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If the question is whether the rich are born or made, the answer is condensed in a graph that shows that Spain is different

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Globally, the distribution of wealth is not only measured by how much money the richest have, but also by the economic flow and what it is like. the architecture of success that each country has built. The balance between “own merit” and “cradle” defines the identity of an economy: while in some countries they function as innovation laboratories where fortunes emerge from nothing, in others they function as a kind of safe deposit box where heritage is transmitted from generation to generation like a modern noble title. This chart from the German economic data analysis platform DataPulse and is made from Forbes data for June 2025. At that time, the business magazine counted 2,838 billionaires around the world. Forbes ranks each using its own scoring system (Self-Made score), which ranges from 1 to 10 according to the weight of the inheritance versus one’s own merit. The overall result is clear: two out of every three millionaires are millionaires because they “made themselves.” But this statement hides abysmal differences that reflect how economic power works in each society. By the way, a global fact that the graph itself highlights: between 2024 and 2025 the total wealth of all the billionaires in the world grew by 13.4%. According to the UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2025that growth pushed aggregate wealth to an all-time high of $15.8 trillion. Wealth: Self-made vs. inheritances. Data Pulse with data from Forbes Where does the fortune of the world’s richest come from: inheritance or self-made? The upper area of ​​the graph is where those countries are located where it is easier to get rich on your own and is led by Russia and China: both appear with 97% of billionaires self-madethe highest percentage in the world. They may be entrepreneurial countries, but the true differential feature must be found in their history: their respective revolutions of the 20th century They destroyed any inheritable private capital (the Bolshevik in 1917 and the Maoist in 1949). So technically, their fortunes are first generation because they couldn’t be from any other. However, this small print also includes Forbes’ conception of Self-made: In the Russian case, the main oligarchs accumulated their wealth in the 90s by taking advantage of Yeltsin’s savage privatizations. He Harvard’s Wilson Center says it loud and clear: It was one of the largest transfers of public wealth into private hands in modern history. Calling it self-made is at least generous. Although the United States is the country with the most millionaires in number with almost 924 people and according to the UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2025 74% of them are self-made, not the one that appears higher in the graph. The United Kingdom, Canada and Israel stand out there. What they all have in common are economies with developed capital markets, active venture capital ecosystems and legal frameworks that facilitate the creation and scaling of companies. In Germany, France or Spain inheritance rules. The Western European bloc is the area where inherited wealth weighs the most, with Germany as an extreme case: only 25% of its rich people are so because they built their own fortune. Family Capital explains it quite well: the ten largest German assets are all linked to family businesses. There are no great new generation technological fortunes. What there are are “old-fashioned” names, such as the Quandts at BMW, the Albrechts behind Aldi or the Würths: post-war industrial dynasties that have passed down their empires from generation to generation. Spain and France embrace a similar logic: they have legal frameworks that strongly protect intergenerational wealth transmission, scarcity and/or weakness of a technological ecosystem comparable to that which exists in the Anglo-Saxon or Asian ecosystem, and a business culture where family control of capital is considered a value in itself. Just above Germany is Spain, which has second place in the world in percentage of inherited wealth, with 74% of its billionaires in that category and only 26% self-made. Although there is the occasional green shoot of a modernized economy, it is residual: Spanish wealth is historically concentrated in a very small number of families with dominant positions in sectors with little competition. In short, generally In Spain wealth comes from dad. As in Germany, the names in the Spanish state are great classics: the Ortega family with Inditex, the Del Pino with Ferrovial, the March, the Entrecanales or the Lara. They are fortunes built for the most part during the Franco regime or the transition, in a context of little competition, privileged access to credit and close relations with political power. The result is what the graph shows: a country where becoming a billionaire from scratch is statistically almost an anomaly. In Xataka | We thought that millionaires had their fortune rain down from the sky without the slightest effort: Spain is different In Xataka | The “Great Transfer of Wealth” is not only a thing for the rich: demographic change will concentrate wealth among the youngest Cover | DataPulse

If the question is why the US attacked an Iranian ship with a weapon not seen in 40 years, now we know the answer: it had a "gift from china"

