Apple's $600B Investment, Crypto in Your 401(k), & Disney's Deal with the NFL

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0:42That's why America's beverage companies are sharing more information about our ingredients at GoodToKnowFacts.org. No spin, no judgments, just the facts straight from the experts for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Visit GoodToKnowFacts.org. Xena.com presents the Rich Habits Radar, a new Friday episode of the Rich Habits podcast, where every Friday morning we're coming at you with the biggest headlines impacting you and your money. My name is Austin Hankwitz, and I'm joined by my co-host, Robert Croak. The three things sitting at the top of our Rich Habits Radar this week include Apple's$600 billion investment in the United States, Trump's executive order allowing cryptocurrency and private equity investments in your 401k, and Disney's major moves related to the NFL and WWE content.

1:33And be sure to stick around to the end where we talk about the business of organ donation. Interesting. So, Robert, let's kick off our first story. But before we jump into things, we need to give a huge shout out to our newest title sponsor, Xena.com. So don't skip this ad. This is very important for all of you listening right now. If you're a side hustler, a small business owner, entrepreneur, you need to know about Xena. Xena is a business expense card that uses AI to help freelancers and incorporated business owners alike put expenses in the right spending buckets. As you all might know, I'm currently flipping three homes in the Toledo, Ohio area, and it's easy to mistake buying materials for one of these flips and expensing it to the wrong house, which is why Xena has been a game changer for me in recent months.

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3:03Now, Robert, let's jump into the first headline of the Rich Habits Radar. That's right. Apple's$600 billion U.S. build out. Apple just made one of the biggest investment announcements we've seen from a U.S. company in years. They're expanding their$500 billion commitment. that brings their total planned investment in the U.S. over the next four years to a massive$600 billion under a new initiative called the American Manufacturing Program. Apple is already supporting 450 ,000 jobs through its suppliers and partners across all 50 states. But this latest move goes even deeper. They're expanding their work with companies like Corning in the state of Kentucky, where now all iPhone and Apple Watch screens will be made, and they're working to establish an end-to-end silicon supply chain here in the United States.

3:54That includes major partnerships with Taiwan Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, Samsung, and Broadcom. This announcement was made official during a high-profile visit to the White House, where Tim Cook presented President Trump with a special gift made of glass and 24-karat gold, symbolizing a deeper commitment to American manufacturing. It also came at a very strategic time, as President Trump has just unveiled a 100 % tariff on imported chips. But companies investing in U.S. manufacturing like Apple are being granted exceptions. Make no mistake, this isn't just a patriotic PR play. It's all about positioning.

4:30Apple is aligning itself with U.S. policy to avoid future trade risks, especially in AI and custom silicon. As you all might recall from their recent earnings report, Apple is also paying roughly$1 billion in tariffs per quarter right now. So this is really, really important stuff moving forward for the future of Apple and U.S. manufacturing. If Apple can control its supply chain while avoiding these tariffs and tightening its grip on high-margin components like screens and glass in Kentucky, that bodes well for their profit margins and potentially their stock price. Apple is no longer just designing in California and assembling in China.

5:08They're now making billion-dollar bets that the future of tech is going to be built right here in the United States. Now, Robert, though, I want to walk through this because it's kind of a funny, like, series of events. Apple began this whole thing by deciding to move their iPhone production from China to India to avoid that 140 % tariff. And then one month later, President Trump threatened to impose a 25 % tariff on iPhones not made in the U.S. And as soon as that situation settled down, Apple decided to announce the$600 billion investment in the U.S. to support Trump's trade initiatives, right?

5:38Vibes are high. Everything's cool. And then literally hours later, Apple received news that tariffs on India are rising to 50 % because India is buying Russian oil. So I feel like Apple is just like caught in the crossfire, right? Anything they try and do, anything they're trying to figure out, it just does not work out for them. I'm an Apple shareholder. I'm riding the wave here. I think we all have iPhones and Apple Watches and MacBooks in our homes, in our pockets, wherever else. But the most interesting part of this announcement for me, Robert, is these partnerships with Taiwan Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, Samsung Broadcom.

