apartment-friendly for this New Yorker on Memorial Day weekend.

The recipe calls for a pound and a 1/2 of ground beef with 20% fat.

I had never used mustard powder in a recipe before, but I was excited to see if it would enhance the flavor of the burgers.

This was so much easier and simpler than adding an egg or a ton of other ingredients like many celebrity chef burger recipes require.

The chef says the burgers should stay in the freezer for exactly 15 minutes, so I set a timer to ensure I didn't go over or under the mark. I assumed this step was to help the burgers keep their shape when I added them to the cast-iron skillet.

Garten explains that this step is to help deglaze the pan. 

I took them off the heat while I waited for the burgers to be ready to add to the pan.

While this recipe does call for two different pans, it doesn't require many extra bowls or equipment, which I greatly appreciated when it was time to clean up.

Each burger patty should be about an inch thick. While all my burgers weren't the exact same size, I figured I did a good enough job and was able to use every last bit of the meat mixture.

This definitely would have worked a little better with a metal spatula, as Garten suggests using, but I made do with the one I had in my kitchen. In the end, the burgers turned out well.

I grated some Gruyere cheese to top the burgers and added the caramelized onions, too. Then, I placed a lid on the skillet to allow the cheese to melt completely and finish cooking the burgers.

Garten suggests using sandwich potato rolls, such as Martin's, for the burgers, so I did just that.

I'm admittedly not the best at telling when burgers are done to my liking, but Garten's timing worked out perfectly.

This recipe is great for grill masters and burger novices alike, as you only need a few ingredients to get a delicious burger. Even my roommates were surprised by how tasty these simple burgers turned out. 

I'll definitely be making these burgers again for an easy dinner or even a summer party with friends.

You might not know that you can parboil potatoes in a slow cooker. To do so, chop and cover the potatoes with water, a little salt, pepper, and butter, and cook them until they're fork-tender, usually about six hours on low.

Then, mix the dressing for your potato salad as you normally would, such as mayonnaise, dill, whole grain mustard, and a splash of red wine vinegar. 

You can also make a German-style potato salad with bacon, light dressing, and baby potatoes.

"I love to make spinach-and-artichoke dip in my slow cooker," Chungah Rhee, the author of the blog Damn Delicious, told Business Insider. 

"You can just free up so much of your time by using a slow cooker and hang out with your guests instead of laboring in the kitchen," Rhee continued. "Especially for side dishes or dips. You put it all together, set the time, and it comes out ready to go."

"Another favorite of mine is this corn-and-jalapeño dip," Rhee told Insider. 

The recipe combines many of the summer's best ingredients, from fresh and vibrant jalapeños to sweet corn.

One of the benefits of making a slow-cooker Buffalo-chicken dip, like this recipe on Rhee's blog — or any other side dish in a slow cooker — is that it can be prepared well ahead of time and reheated when you're ready to eat.

Rhee's advice for someone using a slow cooker for the first time for entertaining is actually to start out with a dip or side dish. 

"If for some reason it doesn't turn out, because we all know that can happen using an appliance for the first time, it's not detrimental to your dinner party being a success," she said.

This creamy queso dip from Martha Stewart uses ingredients like American cheese and pepper jack cheese, a can of evaporated milk, diced tomatoes with chilies, sliced jalapeños, red onion, and cilantro. 

"Brisket is a natural partner for the slow cooker, as a gentle braise renders it meltingly tender," Kim Laidlaw writes in her cookbook, "Everyday Slow Cooking: Modern Recipes for Delicious Meals."

Laidlaw's recipe for slow-cooked braised brisket includes garlic, onion, dry red wine, carrot, and chicken or beef stock, with a chimichurri sauce.

One of the best ways to use braised and slow-cooked pork shoulder is to make pulled-pork sliders, like this Damn Delicious recipe, with all that tender meat.

To elevate the dish, top the meat with barbecue sauce and slaw before sandwiching it between two fluffy brioche buns or potato rolls. You can also use the carnitas to make tacos.

Nothing screams an end-of-summer cookout like sauce-covered ribs, like Laidlaw's recipe as shared on Cooking by the Book. After cooking them in the slow cooker, place them on a baking sheet in your oven and broil them until they're slightly crispy.

Brats with onions, peppers, and garlic simmered in the slow cooker with beer — like this recipe by The Magical Slow Cooker — are one way to use your slow cooker on Memorial Day.

Top your brats with a bit of sauerkraut and put them on buns for an easy summer dish.

If you're looking to add some carbs to your menu, look no further than a piping hot pot of mac and cheese. Martha Stewart's recipe for mac and cheese in a slow cooker calls for evaporated milk, three kinds of cheese, and homemade breadcrumbs.

"The recipe for slow-cooker garlic-herb mushrooms is divine and so easy," Rhee said. "Mushrooms made in a slow cooker are truly the best."

One of the best — and easiest — ways to use your Crock-Pot or slow cooker is by making shredded Buffalo chicken, such as this recipe by The Magical Slow Cooker.

Add seasoned chicken breasts to the slow cooker and cover with your preferred Buffalo sauce. Then add a splash of ranch dressing and a cube of butter, toss your chicken breasts in the mixture to coat fully, and cook until the chicken is shreddable. You can use it for Buffalo-chicken sliders, salads, or tacos.

You can make any style of wings in a slow cooker, from Asian-style to barbecue and Buffalo wings. Add your wings to the slow cooker, add in your sauce of choice, toss to combine, and let them cook for a couple of hours on high.

To make them crisp up, add a cornstarch and water mixture to your slow cooker. After they're cooked through, broil them for a few minutes in the oven.

Meatballs make the perfect appetizer for parties big and small and are easy to make in a slow cooker. 

Place your seasoned, raw meatballs into the slow cooker, top with sauce, and let the slow cooker finish them off, says one recipe by Spend With Pennies. Serve them on their own with toothpicks or stuff them inside toasted sub rolls for a meatball sandwich.

The cheeseburger from Burger King cost $2.79, excluding tax.

The burger was extremely simple, but I was impressed by the generous serving of toppings. There was a hearty amount of condiments on the burger, and the cheese was thick and perfectly melted.

The flame-grilled burger had a grilled, smoky flavor that worked well with the ketchup and mustard.

Not only was this burger flavorful, but it also provided the best value, priced at $2.79, which was the cheapest option among the cheeseburgers I tried.

I enjoyed this burger a lot, but it could have been improved with an extra patty or more creative ingredients. At the end of the day, it was a basic fast-food cheeseburger.

It cost $4.09, excluding tax and fees.

Like the regular cheeseburger, there was a hearty serving of ketchup and mustard.

I thought this burger was certainly a step up from the regular cheeseburger. It packed the same grilled flavor and low price, but the extra patty made it even more flavorful and filling.

The burger cost me $11.49, excluding tax, making it the second-most expensive burger I tried.

The burger patties had a deliciously smoky and savory flavor that gave the sandwich a freshly grilled taste. The lettuce and tomato slices tasted extremely fresh, and I liked the addition of mayonnaise.

However, I thought this burger could have been improved with another slice of cheese between the layers of beef. The cheese's flavor was lost amid all the meat and other toppings.

This burger was extremely filling, and I would struggle to eat it all, in addition to fries. However, if you have a big appetite or simply love Burger King's beef, this might just be the burger for you.

The burger was also significantly more expensive than the smaller cheeseburgers and the regular Whopper with cheese. However, I don't think the higher price was worth it — the two extra patties were a hindrance, rather than an asset, to the burger.

It cost $11.29, excluding tax and fees, making it the most expensive burger I tried.

The burger was swimming in mayonnaise and ketchup, but I didn't mind.

I like mayonnaise a lot, but I quickly noticed the generous amount spread on both the burger and the sesame-seed bun. If you're not fond of mayo, you might consider customizing or skipping this burger.

The slices of cheese were evenly layered over the burger patties, which had a distinct smoky taste.

The perfectly crispy bacon added even more smoky flavor, and the cheese and condiments added a lot of moisture, which I felt the Triple Whopper lacked.

Burger King's signature burger has been around since 1957, just four years after the chain opened. Back then, the Whopper cost 37 cents.

It now costs $8.49, excluding tax and fees.

Immediately, it was evident that this burger would be bursting with flavor. Thick layers of ketchup and mayo spilled from the sides of the burger, but the sizable sesame-seed bun kept all the ingredients together.

The cheese coated the burger patty, and the lettuce, tomatoes, and onions all tasted very fresh. They added a delicious crunch to the burger.

Even though this burger is a classic, and perhaps not the most creative burger I tried, it was the most satisfying. I also thought it was a great value for the price, and I would definitely order it again and again.

The cheeseburger from McDonald's cost $3.49, excluding tax.

I rarely get a regular cheeseburger from McDonald's; I usually prefer the larger, more elaborate burgers like the Quarter Pounder Deluxe with cheese or the chicken sandwiches.

I thought the bun was a touch limp and the cheese could have been more melted.

However, the condiments overpowered the taste of the burger patty — this cheeseburger really only tasted of cheese and ketchup to me. I didn't really taste the onions, though I thought the pickles were tart and crunchy.

The junior cheeseburger from Wendy's cost $3.74, excluding tax.

It came topped with one slice of American cheese, pickles, onion, ketchup, and mustard on a toasted bun.

The cheese was more melted on this burger than on the one from McDonald's.

All of the ingredients, from the burger patty to the cheese and the thick slice of onion, really amplified the flavor of this palm-sized burger.

The bun held up well, and I thought all the ingredients made this burger worth $3.74, which was the highest price of the three burgers.

However, it still wasn't my favorite, or the most flavorful, cheeseburger.

The cheeseburger from Burger King cost $2.79, excluding tax.

This burger appeared to have a more generous serving of toppings compared to the other two cheeseburgers I tried.

I was eager to see if this would lessen the burger's overall flavor, but it didn't.