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In the heart of themissile crisis from Cuba, several Soviet ships heading to the Caribbean they turned around at the last moment when detecting the US naval blockade, avoiding a direct clash between superpowers for a matter of hours. That moment showed that sometimes the true turning point in a crisis occurs not when the conflict breaks out, but when someone decides what crosses (and what doesn’t) a line in the sea. A shot that had not been heard in decades. The American destroyer attackUSS Spruanceagainst the Iranian cargo ship a few days ago marks a turning point that goes far beyond a tactical incident, since it represents the first real use of a naval gun against another ship in almost 40 yearsa practice that until now existed more in manuals than in real operations. They explained the TWZ analysts That the procedure was methodical, with warnings for hours before disabling the engine to allow boarding, but its execution reveals the extent to which the US Navy is willing to escalate the use of force to enforce the blockade. This type of actions, which are reminiscent of Cold War doctrinesshow us a change in the rules of the game in the Strait of Hormuz, where deterrence is no longer just verbal or economic, but also physical and visible (in fact, there are action video). In Xataka Something unprecedented in the war has happened: Ukraine has knocked down Russian shaheds from a hotel 500 kilometers away The freighter that should not pass. He Wall Street Journal had in the morning that the intercepted ship, the MV Touskait was not just any target, but part of a logistics network linked to sanctions and with a history of frequent routes between China and Iranwhich placed him on Washington’s radar before the incident. His attempt to break the blockade, despite warnings, suggests, according to Washingtonwhich was transporting something valuable enough to take the risk, in a context where thousands of containers make immediate inspection on the high seas practically impossible. These types of fleets, capable of avoiding sanctions and maintaining the flow of trade between both countries, have become in key pieces of a covert war economy that mixes civilian commerce and potential military use. The Chinese “gift”. And it is at this point where a few hours ago they emerged Donald Trump’s wordssuggesting that the ship was carrying a “gift from China”, one that introduces a strategic element that would explain the forcefulness of the response. The reason? Bloomberg explained that it was not just about stopping a freighter, but about intercepting what could be sensitive or dual-use material with military implications, crossing an undeclared but evident red line for Washington. Although Beijing has denied itthe simple fact that this suspicion exists turns the operation into something more than a sanctions control, transforming it into a direct message about the limits of Chinese involvement in the conflict. Diplomacy, blockade and accusations. Iran’s reaction has not been long in coming, denouncing the seizure as a violation of international law and calling the action piracy, adding a diplomatic layer to an already tense operation. In parallel, China has expressed concern over the impact of the incident on stability in the region, while the United States maintains its position that all ships linked to Iran are susceptible of being intercepted. This exchange of accusations reflects a scenario in which the line between the application of sanctions, military pressure and open escalation is increasingly blurred. {“videoId”:”x8oyhxs”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”Kim Jong Un in a cinematic video shared by North Korean TV”, “tag”:”North Korea”, “duration”:”713″} Memories of another time. If you like, the general context reinforces the magnitude of the episode a little more: the United States is applying a large-scale naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, something that has not been seen since missile crisis from Cuba, and has already diverted dozens of ships before this incident. However, the case of Touska introduces a precedent perhaps more dangerous, being the first to directly defy orders and force an armed response, opening the door to future confrontations if other ships attempt the same. In this scenario, the balance is fragile and the margin of error minimal. In Xataka Millions to protect a war frigate. A Bluetooth tracker worth a few euros has been enough to follow her in real time The global strategy. Finally, it is possible that what at first glance seems like a specific action can also fit into a much broader logic: that of control flows of critical materials in the middle of war and mark limits to external actors without directly escalating to a larger conflict. The combination of a suspicious vessel, a unusual military response and the simple mention of China draws a pattern in which maritime trade becomes a field strategic battle. Image | US NAVY In Xataka | Europe has an explosive plan for Hormuz: one where there are mines, escorts, an alliance with Iran… and no sign of the US In Xataka | Iran has 300 internal reports where it models the war against the US. They are all based on the same thing: Ukraine (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news If the question is why the US attacked an Iranian ship with a weapon not seen in 40 years, now we know the answer: it had a “gift from China” was originally published in Xataka by Miguel Jorge .

