Raphael Stevens

The wealthy are building “passport portfolios” — collections of second, and even third or fourth, citizenships — in case they need to flee their home country.
Recent high-profile examples of second citizenships include billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, who added a citizenship in New Zealand, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who applied for citizenship in Cyprus.
The top destinations for supplemental passports among Americans are Portugal, Malta, Greece and Italy, according to Henley & Partners.

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
Wealthy U.S. families are increasingly applying for second citizenships and national residences as a way to hedge their financial risk, according to a leading law firm.

The wealthy are building these “passport portfolios” — collections of second, and even third or fourth, citizenships — in case they need to flee their home country. Henley & Partners, a law firm that specializes in high-net-worth citizenships, said Americans now outnumber every other nationality when it comes to securing alternative residences or added citizenships.
“The U.S. is still a great country, it’s still an amazing passport,” said Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners. “But if I’m wealthy, I would like to hedge against levels of volatility and uncertainty. The idea of diversification is well understood by wealthy individuals around what they invest. It makes no sense to have one country of citizenship and residence when I have the ability to actually diversify that aspect of my life as well.”
Recent high-profile examples of second citizenships include billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, who added a citizenship in New Zealand, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who applied for citizenship in Cyprus.

Thomas Kokta | Photographer’s Choice Rf | Getty Images

Of course, the wealthy aren’t packing up en masse and ditching their American citizenship. While a relatively small number of Americans do renounce their citizenship every year to declare a new home country, mainly due to tax-filing requirements, the so-called “exit tax” required to renounce citizenship makes it financially prohibitive for most except the ultra-wealthy to simply renounce and declare a new citizenship.
Instead, many wealthy Americans are shopping around for an added visa or citizenship program to supplement their U.S. passport.

According to Henley, the top destinations for supplemental passports among Americans are Portugal, Malta, Greece and Italy. Portugal’s “Golden Visa” program is especially popular since it provides a path to residency and citizenship — with visa-free travel in Europe — in exchange for an investment of 500,000 euros (roughly $541,000) in a fund or private equity. Malta offers a Golden Visa for 300,000 euros invested in real estate, which Volek said has become “especially popular with Americans.”
“With Malta you become a European citizen, with complete settlement rights across Europe,” he said. “So you can live in Germany, your kids can go and study in France and you have the right to live, work and study throughout Europe.”
There are three main reasons for the rise of American passport portfolios, or “domicile diversification.” An alternative passport makes travel easier for Americans venturing to parts of the world that are less friendly to the U.S.
“For American, British, and Israeli citizens suddenly unsure of their welcome abroad, supplementary passports provide vital flexibility,” according to a Henley report. “With rising global instability, holding citizenship in another country, particularly one that is considered more neutral or politically benign, now provides a valuable back-up or alternative option.”
Another reason is business travel, which can be safer and less conspicuous with a non-U.S. passport in many countries. U.S. business leaders could be targets for “resentment, hostage-taking, or random terrorism in the chaos of collapsed states or high-risk countries they need to travel to for business purposes,” according to the report, which says interested parties range from hedge-fund managers who meet with global clients to mining company executives who visit operations sites.
Using a secondary passport can also help cross-border financial transfers or deals within the new country.
Finally, some wealthy Americans simply want a back-up residency for possible retirement, to be closer to their families who live abroad or for lifestyle reasons in the new age of remote work. For others, U.S. politics is the driver.  
“We all live in uncertain times, not just in the U.S., but in all nations globally,” Volek said. “Who knows what’s going to happen next. It’s really about having not only a Plan B but Plan C and D in place as well.”

