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• Without adjusting for inflation, 60 movies released by US studios have grossed $1 billion or more at the box office.
• Using data from Box Office Mojo, we compiled a list of the highest-grossing movies worldwide.
• “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is the latest film to join the elite club.

Don’t let anyone tell you differently: Hollywood is powered by the box office.

For over a century, the movie business has entertained people around the globe by creating powerful stories that astound us and make us want to come back for more.

It has led to a collection of titles reaching the rarified $1 billion box office mark during their theatrical run.

This is where Marvel movies, Disney animation, and James Cameron reign supreme.

Here are the movies that have crossed the prized $1 billion mark at the box office.

Kirsten Acuna and Kim Renfro contributed to previous versions of this story.

60. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” (2026)

Worldwide gross: $1,000,530,625

“Galaxy” marks the first $1 billion-plus earner of 2026.

Following the hit original, 2023’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which you’ll find further down this list, Nintendo and Universal teamed up for a sequel that expands the Mario Bros. universe.

Now that both “Mario” movies have crossed the $1 billion mark, the franchise is on its way to becoming one of the most lucrative animated series in Hollywood.

59. “Jurassic World Dominion” (2022)

Worldwide gross: $1,001,978,080

Poor reviews didn’t stop people from seeing the third “Jurassic World” outing.

It took over three months, but “Jurassic World Dominion” crossed $1 billion worldwide. The sequel likely crossed the number thanks in part to the original “Jurassic Park” cast returning to the big screen and teaming up with the newer “Jurassic World” cast in this entry.

58. “The Dark Knight” (2008)

Worldwide gross: $1,008,287,756

Back in July of 2008, people began speculating that Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” sequel starring Heath Ledger as the Joker might have the box-office power to set a world record.  “There are even whispers starting whether ‘Dark Knight‘ can beat the incredible worldwide numbers posted by the all-time $1.8 billion benchmark of ‘Titanic,'” Deadline reported.

At the time, the film broke several box-office records, including highest-grossing opening weekend, highest Friday midnight showings, and highest-opening day record. “TDK” went on to become the highest-grossing movie of 2008.

The film’s successful viral marketing campaign and box-office performance really set the bar for what a superhero movie could be. Many consider it a blueprint for the success of superhero movies that came afterwards. Unfortunately, instead of DC catapulting into the stratosphere from here on out, Marvel took the lead, appearing on this list 10 times compared to DC’s four.

57. “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (2012)

Worldwide gross: $1,017,453,991

When Peter Jackson’s first “Hobbit” movie crossed the $1 billion mark, it looked like a good indication that the subsequent two sequels would perform equally well, if not better, at the box office.

But neither of the second two “Hobbit” films wound up crossing that box-office landmark. Both “The Desolation of Smaug” and “Battle of the Five Armies” grossed around $960,000,000 each.

56. “Alice In Wonderland” (2010)

Worldwide gross: $1,025,468,216

When Tim Burton’s take on the original Disney classic hit $1 billion at the box office in 2010, it was only the sixth ever film to do so. In the years since, more than 20 other films have joined the club — but the sequel to this live-action “Alice In Wonderland” was not among them. 2016’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass” grossed over $299 million worldwide. 

55. “Zootopia” (2016)

Worldwide gross: $1,025,521,689

“Zootopia” became a surprise hit for Walt Disney Animation. At the time, it set a record for the biggest animated March opening weekend of all time.

54. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (2001)

Worldwide gross: $1,028,496,499

Nineteen years after its initial 2001 release, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” managed to cross the $1 billion mark only after it was given a theatrical re-release in China.

Deadline reported that the movie had grossed $13.6 million over the course of three-days after it was released in theaters with a “remastered 4K 3D” version. It’s the second movie in the “Harry Potter” franchise to gross more than $1 billion. 

53. “Finding Dory” (2016)

Worldwide gross: $1,029,266,989

Moviegoers flocked back to theaters in the summer of 2016 for Disney Pixar’s “Finding Nemo” sequel. It was the second animated feature of 2016 to pass the $1 billion mark (“Zootopia” is the other).

At the time, the box-office numbers also made “Finding Dory” the fifth highest-grossing animated movie of all time. 

52. “Despicable Me 3” (2017)

Worldwide gross: $1,034,800,131

“Despicable Me 3” was a sleeper hit of 2017. With the return of Gru, Lucy, and of course the Minions, this is the second movie in the franchise to gross over one billion dollars. The introduction of “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker as a new villain was a smart move.

51. “Lilo & Stitch” (2025)

Worldwide gross: $1,038,027,526

Disney’s live-action remake genre followed the dud of “Snow White” with this major success.

Along with hitting the billion mark, the movie also broke the Memorial Day opening weekend box office record with $341.7 million worldwide.

50. “Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace” (1999)

Worldwide gross: $1,046,515,409

“The Phantom Menace” was the first “Star Wars” movie to earn $1 billion, thanks to its 3D re-release in theaters 13 years after the original debut. Without that second surge of ticket purchases, the film would have stayed under $1 billion along with the original three movies.

49. “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” (2011)

Worldwide gross: $1,046,721,266

There are four total “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies in the franchise — and two of them have joined the billion-dollar club. “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” sits behind the “Dead Man’s Chest” installment of this Disney franchise.

48. “Aladdin” (2019)

Worldwide gross: $1,054,304,000

Like many of the Disney live-action versions of animated classics, “Aladdin” did very well at the box office. “Aladdin” became one of Disney’s record-breaking seven movies to hit $1 billion in 2019.

47. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016)

Worldwide gross: $1,058,684,742

“Rogue One” cemented its place in the “Star Wars” franchise by raking in $1 billion just 39 days after its global release. The spinoff became the fourth and final movie of 2016 to make $1 billion at the box office. All four billion-dollar movies of 2016 were Disney releases.

46. “Moana 2” (2024)

Worldwide gross: $1,059,242,164

In the sequel, Moana and Maui reunite to reconnect the people of the ocean by seeking out a lost island.

45. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (2006)

Worldwide gross: $1,066,179,747

Back in 2006, when the sequel to Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl” hit theaters, it took just three months for the movie to make $1 billion at the box office. At that time, it was the third ever film to do so.

44. “Toy Story 3” (2010)

Worldwide gross: $1,067,316,101

The third movie in the “Toy Story” franchise crossed the $1 billion mark in 2010 and made Disney history as Pixar’s highest-grossing film of all time. The success of “Toy Story 3” helped push a fourth movie into Disney’s animated movie plan.

43. “Toy Story 4” (2019)

Worldwide gross: $1,073,841,394

With “Toy Story 4” also crossing this milestone, Disney became the first movie studio to create seven billion-dollar movies in a single year. The movie joined its Disney comrades “Captain Marvel,” “Aladdin,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “The Lion King,” “Frozen II,” and “The Rise of Skywalker.”

CEO Bob Iger recently announced a fifth “Toy Story” movie is in the works.

42. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (2019)

Worldwide gross: $1,077,022,372

The ninth episode in the “Star Wars” Skywalker saga, “The Rise of Skywalker,” crossed the $1 billion mark on Tuesday, January 14.

As reported by Variety, it took this film 28 days to hit this milestone, while “The Force Awakens” did it in 12 days and “The Last Jedi” managed it in 19 days.

41. “Joker” (2019)

Worldwide gross: $1,078,958,629

This DC comic movie is the first R-rated movie to ever make $1 billion at the box office. Deadline announced the milestone, which came about six weeks after the movie premiered worldwide.

Marvel’s “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds snarkily congratulated “Joker” on becoming the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.

40. “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012)

Worldwide gross: $1,085,199,115

Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to “The Dark Knight” had became the 13th film in history to reach $1 billion in 2012. This achievement was remarkable, especially given concerns that the movie’s success would be dampened after the Aurora theater shooting took place during a midnight screening of the film.

39. “Jurassic Park” (1993)

Worldwide gross: 1,103,096,466

Similar to “The Phantom Menace,” a 3D re-release is responsible for putting “Jurassic Park” over the edge and into the $1 billion club. “Jurassic Park” wasn’t originally released in China in 1993, according to a report from The Wrap. But the 20th anniversary international re-release included China — and the difference in ticket sales showed.

A few more pandemic re-releases in 2020 and 2022 helped send it up the chart even more.

38. “Transformers: Age of Extinction” (2014)

Worldwide gross: $1,105,261,713

Ah yes, the unstoppable box-office power of the “Transformers” franchise. According to The Wrap, “Age of Extinction” (the fourth movie) was made specifically with international audiences in mind — and it paid off. Almost a third of the total box-office revenue came from China alone.

37. “Skyfall” (2012)

Worldwide gross: $1,108,594,137

At the time of its release, “Skyfall” was Sony’s highest-grossing movie worldwide and the first Bond movie to surpass $1 billion at the box office. It became the second highest-grossing film of 2012 (behind “Avengers”).

It also helped that Adele recorded a banger of a theme song for the film, which won the Academy Award for best original song.

36. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (2011)

Worldwide gross: $1,123,794,079

The third “Transformers” movie was Paramount’s first film to reach $1 billion at the box office. Similar to “Age of Extinction,” the boost in ticket sales came largely from international movie audiences. This was the last “Transformers” movie which starred Shia LaBeouf. 

35. “Captain Marvel” (2019)

Worldwide gross: $1,131,416,446

And here we begin with the seemingly unstoppable success of Marvel universe movies. Just over three weeks after its release date and record-breaking opening weekend, “Captain Marvel” crossed the billion-dollar mark for global box office sales.

34. “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (2019)

Worldwide gross: $1,132,723,226

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of this new milestone for the Spider-Man franchise as “Spider-Man: Far From Home” crossed the one-billion mark less than a month after its US premiere on July 2.

33. “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003)

Worldwide gross: $1,139,431,705

People came out in droves for the final installment of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. After only 10 weeks in theaters, “Return of the King” became the second movie ever in history to make $1 billion (“Titanic” was the first in 1997). The film went on to break an Academy Award record by sweeping all 11 categories for which it was nominated. 

The film’s 2021 re-release in theaters during the pandemic in nine markets, including China, helped move it a few spots up this list.

32. “Aquaman” (2018)

Worldwide gross: $1,152,028,393

“Aquaman” became the first DC superhero movie to make $1 billion dollars at the box office. The movie was already breaking records in China before it had opened in the US in early December, and clearly it was all up from there.

A sequel is set for December 2023 with Amber Heard reportedly in a pared-down role.

31. “Captain America: Civil War” (2016)

Worldwide gross: $1,155,046,416

“Captain America: Civil War” was a blockbuster hit in 2016, and the first movie of that year to rake in $1 billion. The wild success of Cap’s third outing came from it playing more like an Avengers film thanks to a large superhero roster, including Iron Man, and the introduction of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.

30. “Minions” (2015)

Worldwide gross: $1,159,457,503

The 2015 prequel to “Despicable Me” focused only on the overall-wearing Minions the world had come to love. People clearly appreciated the yellow henchman’s standalone film, since neither of the two “Despicable Me” movies have breached $1 billion. 