6:11I think that is going to be interesting, not just from an Apple shareholder perspective, but to see how those companies will benefit from a relationship like that. Yeah, Apple seems to be all over the place and every move they make seems to be the wrong one right now. And now here we are seeing Tim Cook at the White House presenting Donald Trump with a gift where he's saying, all right, you win, uncle. We're going to put all this money into the United States, which is probably what they should have done in the first place. They tried to zig when they should have zagged, trying to go to India when they shouldn't have.

6:42And here we are right back at it. But I think this speaks volume as far as what Trump is trying to accomplish with bringing manufacturing back to the United States. and he is using a thousand pound sledgehammer to make it happen. And I love it for U.S. Now, it might take a couple of years. A lot of these factories have to be built. A lot of planning goes into this. But for the long term, it is going to be incredible for the U.S. economy. And I am here for it. Well, speaking of the U.S. economy and making investments, let's talk about the recent executive order that Trump just signed. Donald Trump just signed an executive order that's going to allow alternative assets like cryptocurrencies, private equity, and real estate into your 401k plan.

7:26That move will completely change how Americans are investing toward their retirement. The executive order directs the Department of Labor to review federal law that sets the rules for retirement plans. If implemented, this would formally open the door for plan providers and asset managers to start including private equity investments in defined contribution plans like your 401k. Now, this isn't the first time this idea has come up. The Trump administration actually floated this during his first term and even issued guidance in 2020. But now, five years later, the infrastructure and appetite are finally catching up.

8:04BlackRock has already announced that they're launching a new 401k target date fund that will include up to 20 % private asset exposure. And Empower, which is one of the largest retirement providers in the United States, is teaming up with Apollo, which is a massive PE firm, to start rolling out these types of offerings later this year. And I'd imagine every retirement-focused company is having serious discussions right now about expanding their offerings. So how does this impact everybody? Well, on one hand, this could give everyday investors access to opportunities that have traditionally been reserved just for institutions.

8:38Think venture capital, private credit, and even tokenized real estate. But it also comes with massive new risks. These investments are often illiquid, carry high management fees, and lack the transparency of public markets. Here's the main takeaway. If this policy goes through, you might want to revisit your approach to 401k investing. That doesn't mean you need to go and do anything crazy right now. It's simply saying that the U.S. government might be giving you new ways to supercharge your retirement. So let's continue to learn from the updates and see what's possible in the near future. But here's the deal.

9:13The 40-year average annualized returns of private equity investments is about 11 to 12%, which is what the S &P 500 and the NASDAQ 100 also averaged over the last several decades. Yeah, I think we're going to see a big, sexy move into, yeah, I could put my retirement in cryptocurrency and tokenized real estate and private credit, like all these buzzwords that I feel like investors get really excited about. But then, Robert, to your point, you look at the historical returns of 10, 11, 12, 13 percent, and you're like, wait a second, I could just do that with the S &P 500. Why would I pay high management fees, you know, unpredictability when it comes to liquidity events, things of that nature, essentially just to market perform the S &P or the NASDAQ?

9:58Well, it is the age old question when you're figuring out your personal finances, personal issues. And that is, do we do all these fancy things or do we just leave our money in the S &P 500? Maybe some treasury bills and some QQQ and call it a day. because many times all of these other sectors sound so great and sound so cool, but then you end up really not making much more money in many instances. So let's go into our next point today, and that is Disney's major sports moves. In a massive move that reshapes the sports media landscape, ESPN just inked a historic deal with the NFL and WWE, and it's a game changer for how we watch sports, how Disney monetizes content, and where the next wave of media growth could come from.

10:46ESPN, which is owned by Disney, secured exclusive rights to the NFL Red Zone and NFL Network starting next year. The NFL is now taking a stake in ESPN, becoming a minority equity partner. This is the first time in NFL history that has taken ownership in a media outlet. So this is huge news for the sports industry. At the same time, ESPN just signed a 10-year deal with the WWE to broadcast and stream all of its live events, including Monday Night Raw and premium events like WrestleMania. Starting in January of 2026, all WWE content will stream on ESPN Plus and air across Disney's broader network of platforms, including Hulu and ABC.