We have been looking for decades to reduce diesel pollution. The answer was in the water

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In slow progress, but with increasing momentum, new energy vehicles continue to gain ground in Europe. However, the vehicle fleet It is still plagued by diesel enginesespecially because beyond passenger cars, they continue to dominate freight transportation, agriculture and industry. Because? Well, because at the end of the day they are robust, efficient and very reliable. But they are also one of the main sources of air pollution. However, there are numerous projects and studies that seek to make diesel a much less polluting fuel. In this regard, a team of researchers from Nigeria has given it a twist to an already known technology that, well applied, can change that equation without having to redesign the engine. What is WiDE technology. Its acronym in English stands for Water-in-Diesel Emulsion, or water-diesel emulsion. The idea is to mix small amounts of water with the diesel using substances called surfactants, which act as stabilizers and keep the mixture homogeneous for up to 60 days. The result is a fuel that, on the outside, barely differs from conventional diesel but that behaves very differently inside the engine. How it works inside the cylinder. When this mixture burns in the combustion chamber, the water droplets vaporize instantly and violently. This phenomenon is called “microexplosion” and has a direct and positive effect: it atomizes the fuel into much finer particles, which improves the mixture with the air. More efficient combustion at lower peak temperatures directly translates into fewer nitrogen oxides (NOx) and less soot. Numbers. The study, carried out by researchers from the Federal University of Technology of Owerri (Nigeria) and published at Carbon Research, analyzed the results of this solution in studies around the world. After this, they detected that engines that operate with WiDE can reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 67% and suspended particles by up to 68% compared to conventional diesel. In addition, several experiments also pointed to an improvement in the thermal efficiency of the engine. Because matters. Current emissions control systems, such as particulate filters or SCR catalysts, work, but add cost and mechanical complexity. WiDE, on the other hand, acts directly on combustion and does not require modifying the engine. According to the main researcher of the study, Dr Chukwuemeka Fortunatus Nnadozie, is “a practical and cost-effective way to clean diesel engines” that opens “an immediate path to lower emissions in both developing and developed countries.” The key: surfactants. It’s not all about mixing water and diesel. The stability of the emulsion depends largely on the type and amount of surfactant used. The investigation concludes that formulations that combine several surfactants offer the best results, both in fuel stability and combustion quality. On the other hand, if this component is chosen incorrectly it can compromise both the performance and security of the system. What remains to be resolved. The authors themselves acknowledge that the technology needs more research before mass adoption. Optimal surfactant formulations remain to be defined and the long-term effect on internal engine components needs to be evaluated. The study’s co-author, Professor Emeka Emmanuel Oguzie, point which, “with proper formulation and testing, could become an important part of sustainable transport and industrial systems.” An intermediate solution. WiDE is not proposed as a substitute for electrification or renewable energies, but as an intermediate solution. The authors describe it as a bridge between the current use of diesel and a cleaner energy model, and point out that it could combine with biodiesel and other emissions control systems to enhance their effects. In Xataka | With gasoline at 2 euros per liter in France, something is happening in Guipúzcoa: French people crossing the border with jerrycans

If the question is why men don’t wear skirts, the answer lies in the 18th century: the Great Male Renunciation