Arrows pointing outwards

Globally, millionaire migration is expected to hit a new high in 2024, as wars, government crackdowns on wealth, and political uncertainty drive more wealthy residents to other countries. An estimated 128,000 millionaires are forecast to move to a new country this year, up from 120,000 in 2023 and up from 51,000 in 2013, according to Henley.
The U.S. remains a top destination for global millionaires leaving other countries, with a net inflow of 2,200 millionaires in 2023 and a projected inflow of 3,500 in 2024, according to Henley.
China remains the biggest source of millionaire out-migration, losing a net 13,500 millionaires last year.
“The wealth-creation opportunities in the U.S. are second to none globally,” Volek said.
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Chains owned by publicly traded restaurant companies accounted for half of the top 10 fastest-growing retail brands in the U.S. last year, according to a new Yelp report.
Jack in the Box, First Watch and Dutch Bros. were among the public restaurant chains included in the report, but they didn’t crack the top 10.
Here are the top 10 fastest-growing brands, based on Yelp’s research:

The new restaurant in your neighborhood may look familiar.
Chains owned by publicly traded restaurant companies accounted for half of the top 10 fastest-growing retail brands in the U.S. last year, according to a new Yelp report.

Review site Yelp compiled the list by using a blended metric that includes net new openings, searches on its platform from 2022 to 2023 and consumer interest that was measured by page visits, posted photos and written reviews. Of the 50 fastest-growing chains in Yelp’s report, 35 were restaurant brands.
Jack in the Box, First Watch and Dutch Bros were among the public restaurant chains included in the report, but they didn’t crack the top 10. Publicly traded retailers included Levi Strauss, Nordstrom and Costco.
Here are the top 10 fastest-growing brands, based on Yelp’s research:

1. Cava

CAVA, at the New York Stock Exchange during its initial public offering, June 14, 2023.
Source: NYSE

The Mediterranean fast-casual chain went public through an IPO 10 months ago, raising nearly $318 million. Cava said in a regulatory filing that it planned to use the offering’s proceeds for new location openings, as well as general corporate purposes. It opened 30 net new locations in the second half of 2023 and plans to open at least 48 this year.

2. Scooter’s Coffee

Mascots for Scooter’s Coffee race around the warning track during a Pacific Coast League game between the Omaha Storm Chasers and the Memphis Redbirds on April 26, 2019 at Werner Park in Omaha, Nebraska.
Zachary Lucy | Four Seam Images | via AP

The Midwestern coffee chain was founded in 1998 in Nebraska but has only recently begun aggressively expanding through franchised locations. Its standard, drive-thru-only location is only 664 square feet. The restaurant’s small size makes it cheaper to operate and quicker to build, helping the chain and its franchisees accelerate development quickly.

Scooter’s net new locations jumped 53% from 2022 to 2023, giving it the largest percentage growth of any restaurant brand on the list, according to Yelp.

3. LongHorn Steakhouse

Customers leave a LongHorn Steakhouse restaurant on June 22, 2023 in Skokie, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images

The Darden Restaurants steakhouse had more than 560 locations nationwide at the end of Darden’s fiscal 2023. Since the pandemic began, the casual-dining chain’s sales have consistently outperformed the restaurant industry’s average, fueled in part by the strong growth of its takeout business.
Parent company Darden plans to open at least 50 new locations across all of its brands in fiscal 2024.

4. The Habit Burger Grill

Source: Habit Burger Grill

When Yum Brands bought the California-based burger chain in 2020, its footprint was less than 280 restaurants, dwarfed by Yum’s other chains: Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC. But Yum has been accelerating the Habit Burger Grill’s development ever since the deal closed. At the end of 2023, the chain had 378 locations on the East and West coasts.

5. Wawa

A Wawa store hiring sign in Bethany Beach, Delaware.
Stephanie Dhue | CNBC

While Wawa is a convenience store and gas station chain, its loyal fans probably know it more for its cheesesteaks and hoagies. The chain has been expanding outside its Philadelphia stronghold into new markets down the Atlantic seaboard. It’s also been opening drive-thru locations, encroaching further on restaurants’ territory.

6. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

Tim Hortons owner to purchase Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. The parent company of Tim Hortons and Burger King said it will pay US$1.8 billion cash to buy the Popeyes chain. (Randy Risling/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Randy Risling | Toronto Star | Getty Images

The Restaurant Brands International chain’s famous chicken sandwich has helped fuel its new restaurant growth in the U.S. and beyond. Popeyes’ higher sales have encouraged franchisees to open more locations and led new operators to join the brand, Restaurant Brands executives have previously said.
In 2023, Popeyes surpassed KFC as the second-most popular chicken chain in the U.S. by sales, trailing only Chick-fil-A.

7. Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Freddy’s frozen custard and Steakburgers creates fresh, made-to-order, food in Lansing, Kansas.
Michael Siluk | UCG | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

Private equity firm Thompson Street Capital Partners bought the Midwestern fast-casual chain in 2021 for an undisclosed sum. Under its new ownership, Freddy’s has ramped up its development, opened restaurants in new locations like airports and signed on new franchisees. Last year, the burger joint opened 62 new locations, setting a new development record for the chain and surpassing 500 locations overall.

8. Rally House

Rally House staff members wait in a closed store following Super Bowl LV between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on February 7, 2021 in Kansas City, Missouri. 
Kyle Rivas | Getty Images

Rally House is the sole apparel retailer to crack the top 10 of Yelp’s report. The store, which sells team gear and sports apparel for professional and college teams, has been setting its own record for new openings. In August, it opened seven locations in a single weekend. While its footprint is largely concentrated in the Midwest, its stores now stretch from Pennsylvania to Arizona.

9. Olive Garden

A sign marks the location of a Olive Garden restaurant on June 22, 2023 in Lincolnwood, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images

The Italian-inspired chain is the gem of Darden Restaurants’ portfolio, accounting for nearly half of the company’s overall revenue. It’s also the rare casual-dining chain to open locations, adding about 20 new restaurants in its fiscal 2023.

10. Jersey Mike’s Subs

A sign is posted in front of a Jersey Mike’s Subs shop on April 05, 2024 in Petaluma, California. 
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Jersey Mike’s is the second-largest U.S. sandwich chain, trailing only Subway by number of stores. Its current footprint hovers around 2,700 restaurants, but it’s growing rapidly. And despite its name and origin, most of its restaurants are now in California, Texas and Florida.
The privately owned sandwich chain is also reportedly looking for a buyer, according to a Wall Street Journal report last week. Blackstone’s interest in Jersey Mike’s has reportedly cooled, but a new owner could further ramp up the chain’s development.

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Toyota Motor revealed a new 4Runner SUV for the first time in nearly 15 years — completing a recent redesign of the automaker’s current trucks and SUVs.
Aside from its new looks, which are similar to the recently redesigned Toyota Tacoma pickup, the 2025 4Runner will be offered with a hybrid engine for the first time.

2025 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro

Toyota Motor revealed a new 4Runner SUV for the first time in nearly 15 years — completing a recent redesign of the automaker’s current trucks and SUVs.
Aside from its new looks, which are similar to the recently redesigned Toyota Tacoma pickup, the 2025 4Runner will be offered with a hybrid engine for the first time as well as new “Platinum” and “Trailhunter” high-end trims.

“This all-new 4Runner has incredible versatility and capability that nicely rounds out our truck family,” Dave Christ, Toyota group vice president and general manager, said in a release. “We’ve sold over 3 million 4Runners over the past 40 years, and this sixth-generation model offers a cool new look and incredible features yet retains the rugged style and capability our customers love about this adventure icon.”
Toyota’s “truck family” is also known as the “five brothers”: the Tacoma and Tundra pickup trucks and the 4Runner, Land Cruiser and Sequoia SUVs. The 4Runner is the last to be redesigned and built on Toyota’s global truck platform, which debuted with the Land Cruiser and Tundra in 2021.

2025 Toyota 4Runner Trailhunter

Toyota said pricing of the 2025 4Runner will be released closer to its on-sale date. Starting prices for the 2024 model range from about $41,000 to more than $55,000.
While Toyota is known for its fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Prius, its larger “brother” SUVs, including the 4Runner, had much worse fuel ratings prior to being updated — at 17 mpg combined or less, according to federal ratings. The current 4Runner has been on sale, with some updates, since 2010.
Toyota said miles per gallon ratings for the new 4Runner will be released closer to the vehicle arriving in showrooms in the fall. Toyota’s other redesigned trucks and SUVs have notably improved fuel economy.