11:30But what you need to understand is that it's not just about the sports. This is about content consolidation, streaming profitability, and long-term cash flow. Disney is turning ESPN into a must-have streaming service, and these deals position it to challenge the Netflixes and Amazons head-on in the live content game. And all of this is happening while just earlier this week, Disney announced the standalone Hulu app is going away and is going to be consolidated inside of Disney+. So lots of changes this week when it comes to Disney media. ESPN Plus currently has about 30 million subscribers, and with NFL Red Zone and WWE added to the mix, Wall Street analysts think that they could surpass 50 million paid subscribers by the end of 2026, dramatically increasing their average revenue per user.

12:14This move also signals a shift in how major sports leagues think about media. Instead of selling rights for top dollar and walking away, the NFL is now investing in the platforms themselves, giving them long-term upside as streaming becomes the dominant delivery method. Here is why it matters for you and your money and why we're here every Friday. If you're an investor in Disney, WWE's parent company, or any of the ETFs that hold them, like XLC or VOX, this news is big. These deals could translate to billions of dollars in recurring revenue, lower churn for streaming subscribers, and a stronger content moat in a very, very crowded field.

12:56Streaming's not dead. It's just evolving. And right now, Disney is trying to make a big comeback between the NFL, WWE, and even Hulu subscribers. What do you think about this, Robert? Are you – I don't own Disney stock, so I'm not someone that's, like, trying to do some of this investing on the side with Disney. I'm just – it's a business I'm not in right now. But is it something now that you're seeing this that's interesting to you? Yeah, I think it is because we live in the world of media and, you know, subscribers and all this stuff with the Rich Habits podcast and the Rich Habits Network. And I really think this is a strong move by Disney.

13:33And I'm definitely going to research the stock to see if I should hold it. Because with all of this happening, as they do these roll ups like this, you become more profitable. You get better at what you do because you're buying all of these other subscriber bases. So it's definitely something we should talk about and break down maybe in the Rich Habits Network of our thoughts moving forward of the Disney stock. I think that's a great idea. We will definitely do that. Which, by the way, quick reminder, if you've not yet joined the Rich Habits Network, what are you waiting on? Eight hours of video coursework.

14:04We've got a weekly live stream that's two hours long every Tuesday night. and the opportunities to invest alongside Robert and myself into some pre-IPO companies, some franchises, some real estate syndications, all the fun stuff that we are investing in with our own money. So if you want to join us, there's going to be a link in the show notes below. Just click it, sign up, seven-day free trial, no money out of pocket for the first seven days, kick the tires, ask us questions, figure out if it's a right fit for you or not. 680 people have already joined, so it's a right fit for them. Maybe it is for you as well.

14:35All right, Robert, that now brings us to our rapid fire watch list here. I'm going to kick us off again. The first thing is July tariff revenue. The second is Blade's passenger business. And finally, U.S. data center construction. So let me hit you with these. Starting with these tariffs, U.S. tariff revenue surged to$29.6 billion in the month of July, following$26.5 billion in June,$22 billion in May, and$8 billion in March when new tariffs first began. That is$86.5 billion of tariff revenue collected just in the last few months. Now, the big question on top of everyone's minds is, are these corporations just going to pass down the cost to the end consumer?

15:14Goldman Sachs says yes. Recent earnings results, too mixed to tell at the moment. But regardless,$86.5 billion of tariff revenue for the government might sound cool. But unfortunately, it only pays for two weeks worth of interest on our national debt. Two weeks. All of that for two weeks of interest payment on our national debt. We are so screwed if this stuff goes. This is going to be crazy. So keep an eye on that tariff revenue. Moving along here. Blade's passenger division is getting acquired by Joby Aviation. So you guys might know Blade. They're the Uber of helicopters. You can go get a helicopter in New York from one place to another.