The sesame-seed bun also added a lot of flavor — something I didn't get from the classic toasted buns at the other two chains.

However, the standout star of this burger was the patty itself.

The flame-grilled burger had a strong, smoky flavor that didn't overpower the other ingredients and was complemented perfectly by the ketchup and mustard.

Not only was this burger the most flavorful, but it was also the best value — at $2.79, it was the cheapest burger I tried.

I used the McDonald's mobile app for a deal to get the most food for under $15.

I was able to order a 20-piece chicken McNuggets for $5, and then added on a triple cheeseburger meal, which included a medium fry and a medium drink, for $10.19, excluding tax.

There were a couple of other meals that would have been around or within the budget, but the triple cheeseburger was the biggest burger offered within that price range.

The cost of my meal came to $15.19, excluding tax.

The burger typically costs $6.48, excluding tax, at my local McDonald's in Brooklyn.

The triple cheeseburger is one of the chain's only triple-stacked burgers, though it didn't feel overly heavy.

The ingredients were evenly distributed throughout the burger, ensuring each bite packed the most flavor.

The cheese and three patties were savory and flavorful, while the diced onions and pickles added tartness and crunch.

Even though it had three patties, I didn't feel weighed down by this burger.

For $5, I ordered a 20-piece nuggets.

At my location, a 20-piece typically costs $10.69, excluding tax. Using the app-exclusive deal, I saved more than half on this part of the order.

If you're trying to get the most food for your money, this was excellent value. I ended up sharing the chicken nuggets with my two roommates.

I could also order three sauces with the nuggets. I chose ranch and honey mustard, and enjoyed both.

The fries were what I expect from McDonald's: crispy, salted, and easy to eat by the handful.

Overall, I thought this meal was a good value and an impressive amount of food for the price. However, compared with the meal from Burger King, I thought it lacked variety.

I also ordered the meal on the Burger King app and used one of the app's exclusive meal deals to save money.

The King of Wrap meal came with a Fiery Royal Crispy Wrap, a Whopper, medium fries, and a medium drink. I added cheese to the Whopper, bringing the cost to $12.49, excluding tax.

I also added a four-piece order of nuggets to my meal for $1.89 and two ranch dipping sauces for $0.25 each, bringing the total cost of my meal to $14.88, excluding tax.

The burger typically costs $7.99, excluding tax, and comes without cheese, but cheese can be added to the burger for an additional 50 cents.

The generous amount of ingredients added to the overall weight of this burger, which felt a lot heavier and heartier than the McDonald's burger.

It felt more homemade, thanks to the thickly sliced tomatoes, lettuce, and the chargrilled flavor of the burger patty. The mayonnaise also added more moisture and flavor compared to just the ketchup on the McDonald's burger.

If I had to pick between them, I'd choose to order this burger again.

The wrap typically costs $3.89 from my local Burger King in Brooklyn.

The wrap features a chicken tender coated in the chain's spicy glaze, lettuce, tomatoes, and Royal sauce.

The wrap had a slight kick to it. The spiciness of the glaze, however, was balanced by the fresh vegetables and the Royal sauce.

The fries were thick and salted, but I had to admit I preferred the crispiness of the McDonald's fries.

The four-piece order of chicken nuggets cost under $2, and added even more variety to my meal.

I preferred the peppery taste and crispy texture of these nuggets compared to McDonald's chicken nuggets, even though I got far fewer of them in the $15 budget.

Overall, I felt that I got more variety with the meal from Burger King. I was able to get a burger, which was bigger and more flavorful than the one from McDonald's, two different kinds of chicken entrées, fries, and a drink for a lower cost than the bigger chain.

If I had only $15 to spend on a fast-food meal, I'd choose Burger King every time.

Net worth: $1.5 billion

Age: 78

Source of wealth: As the founder and CEO of Great Southern Wood Preserving, Rane helped popularize the lumber business by appearing in commercials as a cowboy known as "the Yella Fella."

Residence: Abbeville

Net worth: $400 million, each

Age: Rubini is 70; Hyde is 68.

Source of wealth: Rubini serves as the CEO and chairman of commercial real-estate developer JL Properties, while Hyde serves as its president. Each of them owns 50% of the business, which also includes properties in Florida and Utah, Forbes reported.

Residence: Anchorage

Net worth: $17.3 billion

Age: 67

Source of wealth: Ernest Garcia II owns the used car retailer DriveTime Automotive, the fourth-largest used car retailer in the US. He is also the largest shareholder of Carvana, an online used car dealer founded by his son, Ernest Garcia III, in 2012.

Residence: Tempe

Net worth: $113 billion

Age: 80

Source of wealth: Rob Walton and his siblings inherited their wealth from their father, Sam Walton, who opened the first Walmart store in 1962 and founded the discount warehouse Sam's Club in 1983. Rob Walton, the eldest of the Walton siblings, is also one of the principal owners of the Denver Broncos.

Residence: Bentonville

Net worth: $189 billion

Age: 40

Source of wealth: As a student at Harvard, Zuckerberg cofounded a social network known as "The Facebook" in 2004. He went on to become CEO of Meta, the parent company for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.

Residence: Palo Alto

Net worth: $16.9 billion

Age: 85

Source of wealth: Anschutz initially amassed his fortune through the discovery of an oil field on the Wyoming-Utah border in 1979 and subsequent investments in railroad companies. He founded Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in 1994, which owns major sports teams and performance venues such as the Crypto.com Arena. AEG is also the parent company of the Coachella music festival.

Residence: Denver

Net worth: $21.3 billion

Age: 68

Source of wealth: Cohen founded two hedge funds, SAC Capital and Point72. Until SAC Capital was shut down after pleading guilty to insider trading charges in 2013, it was one of the most successful hedge funds in the world (Cohen himself was never charged). Point72 currently manages over $35 billion, Forbes reported. He also holds a 95% ownership stake in the New York Mets.

A fun fact about Cohen: He loosely inspired Damien Lewis' "Billions" character, Bobby Axelrod.

Residence: Greenwich

Net worth: $800 million

Age: 77

Source of wealth: Snyder's parents founded WL Gore & Associates, a manufacturing company that holds over 7,000 patents, in 1958. Gore-Tex, a waterproof fabric used in outdoor apparel and shoes, remains its most profitable invention. Snyder owns around 5.5% of the company, Forbes reported.

Residence: Wilmington

Net worth: $206 billion

Age: 61

Source of wealth: Bezos founded e-commerce titan Amazon in 1994 and still owns around 9% of the company. As of May 2025, he was the third-richest person in the US behind Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. He's also the third-richest person in the world, just ahead of Larry Ellison.

Residence: Miami

Net worth: $10.7 billion

Age: 71 (Bubba), 72 (Dan), and 69 (Trudy)

Source of wealth: The Cathys are heirs to the Chick-fil-A family fortune. Founded by their father, S. Truett Cathy, in the 1960s, the fried-chicken fast-food chain now has over 3,200 restaurant locations worldwide. Dan Cathy's son, Andrew Cathy, took over as CEO in 2021. Dan Cathy's brother, Bubba Cathy, is still the executive vice president.

Residence: Atlanta (Bubba and Don), Hampton (Trudy)

Net worth: $10 billion

Age: 57

Source of wealth: Omidyar founded eBay in 1995 and became a billionaire when the e-commerce company went public during the dot-com bubble in 1998. eBay also acquired PayPal in 2002 for $1.5 billion.

Residence: Honolulu

Net worth: $3.2 billion

Age: 76

Source of wealth: VanderSloot is the founder and former chief executive of Melaleuca, Inc., which sells nutritional and wellness products online. Forbes reported that the company now has over one million customers each month.

Residence: Idaho Falls

Net worth: $39 billion

Age: 38

Source of wealth: Lukas Walton is the billionaire heir to the Walmart fortune and the grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Lukas Walton inherited his vast wealth after his father, John T. Walton, died in a plane crash in 2005 at the age of 58.

He founded Builders Vision, an impact investing group, in 2021, and also chairs the Walton Family Foundation's environment program committee.

Residence: Chicago

Net worth: $9.9 billion

Age: 62

Source of wealth: Cook has served as CEO of Cook Group, a medical-device manufacturing company founded by his parents, since his father's death in 2011. Forbes reported the company made $2.4 billion in revenue in 2024.

Residence: Bloomington

Net worth: $10.2 billion

Age: 83

Source of wealth: Stine is an agricultural pioneer and the founder and owner of Stine Seed, a corn and soybean seed company based in Adel, Iowa.

According to the company's website, Stine Seed and its affiliates own around 800 patents related to soybean and corn genetic technology. Major licensing deals have helped it become one of the world's largest private seed companies.

Residence: Adel

Net worth: $67.5 billion

Age: 89

Source of wealth: Koch amassed his billions from serving as co-CEO of Koch, Inc., which produces around $125 billion in revenue each year, Forbes reported.

Founded in 1940 by his father, Fred Koch, Koch Industries — later shortened to Koch — is involved in various businesses, from oil pipelines to paper goods, and is the second-largest private company in the US.

Residence: Wichita

Net worth: $8.1 billion

Age: 63

Source of wealth: Gustavson made her billions as the heiress to the Public Storage empire and as a prize-winning horse breeder. Her father, B. Wayne Hughes, cofounded Public Storage, a self-storage company that now owns and operates thousands of locations across the US and Europe, in 1972.

Forbes reported that Gustavson owns about 10% of the company.

Residence: Lexington

Net worth: $17.2 billion

Age: 53

Source of wealth: Graves, the founder and CEO of the chicken-tender restaurant chain Raising Cane's, opened his first restaurant in 1996. The company now has nearly 900 restaurants in the US and made $5.1 billion in annual sales in 2024, Forbes reported.