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We have it so internalized, so assimilated, that perhaps you have never thought about it, but here goes one of those questions that sound like a truism: Why do men and women dress differently? Why is it that when we go to a wedding, a gala or an elegant dinner, it is taken for granted that they will wear a more or less sober suit and discreet colors while they will wear dresses and heels? Why are ‘men’s’ clothes usually more functional than women’s clothes? And already, why don’t we wear skirts, like was wondering recently David Uclés? As is usually the case when we talk about fashion (social trends in general), none of the above is the result of chance or simple whim. Why do you dress the way you dress? Things as they are: if you are a man (at least in the Spain of 2026) and you go to a meeting in a dress and heels, it is quite likely that your colleagues will be surprised to see you cross the door. However, the same clothing on a woman would be considered very normal. Because? That same question was recently asked by the writer David Uclés. And it’s not the first. Before him, others had already slipped it, such as the designer and photographer Ana Locking, who in another recent interview on the SER network encouraged men to be much more risky when selecting their wardrobe. “If you want to feel sexy today, dress sexy. The boys’ legs are super sexy, the boys’ necklines are super sexy. Open your neckline, wear a skirt, some shorts, some ankle boots with a little heel,” encouraged Locking after lamenting that, as they mature, men “clip their wings” when they confront the closet. “What they will say comes into play a little bit, feeling vulnerable.” Is it just social pressure? It depends how you look at it. Fashion in itself is a social construct, but the tendency that leads us men to opt for sober clothing and banish skirts, heels and clothing that may be considered ‘extravagant’ from our wardrobes is explained by another reason: the story. In fact, it is not a guideline that has always been applied. Come take a walk through the Costume Museum or El Prado to prove that when it comes to men’s fashion, sobriety has not always been synonymous with good style or elegance. For example, this canvas of King Philip V with his family painted in 1743 by Louis Michel van Loo or this other work from the end of the 17th century, also preserved in El Prado, and in which Jacob-Ferdinand Voet shows us Luis Francisco de la Cerda, IX Duke of Medinaceli. Is there anything that catches your attention about them? Wigs, high heels and brilli brilli? Exact. If you look at both works you will see that the men wear wigs, heels, stockings, loose jackets that fall almost like skirts, and an abundance of bright colors, the kind of clothing that at that time (late 17th century, first half of the 18th century) denoted status. If you think about it it makes sense. What they show us Jacob-Ferdinand Voet and Louis Michel van Loo They are characters dressed in colorful outfits, although they are not what we would say ‘functional’. But… Why should they be? If anyone could afford that kind of clothing it was aristocrats who didn’t have to work. Who doesn’t like heels? William Kremer explained it well in 2013 on the BBC when reviewing The history of high heels and why men stopped wearing them. Again, it may sound like a far-fetched question, but it actually makes a lot of sense and reveals even more about our history. For centuries heels were worn in the Middle East as part of horse riding clothing. And not only for aesthetic reasons. With them Persian soldiers could stand on the styles, stabilize themselves and adopt a good posture to use the bow. When at the end of the 16th century sha Abbas I of Persia He sent a diplomatic mission to Europe to gather support. The nobles noticed the Persian-style shoe. They liked it so much that over time they began to wear high heels that highlighted their size… and their social rank. And all that with heels? That’s how it is. “One of the best ways to convey status is through the impractical,” commented in 2013 Elizabeth Semmelhack, of the Bata Footwear MuseumToronto. Perhaps heels were not very advisable for walking through the countryside and the paved and potholed streets of the 17th century cities, but did the same nobles who posed for chamber painters dressed in clothes as luxurious as they were cumbersome have to do so? “They don’t work in the fields nor do they have to walk a lot.” Why did they stop being used? Times have changed. And the way of thinking. When they review the history of fashion (especially men’s fashion) historians usually stop at the Enlightenment, between the mid-17th century and the beginning of the 19th century, a time in which intellectuals opted for a way of thinking in which what was rational and useful was prioritized. Also education about privileges. Status is no longer an inherited gift, but the result of training and work. As far as fashion is concerned, this translated into a new sensitivity that favored the use of garments comfortable and functional. In England, for example, even landowners ended up embracing a more practical style, better suited to managing their properties. At least that’s how it was among men. The rational aspect stood out among them; The emotional nature was highlighted in them. Did only the Enlightenment influence? No. The Enlightenment mentality played a crucial role, but historians usually point out an episode that (although inspired by the Enlightenment) is much more specific, both geographically and temporally: the french revolution. Against this backdrop, the way one dressed became more than a simple aesthetic choice or a mark of status. … Read more

We knew there was water on the Moon, but not why some craters were empty. Finally we have the answer

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It’s been a while since It is known that there is water on the Moon. However, accessing it is quite complicated. To begin with, so far only water in the form of ice has been detected. But also, it’s not clear what the best places to look are. There are some clues, but exceptions keep appearing that baffle scientists. That’s why, the study recently carried out by scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder It has been very illuminating. Frozen water hidden in the shadows. The missions that have detected ice on the Moon have located it in the depths of the craters of the lunar south pole. Mostly, in something known as cold traps. These are places that are permanently in shadow, so that the very high temperatures that are reached during the day, of more than 120ºCthey cannot evaporate the water. An essential resource for lunar colonization. The detection of water on the Moon was a great milestone at the time, since it would make it easier for lunar colonizers to use water to cover basic needs in the future. They could use it for drinking, but also, for example, it would be possible separate hydrogen from oxygen through hydrolysis and use it as fuel. Let us remember that the formula of water is H2O, two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. It’s not that easy. Some craters containing ice have already been detected, like the Cabeus. We could think that all the craters of the south pole that are found in cold traps, like this one, will serve as water sources. Unfortunately, the task is not so simple. It is known that several craters in this situation do not contain water, so another pattern must be sought to help future lunar colonizers know where to look. A question of orientation. The authors of the study just published relied on two types of data. On the one hand, the surface temperature data provided by the Diviner instrument of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). On the other hand, the results of a series of computer simulations on lunar evolution. Studying all of this together revealed something interesting. That the orientation of the Moon has not always been the same. Its relative inclination with respect to the Earth has changed slightly over billions of years, so that what is in shadow today may not have been in the past. That’s why there are craters in cold traps that don’t have water. The older the better. Something that these scientists have also observed when reviewing previous studies is that the oldest craters at the lunar south pole are more likely to house water. Therefore, the ideal is to look for ancient craters that are located at the south pole and in cold traps. The number of likely places to search is greatly reduced. In fact, there is already a candidate following this premise: the Haworth crater. According to the models, it has been in shadow for 3 billion years. We will have to check it. The authors of this study are already designing an instrument, called Lunar Compact Infrared Imaging System (L-CIRiS), to analyze this and other candidate craters for water ice. NASA plans to deploy it near the lunar South Pole at the end of 2027. It will be a good way to detect the best lunar water sources with an eye on future long-term missions on our satellite. The more the ground is prepared, the better. Image | Xataka | The “hidden” side of the Moon has been a mystery for decades: China already has a chemical map to shed light