29. “Iron Man 3” (2013)

Worldwide gross: $1,215,577,205

Tony Stark swept away comic fans with the third movie of his trilogy, “Iron Man 3.” It only took 23 days in the box office for the film to hit $1 billion. If anyone doubted the power of Robert Downey Jr.’s  success as Iron Man, this movie, which grossed nearly double of the actor’s second solo outing as the character, was the final confirmation of his vital role in Marvel’s franchise.

28. “The Fate of the Furious” (2017)

Worldwide gross: $1,236,009,236

In April 2017, the eighth movie in “The Fast and the Furious” franchise joined the billion-dollar club.  Clearly Vin Diesel’s creative control of these action-packed movies is paying off along with its diverse cast. This is the second movie from the franchise to make more than $1 billion.

27. “Incredibles 2” (2018)

Worldwide gross: $1,243,225,667

Despite the 14-year gap between the first Pixar original movie “The Incredibles” and its sequel, the critically acclaimed “Incredibles 2” created a new record as fastest animated film to gross $1 billion at the box office.

26. “Beauty and the Beast” (2017)

Worldwide gross: $1,266,115,964

Also in April 2017, Walt Disney Studios announced that its live-action remake of “Beauty and the Beast” had officially passed the $1 billion mark for global box-office sales. Its total revenue makes “Beauty and the Beast” the highest-grossing film of 2017.

25. “Frozen” (2013)

Worldwide gross: $1,285,319,131

“Frozen” maintained the top spot for the highest-grossing animated feature of all time until the release of its sequel in 2019. The film joined the billion dollar club in the same week it nabbed two Oscars. 

After its initial release, it became Walt Disney Pictures’ third highest-grossing film of all time. According to Deadline, the film earned a profit of over $400 million for Disney.

24. “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” (2018)

Worldwide gross: $1,310,469,037

The second installment in Universal’s rebooted “Jurassic Park” trilogy had an impressive opening weekend and then quickly grossed $1 billion after two weeks. 

23. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (2017)

Worldwide gross: $1,334,407,706

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” crossed the $1 billion mark just three weeks after its release. This second installment in the new franchise made $500 million in its first weekend alone — though “The Force Awakens” still holds the record for biggest “Star Wars” opening weekend of all time with $529 million.

22. “Deadpool & Wolverine” (2024)

Worldwide gross: $1,338,073,645

The team-up no one thought was possible turned out to be a cash cow.

Along with breaking opening weekend records with its over $440 million take, its worldwide total gross makes it the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.

21. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two” (2011)

Worldwide gross: $1,342,505,340

Following the trend of some other franchises in our top list, the final “Harry Potter” film was the only one of the bunch that raked in $1 billion or more until “Sorcerer’s Stone” was given a theatrical release in China.

20. “Black Panther” (2018)

Worldwide gross: $1,349,926,083

“Black Panther” crossed this milestone in just 26 days after breaking the record for best February opening weekend of all time. This movie was the 16th Disney film to gross over one billion dollars. 

19. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (2023)

Worldwide gross: $1,360,879,735

Universal Pictures’ adaptation of the Nintendo game crossed $1 billion in just 26 days, making it the first film of 2023 to cross the threshold and the studio’s seventh-largest film.

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is the fifth film released during the pandemic to hit $1 billion theatrically and the first animated movie to do so.

18. “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015)

Worldwide gross: $1,405,018,048

“Transformers,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” are three franchises which each have two movies in the billion dollar club — and you can add “The Avengers” to that list.

The 2015 follow-up ensemble movie added James Spader as the terrifying new villain, and (surprising no one) “Age of Ultron” opened in the number one spot around the world.

17. “Barbie” (2023)

Worldwide gross: $1,447,138,421

Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” has been unstoppable in theaters since its release. Not only did the film earn 2023’s highest-grossing domestic opening weekend, but it also contributed to the fourth-largest box-office weekend of all time.

When it crossed the billion-dollar mark in 17 days, Gerwig became the first solo female director to have a movie cross that threshold. Every other $1 billion movie directed by a woman has a male codirector.

“Barbie” is now the highest-grossing movie of 2023.

16. “Frozen II” (2019)

Worldwide gross: $1,453,683,476

The highly-anticipated sequel to the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, 2013’s “Frozen,” easily surpassed the box-office gross of its predecessor. “Frozen II” became Disney’s sixth (out of seven total) movies to cross $1 billion in 2019 after 24 days.

A third “Frozen” movie is currently in the works.

15. “Avatar: Fire & Ash” (2025)

Worldwide gross: $1,485,999,890

Like the two films before it, James Cameron’s third movie in his “Avatar” franchise has hit the billion-dollar milestone.

Movies directed by Cameron show up three more times on this list. No director has had as many billion-dollar-grossing movies as Cameron.

14. “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022)

Worldwide gross: $1,495,696,292

The highest-grossing movie of Tom Cruise’s career, the sequel to the 1986 film crossed $1 billion in just 31 days.

13. “Furious 7” (2015)

Worldwide gross: $1,515,342,457

“Furious 7” broke records when it raced past the $1 billion box-office mark in just 17 days. As Entertainment Weekly reported “that makes ‘Furious’ 7 the fastest live-action film to reach that number.” But two other 2015 movies (coming later on our list) eventually bumped it to third place.

This was the last “Fast and Furious” movie to include Paul Walker, which some believe helped boost box-office numbers.

12. “Marvel’s The Avengers” (2012)

Worldwide gross: $1,520,538,536

The first “Avengers” movie brought together an all-star cast of comic book heroes — and Marvel’s efforts were rewarded at the box office. The film passed $1 billion in ticket sales in just 19 days — which means it’s tied for third place in the list of fastest grossing movies alongside “Avatar” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two.”