15:52It's very popular over there. But Blade is selling its passenger division, which is probably what you think of when you hear Blade through Joby Aviation. Blade's medical business, however, is going to rebrand to Strata and focus entirely on Oregon transportation. Blade generated$36 million in Oregon transportation revenue in just the first quarter of this year. It's a pretty big business. And so while Joby Aviation will become this preferred vertical takeoff and landing partner for Strata's Oregon transportation operations, which means this partnership aims to leverage Joby Aviation's electrical air taxi technology for those mission critical medical services.

16:29That to me is pretty interesting. Because back in the day, they're like, oh, yeah, we've got the helicopter for Uber. And I'm like, I've never been on a helicopter, nor would I think I'd pay a couple hundred bucks to use one. That doesn't make sense to me. So I'm glad they got that one figured out. Now, the last call out I have here on my watch list is US GDP data center construction. So capital expenditures on AI data center construction surpassed consumer spending as a contributor to U.S. GDP growth for the very first time. I want you to just like process what I said. AI-related capital expenditures, right, building up these data centers added more to GDP growth in the first half of 2025 than all of U.S.

17:11consumer spending combined. Consumer spending, like Robert, myself, and all of our listeners here, We are less important now to GDP than data center construction, which tells me one GDP is broken. Shouldn't GDP follow like us as a country? Not so much. Anyway, but that to me was a wild statistic. Consumer spending typically accounts for about two thirds of US GDP and has been a dominant economic driver. Growth has slowed in 2025. We saw the jobs revisions back in, I think it was May and June. They came down by a quarter million jobs. So AI is really taking us as a country here. It's pretty crazy to think about.

17:50Well, I think your rapid fire was incredible, and it really speaks volumes to you and I always trying to flush out where are the picks and shovels in these big secular growth trends. So I love your call out. So I want to go into my Roberts rapid fire. I've got three quick ones. They're all important, and I'm excited to share them. Number one is Palantir. I want to pat myself on the back a little bit. Palantir just keeps moving and moving. Their earnings report was incredible with a 48 % year over year increase in revenue. And the stock just continues to go ahead. And for those of you that say Palantir is too overpriced, I'm not going to buy it now.

18:30Always remember when you have these big winners, they're generally going to be at or near a new top. So you can't look at it that way. You have to look two, three, five years down the road. Where is that company going? And do you believe they still have growth ahead? Palantir is a favorite of mine. Now to get into my next call out, let's talk about Ripple buying Rail for$200 million. And what does that mean for XRP and in the crypto world? And in my opinion, I think this is big news for Ripple because they are really getting strongly involved in the stable coin world. And this is a great platform.

19:06Rail is the name of the platform that they are purchasing for$200 million. And this is just another step in the right direction for Ripple as a company, but also XRP, the token of Ripple. As we've seen and heard a lot lately in the headlines, everyone is chasing these stablecoin investments. Stablecoins are here to stay. They're going to continue growing and offering a lot of help in the adoption of cryptocurrency now and in the future. And my last call out today in our rapid fire section, Trump asked the Intel CEO to step down and he says that he's not fit for the job and he's all up in arms over Intel CEO because he feels that they are playing kind of a dirty game by still being involved with China and not clearing themselves of the China connection.

19:57because Trump is trying to make all of these U.S. semiconductor companies be fully autonomous in the U.S. So I thought this was a big headline that really could set Intel back. They've already struggled for the last three or four years from a company and a stock price, and this could really set them back again if they don't get it in order. And I kind of feel like Intel's in hot water similar to what Apple was. So we'll see what happened and how this transpires over the coming weeks and months. With that being said, let's now jump into the Q &A section of this Rich Habits Radar episode. Remember, these questions are all about small business ownership, solopreneurship, side hustles.

20:36If you are a business owner, if you make money outside of your W-2 and you have a question about the process, maybe you're trying to overcome a hurdle, maybe you're just trying to explore ideas, ask us a question about it. You can do this by DMing us at richhabitspodcast on Instagram or emailing us at richhabitspodcast at gmail.com. Now, our first question comes from Nick. Nick says, of 27, I'm working a corporate job making$85 ,000 a year with great benefits. I've saved about$25 ,000 so far. I've been thinking about launching a mobile detailing business on the side that could eventually replace my income.