We have been debating for years whether it is better to go to the gym in the morning or in the afternoon. Physiology finally has the answer

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In the world of sports there is an eternal debate about the best time to exercise. On the one hand, there are those who defend tooth and nail that get up early to train At six in the morning it activates the metabolism for the rest of the day. On the other hand, there are those who claim that the body only performs at its maximum after leaving work late in the day. Who is right? The answer, as is often the case in exercise physiology, has different nuances, since if we turn to scientific literature, recent studies and controlled trials, we will discover that the best schedule depends on the biology, objectives and internal clock of each athlete. And something that is already known is that our biology does not function in a flat manner during the day, but is governed by circadian rhythms. Here, science already indicates that body temperature and neuromuscular performance reach their maximum peak in the afternoon, generally between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Although the key here is whether this can translate into more muscle in the long term. The concrete studies. In 2019, a group of scientists public a meta-analysis that confirmed that, indeed, baseline muscle strength is greater in the afternoon. However, for early risers, they also pointed out that, if consistency is maintained at the same schedule, the long-term gains in strength and muscle mass are similar, regardless of the schedule, because the human body ends up adapting to what is asked of it. But there is a fairly clear exception, as stated in a study published in 2016. Here, after 24 weeks follow-upit was shown that there is a greater gain in muscle mass in the legs if training is done in combination of bodybuilding and weights. The morning situation. If the goal you have set is not to lift the maximum weight possible, but rather to improve cardiovascular health or combat insulin resistance, the balance tips towards the morning, as confirmed by a study published in 2024 that analyzed patients with metabolic syndrome who performed intense aerobic exercise. Here it was seen that training in the morning achieved a reduction in systolic blood pressure of 4% compared to only 1% in the afternoon group. Additionally, the early risers group experienced a 14% improvement in insulin resistance, compared to 4% for the evening group. Furthermore, narrative reviews suggest that morning exercise helps advance sleep phases and improve the lipid profile. It depends on each person. But beyond what the population averages say, we must take into account the genetic and behavioral component of each person, and above all their chronotype. In this way, people who get up early naturally perform better in the morning, while those who perform better at night, if they are forced to train at six in the morning, the truth is that they will have greater fatigue and a worse perception of effort. The conclusion. Although science finds specific metabolic benefits in the morning and performance peaks in the afternoon, general reviews agree on an insurmountable rule of thumb: the best time to train is the one in which you can maintain long-term adherence. The hormonal peak in the afternoon is of no use if your work obligations prevent you from going to the gym regularly or it means a great sacrifice to radically change the routine you are following. Images | Drazen Zigic In Xataka | Science already knows what is the best “gasoline” to create new neurons: physical exercise

There is only one Bugatti La Voiture Noire and no one knew who owned it. The answer was in the Porsche garage