Jack Hollis, executive vice president of Toyota Motor North America, last month told CNBC that the company continues to balance out its truck and SUV portfolio, including potential hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric models.
“Those brothers, they all have a lot of similarities, and they have a lot of differences,” he said. “How do we curb carbon emissions fastest with everyone, everywhere? It’s having the right mix between those five products.”

2025 Toyota 4Runner Limited

The 4Runner’s available hybrid engine is a turbocharged 2.4-liter engine with a 48-horsepower electric motor integrated into the eight-speed transmission to produce up to 326 horsepower and 465 foot-pounds of torque. The vehicle’s standard turbocharged 2.4-liter engine produces 278 horsepower and 317 foot-pounds of torque.
The 2025 4Runner will be offered in nine models: SR5, TRD Sport, TRD Sport Premium, TRD Off Road, TRD Off Road Premium, Limited, Platinum, TRD Pro, and Trailhunter.
The new Trailhunter model features additional off-road styling and equipment including rock rails and high strength steel skid plates, while the Platinum model is geared toward more convenience and luxury features.
Production of the 2025 4Runner is taking place at Toyota’s Tahara plant in Japan.
Correction: The 2025 Toyota 4Runner is the first new version of the vehicles in 15 years. A previous version of the article misstated how many years it had been. More

A former longtime Bowlero executive asked a federal court for permission to countersue the company, alleging extortion and retaliation.
In a recorded call, Bowlero’s vice chairman threatened to report the former employee to the FBI if he didn’t admit to spilling company secrets, according to a transcript of the conversation filed in court.
The company, which owns AMF and Lucky Strike bowling centers, previously sued the former executive alleging he hacked into the CEO’s email account, which he denies.
Bowlero has been embroiled in an EEOC investigation since 2016 related to age discrimination and retaliation claims involving more than 70 former employees. Bowlero denies the allegations.

A former executive at Bowlero, the world’s largest owner and operator of bowling centers, has asked a court’s permission to countersue his former employer for extortion and retaliation, after an executive on a recorded call threatened to report him to the FBI if he didn’t admit to spilling company secrets, according to a transcript of the conversation filed in court.
The allegations by Bowlero’s former chief information officer, Thomas Tanase, filed Wednesday in a proposed countersuit in Virginia federal court, come after he and dozens of others filed discrimination claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging they were fired based on their age or out of retaliation, according to company securities filings and the proposed countersuit. Bowlero denies the claims.

The company, which went public in late 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, was among the select successful stocks to emerge from the SPAC boom. It owns two of the biggest brands in bowling — AMF and Lucky Strike — and operated more than 300 bowling centers across North America as of July. Between 2021 and 2023, Bowlero nearly tripled its annual revenue, from $395 million to $1.06 billion, and it expects sales to grow between 10% and 15% in fiscal 2024, according to company filings.
Tanase started with the company’s information technology department in 2001 before climbing his way up to the C-suite, where he worked closely with the company’s CEO and frequently had access to sensitive information contained in the CEO’s email accounts, he said in court filings. He says the company fired him in May because of his age, and in August, he filed a discrimination claim with the EEOC, according to a copy of the claim, which was included as an exhibit to the proposed countersuit.
Bowlero says that Tanase resigned and then had a change of heart when he realized he wouldn’t get severance pay. In July, the company sued him, alleging he hacked into the email account of CEO Thomas Shannon, copied company documents onto a personal USB drive and refused to hand over his company-issued devices. Tanase denies the claims.
Now, Tanase is seeking the court’s permission to countersue Bowlero and the company’s executive vice chairman, Brett Parker. Federal rules require Tanase to get permission to countersue given the timing of the filings.
In the proposed countersuit, Tanase alleges that Parker threatened to report him to the FBI if he didn’t admit to accessing Shannon’s emails and “come clean” about information he shared with Daniel Dowe, the attorney representing the EEOC complainants, and with CNBC, which has previously written about the discrimination allegations against Bowlero. During a March deposition, Tanase testified that he hadn’t spoken with CNBC, or any other media outlet, about the company.