Residence: Baton Rouge

Net worth: $3.7 billion

Age: 79

Source of wealth: Alfond's father, Harold Alfond, made a fortune as the founder of the Dexter Shoe Company, once one of the largest shoe manufacturers in the US. Forbes reported that he sold the company to Warren Buffett in 1993 for $420 million in Berkshire Hathaway stock.

Harold Alfond died in 2007, leaving his fortune to Susan Alfond and her three siblings.

Residence: Scarborough

Net worth: $5.5 billion

Age: 95

Source of wealth: Lerner's fortune grew after she loaned $250 to her husband, Ted Lerner, to establish a firm that sold homes to real-estate developers, Forbes reported.

Founded in 1952, it grew to become one of the most successful real-estate companies in the DC area. The Lerners also made their money as owners of the Washington Nationals baseball team.

Residence: Chevy Chase

Net worth: $31.5 billion

Age: 63

Source of wealth: Johnson is the chair and CEO of Fidelity Investments — which her grandfather founded — and holds an estimated 28.5% ownership in the company. The Financial Times called her the "quiet queen of American finance" for the way she grew her father's and grandfather's business while staying incredibly private.

Residence: Milton

Net worth: $23.7 billion

Age: 63

Source of wealth: Gilbert is the founder and chairman of Rocket Companies, formerly known as Quicken Loans. From 2013 to 2018, under Gilbert's leadership, the company closed nearly half a trillion in home loans, according to the Gilbert Family Foundation. He also owns the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.

Residence: Franklin

Net worth: $2.9 billion

Age: 84

Source of wealth: Taylor purchased Carlson Letter Service, a wedding stationery business that he worked for while attending college, in 1975, according to the company's website. It became the Taylor Corporation, a print services and communications company. A former state senator, he's also owned several sports teams.

Residence: Mankato

Net worth: $3 billion

Age: 68 and 64

Source of wealth: The Duff brothers' wealth originates from their family business: tires. Their father, Ernest, founded Southern Tire Mart in the '70s and sold it in 1998. James and Thomas bought it back in 2003 and then cofounded Duff Capital Investors, a holding company, in 2007. Forbes reported it now brings in $5 billion in revenue across over 20 businesses.

Residence: Hattiesburg

Net worth: $11.4 billion

Age: 73

Source of wealth: In 1990, David Steward cofounded IT provider World Wide Technology, which Forbes valued at $20 billion in sales. Citi, Verizon, and the federal government are a few of the company's clients. An avid fan of car racing, Steward has pushed for more diversity in NASCAR, according to his company bio. In 2018, WWT began sponsoring Bubba Wallace, one of the few Black drivers in the racing organization's history.

Residence: St. Louis

Net worth: $7.4 billion

Age: 90

Source of wealth: Washington owns a business group called Washington Companies, which is involved in mining, rail and marine transportation, and construction. He's also invested in his son Kyle's ship business, Seaspan ULC.

Residence: Missoula

Net worth: $165 billion

Age: 94

Source of wealth: Buffett is one of the best-known and most successful investors of all time. He's made his fortune via Berkshire Hathaway, which owns brands such as Geico, Dairy Queen, and Duracell. Despite his immense wealth, he's also known for his modest spending habits. Recently, he announced he'll retire at the end of 2025.

Residence: Omaha

Net worth: $28.6 billion

Age: 79

Source of wealth: Miriam Adelson is on the list after the 2021 death of her husband, casino magnate and major Republican donor Sheldon Adelson. Now, she and her family own over 50% of Las Vegas Sands, a casino company worth over $39 billion. In 2023, she became a majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, a title formerly held by Mark Cuban. She's also been a major donor to Donald Trump.

Residence: Las Vegas

Net worth: $11.5 billion

Age: 72

Source of wealth: Most of Cohen's familial wealth comes from Symbotic, a warehouse automation company that has partnered with Walmart. Cohen is the chairman and CEO. In addition, Cohen also owns the US' largest grocery wholesaler, C&S Wholesale Grocers, which brings in $33 billion annually, Forbes reported. In 2024, his net worth plunged by $9 billion due to his family's stake in Symbotic, when the company's stocks tanked.

Residence: Keene

Net worth: $7.4 billion

Age: 55

Source of wealth: Two Sigma, a $60 billion hedge fund, which Overdeck cofounded, is the source of his wealth. He and David Siegel stepped down as co-CEOs last year, amid a long-term dispute over managing the firm. In high school, he won a silver medal in the International Mathematics Olympiad, and now he serves as chair for the National Museum of Mathematics.

Residence: Millburn

Net worth: $1.7 billion

Age: 63

Source of wealth: Corio's billionaire status — the first in New Mexico — stems from Array Technologies, a solar tracking systems business. He is the founder and former CEO, resigning in 2020 before its IPO.

Residence: Albuquerque

Net worth: $105 billion

Age: 83

Source of wealth: What hasn't Bloomberg done? Besides his 12-year stint as the mayor of New York City and an unsuccessful presidential campaign, Bloomberg cofounded Bloomberg LP in 1981. Bloomberg is a media company and a financial firm with revenues of $13.3 billion, as reported by Forbes.

Residence: New York

Net worth: $9.8 billion

Age: 82

Source of wealth: Goodnight and his colleague John Sall (also a billionaire) cofounded a private school, Cary Academy, and also co-own a hotel and country club. But their biggest business venture together is the software company SAS, founded in 1976. It made over $3 billion in sales in 2024, according to the company's 2024 annual report.

Residence: Cary

Net worth: $1.2 billion

Age: 79

Source of wealth: Tharaldson, the only billionaire in North Dakota, got his start in 1982 when Tharaldson Hospitality purchased a Super 8 Motel. It then became a huge hospitality group and one of America's largest developers of new hotels.

Residence: Fargo

Net worth: $7.8 billion

Age: 87

Source of wealth: Wexner opened The Limited in Ohio in the 1960s. He then founded a retail empire that, at one point, owned brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, The Limited Too, Express, and Victoria's Secret. Now Wexner's company has been renamed Bath & Body Works Inc., and solely owns the chain of the same name.

Residence: New Albany

Net worth: $18.5 billion

Age: 79

Source of wealth: Hamm founded the Shelly Dean Oil Company, now known as Continental Resources, in 1967 when he was only 21. It's now one of the largest oil companies in the US, thanks in part to Hamm's decision to use horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Bakken region of North Dakota in the '90s. The company went public in 2007, but in 2022, Hamm and his five children took the company private again in a deal worth $27 billion.

Residence: Oklahoma City

Net worth: $29 billion

Age: 87

Source of wealth: One word: Nike. Knight cofounded the iconic brand in 1964 alongside Bill Bowerman. Although Knight retired in 2016, he and his family still own 20% of the company, which, in 2024, earned $51 billion in fiscal revenue, per Forbes.

Residence: Hillsboro

Net worth: $59 billion

Age: 66

Source of wealth: After spending time as a pro gambler and trader on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Yass cofounded Susquehanna International Group in 1987. The successful Wall Street trading firm has a 15% stake in ByteDance, TikTok's parent company. NBC reported in 2024 that Yass also has a personal share (7%) of ByteDance.

Residence: Haverford

Net worth: $3.4 billion

Age: 68

Source of wealth: In 1989, Nelson founded and led the private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. He was CEO until January 2021 and is now its executive chairman. The firm has invested in over 180 companies, including Hulu, Warner Media Group, and Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES).

Residence: Providence

Net worth: $5 billion

Age: 61

Source of wealth: Robert "Bob" Faith founded Greystar, a global real estate firm, in 1993 and continues to serve as chairman and CEO. Throughout his career, Faith grew Greystar from 9,000 units in the US to more than a million units across five continents, worth more than $315 billion, the company reported in a March press release. The company also has an investment management platform with $36 billion in assets under development.

Residence: Charleston

Net worth: $2.1 billion

Age: 89

Source of wealth: The University of Minnesota alum made his fortune as the owner of First Premier Bank. Despite having just 17 branches across South Dakota, the bank is one of the largest issuers of Mastercards, in part because it specializes in offering credit cards to those with low credit scores. Often, the cards have low limits and high interest rates.

Residence: Sioux Falls

Net worth: $26.8 billion

Age: 86

Source of wealth: Frist Jr. cofounded Hospital Corp. of America with his father in 1968. According to its website, the for-profit healthcare company is responsible for 186 hospitals and over 2,400 care sites (like urgent care centers, surgery clinics, and physician clinics) across the US and UK. He and his family own over 20% of the company, and his sons, Thomas Frist III and William Frist, are board members.

Residence: Nashville

Net worth: $388 billion

Age: 53

Source of wealth: Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are in a continuous battle for the title of richest person in the US. Musk is CEO of Tesla, CEO and founder of SpaceX, and the founder of neurotechnology startup Neuralink and tunneling company The Boring Company. He also helped found OpenAI, but he left in 2018 and announced his own AI endeavor, xAI, in 2023, which he owns an estimated 54% of, according to Forbes. He also owns an estimated 74% of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Residence: Austin

Net worth: $4.4 billion

Age: 81

Source of wealth: Miller owns the Larry H. Miller Company, which she founded with her husband, Larry H. Miller, in 1979 after purchasing their first Toyota dealership. The LHM Company's car dealership business became the eighth-largest in the US, and she sold it for $3.2 billion in 2021, Forbes reported. (Larry H. Miller died in 2009.) LHM's portfolio also includes companies in real estate, entertainment, sports, and insurance, among others. In 2020, after more than 30 years of owning the Utah Jazz, Miller sold the team and their home arena for $1.66 billion.

Residence: Salt Lake City

Net worth: $2 billion

Age: 88

Source of wealth: In 1979, Abele cofounded Boston Scientific, a medical device manufacturer, alongside Peter Nicholas. Boston Scientific focuses on developing more accessible medical technologies, and its products include pacemakers, defibrillators, and stents.