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For years, the owner of the most exclusive car in the world It was quite a mystery. Only one example of the Bugatti La Voiture Noire exists and, since its presentation at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, no one has officially confirmed who had purchased it. That made the Internet full of theories and speculation: from elite footballers to oil sheiks. So much so that the then CEO of Bugatti, Stephan Winkelmann, publicly denied that the buyer of this gem of collecting out Cristiano Ronaldoone of the most repeated names for having several Bugatti in his garage and enough financial liquidity to afford their purchase. The mystery had remained intact until now. A work of art inspired by a missing car. He The Black Vehicle was born as an obsessive tribute to one of the most legendary automobiles in history. Bugatti designed this unique example looking at the Type 57 SC Atlanticcreated in the 1930s by Jean Bugatti, son of founder Ettore Bugatti. Only four units of that Atlantic were manufactured, and one of them, precisely the one known as La Voiture Noire, disappeared without a trace before the Second World War, and has never been found. The 2019 model takes up that heritage with an overwhelming technical proposal in the purest Bugatti style: 8-liter W16 engine with 1,500 HP, four turbochargers and six exhaust pipes that emerge on each side of the body as a direct nod to the design of the original Atlantic. With its black lacquer finish, sculptural lines and the weight of a legend on the body, Bugatti sold this unique specimen to an unknown owner for around 16.7 million euros. The mystery solved: Ferdinand Piëch, grandson of Porsche. It is now known that the Bugatti La Voiture Noire never really left his home since it was Ferdinand Piëch who acquired it. Piëch was the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, founder of the brand that bears his surname, and one of the most influential engineers and managers of the 20th century in the automotive world. During his time at the head of the Volkswagen Group, he was the main architect of the Bugatti revival as an extreme luxury hypercar brand, driving the development of the impressive W16 engine that beats under the hood of La Voiture Noire. The history of that engine has its own epic. The concept of the W16 block was hand sketched by Piëch On paper he was traveling at 320 km/h on a Japanese bullet train. As if it were a premonition, that same engine turned the Bugatti Veyron into the first production car to become a missile. capable of exceeding 400 km/h. Ferdinand Piech passed away in 2019the same year that La Voiture Noire was presented to the world. The car, however, was not delivered until 2021, then passing into the hands of his son Anton Piëch as heir. The twist: the heir needs liquidity. Anton Piëch thus inherited the most expensive hypercar in the world at the time of its delivery. Now, however, he has made a decision that closes a symbolic circle: wants to sell it. According to sales documentation to which has had access to the German economic newspaper Handelsblattthe La Voiture Noire is offered through a discreet bidding process for 23 million Swiss francs, approximately 25 million euros. The reason for the sale of such a motorsports legend is the need to finance Piech Automotivetheir own electric vehicle startup founded in 2017. The company has been trudging along for over a decade and still doesn’t have a production vehicle. According to sources cited by Handelsblattthe company is also exploring a possible integration under the umbrella of the Chinese group Chery, although neither party has confirmed the details. In Xataka | Bugatti Veyron was a jewel that cost 1.7 million dollars: Volkswagen lost 6.7 million with each one it sold Image | Bugatti

Danone wants to pay 1 billion for a powdered shake company. It’s his answer to Ozempic

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Danone has announced the acquisition of Smella British shake and powder company that competed with things like Soylent or Joylent in the “complete nutrition” sector, for about 1,000 million euros. It is an earthquake in the sector, but (above all) because of what it implies. The food industry is preparing for the earthquake caused by the new GLP-1 drugs and is doing so by gobbling up everything there is for functional nutrition. What is Huel? Founded in 2015 in the United Kingdom, it had a turnover of around 250 million pounds in 2025, sells in more than 100 countries and has among its investors to Idris Elba and Jonathan Ross. But none of that explains why a company like this is worth so much money. After all, Human Fuel sells nutritionally complete meals: powders, shakes, bars and instant meals. Although the idea is that these products cover 100% of daily needs, the same company recommends complementing it with conventional food. And why does Danone want that? That’s the big question. The purchase of Huel is part of the strategy Renew Danone which, since 2022, seeks to expand and diversify the company’s work. Danone already has Nutriciaits specialized medical nutrition division (Fortimeloncological supplements, pediatric formulas), which operates in the clinical and hospital setting. With Huel, you are building a functional and specialized nutrition ecosystem that covers all steps from the clinic either probiotics to mass consumption. The central issue is that the market does not stop growing. To grow and transform. It is estimated that meal replacements move between 16,000 and 21,000 million dollars each year. and heanalysts agree in which it will grow at a rate greater than 5%. But what makes this operation more than a corporate purchase is the context. GLP-1 drugs (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro) are radically transforming food purchasing habits. Users eat less, buy less ultra-processed foods, and when they eat, they look for maximum nutritional density in every bite. According to Circana, households with LPG-1 usersThey will represent 35% of food sales in the US by 2030. Nestlé has already launched a specific line (Vital Pursuit), Conagra Label your dishes “GLP-1 Friendly” and General Mills is reformulating its products so they have more protein and fiber. And why now? Basically because Danone has money. In 2024, they had a cash flow of more than 3,000 million euros. In 2025, Danone CEO made it clear that the company wanted to “go on the offensive with acquisitions. And I have done it. In the last few years they have bought three emerging companies in key sectors (and many others that, finally, has not been able to acquire). Danone isn’t buying a smoothie maker: it’s buying a position in the new food chain the GLP-1s are creating. One where food is not sold for pleasure or convenience, but for function. Image | In Xataka | Neither Soylent nor Joylent. May the future not take away the ritual, flavor and texture of eating.