11. “The Lion King” (2019)

Worldwide gross: $1,662,020,819

“Jurassic World” broke all sorts of records. It bumped “Furious 7” out of the number one spot for fastest movie to make $1 billion when it broke the record in only 13 days. At the time it also stunned box-office analysts with the highest-grossing opening weekend of all time, besting “Marvel’s The Avengers,” with $208.8 million. Worldwide, it opened to over $500 million, making it the first movie to ever crack that number opening weekend. 

That record didn’t last long, however.

10. “Jurassic World” (2015)

Worldwide gross: $1,671,537,444

“Jurassic World” broke all sorts of records. It bumped “Furious 7” out of the number one spot for fastest movie to make $1 billion when it broke the record in only 13 days. At the time it also stunned box-office analysts with the highest-grossing opening weekend of all time, besting “Marvel’s The Avengers,” with $208.8 million. Worldwide, it opened to over $500 million, making it the first movie to ever crack that number opening weekend. 

That record didn’t last long, however.

9. “Inside Out 2” (2024)

Worldwide gross: $1,698,863,816

After relegating titles like “Luca” and “Turning Red” to direct-to-streaming releases during the pandemic, which led to frustration and low morale within the company, Pixar is back on top.

“Inside Out 2” hit the $1 billion global mark in 19 days, the fastest ever for an animated movie. It’s also the only movie released in 2024 that has crossed the $1 billion mark.

We wouldn’t be shocked if Pixar is already crafting another sequel for Joy, Anxiety, and all of Riley’s other feelings.

8. “Zootopia 2” (2025)

Worldwide gross: $1,866,647,950

Some sequels can get hurt at the box office for coming out so long after the original. Not this Disney title.

Released almost a decade after the first “Zootopia” movie, audiences rushed back to watch Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps go on another case.

After opening with a huge $559.5 million global take, making it the biggest global opening for an animated movie ever, it hit the $1 billion mark in just 17 days, becoming the second 2025 release to hit the billion milestone (the other being Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch”).

7. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021)

Worldwide gross: $1,921,426,073

Spider-Man broke the pandemic curse. “No Way Home” became the first film since 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker” to cross $1 billion at the box office. The Tom Holland-starring film crossed $1 billion in just 12 days and become the highest-grossing movie of 2021.

According to Forbes, it’s only the fifth film to cross $1 billion without a China release. If it ever does open there, it will likely cross $2 billion. 

6. “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)

Worldwide gross: $2,052,415,039

The third “Avengers” film broke the all-time world record with a $630 million opening weekend, proving the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise is stronger than ever. By mid-June, “Avengers: Infinity War” became only the fourth movie to ever crack the two-billion dollar ceiling as well.

5. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015)

Worldwide gross: $2,071,310,218

The seventh movie in the “Star Wars” franchise broke the “Jurassic World” records when box-office numbers tallied $1 billion after only 12 days. And it didn’t stop there — “The Force Awakens” went on rake in more than $2 billion, solidifying its number four spot on our list and becoming the highest-grossing “Star Wars” movie of all time.

4. “Titanic” (1997)

Worldwide gross: $2,264,812,968

More than two decades since its release, James Cameron’s “Titanic” is holding steady as one of the biggest box-office hits of all time. The movie made around $1.8 billion during its initial 1997 release and then topped $2 billion after it was rereleased in 3D in honor of the 100-year anniversary of the iconic ship’s sinking.

3. “Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022)

Worldwide gross: $2,343,477,301

Two weeks after its premiere in movie theaters, Cameron’s first “Avatar” sequel had already grossed more than $1 billion at the box office, a rare feat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It then became the second-fastest movie to cross $2 billion in just 39 days.

While discussing the digital release of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” out March 28, producer Jon Landau told Insider he and Cameron wondered if the sequel to the 2009 film would reach the number “Titanic” crossed at the box office.

“I was never nervous that people would lose interest because I didn’t think they needed to have interest. I thought we were making a new movie,” Landau said when asked if he was nervous that audiences may lose interest in an “Avatar” sequel after waiting more than a decade for it.

“I looked at this almost like an original piece of content that happened to be with known characters in a known world, but we were showing them in a new way. So I was nervous about how the movie would do because when you stop being nervous, you stop caring. But I was never worried,” Landau added of the movie’s strong box-office performance.

2. “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)

Worldwide gross: $2,799,439,100

Marvel’s major endcap to its run of 22 comic-book-based films broke the record for the fastest movie to reach $1 billion dollars in international box-office totals.

On the Sunday of its opening weekend, Disney estimated “Avengers: Endgame” had made $1.2 billion within the first five days of its global debut. 

It became the highest-grossing movie of all time until Disney rereleased “Avatar” in China in 2021.

1. “Avatar” (2009)

Worldwide gross: $2,923,710,708

With close to $3 billion in box-office revenue, Cameron’s “Avatar” was miles ahead of other films on the list.

Disney’s epic Marvel adventure “Avengers: Endgame” knocked it out of the top spot in the summer of 2019.

However, “Avatar” retook the top spot when Disney (which now owns the rights after the Fox acquisition) rereleased the film in China in spring 2021.

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on Business Insider for current information.

• Jeffrey Maas was told that his savings account had been compromised because of a computer error.
• He followed the advice for resolving the issue: withdrawing money from his bank account and buying gold.
• The grandfather of two lost $390,000 and is now taking legal action.

When Jeffrey Mass and his wife retired, they had planned to use part of their savings to travel to Europe and take foreign cruises.

They also wanted to leave inheritance money for their adult kids and establish college funds for their two young grandchildren. “We had this idea of how we wanted to spend our golden years and include a legacy,” Maas, 77, told Business Insider.

