CNN anchor Don Lemon, pictured at an event in New York in December 2022. AFP
CNN anchor Don Lemon, pictured at an event in New York in December 2022. AFP
CNN anchor Don Lemon, pictured at an event in New York in December 2022. AFP
CNN anchor Don Lemon, pictured at an event in New York in December 2022. AFP

CNN host Don Lemon calls women in their 50s past their 'prime'


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US news anchor Don Lemon startled colleagues and enraged viewers when he suggested on CNN's morning show that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, at age 51, was past her prime.

Lemon, along with CNN This Morning co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, was discussing Ms Haley's suggestion a day earlier that politicians over age 75 should be subject to mandatory mental competency tests.

President Joe Biden is 80 while another Republican presidential candidate, former president Donald Trump, is 76.

“Nikki Haley isn't in her prime, sorry,” Lemon said, explaining why he was “uncomfortable” with the age discussion. “When a woman is considered to be in her prime — in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s.”

“Prime for what?” Harlow replied.

Lemon said that if you look it up on Google, a woman is considered to be in her prime at those ages.

Harlow tried to clarify what Lemon was referencing: “I think we need to qualify. Are you talking about prime for childbearing or are you talking about prime for being president?”

“Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just saying what the facts are,” Lemon replied. “Google it.”

Ms Haley tweeted out a video of the CNN exchange on Thursday, saying: “Liberals can't stand the idea of having competency tests for older politicians to make sure they can do the job. BTW, it's always the liberals who are the most sexist.”

He brought up the subject again an hour later, when commentator Audie Cornish joined the discussion.

Like Harlow had earlier, Cornish said the idea of “prime” that Lemon was referring to was about reproductive years, and did not concern mental health and ageing.

“She's in her prime for running for office,” Cornish said of Haley, who announced her candidacy Tuesday. “Political prime is what we're talking about.”

Later on Thursday, Lemon issued a statement saying he regretted his “inartful and irrelevant” references to a woman's prime age.

“A woman's age doesn't define her either personally or professionally,” he wrote on Twitter. “I have countless women in my life who prove that every day.”

There was no immediate comment from CNN leaders.

CNN chief executive Chris Licht launched the network's new morning show in November.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: February 17, 2023, 3:36 PM