Mercadona wanted to find out in Portugal if its business formula works outside of Spain. You already have the answer

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Your bet on the white labelthe short assortment, ready-to-eat foods and territorial expansion has allowed Mercadona to gain almost 30% of the Spanish market, far surpassing its competitors in the retail. That’s nothing new. What is curious is that this same bet seems to be giving good results also in Portugal, a country in which the chain premiered in 2019 with a first store in Vila Nova de Gaia. Since then the Valencian company not only he got sixth in your expansion lusa, has also expanded its business quota. And it doesn’t seem to be going bad at all. Beyond Spain. The percentage may vary depending on the period or region being analyzed, but for some time now studies on retail show that Mercadona is (by far) the chain that takes the largest part of the distribution business in Spain. In January, the consulting firm Nielsen presented a report on “mass consumption” that it assigns to Juan Roig’s chain 29.5% of the marketwell above direct competitors such as Carrefour, Lidl or DIA. This footprint is explained by a strategy that dates back (at least) to the end of the 80s, when the Valencian company made the leap to Madrid. On the other side of ‘la Raya’, however, its history is much more recent. Mercadona did not put its head into the Portuguese market until 2016when it decided to bet on its internationalization, and its first store in the neighboring country is even more recent: a 18,000 m2 supermarket in Vila Nova de Gaia opened in 2019. Chain Distribution share in Portugal (2024) Distribution share in Portugal (2025) Continent 26.6% 27.5% Pingo Doce 21.7% 21.7% Lidl 13% 12.9% Mercadona 7.0% 7.2% Intermarché 6.6% 6.4% Auchan 4.4% 5.3% aldi 2.7% 2.9% Miniprice 23% 0.8% Leclerc 0.8% 0.8% And how is it going there? We knew that the company was expanding for Portugal, which in 2024 achieved a positive net result and that in 2025 its profit in the neighboring country amounted to 26 million of euros; What we have just discovered is that this data is largely explained by its share of business. The Economist just published a report from Worldpanel by Numerator (formerly Kantar) that shows that the Valencian chain has established itself in the ‘TOP 5’ of the most important firms in the Portuguese distribution sector. A percentage: 7.2%. To be more precise, in 2025 its quota rose to 7.2%two percentage points more than in 2024. It is a much lower percentage than in Spain, but it draws attention when analyzed in its context. First, because Mercadona has gained that 7.2% gap in just five years, a time in which it has overtaken firms such as Intermarché, Auchan or Aldi. Second, because it is already the fourth distribution chain in terms of business footprint. It is only surpassed by Lidl (12.9%) and above all Pingo Doce (21.7%) and Continente (27.5%), the undisputed leaders of the retail in the neighboring country. Gaining weight. Mercadona has not only increased its share of the pie in the Portuguese business. It has also expanded its territorial footprint. And clearly. When it opened its first store, in the summer of 2019, the firm has already advanced that its landing did not only include the supermarket in the Porto area, it also contemplated a logistics block, offices and plans to open nine other stores that year. In his last annual reportpresented just a few weeks ago, Mercadona specifies that it closed 2025 with 69 stores, 7,500 employees and a turnover of 2,092 million euros in Portugal, which contributed to closing the year in green. If nothing goes wrong, the company plans launch another five super soon. “Since 2019, the company has invested a cumulative total of 1,230 million euros and, in this second year in which it registered a positive result in the country, it achieved a net profit of 26 million,” explains. According to his calculations, he already monopolizes 3.5% share in total sales area in Portugal. Are they all advantages? Not at all. If Mercadona has managed to establish its business share in Portugal, it has been largely thanks to its investment, the opening of new stores and the creation of a ambitious logistics block in Santarém. However, the Worldpanel by Numerator data that confirms its growth also reflects that it will not be easy if it wants to continue growing. The Valencian firm has Lidl ahead of it, but above all Pingo Doce and Continenttwo chains with decades of history and a very wide presence in Portugal. Between them they add up hundreds and hundreds of points of sale spread across the country and a market share that the old Kantar figure at 49.2%. Images | Continent and Mercadona Via | elEconomista.es In Xataka | Mercadona and the rest of the supermarkets have realized something worrying: they spend a million dollars on printing paper

If the question is whether you can go on vacation or play sports while on sick leave, justice has the answer: it depends.

