Good Morning. Five CEOs flew to Beijing with Trump. They came home with $17B in soybeans, beef, and rare earths. We break down the China summit.
We also cover a frozen $1.7M inheritance, bourbon's 10-year hangover, and how the rich legally lose on purpose (forwarded this email? Join 523k readers).
TOP STORY TODAY
China Summit
Tim Cook, Elon Musk, Larry Fink, Jensen Huang, and Boeing's Kelly Ortberg boarded Air Force One with President Trump to Beijing on May 13. Two days later, the delegation flew home with the largest US-China agricultural deal since 2024 and a fresh runway for the trade truce.
The White House announced Sunday that China will buy $17 billion annually in US agricultural goods through 2028, on top of an existing 25-million-metric-ton soybean commitment. China also agreed to ease rare earth restrictions on yttrium, scandium, neodymium, and indium. Tariffs were not discussed (3 big takeaways here).
Xi privately warned Trump that mishandling Taiwan could trigger "clashes and even conflicts." Both leaders agreed Iran should not obtain a nuclear weapon. Xi accepted an invitation to visit Washington on September 24, with the current trade truce expiring in October.
The 3x5 Card
A pioneering urologist who died in 2019 left a $1.2 million retirement account to his 36 grandchildren. Seven years later, his family is still fighting the University of Chicago and TIAA over a single signature on a beneficiary form. The account now sits at $1.7 million, frozen.
The problem was a power-of-attorney waiver. Ed Lyon's son-in-law signed on behalf of Ed's incapacitated wife to redirect funds to the grandchildren. TIAA said the signature didn't qualify under Wisconsin annuity law. A lower court agreed in 2025. The case is now at the Seventh Circuit.
Stakes go beyond paperwork. In one separate case, a man's $1 million 401(k) went to an ex-girlfriend listed on a 3x5 card from decades earlier. In another, a $3 million account bypassed four children entirely because a new spouse held automatic rights. Why your beneficiary designations override your will every time.
Bourbon’s Hangover
Jim Beam's main still, the self-billed "Hardest Working Still in America," has been shut down since January and won't restart until at least 2027. The 65-foot tower used to produce a barrel of bourbon every 93 seconds. Kentucky is now sitting on its largest reserve in history.
The state holds 16.1 million barrels, roughly 300 million cases, enough to last up to 10 years at current demand. American whiskey consumption peaked at 31.2 million nine-liter cases in 2022 and slid to 30 million in 2025. The pandemic stockpile collapse hit every distiller from Beam to Kentucky Owl.
Three forces are squeezing the category at once: GLP-1 weight-loss drugs suppress appetite for alcohol, the sober-curious movement keeps growing, and legal THC beverages offer a hangover-free alternative. Stoli's bourbon arm filed Chapter 11 in October after a $150 million distillery park stalled.
TOGETHER WITH SKECHERS
Why Most People Quit Running by Month Four
It's not motivation. It's the wrong shoe.
Cheap running shoes feel great in the store, fall apart by mile 200, and start beating up your knees right around the time you're finally consistent. So you stop. You blame yourself. You let the rotation die.
The Skechers AERO Razor is $140 and is built to outlast that exact breaking point:
A super critical foam midsole, HYPER BURST PRO, keeps its bounce mile after mile instead of going dead at three months.
A real Goodyear Performance Rubber outsole hits 500+ miles instead of 250.
A HYPER ARC rocker takes load off your calves and joints so consistency stops feeling like punishment.
The right shoe is the difference between a six-month habit and a six-year one.
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TODAY’S LIFE ADVICE
Losing Money On Purpose
The richest investors in America are obsessed with losing. Not their stocks, their tax bill. A strategy called tax-aware long-short has grown from $9 billion in 2023 to $151 billion this year. Fidelity and Schwab are capping new accounts.
The wealthy figured out something most index-fund holders haven't: when the market keeps ripping, your portfolio stops generating losses to harvest, and the IRS quietly wins.
Five lessons from how the rich think about taxes:
Losses are a product. Harvest decliners every December to offset gains. The IRS lets you carry losses forward forever. Most people leave thousands on the table.
Watch the wash sale rule. Buy the stock back within 30 days and the IRS voids your loss. Calendar reminders save you.
Your portfolio gets ossified. Half of direct-indexing accounts have nothing left to sell at a loss.
Donate stock, not cash. Skip capital gains tax and still get the deduction.
Pay the IRS before the hedge fund. Optimization has a price.
The principle that scales down: your tax return is one of the biggest checks you write every year. Treat it like a line item, not a surprise.
Tim Ferriss Presents: The True Story of Tae Jin Park
Prisoner No More follows Tae Jin Park, a young man diagnosed with cerebral palsy, who dismantled every physical limitation medical science predicted for him. Through athletic training under Olympian strength coach Jerzy Gregorek — and an uncompromising commitment to identity transformation — Tae Jin's story redefines what the human body and mind are capable of. Watch this short doc here.
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▲ Camden Arkansas defense jobs jump 54% since 2020 as Lockheed and L3Harris race to replenish Ukraine stockpiles
TOGETHER WITH WE-VIBE
Half of Americans Don't Own One (the Other Half Is Happier).
A 2026 survey of 1,000 US adults found that 51.7% of Americans don't own a bedroom toy. The same study found that 77% of owners report satisfaction with their sex lives, compared to just 64% of non-owners. A 13-point gap, hiding in plain sight.
We-Vibe is running their May sale through the end of the month, with their best-selling couples and solo products marked down. A few worth a look:
Chorus Pro (couples remote-controlled) - 17% off
Sync O (hands-free wearable) - 22% off
Vector+ and Moxie+ - 34% off
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Fun Links
Trailer: The Adventures of Cliff Booth [Video]
$400 watch people are fighting over [Blog]
Jay-Z interview with New York Times [Video]
Jon Hamm’s Criterion Closet picks [Video]
How Nicki Minaj became Trump’s #1 Fan [WSJ]
Eric Church Commencement Speech [Video]
Gas prices are up 56% in the US [Chart]
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