Residence: Shelburne

Net worth: $39 billion

Age: 85

Source of wealth: As the granddaughter of Mars Incorporated founder Frank C. Mars, Jacqueline owns an estimated one-third of the legendary candy, food, and pet-care company responsible for treats like Snickers, Juicy Fruit, and Milky Way. (Her brother owns another third and is the richest person in Wyoming, per Forbes.) She served on the board of directors until 2016, having spent nearly 20 years with the company.

Residence: The Plains

Net worth: $118 billion

Age: 69

Source of wealth: Bill Gates hired Ballmer as Microsoft's 30th employee in 1980. Ballmer went on to serve as the CEO of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. After retiring, he bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion and donated millions to the University of Oregon.

Residence: Hunts Point

Net worth: $900 million

Age: 61

Source of wealth: During Smith's time as CEO and then executive chairman of the finance and business software company Intuit, the company's revenue almost doubled, Forbes reported. The success came after Intuit revamped its desktop software into a digital cloud-based platform. Now the president of Marshall University, he also chairs Nordstrom's board of directors and sits on the boards of Amazon and JPMorgan Chase.

Residence: Huntington

Net worth: $21.9 billion

Age: 78

Source of wealth: Hendricks earned her billionaire status as the cofounder of ABC Supply, the largest roofing wholesaler in the US, with her late husband Ken Hendricks. Founded in 1982, ABC Supply acquired the building materials distributors Bradco in 2010 and L&W Supply in 2016 with Hendricks at the helm.

Residence: Afton

Net worth: $39 billion

Age: 89

Source of wealth: Mars — whose sister is Jacqueline Mars, Virginia's richest person — is another heir of the Mars family fortune amassed from candy products such as Snickers, Mars Bars, and M&M's, as well as Pedigree pet food and Uncle Ben's rice. He owns a third of the $45 billion business.

Residence: Jackson

"I try to bring something with a wooden element into every single space that I design, just to add that warmth," Maldonado told Business Insider, "and T.J. Maxx is great for that."

"Whether it's a beautiful tone of wood in a cutting board or a nice vessel or a pot, or it's even just a little wooden ball," there are usually a variety of pieces that will add texture and coziness to any space, she said.

"You can find pieces made of wood or iron or metal or things that are imported from India," Maldonado said. "And those are the ideal things that I'm always looking for specifically at T.J. Maxx."

She said T.J. Maxx does "a great job of importing global design," which creates a modern organic look that appears to be collected and curated from around the world.

"I think they do a really good job with their selection of baskets and the little containers that organize your drawers and your kitchen cabinets," she said.

Maldonado said that whether you're shopping for a full-length mirror or a large canvas print, T.J. Maxx is one place where you might score a better deal than other retailers.

"You can usually get something that's much larger than you're going to find for the same price at Target or Walmart," she said.

Maldonado dispelled the idea that many of the furniture items you see at T.J. Maxx are "dupes" of more expensive brands. Instead, she said she's seen pieces from high-end furniture brands like Four Hands at the retailer.

"I think, more recently, people started understanding they're not dupes, they're the original product just at a much greater price," she said.

"A few years ago, I bought some outdoor chairs from Marshalls [which shares a parent company with T.J. Maxx] that would've been $1,000 at any other retail site, and they were $299," Maldonado continued.

"A 50-inch by 60-inch blanket at Target's going to be around $39.99, and it's just going to be a Target blanket," Maldonado said.

"But T.J. Maxx will have Tahari or Tommy Hilfiger, something that's a higher caliber of materials and pattern, and it's probably going to be like $19.99 or $29.99," she continued.

"If you're going to spend money on a plaid blanket that you're only going to have out for a few months in the winter, I love T.J. Maxx and Marshalls because you're going to save at least 30%, and it's a higher brand quality."

By the 1970s, the company was well-established and beginning its global expansion.

In 1967, the first McDonald's restaurant outside the US opened in Richmond, British Columbia, according to McDonald's website. By 1970, the chain had sold over 6 billion burgers.

McDonald's meals were served on plastic trays, which customers could then bring over to a dining-room table to enjoy.

While chains like In-N-Out Burger already had drive-thru windows, McDonald's didn't have one until 1975, when a franchisee in Sierra Vista, Arizona, skirted around an Army regulation that prevented military members from entering local businesses in fatigues. 

Fast Company reported that he circumvented the regulation by knocking down a wall in his restaurant's kitchen and installing a drive-thru window to serve customers.

Before the 1960s, the McDonald's menu was simple. It included burgers, cheeseburgers, fries, milkshakes, and other fast-food classics.

The first new item to be added to the national menu was the Filet-O-Fish sandwich in 1965, followed by the iconic Big Mac in 1968.

In 1973, the chain added two more signature burgers to its menu: the Quarter Pounder and Quarter Pounder with cheese.

In 1979, Happy Meals were introduced to attract parents who wanted to feed all family members at a great price.

The introduction of the Egg McMuffin marked a turning point for the brand, attracting a wide customer base at a new time of day. 

In this photo, a family plays cards at a McDonald's in Mill Valley, California, in 1973.

Ronald McDonald was introduced in 1963 during a Washington, DC-marketed advertisement for the restaurant. In the ad, Ronald McDonald pulled hamburgers out of his belt and had a McDonald's cup for a nose. His hat was a tray with a Styrofoam hamburger, fries, and a milkshake on top of it.

McDonald's considered changing Ronald McDonald's character to a cowboy or spaceman, but those ideas were quickly discarded.

Fast Company reported that the first McDonald's PlayPlace was introduced in 1971, forever changing the McDonald's dining experience for families and children. While parents relaxed and ate their meals, kids could play in colorful climbing structures, jungle gyms, and slides. 

The introduction of the PlayPlace solidified McDonald's reputation as a destination for families on a budget, as many were during the 1970s amid a time of financial insecurity, high inflation, and the Vietnam War. 

Annette Scaramozza and Anthony Francis are pictured at their wedding ceremony in a McDonald's in 1975. 

The Bacon Rancher burger cost $19.49, excluding tax, at our local Chili's in Glendale, New York.

The bacon was arranged in a crisscross design on top of the burger patties and cheese. Two slices of cheese were on the burger patties, which were smashed and had a crispy texture.

The ranch dressing worked well with the other ingredients in the burger and added a creamy, tangy flavor that offset the savoriness of the two burger patties and bacon.

However, we thought this burger bordered on too much meat. We couldn't clearly taste the bacon over the juicy, meaty flavor of the patties, and the moisture from the two burgers affected the texture of the bun, which struggled to hold its shape.

We also missed some of the fresher ingredients, like lettuce or tomato, that we enjoyed in the other burgers we tried.

Overall, this burger just wasn't to our personal taste.

The Double Oldtimer with cheese cost $17.79, excluding tax, at our local Chili's in Glendale, New York.

The burgers were stacked neatly on top of one another, with the toppings under the beef. We thought this was interesting — we usually place burger toppings on top of the patties to prevent the bottom bun from getting soggy.

A thin slice of cheese separated the two burger patties, and we thought the lettuce and tomato tasted fresh. However, we had mixed feelings about the mustard.

The mustard almost overpowered the other ingredients, and the additional patty made the burger so juicy that the bread was nearly flattened. Still, we thought the burger patties were cooked perfectly and had an excellent texture.

It was a great classic burger, similar to one we might make at a cookout. However, we all agreed that when dining out, we prefer to choose more creative options.

The Oldtimer cost $13.29, excluding tax, at our local Chili's in Glendale, New York.

We were interested to see how this burger compared to the others, which were all topped with cheese.

Unlike with the double, we could distinctly taste all the ingredients since there was no second patty to overpower the flavor of the toppings. We also surprisingly didn't miss the cheese — the burger was so juicy and moist, it didn't need it.

However, the mustard was still a little strong. One of us thought the addition of ketchup would have balanced out the burger more, but another reporter thought it was fine without it.

The Mushroom Swiss Burger cost $14.79, excluding tax, at our local Chili's in Glendale, New York.

This burger was stacked high, with mushrooms falling out of the bun. One of our reporters, in particular, is a big fan of mushrooms, and these ones looked perfectly cooked and came in a hearty serving. We were excited to try it.

This burger tasted earthy but not overpowering, thanks to the generous serving of mushrooms, but the onions were the secret star.

The burger patty, which was cooked medium, kept its shape while adding moisture, as did the mushrooms. The lettuce, onions, and tomato balanced out the burger by adding crunch, and the creamy mayonnaise pulled it all together.

One of our reporters actually deemed this burger as their second favorite, but it was beaten in the overall ranking.

The BBQ Brisket Burger cost $17.59, excluding tax.

The beef patty was topped with a slice of cheddar cheese, pickles, and a mound of pulled brisket slathered in Chili's sweet barbecue sauce.

The combination of the soft and moist pulled brisket and the crispy yet juicy patty worked well for this burger, especially when combined with the barbecue sauce that we caught a noticeable whiff of even before tucking in to eat.

The sweetness of the sauce also provided a solid balance to the tartness of the pickles.

One of our reporters, who usually reaches for ketchup when eating burgers, noticed she didn't feel the need with this burger.

Since we were splitting the burger, we didn't feel it was overwhelmingly meaty. However, as much as we enjoyed our smaller portions, we could imagine that eating the whole burger by ourselves could result in meat overload.

The Just Bacon Burger cost $14.99, excluding tax.

Despite its size and plentiful ingredients, this burger looked to be holding up decently within its bun. We were curious to see if that would be the case after we portioned it out. After cutting it into four pieces, each section held up.

The ingredients in this burger, besides the patty, reminded us of a familiar favorite: a BLT. But what worked so well was that we could taste each component, as none overpowered the other.

There was a generous amount of crispy bacon, the slice of tomato was thick and juicy, and the mayo-covered lettuce added a touch of freshness to each bite.

As much as we enjoyed it, we ended up placing two burgers ahead that were just as delicious but more unique.