The couple’s future is unlikely to look anything like they’d hoped: Maas was scammed out of his $390,000 nest egg — around half his life savings — by cybercriminals who struck twice.

The scammer said he represented PayPal

Maas received an email on June 5, 2024, claiming to acknowledge a $691.05 payment for Norton Antivirus identity theft protection software.

The email was not, in fact, from Norton, but from the scammers. Maas, a former human relations professional, who had not ordered the service, called the “helpline” number listed.

He reached a man, who called himself Jason Green and said he was an agent for PayPal. He said he could refund the money if Maas filled out an online form.

The senior provided details, including his bank name and the last four digits of his PNC checking and money accounts. Unbeknownst to Maas, the scammer had also taken control of his computer.

Green began the “refund process,” but told Maas he had accidentally deposited $300,000 into the checking account. Green used his computer access to show Maas a falsified PNC statement recording the transaction.

Maas was told he could incur penalties from the IRS

“He kept saying he would be fired if his mistake was discovered,” Maas said, adding that the scammer was slick and solicitous.

A second scammer, to whom the first conman directed to call, told Maas that the only way he could refund the $300,000 without incurring financial penalties from the IRS was to deposit gold.

The same day, Maas visited his regular PNC branch in West Orange, New Jersey, to authorize the wiring of $300,000 to American Coin and Stamp Co, Inc., a precious-metal dealer based in Clifton, New Jersey, as recommended by the scammers, to buy gold.

Details of the scam are described in a lawsuit filed in the Law Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County. In it, Maas claims negligence against PNC and American Coin.

He is also suing a Pennsylvanian named Jaynesh Patel, alleging conspiracy to commit conversion and conspiracy to commit common fraud. Authorities arrested Patel, identifying him as a person who allegedly helped retrieve hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gold from Maas. Patel has been charged in a separate criminal investigation of the matter.

According to the lawsuit, a PNC banker guided Maas through the process of wiring the money to American Coin. Throughout the whole transaction, the suit said, Maas was on an open phone line with Green. It said the staff member asked Maas no questions, such as why he was depleting his savings to purchase gold.

“He did not ask why Mr. Maas was on a call during the entire interaction or who was on the other end of the call,” the complaint stated. “He did not try to assess if Mr. Maas was being unduly influenced.”

Maas placed the coins in the back seat of a car

The lawsuit said that American Coin received the wire amount an hour later, and that Maas drove to Clifton to pick up the gold from Jeffrey Angello, owner of American Coin.

The suit added that Maas was also on the phone with the scammer during the gold exchange, and no one questioned why the large sum of gold was being purchased, or how he had learned about the store.

Maas returned home, following Green’s advice to wait for someone to collect the coins. A black Nissan with a New Jersey license plate arrived, and Maas placed the coins in the back seat through an open window.

The next day, Green told Maas that the process had been successful and offered him a $1,000 reward for his help, which, the lawsuit said, Maas declined.

Maas was shown a forged document depicting his bank account

“I said, ‘I don’t want a reward,'” Maas told Business Insider. “I told him to leave me alone.”

Green then told Maas that, instead, he would pay Maas $10,000 compensation because he had “saved his job.” As Maas completed the supposed reward form, Green said there had been another mistake: $100,000 had been credited to his account, not $10,000.

Maas was again shown a forged document depicting his PNC account with the latest deposit and told he would need to repeat the process of the previous day.

The New Jersey resident returned to PNC and withdrew $90,000. The suit alleges that Maas was on an open phone line and that the second banker who helped him did not ask him what he needed the funds for, or note that he had withdrawn the $300,00 the day before.

Maas requested that the wires be recalled

Maas’ complaint said the banker “did not alert Mr. Maas that this withdrawal would essentially wipe out the savings in his checking and money market account.”

Maas then returned to Angello and purchased more coins. This time, a green Honda with Pennsylvania plates came to pick up the gold.

“I was on the phone with Green, but I just figured something wasn’t right,” Maas told Business Insider. After a sleepless night of “agitation” and “complete humiliation,” he filed a report with the West Orange Police Department.

Officers identified the Honda driver as Patel, leading to his arrest and indictment on a second-degree theft by deception charge. He has pleaded not guilty, and his next court appearance is on July 6, 2026.

The lawsuit said Maas reported the situation to PNC and requested the wires be recalled, only to learn that it could not be done. “I was hoping it was a bad dream, but it wasn’t,” Maas said to Business Insider.

He had two severe episodes of fainting, which doctors diagnosed as the result of stress. He spent three days in the hospital on both occasions and suffered from severe social anxiety and avoidance.

The coin dealer has denied all wrongdoing

The lawsuit alleges that neither the bank nor the dealer took the necessary precautions to prevent the elaborate con.

Business Insider reached out to PNC and Patel’s attorneys in both the civil and criminal cases against him. PNC, which has filed a motion to dismiss the case on legal grounds, said it could not comment on active litigation.

Patel’s attorneys have not responded to Business Insider’s request. However, in his answer to the complaint, Patel denied Maas’ allegations.

Jeffrey Angello, owner of American Coin, denied wrongdoing. He told Business Insider that the lawsuit was “absurd.”

“I’m livid that they are taking shots at my company and me when we’ve been here for 70 years,” he said. “My name is being sullied.” He said the case was keeping him up at night, and he was considering counter-suing.

Maas wants to raise awareness

Meanwhile, Maas told Business Insider, “Of course, my wife yelled at me, but she and my family have been super about what happened, but I’m my own worst enemy. Nobody held a gun to my head, but I was trying to do the right thing.”

He added that he was left shaken, and his regret at what happened wouldn’t go away. As for his attitude toward PNC, American Coin, and Patel, Maas said he wanted nothing more to do with them, but hopes to recover damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs.