‘You tell us everything you know’

In a phone conversation between Tanase and Parker that Tanase recorded in June 2023, Bowlero’s vice chairman and former finance chief allegedly asked Tanase numerous times to reveal what he’d said and told him that if he did, all would be forgiven, according to a transcript attached as an exhibit to the proposed counterclaim.
“If you come clean there is a path where you are our friend … You tell us everything that’s transpired … You tell us everything you know about Dowe everything that’s ever happened with respect to Dowe … With respect to the CNBC,” Parker said during the conversation, according to the transcript.
“Then there can be a number and there can be a go away and we can move on. But we have to get the truth and full clarity,” Parker said, according to the transcript. 
“You can … Fall back into our good graces and be our friend in this matter and you will get paid to do that, but it has to start with the truth.”
According to the transcript, Parker told Tanase if he explained everything and shared what information he had disclosed, the company could give him a “severance,” but “you really don’t want this to start with the police.” 
“I’m not going to be able to fight this internally, and you’re going to be trying to explain to the FBI that some device did this and I don’t want you to be in that position,” Parker said, according to the transcript. 
“You gotta help me help you,” he added.
In response, Tanase repeatedly told Parker he didn’t share any information with anyone and had been in the hospital when Shannon’s email account was allegedly breached, according to the transcript. As Bowlero’s former CIO, he previously had access to the CEO’s account and said it may have still been logged in on another device.  
“I haven’t done anything illegal … I haven’t done anything malicious either. I haven’t talked to anything or given out any information to anybody. I’ve told you this before,” said Tanase, according to the transcript.  
Bowlero said the transcript simply shows the company trying to extend an “olive branch” to Tanase if he were to confess to the hacking allegations. 
“Far from wrongfully seeking to obtain a benefit from Tanase, Mr. Parker … acknowledges that he is ‘trying to help.’ These are all actions which, in the face of Tanase’s hacking of Bowlero computer systems, neither Bowlero nor Mr. Parker were required to do,” Bowlero said in filings.  
“Indeed, what Tanase suggests is ‘extortion’ is obviously no such thing. Hence, even if Tanase had a private right of action for an extortion claim, the elements of such a claim are not met here,” the company said.
Tanase further alleges that Bowlero’s suit against him was brought in retaliation for his refusal to sign a termination agreement that required him to waive his right to pursue legal action against the company. He also claims Bowlero sued him to deter him from filing a complaint with the EEOC or serving as a witness in its investigation into Bowlero.
Tanase’s attorneys are seeking around $8 million in damages from Bowlero on the extortion claim and more than $27 million on the retaliation claim.
Late Thursday, Bowlero asked the judge overseeing the case to deny the request to countersue and to sanction Tanase by either issuing a default judgment in the company’s favor or precluding Tanase from further testimony. In court filings, the company said Tanase admitted he misstated facts in an earlier court affidavit, which he later corrected, and pointed out that he has hired at least three different law firms since the onset of the case.
“Tanase has so seriously impeached his own credibility that no testimony he can offer in his defense will rehabilitate him, and, in these circumstances, default judgment is appropriate in order to protect the integrity of the judicial process,” Bowlero said in a memorandum in support of its request for sanctions. 
Bowlero’s attorney Alex Spiro at law firm Quinn Emanuel, who has also represented A-listers such as Elon Musk and Alec Baldwin, said in a statement to CNBC Tanase “will lose” his request to file a countersuit, and that it “is almost certainly going to be denied.” 
“Mr. Tanase is now seeking the court’s permission to file baseless counterclaims against Bowlero, five months after the deadline and five days before fact discovery will close. This cynical attempt to deflect attention from his bad acts is fatally flawed on both the merits and on the law — and Bowlero is confident it will prevail in its lawsuit against Mr. Tanase,” said Spiro.
“His counterclaims are completely frivolous and we are seeking fees for responding to his motion,” he said.
In response, Tanase’s attorney Scott Pickus told CNBC if the court doesn’t permit Tanase to move forward with his counterclaim in the case, the suit can and “likely will” be filed as a new action. He said he “very much” disagrees that the assertions made in the proposed counterclaim are frivolous. 
He said he won’t comment on remarks Tanase made about misstating facts.
“Suffice it to say that we disagree with Bowlero’s interpretation of the law, disagree with Bowlero’s recitation of the facts, and look forward to the trial of this matter,” Pickus said.