The burger costs $14.39, excluding tax, at my closest Chili's in Glendale, New York.

Like the McDonald's Quarter Pounder, Chili's Big QP burger comes with a single burger patty. However, Chili's said its patty has 85% more meat than the McDonald's version.

Chili's culinary director Brian Paquette also told Business Insider that this is the first time the chain has introduced a burger with ketchup already added to it.

The pickles and diced red onions also added sharpness and crunch to the burger.

The "Big QP" name doesn't lie — it was a big burger and it tasted very similar to a Quarter Pounder, just a bit more elevated in terms of quality and portion size. Our only complaint was with the cheese.

The slices could have been melted just a bit more, but this could have been because we tried the burger at a media event and not an actual Chili's restaurant.

The Big Smasher Burger cost $14.39, excluding tax.

The Thousand Island dressing was dripping from all sides of the burger. One reporter remarked that we should've worn bibs.

It looked like the Big Smasher Burger was going to be a saucy mess, but the dressing turned out to be one of our favorite aspects.

The Big Smasher Burger wasn't the easiest to handle, as it left our hands slick with sauce, but it made up for the mess with flavor.

The Thousand Island dressing was creamy and thick, yet refreshing and tangy, helped by an assortment of red onions and pickles. It completely coated the juicy patty. Despite the heavy amount of dressing and juices, the bun remained intact, unlike some other burgers on the menu.

It had a tasty zing that we felt made it an ideal burger to eat in the summer.

The Alex's Santa Fe Burger cost $16.29, excluding tax, at our local Chili's in Glendale, New York.

It came with one beef patty, avocado, pepper jack cheese, red onion, jalapeños, tomato, pickles, cilantro, and the chain's spicy Santa Fe sauce.

We reached a quick consensus that Alex's Santa Fe Burger was our favorite burger, as it was by far the most creative.

Created by Chili's sous chef Alex Gomez in 2018, the burger is jam-packed with as many flavors as it has colorful ingredients.

The jalapeños and slightly smoky Santa Fe sauce gave each bite a kick, but the slices of avocado and tomato, the juicy patty, and the cheese balanced it out. As one reporter noted, it was spicy but not to the level that had us immediately reaching for a glass of water.

The burger's brightness and freshness helped it live up to its Southwestern-inspired name and made it our top choice on the menu.

This definitely wasn't your average chain-restaurant burger — and it cemented Chili's as the casual-dining chain to watch, in our humble opinion.

"Value, especially for Gen Z, is no longer defined by price alone — it's about the entire dining experience," Hope Neiman, the chief marketing officer at Tillster, an ordering provider for brands like Burger King, Baskin-Robbins, and Popeyes, told Business Insider.

"That's why brands like Chili's are starting to resonate more with younger diners. At a sit-down chain, Gen Z can get more than just a meal — they're getting a place to gather, linger, and connect, all while still finding affordable menu options," she continued.

Neiman said that Chili's new Big QP taps into a "unique sweet spot" of indulgence and value, two things that resonate with Gen Z.

"Meanwhile, fast food is no longer the default value play," she said. "With inflation squeezing wallets, many diners now treat fast food as a splurge. When the cost of a drive-thru meal approaches the price of a casual dine-in, Gen Z is asking, 'Why not make it count?'"

When included in the chain's 3-For-Me meal deal, Chili's Big QP burger costs $10.99. It also comes with an appetizer like a salad or chips and salsa, a bottomless drink, and fries.

The burger with fries costs $14.39, excluding tax, at my closest Chili's in Glendale, New York.

At my local McDonald's in Brooklyn, New York, a Quarter Pounder meal with a medium drink and fries costs $14.49, excluding tax. The burger on its own costs $7.69, excluding tax.

When Chili's talks about value, they're not talking about price alone, its CMO previously told Business Insider.

"I think a lot of brands mistake the lowest price point for being [the best] value, and I don't think that's giving consumers enough credit," Chili's CMO George Felix told BI in January. "So for us, we believe value is the entire holistic experience of what you pay for what you get."

In April 2024, Chili's launched its Big Smasher burger, which featured similar ingredients to McDonald's iconic Big Mac.

"We've always had incredible burgers on our menu, but for about a year now, we've been hearing more and more frustration from fast-food fans over rising costs," Chili's director of culinary, Brian Paquette, told BI at the time, adding that it's one of the reasons the chain wanted to deliver "some of the favorite drive-thru flavors" on its menu.

Both burgers include shredded lettuce, onions, pickles, American cheese, and a Thousand-Island-style dressing, though Chili's version has "twice the meat of a Big Mac," the company said.

When I compared the two burgers, there was a clear winner for me: I thought Chili's delivered a larger, better burger. And, when included in the 3-For-Me meal deal, I got more food at Chili's for the same price as McDonald's.

I attended a media preview of the pop-up on April 15, a day before it opened to the public for a limited two-day window on April 16 and 17.

While there, I tried the chain's new burger and explored the Fast Food Financing pop-up space and adjoining "Chili's speakeasy."

The event, which was a play on financing store experiences, was located right next door to a McDonald's in Union Square in Manhattan. Well played, Chili's.

One sign inside the front door read, "Stop overpaying for fast food today!" Similar signs were posted throughout the space.

McDonald's chief financial officer Ian Borden told analysts at the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference in March 2024 that the chain raised US prices by around 10% in 2022 and 2023, blaming inflation.

McDonald's is taking steps to address higher-than-usual prices as people tighten their wallets by offering lower-priced meal deals.

I also received several promotional materials at the event, including a brochure for Fast Food Financing that included fake testimonials about the high price of fast food.

"As an international mega-businessperson type, I figured I would make enough money for fast food. But I was wrong. Sure, I was rich — but not like, fast food rich. Thank you, Fast Food Financing, for helping me finance the tiny burger I had to get for lunch," read one review inside the pamphlet I received.

The new burger launched in restaurants nationwide on April 15, but I got to try it at the pop-up event.

The Big QP, which the chain said features "familiar fast food flavors," consists of a burger patty, two slices of American cheese, diced red onions, pickles, ketchup, and mustard on a Brioche bun.

When ordered through the chain's 3-For-Me menu, Chili's said it delivers "a dining experience that's less expensive than a comparable meal at McDonald's."

Chili's culinary director Brian Paquette said at the event that this is the first time the chain has introduced a burger with ketchup already added to it.

The burger patty was thick, juicy, and well-seasoned, while the pickles added a tart crunch. Admittedly, it tasted very similar to a Quarter Pounder, just kicked up a few notches in terms of flavor and size.

The ketchup and mustard added moisture and flavor to the burger, while the red onions added sharpness. As a huge fan of the Quarter Pounder — it's my go-to burger at McDonald's — I was extremely happy with the overall flavor profile.

The name also doesn't lie — this was a big burger. I struggled to get more than a few bites in after already filling up on chips and salsa, which are also included in the meal deal.

I had to agree with Chili's that this is an excellent deal. While you might pay more for the Big QP than the Quarter Pounder if you ordered them à la carte, the $10.99 3-For-Me deal makes the Chili's burger the obviously better value.

"Rather than relying on deals to drive short-term traffic, Chili's is delivering value through quality, portion size, and cultural relevance," Neiman told BI, calling the Big QP launch "a bold move that taps into social media buzz and generational preferences."

"It's not the cheapest burger out there, but it resonates with consumers' preferences for craveability, freshness, and conversation," she said.

Blanchette told Business Insider in a video interview that before he gets out of bed in the morning, he's thinking about the company's sales. Driving top-line sales is his "No. 1 priority" for the chain's comeback.

"We've seen some great progress in the restaurants that I own, and we are fortunate to have seen a meaningful turnaround in same-store sales this year," he said.

"We think that as we're learning, we can build off of that and continue to grow sales in a powerful way," he continued.

Growing sales is no easy task, but Blanchette said he's been encouraged by growth in the casual dining industry with chains like Chili's, which saw a significant 31.4% increase in same-store sales at the start of the year.

"I think what happened at Chili's is encouraging for everyone in casual dining, and what they're continuing to see is inspiring to us," Blanchette said.

Blanchette said that the company's bankruptcy filing in November 2024 was an "enormous distraction," compounded by a simultaneous change in management.

However, he wants customers and franchisees to focus less on the bankruptcy filing and more on the fun, playful side of TGI Fridays' brand.

"Celebration is kind of at the heart of everything we do. And so we're trying to reengage our team members by giving them food that they're prouder to serve," he told BI. "We're stopping the conversations and the distractions around the bankruptcy and getting focused on remembering that the jobs that we create around the globe change people's lives."

Blanchette cited the chain's growing international business, including 391 restaurants in 41 countries.

"We want to lean into that and continue to grow and not forget to celebrate along the way," he said.

When it comes to resonating with younger generations, Blanchette said that menu innovation — from adding new items to improving the quality of items already on the menu — is one of the chain's top priorities.

He also said that innovation can pose a unique challenge, as it "increases complexity in a lot of cases."

"I've spent my time trying to rally the organization around getting excited about these new products," he said, naming the chain's recent steakhouse menu, which features hand-cut steaks and is available at select franchise locations.

Blanchette said the idea really resonated with franchisees, and the chain is now seeing interest from its international franchisee partners.

"Creating a pull rather than a push on these new ideas has been a big priority," he said.

Blanchette said menu innovation is one way he thinks TGI Fridays could win over customers in younger generations, such as Gen Z.

"This is a generation with a very high food IQ, and I think they tend to be more food curious," he said, citing a trend toward spicy food and more "fusion" flavors with international influences. "They'll try spices from abroad even if they don't know exactly what the flavor is until they try it. And so we think innovation is especially important for this younger generation."

Blanchette added that the chain is also focusing on millennials, especially those with young kids, since their tastes in restaurants tend to change once they become parents.

