No longer a working royal, Prince Harry is living it up in California like any other unemployed, regular-ass dude who just happens to have a lot of money and lives in a house paid for by Tyler Perry. Since immigrating to the land of opportunity last year, the Duke of Sussex and his wife, Meghan Markle, have set development deals with Netflix and Spotify, launched a production company (which they are currently staffing), and recently sat down for a televised chat with Oprah Winfrey. Lest you believe for one second that these people are somehow not relatable, the ambitious Prince Harry has decided to partake in one of the most traditional American pastimes: having two jobs.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Prince Harry has been named “chief impact executive” at BetterUp, a unicorn tech startup valued at $1.73 billion that “brings together world-class coaching, AI technology, and behavioral science experts to deliver change at scale—improving individual resilience, adaptability, and effectiveness.” Okay but what does BetterUp actually do? According to the website, the company provides coaches for businesses and organizations with the goal of developing “high-performing cultures that fuel business growth by improving leadership behaviors and increasing employee performance.” It all sounds very corporatized wellness, or like trust falls but with algorithms.
Of their new hire, BetterUp CEO Alexi Robichaux said, “As a member of the BetterUp executive team, Prince Harry will expand on the work he’s been doing for years, as he educates and inspires our community and champions the importance of focusing on preventative mental fitness and human potential worldwide.” (“Mental fitness and human potential” gives off some real techie bio-hacking vibes.)
Seemingly not content with taking one job, Prince Harry has also joined the Aspen Institute’s commission on “information disorder.” Deadline reports that Prince Harry is joining 14 other commissioners for a six-month study co-chaired by journalist Katie Couric, which will investigate the “modern-day crisis” of misinformation and disinformation in America. Fellow commissioners include former Facebook exec Alex Stamos and Color Of Change president Rashad Robinson. “As I’ve said, the experience of today’s digital world has us inundated with an avalanche of misinformation, affecting our ability as individuals as well as societies to think clearly and truly understand the world we live in,” said Prince Harry in an official statement. “It’s my belief that this is a humanitarian issue and as such, it demands a multi-stakeholder response from advocacy voices, members of the media, academic researchers, and both government and civil society leaders. I’m eager to join this new Aspen commission and look forward to working on a solution-oriented approach to the information disorder crisis.”