The 2024 Summer Olympics are sprinting to generate as much as a $12.1 billion economic boost for Paris.

Up to 3.1 million visitors will flock to the host city, and those traveling internationally for the games could pay anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000* to attend. 

Wanderlusters may want to play spin the globe: Empower research shows Americans anticipate spending an average of $2,904 on international trips this year, and spontaneous travelers plan to spend about 40% less. 

— The Editors

🏃🏽 Track and field of dreams: Track and field winners in Paris will be the first-ever Olympians to receive direct cash prizes. Individual gold medalists will win $50,000,* and first-place relay teams will split prize money. Silver and bronze champions will begin receiving cash awards starting in 2028 — paving the way for the practice in other sports. What to do with the windfall? An Empower study shows 65% of Americans would save and invest an unexpected financial gain.

🤸 Haute couture high bar: The Paris games are being touted as the most style-centric, and U.S. women gymnasts’ built-for-performance leotards are embellished with 10,000 crystals — the most ever — and up to 1,000 pearls. The suits retail for about $5,000,* but aspiring athletes and fans can buy replicas with faux crystal “spanglez” for $89.99.

 🏆Retailers at the podium: The judges have spoken: Walmart takes first place on the annual National Retail Federation’s 2024 list of Top 100 Retailers, holding onto its title with over $533 billion* in U.S. sales. Amazon.com earned silver with about $250 billion in sales, and bronze went to Costco, topping $175 billion in sales. Overstock.com earned recognition for the fastest year-over-year growth pace of 135.1% after acquiring Bed Bath & Beyond’s online operations.

🥈 Going for the silver wave: A record-high 4.1 million Americans are set to turn 65 in 2024. According to a report from the educational non-profit Alliance for Lifetime Income, 11,200 Americans a day are hitting the birthday milestone this year in a surge projected to continue through 2027. According to Empower Personal Dashboard™ data, people in their 60s shell out about $5,445 on average for monthly expenses — roughly 18% more than the general population.

Olympic-sized earnings

Second-quarter earnings season is underway for corporate America, and Wall Street is poised for a win. Earnings per share are projected to vault 8.8%* for S&P 500 companies, signaling the best performance since early 2022 — if they stick the landing.

Quarterly estimates are even better for the Magnificent 7: They’re expected to leap 25.5%* over last year on 13.2% higher revenues. Insurance companies should post earnings growth at 95%,* followed by communications and technology sectors, who are projected to finish the quarter with 18.4% and 16.4% growth, respectively.

In the individual earnings games, here’s a look at the average net worth by age to see how you stack up.

Relay race for ratings

After paying a cool $7.65 billion* for renewal rights to air the Olympics in the U.S., NBCUniversal is looking to modernize its coverage of the world’s largest sporting event.

Roughly 3 in 5 Americans (59%)* plan to watch the Paris Olympics — and the network is putting on a show: Incorporating celebrities, social media influencers, and artificial intelligence, including AI-generated daily recaps* “narrated” by sports broadcaster Al Michaels.

For those looking to stream coverage, new subscriptions on NBC’s Peacock recently jumped 16.7% to $13.99* a month for ad-free and 33.4% to $7.99 a month for ad-supported subscriptions. NBCUniversal sold $1.2 billion* in ads for the games and is on track to achieve the most sales in Olympic history.

Roughly 10,500* athletes from 184 countries will take part in 329 events in total at the Paris Summer Olympics, and sponsors are in the game:

✔️ Big scores for sponsors: Sponsors drop about $100 million to feature the iconic Olympic rings in their marketing, and their ad spending is up 18% from Tokyo in 2021.

✔️ Going for gold: As a $162 million* premium sponsor, French luxury goods company LVMH has locked in and is showcasing several of its brands,* including medals designed by jeweler Chaumet, custom Louis Vuitton trunks to transport the medals and Olympic torch, and Berluti-designed uniforms for the French teams.

Retirement game plan

Three in 5 retired Olympic athletes age 39 and younger (60%) say they need help with career and professional development — and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) awarded more than $1.8 million* in tuition grants for qualified athletes last year.

Now, it’s partnering with Denver-based education company Guild to help athletes with skills development and to earn college degrees. USOPC will cover up to $10,000 a year, and athletes who qualify can participate in the program for up to 10 years after they retire.

Going for gold in retirement requires solid planning strategies. According to Empower Personal Dashboard^TM data in June 2024, the average retirement balance for people in their 20s is $98,119, and jumps to retirement millionaire status for people in their 60s at $1,179,063 — underscoring the importance of saving early and the power of compound earnings.