Maas’ attorney, Steve Cohen, who said scams against older Americans are prolific, accused financial entities such as PNC and American Coin of being as crucial to the success of the con as the frontline criminals.

“They ignored all the red flags,” he told Business Insider. “Jeffrey has been gutsy coming forward with his story.”

Maas has now dramatically scaled back his expectations for an enjoyable retirement, yet still wants something good to come out of his experience.

“In retrospect, you just get caught up, and your adrenaline is going, and now it’s caused this situation,” he said.

Maas said that, by going public, he hopes people will take note of his personal story of being scammed, and it will raise awareness of exploitative crimes like phishing.

• After suffering seven miscarriages, Monica Kranner finally fell pregnant at the age of 53.
• Monica and her husband, Peter, are often mistaken for their son’s grandparents.
• The intrusive comments she receives about her age as a parent can still be hurtful.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Monica Kranner, 56, a nutritionist based in London. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Having a 2.5-year-old when you’re 56, and your husband is 60, means everyone has questions and opinions about your life.

I’ve heard just about every comment you can think of, and it’s been going on ever since I was pregnant. I would be at the dentist, for example, and have to put on the consultation form that I was pregnant, only for the receptionist to do a double take.

One that really hurt was being out at a restaurant for a family dinner over Christmas, when the server complimented us for spending quality time with our “grandson.” The assumption that we are our son’s grandparents happens pretty much every time we go out, whether it’s to the park, a toddler group, or even while shopping.

We end up sharing our painful backstory with strangers

Sometimes I can keep my cool, but other times it really hurts that people just make assumptions, because we waited so long to have our son.

It becomes expected that we share our very painful, personal back story: that we have been trying to conceive since I was 39, and I have experienced seven devastating miscarriages. Our son is the miracle we were waiting for over 14 years. Having to share this with strangers isn’t easy, but it feels necessary.

All our son currently sees is two parents who love him immensely. He doesn’t see our ages, but I’m worried this will come when he starts school. I don’t want his friends to judge him and tease him for having older parents. It’s one of the reasons I am actually thinking of homeschooling him, to protect him from bullying.

As older parents, we don’t take our health for granted

Having a young child at this age means you don’t take anything for granted. I have been a nutritionist for over 20 years, seeing clients across London, where we live; Vienna, where I’m originally from; and Los Angeles.

Even though we ended up conceiving through IVF, I’m convinced that nutrition played a strong part in helping me fall pregnant at the age of 53, and getting through menopause when I started experiencing hot flashes when I was 55, delayed because of the IVF hormones.

And now, nutrition is what keeps me fit enough to match my son’s energy levels. It’s also not just about the present. Naturally, my husband and I want to live as long as possible to be here for our son, so that’s another reason we want to take care of our health.

As a family, we eat a fully organic diet, and I cook fresh meals at home as often as possible. I make sure every meal contains protein, vegetables, and either rye bread or rice noodles. A typical meal for my son would be a boiled egg with kefir, a fermented milk drink, some boiled, sliced vegetables, avocado, and a side of banana chips and rye bread.

Each week, I make a large portion of bone broth, cooking it for up to 12 hours before cooling it and decanting it into toddler bottles, which I then serve daily to my son. I’m confident it’s one of the reasons he’s hardly been sick. My husband Peter and I both regularly have bone broth too, and my elderly dad in Austria has also started having it. I’ve even gotten my nephew and his children onto it.

I also take several supplements. I’ve also taken up reformer pilates to build strength. And we try to get as much sleep as possible.

I really enjoy my time with my son

I’ve had a long time to think about how I want to balance work with spending time with my son, as it’s important to me to spend as much time with him as possible while keeping my nutrition business going. I took a step back from my business when my son was born, seeing clients only when they approached me — I didn’t do any proactive marketing again until this year. My husband runs his own small advertising agency, so he had some flexibility to step in and take care of our son when needed, and we also use a babysitter.

Now our babysitter comes for about half the day, and I take care of Lewis myself for the other half. That’s the other thing you have to think about when you start a family at this age – you can’t rely on grandparents to help. They have either died already or are too old to have the physical strength and mental capacity to take care of a toddler.

I really enjoy my time with my son, though, and I hope he does too. I take him to toddler activities like golf, gymnastics, and soccer. When he takes a nap, I try to lie down with him to rest and be near him.

It’s frustrating that so many people think it’s OK to make the insensitive comments that they do. You don’t know what someone else has been through. It’s nobody’s business how old we are. We are doing the best for our son, and that is what matters.

• Becca and Jess Stern launched a locker brand in 2018 with $25,000 and no industry knowledge.
• The sisters built an eight-figure global brand by refusing to chase trends.
• Their “think x 10” rule pushed them to make big operational bets early on.

Becca Stern loved buying vintage lockers, but found they weren’t very practical for home storage.

She and her sister, Jess Stern, had often talked about starting a business together and saw an opportunity to reinvent them into something beautiful and functional for people to use in their homes.

“Once we made the decision to start, things moved quickly,” Becca said. The sisters were working with no product development knowledge and no outside funding. They also overlapped for only a few hours each day, as Becca worked from Australia while raising her new baby, and Jess worked from the UK on the side of her full-time job. “There were lots of late-night calls and the feeling that we were always swimming in the deep end, constantly hitting new challenges and figuring out the best way forward,” she added.

Still, within a few months, they were in China meeting with potential manufacturers. They put about $25,000 AUD of their own savings into branding, samples, and a stand at a trade show in Sydney, officially launching their brand, Mustard Made, to the world in 2018.