"I think Fridays, because the environment's a little louder, can compete much harder for those young families because you don't have to give up your entire sense of self," he said. "You can still have a handcrafted cocktail, you can still have handmade interesting food when you go out."

Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth, was 13 years old when World War II began in 1939.

While many British children were evacuated from London to the countryside or other safe havens, Elizabeth and her siblings remained behind with the Queen Mother and their father.

In 1945, when the princess turned 18, she broke royal tradition — and protocol — by enlisting in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, a women-only branch of the British Army.

While enrolled in the ATS, Elizabeth trained as a mechanic and truck driver. Though she never saw combat, she is the only female member of the royal family to have served in the British Army.

Long before she trained as a nurse, Mary took a particular interest in supporting British troops during World War I. She designed a program that provided every member of the armed forces with a Christmas gift.

The History Press reported that the program raised over £162,000 in 1914 — £15.9 million ($21 million) today, per the Bank of England — and facilitated the distribution of tins filled with luxury items like tobacco and chocolate to active service members.

By the time the war ended, 2 million gifts had been distributed through the program.

Mary was the first child of a sitting monarch to train at Great Ormond Street, a children's hospital in London, The History Press reported.

As heir apparent to the throne, Edward trained in the Royal Navy from 1907 until 1911. However, at the start of World War I in 1914, he joined the army as a staff officer in the Grenadier Guards, Britannica reported.

Despite being willing to, Edward never served on the front lines of the war.

The Secretary of State for War at the time, Herbert Kitchener, deemed it too dangerous for the heir to the throne to risk dying in the war — or worse, being captured by enemy forces and used as leverage.

"What difference is it if I am killed? The king has four other sons," Edward once asked Kitchener, according to his New York Times obituary.

"If I were certain you would be killed, sir, I don't know whether I should be right to restrain you," Kitchener reportedly responded. "What cannot permit is the chance of the enemy securing you as his prisoner."

Edward VIII became king in 1936 but abdicated the throne later that year.

Michael, a grandson of George V and a cousin to Queen Elizabeth II, began training at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst in 1961. Two years later, he was commissioned into the 11th Hussars, a regiment of the British Army.

According to his royal profile, he completed service in Germany, Hong Kong, and Cyprus during his 20-year military career.

Throughout his lengthy military career, he has held multiple military titles, including Honorary Air Marshal of the Royal Air Force and Senior Colonel of the King's Royal Hussars.

William was commissioned as an officer in the British Army after completing his training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2006.

Two years later, he transferred to the Royal Air Force, where he trained as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot. He served in active duty for three years, aiding in hundreds of rescue missions.

The heir to the throne never served on the front lines, as his brother Prince Harry did in Afghanistan.

While he was still studying at the University of Cambridge in 1971, Charles trained and qualified with the Royal Air Force as a pilot.

However, he spent most of his military career with the Royal Navy, which he served with between 1971 and 1976.

Charles' military career would prove to be a turning point in his life. When he was deployed, he left behind his then-girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles. While he was away, she became engaged to Andrew Parker Bowles, setting off a chain of events that led him to marry Princess Diana.

The youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II had a brief stint in the military. Edward joined the Royal Marines in 1986 after graduating from the University of Cambridge, but left training after just four months.

Edward was supposed to complete his training in one year, and his decision to quit sparked considerable media attention.

"Prince Edward is leaving the marines with great regret but has concluded that he does not wish to make the service his long-term career," a statement from Buckingham Palace read at the time, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Like Prince Harry, Andrew — Queen Elizabeth's third child after Charles and Anne — is one of the few working royals to have served in active combat.

He served as a helicopter copilot during the Falklands War, engaging in missions related to submarine warfare. He retired from active military service in 2001, earning the title of commander after 22 years in the Royal Navy.

Prince Andrew later stepped down from his royal duties and was stripped of his royal patronages and military titles in 2022 after Virginia Giuffre accused the prince of forcibly having sex with her when she was 17 years old. Giuffre said disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein introduced the pair.

Prince Andrew denied the allegations, which were made public in a 2015 defamation suit. In August 2019, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson issued a statement to Business Insider "emphatically denying" the claims.

In 2022, Andrew settled a lawsuit brought by Giuffre over the allegations. Andrew did not admit to sexually abusing her but agreed to pay Giuffre an undisclosed amount and make a donation to her nonprofit advocating for victims of trafficking.

John Jacob Astor, 48, was a member of the prominent Astor family and helped build the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. He was also an inventor, a science-fiction novelist, and a veteran of the Spanish-American War.

He was traveling with his wife, Madeleine, in Europe when she became pregnant. To ensure the child would be born in the US, the couple booked a trip home on the Titanic.

The New York Times reported that Astor was last seen smoking a cigarette on the deck. His wife, who was 30 years his junior, survived the disaster.

He had a fortune worth somewhere between $90 and $150 million, CNBC reported, when he boarded the fateful ship, or between $2.9 and $4.8 billion in today's dollars when adjusted for inflation. He was the richest passenger on board the Titanic.

Gracie achieved prominence in the wake of the Titanic disaster because of his meticulous and detailed account of the tragedy.

The historian and Alabama native, who had written a book on the American Civil War's Battle of Chickamauga, was on the Titanic, returning from a European vacation.

He was woken up when the ship crashed into an iceberg. After escorting several women to the lifeboats, Gracie helped other passengers evacuate the ship.

When the ship sank, Gracie surfaced beside an overturned lifeboat. He managed to climb on top with other men, and they spent much of the night balanced there.

The historian was one of the first Titanic survivors to die after being rescued, on December 4, 1912, after a prolonged illness. He was 54.

The New York Times reported at the time that Gracie's final words were "We must get them all in the boats," according to Alabama News Center.

Stead was a highly influential editor who, in an uncanny twist, may have foreseen his death on the Titanic.

As the editor of The Pall Mall Gazette, the newspaperman published an explosive and controversial investigative series about child prostitution, Britannica reported. He is credited with helping to invent investigative journalism.

A devoted spiritualist, Stead also established a magazine dedicated to the supernatural and a psychic service known as Julia's Bureau.

He also wrote a fictional story in 1886 that resembled the real-life events of the Titanic in unsettling ways.

"How the Mail Steamer Went Down in Mid Atlantic by a Survivor" tells a story of an ocean liner that sinks in the Atlantic.

In the story, only 200 passengers and crew members of the original 700 people on board survive the disaster because of a lifeboat shortage.

His website reported that Stead didn't hang around on deck as the Titanic sank. Instead, he reportedly spent his final hours reading in the first-class smoking room. He was 62 years old.

Leslie, the Countess of Rothes, was one of the Titanic's most famous passengers.

A popular figure in London society, Leslie became a countess after marrying Norman Evelyn Leslie, the Earl of Rothes, in 1900.

Leslie and her cousin Gladys Cherry booked a trip on the Titanic.

When Leslie made it into a lifeboat, she reportedly found it understaffed and volunteered to help row it away from the sinking ship.

The countess reportedly helped take care of her fellow survivors on board the Carpathia and was dubbed "the plucky little countess" in the press.

After surviving the Titanic disaster, Leslie became a prominent philanthropist and worked as a nurse during World War I.

Andrews was no ordinary Titanic victim. 

The longtime Harland & Wolff employee designed the ship itself. He traveled on the Titanic's maiden voyage to observe the ship and make recommendations on areas where the ship could be improved.

When an iceberg damaged the Titanic's hull and he learned that five of its watertight compartments had holes in them, Andrews immediately knew the ship was going to sink, the BBC reported.

The 39-year-old shipbuilder then began helping women and children into the lifeboats. He made no attempt to exit the ship and was last seen in the first-class smoking room not wearing a lifebelt.

Brown, a socialite and philanthropist, is best known for surviving the Titanic disaster.

Biography reported that she was born in Missouri to Irish immigrants. She married James Joseph Brown in New York City. The couple became fabulously wealthy when Brown's mining business struck ore.

Margaret Brown became a well-known socialite with a penchant for dramatic hats and social activism on behalf of women and children.

She was returning from a voyage around Europe when she decided to book a trip on the Titanic.

During the disaster, she reportedly helped row the lifeboat and demanded that the group of survivors row back to the spot where the ship went down to look for survivors. This earned her the nickname "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" — though her friends and family reportedly called her Maggie.

Brown's life was immortalized in the Broadway musical "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," which was later adapted into a Hollywood film. Kathy Bates also portrayed her in the award-winning film "Titanic."

Thayer was well known in 1912 as both a former cricket player and a Pennsylvania Railroad Co. executive.

The railroad company vice president was traveling on the Titanic with his wife and son following a trip to Berlin. After the ship struck an iceberg, Thayer made certain that his wife and their maid boarded a lifeboat.

According to Encyclopedia Titanic, Gracie's account of the events reported seeing Thayer looking "pale and determined" on deck before the ship sank. Thayer's body was never found. His son survived by diving into the water and swimming to an overturned lifeboat.

Ismay may have survived the sinking of the Titanic, but he never lived down the public scorn he received in the wake of the disaster.

The White Star Line managing director was the highest-ranking company official to survive the disaster. He boarded a lifeboat 20 minutes before the ship sank into the Atlantic.

He later said he turned away as the Titanic slipped beneath the surface of the water, saying, "I did not wish to see her go down. I am glad I did not," The Telegraph reported.

Ismay received a lot of flak for boarding a lifeboat before other passengers. He was ostracized in society and ultimately resigned from his post and kept a low profile.

The BBC reported in 2012 that Ismay's family said the press unfairly maligned him and that he never fully recovered from the ordeal.

Isidor and Ida Straus first met after the Civil War when a penniless Straus moved to New York City.

Isidor and his brother later acquired Macy's, and he eventually became a powerful businessman and a member of the US House of Representatives.

Straus was reportedly offered a spot on a lifeboat while the ship was sinking. He declined, saying he wouldn't board a raft until every woman and child had gotten off the ship.