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There is a widespread belief about what it means to be on medical leave. Many people believe that being on medical leave is incompatible with doing any type of activity physical or going on a trip, and that doing so may be grounds for disciplinary dismissal. It is a widespread fear, but the reality is quite different. Knowing the nuances around this issue can prevent workers and companies from be seen in court. A recent sentence issued by the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community confirms what Spanish judges have been repeating for years in their rulings: that the problem is never the activity itself, but rather whether carrying it out affects in some way the process of recovery from the illness or injury for which one is on sick leave. That detail changes absolutely everything. ​What the law says, and what it doesn’t say Although many people believe it this way, no Spanish labor law expressly prohibits playing sports. or go on vacation when you are on medical leave. There is no article that says “if you are on sick leave, you can’t do this or that.” What the Workers’ Statute does include, in its article 54 that regulates the conditions of disciplinary dismissal, is that a company can fire you if you seriously breach your employment obligations or act in bad faith. And that’s where these cases fit. The principle that truly governs these cases is not prohibition, but compatibility with recovery. In practice, this means that when you are on medical leave, you have an obligation not to do things that slow down or contradict your own recovery process. Not because the law expressly prohibits it, but because acting in a manner inconsistent with your medical diagnosis can be interpreted as a serious lack of honesty with your company and with Social Security, which covers a large part of your salary during that period. When the judges have ruled in favor of the company The courts have supported layoffs disciplinary action when the activity carried out during the medical leave was clearly incompatible with the declared illness or injury, especially if it occurred several times and the company was able to demonstrate it with medical reports and even with the provision of evidence by a private detective. The most recent case is the sentence which was resolved by the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community in January 2026, which stated that a worker was on sick leave due to a lumbar injury compatible with limited effort and moderate physical activity and was investigated by private detectives. During that period, it was confirmed that the employee was doing intense and repeated physical exercise for several weeks in a row (running, mountain routes lasting several hours, gym training, etc.), an activity that, according to the court, was incompatible with his illness and made his recovery difficult. The court declared the disciplinary dismissal valid not for playing sports, but for doing an activity contrary to the recommendations for recovery from sick leave due to low back pain. In a similar vein, the Superior Court of Justice of Aragon, also declared valid the disciplinary dismissal of an employee who was on medical leave due to an injury to the cruciate ligament in his knee and had to undergo surgery. During his recovery, the employee He participated in several padel tournamentsand even winning some of them while on medical leave due to his knee injury. The judges have also ruled in favor of the worker Case law also has numerous examples to the contrary, where the dismissal was considered unjustified because, although physical activity was recognized, it could not be demonstrated that the activity harmed recovery from the injury. An example of this is the who judged the Superior Court of Justice of Murcia in which an employee on leave due to depression and anxiety traveled to Albania for 12 days. As and how I analyzed Iberleythe Murcian High Court declared that the trip did not interfere with recovery nor did it contravene medical recommendations, which is why it declared the dismissal unfair. It has not been the only case. The Supreme Court confirmed in November 2024 that the dismissal of a driver who played paddle tennis while on sick leave due to low back pain was inappropriate, because her own doctor had recommended in writing that she do moderate exercise, including that type of activity. The key is always in the doctor As can be seen in the different examples, the key is not the sport that is practiced or the trip itself, but what the doctor says about that activity and whether that activity negatively affects recovery. The judges limit themselves to analyzing whether the worker’s medical reports authorized or recommended what he did, whether the company was able to demonstrate with an expert report that it was detrimental to recovery, and whether the worker repeated the behavior in a way that would suggest that he was simulating his state. A worker on sick leave due to depression or anxiety who is advised by his psychiatrist to go out, exercise or travel has every right to do so. In fact, it can be an important part of the treatment. For all this, the most useful practical advice is to always have the doctor’s authorization in writing before carrying out any physical activity or travel during sick leave. This role does not guarantee that the company will not consider a disciplinary dismissal or that the judge will always agree with you, as some of the previous cases demonstrate, but it makes a real difference when it comes to defending yourself. Without that documented medical support, courts tend to side with the company when there is evidence of activity. In Xataka | A company fired the same employee twice in eight months. The court has annulled them and returns to work with 25,000 euros Image | Freepik (pressfoto)

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