EEOC investigation

Bowlero has been embroiled in an EEOC investigation since 2016 involving more than 70 former employees who claim they were unlawfully fired. They allege that Bowlero fired them for being too old as it worked to transform its hundreds of locations from what the company has referred to as “dingy” bowling alleys to upmarket experiences with elevated food and drink offerings. 
Complaints and an affidavit filed by three former employees, including Tanase, say Shannon hosted “beauty contests” with prospective hires over brief video calls to evaluate a candidate’s appearance as part of the hiring process. 
Tanase’s complaint accused Shannon of making “racial and especially inappropriate ‘blonde women’ jokes” and “always treated wom[e]n as an inferior class to men.” Tanase also alleged that the company’s policies banning Timberland boots and ball caps worn backward were “designed to deter African American males from using” the company’s bowling centers.
The EEOC has found reasonable cause in the majority of the complaints brought against Bowlero, including Tanase’s, while the rest remain under investigation, according to Tanase’s complaint and company reports. When the EEOC finds reasonable cause in a complaint, it means it believes discrimination occurred.
The EEOC previously tried to settle the complaints with Bowlero for $60 million in January 2023, but those efforts failed last April, CNBC previously reported. The agency now has the ability to file a federal lawsuit against the company, but it’s unclear if it will. Before the agency can sue Bowlero in federal court, the EEOC’s commissioners need to vote on the matter. 
Spiro, Bowlero’s attorney, told CNBC the employment discrimination claims “are without merit.”
“The so-called eeoc issues are age based discrimination claims, some of which date back to nearly a decade ago and no civil nor eeoc suit has ever even occurred with respect to those claims,” Spiro wrote in an email. 
Pickus, Tanase’s attorney, said the EEOC’s reasonable cause findings that Bowlero engaged in discriminatory practices dating back to 2013 “would seem to belie Mr. Spiro’s assertions” that his client’s counterclaims are “frivolous.”
“Those findings by the EEOC may well be why Bowlero has sued Mr. Tanase. Bowlero’s actions remind me of a sports cliche: the best defense is a good offense,” Pickus added.
“We look forward to proving both claims,” he said.

Dueling claims

Still at issue is whether Tanase resigned or was fired from his position — a dispute that’s at the center of Bowlero’s lawsuit, Tanase’s proposed countersuit and his EEOC claim, which are all separate but related actions.
In the leadup to his separation from Bowlero, Tanase said, the company began micromanaging him and harassing him by closely supervising his work so they could find a reason to fire him — a process he described as “managing out,” according to his EEOC complaint and proposed counterclaim. 
“Although Tanase suspected for several months that his employment might be in jeopardy, at no time did he seek to secure confidential information, remove property, or engage in any other self-serving conduct while having full access to Bowlero’s offices, office files, and computer servers,” Tanase’s attorneys wrote in the proposed counterclaim.
In the EEOC’s determination letter ruling that Tanase’s claims of age discrimination had cause, Director Rosemarie Rhodes wrote that the conduct of Tanase’s then-supervisor, current Bowlero President Lev Ekster, “included unwarranted hostility, frequent criticism, unnecessary correction of his work, and undermining his authority and role vis-a-vis subordinates and vendors.” 
Bowlero alleged that following Tanase’s separation from the company, he vowed to get “revenge” on his former employer and “bury” its CEO, according to its lawsuit against Tanase. The company alleged in its suit that Tanase told Bowlero Vice President of Human Resources Heather Webb that he had spoken with CNBC and several lawyers, including Dowe, about the company.
“Mr. Tanase said he would ‘walk away’, which Ms. Webb understood to mean that he would no longer attempt to seek revenge or retribution on Bowlero or Mr. Shannon, if Bowlero were to pay him a $1.2 million ‘severance’ payment. Bowlero refused to make the payment,” Bowlero’s lawsuit said. Tanase denies the claims.  More