Ida then refused to leave her husband. When her husband urged her to evacuate the ship, she reportedly responded, "I will not be separated from my husband. As we have lived, so will we die, together."

She then ordered her maid to board a lifeboat and gave her a mink coat, quipping that she wouldn't need the garment anymore. The couple was last seen together on the deck of the Titanic. Isidor's body was recovered from the ocean, but Ida was never found.

Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York, memorialized Isidor and Ida Straus with a cenotaph bearing a line from the "Song of Solomon."

"Many waters cannot quench love — neither can the floods drown it," it reads.

Cosmo Duff-Gordon and his wife, Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon, were two of the most prominent passengers on board the Titanic. 

Cosmo Duff-Gordon was a major landowner and society figure in the UK known for his fencing skills. His wife was a top British fashion designer whose innovations included the precursor to the modern-day fashion show.

The Duff-Gordons booked a trip on the Titanic to travel to New York City on business. When disaster struck, they both escaped on the first lifeboat that embarked off the ship.

Vogue reported that Lady Duff-Gordon described the scene on the Titanic, saying, "Everyone seemed to be rushing for that boat. A few men who crowded in were turned back at the point of Capt. Smith's revolver, and several of them were felled before order was restored. I recall being pushed towards one of the boats and being helped in."

In the wake of the tragedy, Cosmo Duff-Gordon received criticism for not adhering to the ship's "women and children first" evacuation policy.

A few years later, in 1915, Lady Duff-Gordon escaped death again after canceling her voyage on the doomed Lusitania.

Guggenheim was a member of the powerful Guggenheim family, which earned its fortune in the mining industry.

He was traveling on the ship with his mistress, Léontine Aubart, and staffers.

Guggenheim was initially optimistic about the ship's prospects, telling his maid: "We will soon see each other again. It's just a repair. Tomorrow the Titanic will go on again," according to "Life Titanic: The Tragedy That Shook the World,"

Britannica reported that Guggenheim, whose body was never recovered, dressed in his best evening attire and quipped, "We've dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen."

He later passed on a message for his estranged wife to a Titanic survivor.

"If anything should happen to me, tell my wife in New York that I've done my best in doing my duty," he said.

After getting her start as a young girl in vaudeville, Gibson became a model and launched a career as a silent film star.

She was 22 years old when she booked a passage on the Titanic. Gibson reportedly heard the ship crash into an iceberg. She grabbed her mother, and together they escaped the ship on the first lifeboat.

"I will never forget the terrible cry that rang out from people who were thrown into the sea and others who were afraid for their loved ones," Gibson told a newspaper reporter shortly after the disaster, The History Press reported.

Gibson subsequently appeared as herself in a now-lost 1912 film about her experience called "Saved From the Titanic." The History Press reported that Gibson sported the same clothes in the film as she had on during the disaster. Gibson quit acting shortly afterward.

After that, Gibson's life is a bit cloudy. Her affair with a prominent film producer was a scandal in America and prompted Gibson to move to Paris. As World War II began, there were allegations that she was a Nazi sympathizer — the veracity of those rumors is unclear.

Later, while living in Italy in the 1940s, the former actor was imprisoned by fascists. She survived prison but died shortly after the war ended.

The industrialist was the founding president of Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co., a now-defunct steel-manufacturing business. 

Wick had been traveling in Europe to improve his health. Unfortunately, he booked a trip on the Titanic to return to the US.

Encyclopedia Titanica reported that he was last seen on the ship's deck waving to his wife, daughter, cousin, and aunt as they escaped on a lifeboat.

Bowerman survived the sinking of the Titanic and went on to have an extraordinary career.

Biography reported that the British suffragette and Cambridge graduate booked a trip on the ocean liner with her mother to visit friends living in America and Canada.

They both survived the catastrophe by getting on the same lifeboat as Margaret Brown.

When WWI broke out, Bowerman served in a traveling hospital unit that moved across Europe. Later, in 1923, she was admitted to the bar and became the first woman barrister to practice in the Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales.

Biography said that later in life, Bowerman headed the establishment of the UN's Commission on the Status of Women.

Hays started in the railway business as a teenage clerk. He went on to become the president of the Grand Trunk Railway, which operated in Canada and the Northeastern US. 

The American railway magnate may have had some reservations about embarking on the Titanic's maiden voyage. Encyclopedia Titanica reported that he told his companions that the trend toward large boats might end in tragedy.

Hays' wife, Clara, and their daughter, Orian, were evacuated from the ship on lifeboats. 

After Charles and Clara were separated, she called out to every other lifeboat they came across, hoping that he had made it on one of them.

But Hays had died when the Titanic sank — his body was later recovered and buried in Montreal.

An author and a single mother, Candee wrote the early feminist work "How Women May Earn a Living" in 1900.

The American writer traveled extensively and befriended several prominent people, including Theodore Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan.

She booked a passage on the Titanic to return to the US to care for her son who'd been injured. The writer teamed up with Margaret Brown to operate the oars of the lifeboat.

Even after surviving the Titanic, Candee continued to travel the world, undaunted. She also spoke of the men aboard's bravery during the disaster.

"The men were the heroes, and among the bravest and most heroic, as I recall, were Mr. Widener, Mr. Thayer, and Colonel Astor," Candee said in a 1912 interview, Titanic Archive reported. "They thought only of the saving of the women and went down with the Titanic, martyrs to their manhood."

Harris was a major player on Broadway when he died on the Titanic. He was returning to the US after a business trip to London.

He went down with the ship after ensuring his wife, Renee, who had previously broken her elbow after falling down the ship's grand staircase, got on a lifeboat.

"Harry lifted me in his arms and threw me into the arms of a sailor and then threw a blanket that he had been carrying for me through the hours," his wife said, according to the author Charles Pellegrino's website.

Renee achieved prominence by taking up her husband's line of work and becoming one of the first female theatrical producers in the US.

The Independent reported that Behr, a banker and tennis star, booked a trip on the Titanic only to pursue his future wife, Helen Newsom.

Behr survived the disaster because he was asked to help row one of the lifeboats. Encyclopedia Titanica reported that he may have asked Newsom for her hand in marriage while they were adrift in a lifeboat.

Behr went on to continue his successful tennis career, The New York Times reported.

Futrelle achieved success as a mystery author before dying on the Titanic.

The Georgia native started out as a journalist, working for the New York Herald and The Boston Post — two now-defunct papers.

Futrelle is best remembered for his fictional stories. He wrote a series about the fictional detective professor Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen. His most famous story was "The Problem of Cell 13."

Futrelle and his wife dined with Henry and Renee Harris on the night the ship sank. Futrelle ensured that his wife got on a lifeboat and was last seen speaking on deck with Astor.

Rosenbaum was a stylist, fashion buyer, and journalist who was returning to the US on the Titanic after embarking on a reporting assignment in Paris.

The Telegraph reported that a year before the Titanic disaster, Rosenbaum had "survived a car accident the year before in which her fiancé, a German gun manufacturer, had been killed."

Following the accident, her mother purchased her a small musical toy pig as a good-luck charm.

As the ship went down, the stylist would play the toy's tune to calm and distract the crying children on her lifeboat, The Daily Mail reported.

"The children were crying and whimpering," Rosenbaum said, The Huffington Post reported. "And I said, I believe I'll play music and maybe the children would be diverted. ... And the poor children were so interested, most of them stopped crying."

Butt led a distinguished — and varied — career before dying during the Titanic disaster.

Arlington National Cemetery's website said that Butt started out as a reporter but enlisted in the US Army during the Spanish-American War.

He served in Cuba and the Philippines. In 1908, he became President Theodore Roosevelt's military aide and served Roosevelt's successor, William Taft, in the same capacity.

Butt's "health began to deteriorate in 1912 because of his attempts to remain neutral during the bitter personal quarrel" between Roosevelt and Taft, which may have prompted his decision to travel to Europe.

There are a number of unverified accounts of Butt's behavior during the sinking — with many sensationalized stories of the military officer leading the evacuation or threatening male passengers who tried to ignore the ship's "women and children first" protocol.

"If Archie could have selected a time to die, he would have chosen the one God gave him," Taft said in a private memorial service, according to the Smithsonian. "His life was spent in self-sacrifice, serving others."

He added: "Everybody who knew him called him Archie. I couldn't prepare anything in advance to say here. I tried, but couldn't. He was too near me."

Taft then said: "To me, he had become as a son or a brother."

The president later broke down weeping while delivering the eulogy at Butt's funeral.

The Astor family dates back to the early 1700s when the original John Jacob Astor (pictured) came to the Americas from a small village in Germany to make a name for himself.

He started making money in the fur-trading businesses, but his real fortune began when he entered the world of real estate, Biography reported.

One of his first big purchases was a plot of land in the middle of Manhattan, modern-day Times Square. Quickly, Astor bought land all around Manhattan, becoming one of the richest men in the world and creating a dynasty. 

When John Jacob Astor IV was born to William Astor and Caroline Webster Schermerhorn in 1864, the Astor name was already well-respected in high society, and the family's fortune was one of the world's largest. 

The New Netherland Institute reported he first attended St. Paul's School in Concord and then went on to Harvard University, but there is no official record of him graduating from the college.

After schooling, Astor went abroad for a few years before returning to New York to take up the family business: real estate. 

In 1893, William Waldorf Astor built the Waldorf Hotel on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street.

Reportedly, he built the hotel to spite his cousin, John Jacob Astor IV. In retaliation, Astor built a competing hotel in 1897 on the adjacent corner and named it the Astoria Hotel.

Architectural Digest reported that when the cousins were finally convinced that joining both hotels would be a smart business decision, a 300-foot marble corridor was built between them. The famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was born. 

For the next few decades, the hotel became a symbol of luxury, wealth, and class in New York. It was considered one of the best hotels in the country and even in the world. 

