Latest news with #ghostwriter
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
I moved to Dubai and paid 0% tax - on paper it had everything but now you couldn't pay me a million dollars to move back
A man who moved to Dubai has said not even a million dollars could tempt him to go back. The young Italian re-located to the Arab city in 2022 with his Russian girlfriend hoping for 'safety', 'luxury' and 'freedom'. But instead of the 'dream' they were met with a 'nightmare' as the pair found Dubai to be 'fake'. Taking to X, the dissatisfied traveller - who goes by the name Walter Ego - said those who value status, luxury and certainty would love Dubai - but others should think twice about moving. He described the experience of moving to the United Arab Emirates with his girlfriend, who lived in Georgia at the time. The couple were tempted to book tickets following the start of war in Ukraine amid fears the country was just '10 hours away'. And so after two hours of discussion they booked their flights and were off in two days. Walter Ego said: 'My girlfriend was safe. Finally zero per cent taxes, no accounting, no more uncertainty around my crypto trading income. 'A new adventure had begun. And the dream felt real.' The trader, who also claims to work as a ghostwriter for CEOs, said the transition was initially 'smooth' as he had a close friend in Dubai. He added the weather was 'bearable' as it was still spring and he was impressed at first by the door-to-door economy that offered clean, safe, and healthy food. But soon, as the weather got hotter, things also started to appear more 'boring'. Walter Ego noticed the architecture, 'despite impressive verticality', was quite dull. Both real and artificial beaches also felt 'fake'. When June came, the Italian said he began 'looking for mess' - but to no avail. He explained: 'Dubai was sleek in every direction. Precise in its routines. Optimised to the minute. But that was the problem. Every struggle came frictionless. Even chaos felt curated. I'm Italian. I moved to Dubai in 2022 to pay 0% tax. On paper, it had everything: Safety. Luxury. Freedom. But instead of the dream, I lived the nightmare. If they paid me $1M to go back, I'd say no. Here's why (and what no one tells you): 🧵 — Walter Ego (@ItsWalterEgo) June 20, 2025 'And slowly, I started to feel it. The quiet emptiness behind the perfection.' The couple have now left Dubai and Walter Ego says three years later he is living between Tbilisi and Italy, 'unoptimised, but alive'. He concluded: 'What matters most isn't efficiency, but living in a place that reflects your soul back to you.' Since sharing his experience, the cryptocurrency trader's post has been viewed more than three million times. He has also stated 'If they paid me $1M to go back, I'd say no'. Many people have since given their own thoughts - with some saying they agree, but others calling Walter Ego an 'insufferable complainer'. Peter Saddington said: 'Sounds like you went to Dubai so you could write a blog post. Lame. Moving to any location doesn't matter, you still have to deal with you, your baggage, and your lack of self-awareness. 'Find purpose where you are sir. Changing location is an expensive cope.' There were a lot of social media users who shared in the experience of Walter Ego and also found Dubai to be 'fake' Winnie. K.M. added: 'Interesting how perspectives vastly differ. 'I moved to Dubai unintentionally last October. My reasons were not financial. I loved the culture, the architecture that you hate, the warmth of the people, the heat you complain about and more.' And another person said: 'An insufferable complainer who wrote this thread. Absolute loser mentality.' But there were a lot of users who shared in the experience. Sankrant Sanu said: 'Something here really rang true. When I visited Dubai I noticed the emptiness. Some friends had oved there. Luxury status efficiency. And emptiness.' Marti M-K added: 'I've enjoyed your raw, honest story, thank you for sharing the adventure with us.' A third person concluded: 'Dubai is a weekend/short holiday destination. Despite all its flaws, nothing comes close to Europe. 'Nothing comes close to Paris, its Riviera, or Italy, its lakes, mountains, and sea sides.' Dubai is the most populated city in the United Arab Emirates and is located on the south-eastern coast of the Persian Gulf. The area became a regional trade hub in the 20th century after declaring itself a free port. It is home to the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa and more than 190 miles of artificial coastline has been added as part of extensive land-reclamation projects. Over the last few years a number of celebrities have shared stories of flocking to Dubai for a new life - though the Foreign Office has issued a warning in the last few days to UK tourists thinking of visiting amid the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict. In January this year the political journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who is partner of Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice, confirmed she had moved to Dubai with her children and claimed the decision was prompted by the introduction of VAT on private school fees by the Labour government in the UK. Other celebrities who own property or reside in Dubai include David and Victoria Beckham, Lindsay Lohan and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Trump has ‘never evolved, which is dangerous', his niece Mary Trump says