They walked away from that show with over $200,000 AUD in orders. “That was the moment we realized we were onto something,” Becca told Business Insider. Six months later, Jess left her corporate career to go all in.

Since then, they’ve grown into a thriving global brand, spanning three continents with a team of nearly 40 employees and bringing in eight figures of revenue a year. The sisters told Business Insider about the two pivotal decisions that helped them expand their company.

They avoided trends

From very early conversations about the business, the Stern sisters decided they wanted to focus on timelessness over trends.

Given the “obsessive” amount of thought and energy they put into their products, they said they couldn’t imagine selling them for only six months before moving them to a sale section and phasing them out. They also questioned whether trend chasing really worked. “We’ve seen in the industry how hopping on trends can provide quick and exciting wins, but they can also date your product very quickly,” Becca said.

That clarity, they added, has helped them build a brand with a “cult following,” and a nearly 30% return customer rate that has only grown over time.

“When you see something go viral, it’s certainly tempting to think, ‘Should we be doing that too?'” Jess said, such as when “Brat Green” or “Barbie Pink” were taking over social media.

But the sisters said they want to stay close to the intentional design customers have come to love and expect from the business. They told Business Insider that they still sell every product and color they have ever launched, except for a limited rainbow launch in 2024 to raise money for an LGBTIQ+ organization.

“Growth can sometimes dilute a brand, but we’ve worked hard to ensure that every decision still feels aligned with who we are,” Becca said.

They built as if they were bigger from day one

On the operations side, the sisters applied an internal pressure test they call “think x 10.” This is when they ask whether any given process, system, or approach would still work if Mustard were 10 times its current size. “It has saved us so many headaches and allowed Mustard to grow and expand globally,” Becca said.

Early on, that question pushed Becca and Jess toward a decision that felt uncomfortably big at the time: signing with a third-party logistics provider instead of managing warehousing from a shipping container in Becca’s backyard.

“It feels ridiculous now, but at that point, engaging with a third-party logistics provider felt like a really huge step,” Becca said. The “think x10” philosophy gave them the confidence to take the leap. The risk expanded Mustard Made’s ability to meet demand and scale. Now, the business has four third-party logistics warehouses with plans to expand to the East Coast. “It always blows my mind to see that the scale that once felt unachievable has now become our norm.”

The same logic applies to hiring. “Bringing in great people early has been key to scaling the business,” Jess said, adding that hiring before they felt ready, particularly in areas where the founders didn’t have expertise, is what allowed them to focus on the strategic areas of the business.

Becca frames the business’s underlying mindset as a three-step cycle. “Be optimistic, then pessimistic, then optimistic again. You have to have belief and hope to get moving, then you have to break it down from every angle to find all the possible ways it could go wrong,” she said.

“Once you’ve planned for the worst-case scenarios, you lean all in and enjoy the ride.”

• Gabby Zappia, 37, started experiencing blood in her stool when she was pregnant.
• Her rectal bleeding was dismissed by her doctor as pregnancy-related hemorrhoids.
• When she got screened months later, she was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.

When Gabby Zappia started experiencing blood in her stool for the first time, her obstetrician quickly reassured her. She was six months into her third pregnancy and was told the symptom was likely caused by pregnancy-related hemorrhoids.

So, Zappia returned to her busy life. Caring for her two kids, ages 4 and 5 at the time, involved nonstop carpools, lunches, laundry, and dishes.

“I still have a little bit of a hard time slowing down,” Zappia, 37, told Business Insider.

The day before her due date in June 2024, Zappia, who’s based in Mission Viejo, California, saw significantly more blood in the toilet, describing it as “blood diarrhea.” She immediately went to OB triage, where she said the staff seemed in disbelief, asking her if she’d taken any photos. After a vaginal exam found nothing wrong with the baby, they decided to induce labor.

After her son’s birth, Zappia wanted to focus on being with him. But when the bleeding persisted, she called her primary care physician and was put on a three-month waiting list to see a gastroenterologist. In December 2024, six months after she gave birth, Zappia was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.

Zappia, who had no family history of colon cancer, had expected a diagnosis like polyps or Crohn’s disease. “I’m still shocked, honestly,” she said. “I was just heartbroken. I thought that I was invincible before this.”

A baseball-sized mass

Zappia said her GI was the first time she felt her symptom was being taken seriously. While she was in the office, he gave her a guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT), performed on a card that turns blue when stool samples contain blood. The entire card turned blue, indicating a higher amount of blood.

He scheduled her for a colonoscopy, which involved another monthlong wait. It was then, in November 2024, that Zappia learned she had a mass so big that it nearly blocked her whole colon. She was scheduled for a colon resection surgery, a procedure to remove part of her large intestine, one month later.

“The mass was the size of a baseball when she ended up taking it out, which is absolutely insane because I’m a small person, too,” Zappia said.

It put in perspective how much discomfort she brushed aside in the prior months, including the extreme fatigue she chalked up to pregnancy. “The days when I felt the most sick, like I was in thick mud just trying to get my day started, were the days that I pulled myself together the most,” she said.

Zappia would always put on makeup and try to be her usual bubbly self — something she wonders may have made it harder for doctors to believe her. “If I was kind of looking sick, maybe they would’ve been more concerned,” she said.

Balancing motherhood with treatment

After her colon resection and a biopsy on her liver, where the cancer had spread, Zappia was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.

After she had healed from the surgery, Zappia underwent a second surgery for her chemotherapy port, which provides a convenient access point for chemo treatments, before starting a chemotherapy and immunotherapy regimen. In between those treatments, she also underwent a liver resection and ablation surgery to remove tumors. Zappia also had a hepatic artery infusion (HAI) pump installed in her abdomen to deliver concentrated doses of chemo directly to her liver.