The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel closed in 1928 and was demolished, making room for the Empire State Building. The new Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was built farther uptown in 1931, long after Astor's death.

In 1904, Astor opened the St. Regis Hotel, which The New York Times called "the finest hotel in America" at the time.

The St. Regis Hotel said that Astor aimed to make the hotel technologically advanced and ensured that each room had a telephone, making the hotel's rooms as practical as they were glamorous.

Some historians call the hotel Astor's "greatest achievement," according to Biography.

In 1894, Astor published his first and only science-fiction novel, "Journey in Other Worlds."

"A 'Journey in Other Worlds' races far ahead of the nineteenth century to imagine what life would be like in the year 2000," the Amazon synopsis reads.

"At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Earth is effectively a corporate technocracy, with big businesses using incredible advances in science to improve life on the planet as a whole," it continues. "Seeking other planets habitable for the growing human population, the spaceship Callisto, powered by an antigravitational force known as apergy, embarks on a momentous tour of the solar system."

In 1898, he patented a bicycle brake, invented a vibratory disintegrator (used to generate gas from peat), and created a pneumatic road-improver. He also helped invent a turbine engine. 

Ava Lowle Willing and Astor had two children together, Vincent and Alice.

Although they seemed like the perfect, upper-class family, the marriage was largely unhappy.

The couple got divorced in 1909, setting Astor up for one of the family's biggest scandals. 

When Astor and Madeleine Talmage Force married in 1911, it became a scandal — at the time, divorce was rare and remarrying was even more so.

The controversy over their relationship even made its way onto screens decades later. In the 1997 Oscar-winning movie "Titanic," Rose points out Astor and his pregnant wife to Jack. 

"His little wifey there, Madeleine, is my age and in delicate condition. See how she's trying to hide it? Quite the scandal," she says.

At the time, Astor was one of the world's richest men, and he certainly was the wealthiest aboard the Titanic.

CNBC reported that he had a fortune worth between $90 and $150 million when he boarded the fateful ship. Today, when adjusted for inflation, he would be worth between $2.9 and $4.9 billion.

Biography reported that Astor was among the first few people who knew the ship was sinking.

He woke his sleeping, pregnant wife and told her to get dressed in her warmest clothes. He then put all of the couple's jewelry on her, took her to the deck, and placed her in a lifeboat.

She clung to her husband and wanted to stay with him, but he reportedly said, "The sea is calm. You'll be alright. You're in good hands. I'll see you in the morning."

The New York Times reported that Astor was last seen smoking a cigarette on the deck. He was wearing a dinner suit and holding a personalized pocket watch.

Astor was among the 306 bodies found by the crew of the Mackay-Bennett in the weeks after the tragedy, according to the Nova Scotia Archives, but only one of 59 bodies that were claimed by victims' relatives and returned home. 

The initials sewn into his jacket reportedly identified him. The New York Times reported his pocket also contained a solid gold watch engraved with the initials JJA.

Many of the Titanic's victims were buried in a cemetery (pictured) in Halifax, but Astor's son, Vincent, traveled there to claim his father's body and bring it home to New York.

If Astor made it to the US, it's believed he would have made his and Madeleine's unborn child the heir to his fortune.

However, most of his money went to his first son, Vincent (pictured), from his first marriage.

John Jacob Astor VI received only a small portion of his father's fortune, but Vincent went on to donate a large sum of his father's money and became a philanthropist in New York City. 

As the most famous person to die in the tragedy, Astor's name and reputation have survived through the years.

In fact, he has been portrayed in several TV shows and movies. Most notably, Eric Braeden played Astor in "Titanic." 

Williams, commonly known as R. Norris Williams, was born on January 29, 1891, in Geneva, Switzerland, though his parents were from the US, The New York Times reported.

A descendant of Benjamin Franklin, he grew up in a wealthy family as the son of a prominent lawyer, Charles Duane Williams, who taught him how to play tennis as a child.

After a bout of measles halted his original travel plans to the US, where he planned to attend Harvard University, he booked a ticket on the Titanic, the Times reported.

Williams was 21 when he and his father, 51, boarded the ship at Cherbourg, France, on April 10, 1912.

They both held first-class tickets, according to the Mariners' Museum and Park.

Of all the first-class and second-class passengers who boarded the Titanic, 45% of those passengers died in the sinking, according to Britannica, compared to 75% of third-class passengers who died.

Williams later recounted the events of the ship's sinking in an unpublished memoir, which was passed on to his widow and his four children after his death, Main Line Times & Suburban reported.

During the sinking, he freed a passenger trapped in one of the cabins by breaking down a door that was stuck, Sports Illustrated reported. A member of staff then approached him and threatened to fine him for damaging the ship's property.

A similar scene occurs in James Cameron's film "Titanic," when Jack and Rose break down a door during their escape and are reprimanded for damaging White Star Line property.

Both men either jumped into the water or were washed overboard, The New York Times reported.

Williams later wrote in his memoir, parts of which were republished by Main Line Times & Suburban in 2012, that his father was crushed by a falling funnel, though his accounts differed slightly at different points in his life.

To escape the sinking boat, Williams removed his shoes and swam to a lifeboat about 100 yards away, although he recalled being weighed down by a fur coat he was wearing over his life jacket, The New York Times reported.

He reportedly held on to the lifeboat before climbing into it, and sat up to his knees in freezing water and waited to be rescued.

The Times reported that "only about a dozen" of the passengers in Williams' lifeboat survived.

Once on the Carpathia, Williams was told by a doctor that his frostbitten legs would need to be amputated.

However, the aspiring tennis professional refused.

"I refuse to give you permission," Williams said, according to his 1968 obituary. "I'm going to need these legs."

Determined to save his legs, Williams walked around Carpathia's deck every two hours, eventually regaining sensation in his lower body, The New York Times reported.

The same year he survived the Titanic sinking, Williams won the US National Tennis Championships in mixed doubles alongside Mark K. Brown and ranked among the top 10 players in the world, according to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

In 1916, he won the national title again and became the highest-ranked tennis player in the US.

In addition to his prowess on the tennis course, Williams also served in the US Army during World War I and was awarded two honors, the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre, according to the Olympics.

After the war, Williams resumed his tennis career, and in 1920, he won a Wimbledon doubles title, The New York Times reported.

However, his tennis career reached its peak at the 1924 Paris Olympics when Williams won a mixed-doubles gold medal with his tennis partner, Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman.

According to the Olympics, after retiring from professional tennis, Williams worked as an investment banker and then served as president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

He was named a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1957, nine years before his death at the age of 77.

Williams died on June 2, 1968, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

According to his New York Times obituary, he was survived by his widow, Frances "Sue" Gillmore Williams, three sons, and one daughter.

His widow died on June 13, 2001, according to Main Line Times and Suburban.

"Mac and cheese is amazing in the slow cooker and one of my favorite ways to make it," Leigh Anne Wilkes told Business Insider.

Wilkes likes to use a variety of cheeses in her recipe for slow-cooker mac and cheese — including sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, mozzarella, and Parmesan — and she tops it with a generous amount of crispy bacon.

"Whether you have a houseful of kids or it's just the two of you, the slow cooker can make cooking so much easier," Wilkes said. "I often refer to it as my secret weapon to getting dinner on the table."

Mashed potatoes can be a big hassle, from parboiling them to mashing and finding a space for them on the stove.

However, mashed potatoes can easily be made in a slow cooker. Just make sure to add water to your pot, or you won't get the desired consistency. The potatoes should take about four hours to become tender enough to mash. Then, add heavy cream, butter, or chives to taste.

"Even if you don't cook in the slow cooker, it is the perfect way to keep things warm," Wilkes said. "The biggest challenge with a holiday meal is getting all the food done at the same time and the slow cooker is a perfect place to keep things warm while the rest of the meal finishes cooking. If your potatoes finish up before the main dish, keep them warm in the slow cooker."

However, you'll want to give yourself plenty of time, as it will take multiple hours for the potatoes to soften.

One of the benefits of making a slow-cooker Buffalo chicken dip — or any other side dish in a slow cooker — is that it can be prepared well ahead of time and reheated when you're ready to eat.

Green bean casserole is a favorite side dish at many holiday gatherings, from Thanksgiving to Easter, and a recipe can easily be made in a Crock-Pot or slow cooker.

Wilkes told BI one of her favorite ways to use a slow cooker on Easter or another holiday is to make her recipe for honey or maple-glazed carrots. 

"The slow cooker is the perfect thing to use when putting together a holiday meal," Wilkes said. "Especially when you are limited on oven space, it can be your second or third oven. I often have two or three slow cookers going for a holiday meal."

Simply toss them in with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and cook until tender.

Top with balsamic glaze, goat cheese, pine nuts, and more for a delicious side dish.

This recipe for slow-cooker scalloped potatoes from Damn Delicious instructs you to prepare the cream sauce beforehand, before pouring it over sliced potatoes in the slow cooker and cooking them on high heat for four to five hours.

You might be shocked to discover you can actually make warm, fluffy dinner rolls in a slow cooker. One recipe from I Heart Eating teaches you how to make the perfect dinner-roll dough and bake it only using a slow cooker.

"These Crock-Pot rolls are amazing," Wilkes said.

Plus, since this recipe calls for frozen rolls, it cuts out a lot of the extra prep work. To make, dip each roll into mayonnaise, then melted butter, then cheese, and place them in the slow cooker. Then, sprinkle garlic powder and parsley over the top and bake for two hours on high.

I know that for my family, we usually have both lamb and ham on the table at Easter dinner. If you want to make another kind of meat as a side dish or alternative, a slow cooker can be a great way to make cleanup and cooking a snap.

"If I am cooking a smaller ham, I will always cook it in the slow cooker," Wilkes told Business Insider.

Wilkes' recipe uses a glaze made from brown sugar, maple syrup, and brown mustard.