Donald Trump has 'never evolved' and 'isn't close with anybody', according to Mary Trump, the US president's niece and a vocal critic of his business and political career. The daughter of Donald's older brother, Fred Trump Jr (nicknamed Freddie), Mary Trump told the Hay festival in Wales – where she was discussing her latest book about the Trump family, Who Could Ever Love You – that she no longer has relationships with anyone in her family apart from her daughter. She described herself as 'the black sheep of the family', calling her grandfather, Fred Trump, Donald's father, 'literally a sociopath', and adding: 'Cruelty is a theme in my family.' She explained that much of her understanding of her uncle comes from when she was in her 20s and Donald hired her to ghostwrite his second book. 'I can't say we got closer, because Donald isn't close with anybody,' she said, but working with him for six months in his office, she got 'a little bit more insight'. 'He is the only person I've ever met who's never evolved, which is dangerous by the way,' she said. 'Never choose as your leader somebody who's incapable of evolving – that should be one of the lessons we've learned, for sure.' She also described the president as 'one of the most provincial people I know, and that does not serve us well, at all'. Reading from her book, she described the moment a friend of her father's, Anna Maria, met Donald for the first time. 'When she first encountered Donald, he was a cocky, rude teenager, who was intensely jealous of his older brother, Freddie. 'Donald didn't have any friends, so she felt sorry for him, but whenever they included him, they regretted it. Nobody in Freddie's circle could bear to be around this arrogant, self important, humorless kid. 'Over the years, Anna Maria watched Donald devolve into an even more arrogant adult with a widening, cruel streak.' In the book she also recounts Donald throwing a baseball at his young nieces and nephews when he was in his 20s and she was eight years old. Her brother bought her a catcher's mitt for Christmas one year, and she 'realised it was probably to protect me from having every bone in my hand broken from Donald throwing a baseball at me as hard as he could'. Mary also told audiences that after Donald's older sister, Elizabeth, was born, doctors told his mother 'that it would be very dangerous for her to have more children' because of her health issues. 'She did, and the next one was Donald. About which I will say nothing more,' Mary joked. His mother later became very ill, meaning Donald, 'at a very crucial developmental period, did not have his primary caregiver, and the only person left was his dad, the sociopath. So you can imagine how that sort of changed the trajectory of Donald's life'. Mary is a psychologist whose previous books, Too Much and Never Enough and The Reckoning, also involve her uncle. She distanced herself from him around the time he began his first presidential term in 2017. In 2021, the former president sued her for $100m for giving the New York Times information for its investigation into his finances. The lawsuit sends 'a very clear message to me', she said. 'But what if everybody capitulates? Then what? Well, then we lose, and that's unacceptable'. She added that she does not 'understand people who are afraid of Donald, because he's so pathetic. I would be embarrassed to be afraid of him'.
Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Melania Trump won't narrate her audiobook — but MelanAI will
It is an open secret in publishing that the composition of most 'autobiographies' is delegated from famous subject to anonymous ghost writer. When it comes to the audiobook, though, the supposed author will at least give up a few hours to narrate the text in their own voice. Not so Melania Trump. For the release of Melania: The Audiobook the first lady has employed artificial intelligence to produce a 'replica' of her voice to take listeners on a seven-hour journey through her life. In an announcement on Thursday, she hailed the project as 'a new era in publishing'. The audio adaptation of the bestselling memoir published last year is available for download from her personal website for $25 (£18.60). A clip posted on X showcases