21:11Not sure how to balance getting started while still working full time. So how do you recommend people approach launching a business while maintaining their W2 job? I'll kick this one off. It's a delicate process. So in my humble opinion, anyone that is trying to launch a legitimate business, right? Not just a side hustle, but I want to go launch a business while also maintaining the W-2 job. The most important thing to do is be considerate of your obligation to that W-2 job. For example, maybe you work nine to five or nine to six or nine to seven or whatever your normal job is here. You're in corporate America and you're working.

21:47If I were you, I would make sure I carve out exactly how much time that I have to work on this job and actually execute upon my expectations to stay employed at this place. Because you mentioned 85 ,000 a year, great benefits. That's something to be excited about. While also saying, okay, maybe from nine to 11 at night every night, or maybe for an hour before I go to bed, I'm going to research how to do mobile detailing. I'm going to buy my equipment. I'm going to begin to work on my website, my marketing strategies, right? But do not overlap the two. I think the mistake people make is sometimes they think, oh, I'm gonna go work on my website while sitting at the desk at my corporate job.

22:26And then your boss walks by and like, what you doing? And then they get mad at you and then you lose your job because you try to get greedy and mix the two. In my opinion, keeping them separate is the best way to go. That's what I did. I would work from about eight to seven, eight to six with my corporate job. And then from, I'd say, nine o 'clock to one or two in the morning, I was working my side hustle, which at the time was TikTok. It was newsletters. It was podcasting. It was all that stuff before I was able to really make the switch, quit my full-time job, and go all in on being an entrepreneur.

22:58So that's how I'd approach this. I would not mix the two. But what I would also not do, maybe Robert can talk toward this, is I would not quit my job too early. Robert, talk about that one. You knew exactly where I was going to go. So many people out there, even Gary Vee, and I love Gary Vee, say, you got to follow your dream. You got to do this. You got to do that. And I think it's terrible advice because the worst thing someone can do if they have a good job, a high paying job, it's stable. You've got good benefits is to go, you know what? I'm going to chase my dream and you just quit. Keep the job.

23:33Keep the W-2 because there is nothing worse than chasing money month after month, trying to pay your sell bill, keep your life. on and pay your car payment. So keep the job while building the side hustle, the new company, mobile detailing on the side, like Austin said, and keep them separate because there is no rush to build this new company. You can do all your appointments on weekends. You can work on all your website and your social media at night. You can learn all the details, everything you need to do away from your business. And then when that side hustle money, the mobile detailing company or any company you start, when that income surpasses the job you have, the W-2, that's when you can start to think, hmm, do I get rid of the W-2 now and go all in on my company?

24:21Because too many people try to overlap them and cheat the system, lie to their boss and do all this, and it just won't work. So I love Austin's takeaway, and that is what I would do, because you just don't want to quit too soon and find yourself going backwards, running up credit cards to stay afloat while you're building the business. That's what weekends are for. And that's what nights are for. Let me also be super clear about this as well. Being an entrepreneur is not what it's all cut out to be. As someone who's been an entrepreneur for five years now, there's been, I'm working, you know, what's the phrase, Robert?

24:55You trade a nine to five for 24 seven. That's exactly what you're doing here, Nick. So like if you can make your 85 ,000 a year in your corporate job and make an extra 20 to$40 ,000 a year doing your mobile detailing on the business, you're living the dream. That is it, right? That's what you need to be doing. And then that$40 ,000 a year you're making with the mobile detailing business, you got that through an LLC, you got some write-offs, you're able to offset some more income with your W-2 maybe. There's a world of tax benefits that you can figure out there, but do not fall for the trick that, oh, become an entrepreneur, you're going to become a billionaire and everything's going to be great.

25:2980 % of small business owners fail within the first five years. That is a real statistic. And I don't want you to quit your job only for you to realize mobile detailing is not your thing. And now you're maybe having to scramble to find something else in a weak job market. So Nick, you're crushing it right now. Find the balance that works for you. And we're wishing you the best of luck. Our next question comes from Sarah W. Sarah says, my husband and I are looking to open our first brick and mortar coffee shop in a growing suburb in Tennessee. We've both worked in food service before, but never owned a business.