The mom of three young children said the hardest part of her diagnosis was being a patient while continuing to be an engaged parent.

“When you’re a mom, you don’t get to pause,” she said. “Your kids still need you. They still want snacks. They still want you to be there for bedtime.” While she said they pushed her to stay active, forcing herself to get up on days when she was recovering from chemo side effects such as bone pain and flu-like symptoms, it still made her experience extra challenging. For example, she was afraid to hold her kids out of fear of them accidentally pulling the tubing of her chemo pump out.

It was also difficult to find childcare on days she was at the hospital. Still, she had her husband.

“I am so incredibly lucky to have an amazing husband,” she said, who handled nearly all of her household and childcare responsibilities throughout treatment. “We’ve tried to tackle this as a team and work hard to normalize life as much as possible for the kids, keep things routine, celebrate the little things, and just make sure our home still feels safe and full of joy.”

Friends, family, neighbors, and people from Zappia’s church also chipped in to help with carpools and meals. “It really does take a village, and we’ve really needed to lean on them throughout this whole experience,” she said.

Bumps in treatment

After her liver resection, Zappia finished chemotherapy and rang the bell in September 2025 after having no evidence of disease. “It was an incredible milestone in my journey, but early,” Zappia said.

Three months later, a PET scan found some cancer activity in her liver. After the initial shock of her new diagnosis wore off, Zappia said she realized she’d have “bumps in the road.”

“It’s just important to focus on what I can control,” she added.

Zappia underwent a robotic liver resection at the end of 2025 to remove the affected area. But after an MRI revealed a new tumor nearby, she had the procedure again in March 2026 — marking her third liver surgery overall.

After multiple surgeries, her blood tests found no signs of disease as of April 2026.

Because colorectal cancer is now the deadliest cancer for people under 50, Zappia believes people should be on the lookout for symptoms like bloody stools, which is one of the most common signs of colon cancer.

“Sure, it might be hemorrhoids, and that would be awesome, but confirm that,” Zappia said. “Don’t just take the possibility that that’s what it is.”

• Apple detailed its long-delayed overhaul to Siri at WWDC 2026.
• The tech giant’s AI assistant is set to finally get AI-powered capabilities, some of which were initially teased in 2024.
• Apple announced a deal with Google in January to have Gemini power Siri’s AI.

Siri’s full-fledged AI moment is finally here.

On Monday, Apple unveiled its long-awaited, much-delayed overhaul of Siri as it looks to catch up in the AI race.

“Today, we are introducing an entirely new version of Siri, Siri unlocked by Apple Intelligence,” said Mike Rockwell, VP of engineering, said during the company’s 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference. “We call it Siri AI.”

The new Siri AI will exist within Apple’s software ecosystem but also as a standalone app. Siri AI will launch in beta later this year, but it will not launch in the European Union or China initially.

The underlying architecture of the new Siri is the result of Apple’s partnership earlier this year with Google. The new features will launch in English with other languages to come.

Rockwell showed Siri using a variety of AI-powered capabilities, including the ability to find previously sent addresses, photos from particular locations, and more, “using your personal context.” In one example, Rockwell showed how Siri could find specific photos he needed and share them with a group without ever opening the Photos app.

Siri will have a brand new voice experience “that enables Siri to sound incredible and a lot more expressive.” Rockwell said users can also customize how expressive they want Siri to be. Along with voice improvements, Rockwell said Siri is also getting a dictation improvement “with a major boost in accuracy.”

The Siri updates were just one part of the bevy of AI-enabled features Apple plans to roll out as part of its overhaul of Apple Intelligence, including the ability for iPhone to gather context during calls, reposition the framing of photos after they’ve been taken, and recognize faces with home cameras. Apple said some of the new AI features will have daily usage updates.

After encountering product development delays, Apple reached a deal in January with Google to have Gemini power Siri’s artificial intelligence capabilities.

Federighi detailed the company’s “deep collaboration” with Google.

“Together, we created the next generation of Apple Intelligence models,” Federighi said during the WWDC livestream.

In a statement, Apple said the Siri AI launch delay in the EU was due to disputes with European regulators over how the landmark Digital Markets Act applies to Apple’s AI capabilities.

For everyone else, Apple said the latest Apple Intelligence features and Siri AI in iOS 27 will be available on iPhone Pro 15 and later models, and iPhone 16 and later models. (A full list of the other devices that will be capable of using the AI features is here.)

Siri troubles lead to embarrassing delays

If some of this sounds familiar, that’s because much of it is.

In 2024, Apple announced a massive update to Siri, promising a more “natural” and “personal” assistant powered by Apple Intelligence. But then it ran into development issues.

By March 2025, Apple made the exceedingly rare move to announce that the Siri revamp was delayed.

That complicated Apple’s marketing efforts. Apple also pulled down a September 2024 ad featuring “The Last of Us” star Bella Ramsey that featured Ramsey using Siri’s AI to pull information from the calendar app to remember someone’s name.

Last month, Apple agreed to pay $250 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of misleading customers about the availability of AI-enhanced features.

Tim Cook reflects on his last WWDC as CEO

This is Cook’s final WWDC as CEO, marking one of his last opportunities to close the chapter on Apple’s AI setbacks. Apple’s hardware boss John Ternus will take the helm as CEO starting on September 1.

Before the keynote presentation closed, Cook reflected on his time leading Apple.

“On a personal note, some of the greatest highlights of my time as CEO have been events like this,” Cook said.

“Sharing powerful new tools with all of you and then seeing what you create with them has been a constant reminder that imagination has no limits,” he said. “Over the years, you have helped people connect, create, learn, and experience the world in extraordinary new ways.”