Now Harry and Meghan move into banking

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle today announced they are moving into banking and vowed to ‘change the world’ by putting money into an investment firm called Ethic, whose owners are self-styled ‘hippies’ managing a $1.3billion Wall Street fund.

The Sussexes, who experts believe are well on the way to building a $1billion brand in the US, have been appointed ‘impact partners’ at Ethic, a New York-based fintech asset manager pumping money into companies with what they deem acceptable environmental and social goals.  

Harry and Meghan’s latest move into big business came after their deals with Netflix and Spotify and the couple announced their latest tie-up with a statement that said: ‘When we invest in each other we change the world’.

Ethic, which was co-founded by Briton Jay Lipman, a red-haired Prince Harry lookalike from London now settled in the US, claims to only invest in businesses that meet its ‘social responsibility criteria’, including on racial justice, climate issues and workplace standards such as equal and fair pay.  

Mr Lipman, a University of Edinburgh graduate, has said previously that Ethic welcomes ‘hippies’ to invest with, because he and his team consider themselves hippies too.

In a joint interview with the New York Times, Meghan, a multi-millionaire former actress, said ‘ From the world I come from, you don’t talk about investing, right? You don’t have the luxury to invest. That sounds so fancy.’

She added: ‘My husband has been saying for years: ‘Gosh, don’t you wish there was a place where if your values were aligned like this, you could put your money to that same sort of thing?’,’ adding the couple were introduced to Ethic by friends. It is not yet known how much they have invested or if they are being paid.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have become ‘impact partners’ and investors at sustainable investing firm Ethic.  

Jay Lipman, the British co-founder of Ethic, recently said in a video on their website that they ‘like hippies’ as a company and considered themselves too despite managing a $1billion fund.

Harry and Meghan’s Archewell website confirmed their latest business partnership, linking to a New York Times story which featured the headline ‘Harry and Meghan Get into Finance’.

The Archewell website said: ‘When we invest in each other we change the world…’

It added: ‘We believe it’s time for more people to have a seat at the table when decisions are made that impact everyone.

‘We want to rethink the nature of investing to help solve the global issues we all face.’ 

Ethic’s website said it aims to empower wealth advisors and investors to create portfolios that align personal values with financial goals.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle descended on the Big Apple in late September, and this may have been when the deal was done.

While in NYC they were given the A-list treatment, being chaperoned around by a large security detail as they mingled with UN officials and New York politicians and stayed in a hotel where rooms cost up to $8,800 a night. They later flew

The Sussexes – who dramatically quit their roles as working royals last year – met with US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield at 50 UN Plaza in Manhattan Thursday afternoon for an ‘important discussion’ on COVID-19, racial justice and mental health.

The ambassador described the meeting as ‘wonderful’ as she shared snaps of the trio chatting on sofas in a lounge area and then posing in front of UN branding. 

Further details on what the Sussexes discussed with the ambassador have yet to be shared but the former actress and former working royal appeared to mean business, carrying folders to and from the visit. 

Meghan, 40, and Harry, 37, were spotted leaving the residential building close to the United Nations Global Headquarters around 2pm before the eco-warrior couple clambered into their gas-guzzling SUVs. 

They then paid a visit to the World Health Organization headquarters at 885 Second Avenue, where they emerged carrying both WHO documents and documents featuring their Archewell Foundation branding. 

The former actress clutched what appeared to be a black leather laptop case which matched her dark outfit, sunglasses and face mask.  

She had dressed for fall in head to toe dark navy blue for their morning visit to the 9/11 memorial and One World Trade Center despite the humid 80F New York City weather.

Meghan then added some color to her somber attire for the afternoon jaunt, swapping her wide-legged dark trousers and coat for a dark pencil skirt and long tan Max Mara coat – while accessorizing with a $3,350 tan Valextra handbag.   

Harry also accessorized with a black leather laptop sleeve under his arm with ‘Archie’s Papa’ emblazoned on it – a doting nod to the couple’s two-year-old son. 

The afternoon meeting in the residential building, which houses the lavish 37-floor penthouse which Thomas-Greenfield calls home, lasted around an hour, before they reemerged flanked by a large security detail and got into their waiting vehicles which drove them back to their lavish hotel.

This marked the second stop on their New York visit – their first major public appearance since they shocked the world by stepping back as senior working members of the royal family. 

On Thursday morning, they had paid a visit to the 9/11 memorial and One World Trade Center, during which they met with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, National September 11 Memorial & Museum President Alice Greenwald and Patricia Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropy.  

While atop the One World Trade Center, Meghan smiled and said ‘it’s wonderful to be back’ in New York – almost exactly two years on from her last visit in September 2019 when she cheered on close friend and tennis star Serena Williams at the 2019 US Open. 

The Duchess spoke moments before she and her husband visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, to pay their respects less than two weeks after the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.   

Meghan and Harry then made a pit stop back to the luxury Carlyle Hotel on Manhattan’s Upper East Side where the top-tier suite costs a staggering $8,800 a night. 

The couple are staying there for the duration of their four-day trip and were seen dining in the swanky hotel restaurant Wednesday night, after arriving into the Big Apple from their home in California.   

They exited the hotel around 12:30pm Thursday to travel on to 50 UN Plaza, with Harry carrying what appeared to be a binder of documents tucked under his arm. 

The prince also changed outfits for the occasion, with a less sobering dark gray suit and blue tie.  

Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield tweeted photos from their ‘wonderful’ visit, revealing they discussed COVID-19, racial justice and mental health. 

‘Wonderful meeting with Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. 

‘Important discussion of COVID, racial justice, and raising mental health awareness,’ she wrote on social media. 

The details of the Sussexes’ trip to the Big Apple have been a closely guarded secret.

They are scheduled to appear at Saturday’s Global Citizen concert in Central Park which focuses on vaccine equity. 

However, it is currently unclear how they will spend the remainder of Thursday and Friday.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the UN Global HQ, the mayor’s office, the governor’s office and the Archewell Foundation for further information about the Sussexes’ schedule and purpose of the meetings.   

It is unclear if the Sussexes – famed for their pronouncements on climate change – arrived in New York on a commercial flight or flew there by private jet. 

It is also unclear who is paying for the trip and providing the security detail around the Sussexes. 

A spokesperson for the NYPD told DailyMail.com they were unsure of who was providing the Sussexes security, that they had not heard about their officers being drafted in to provide cover, and added that they doubted the department would do so. 

Several NYPD and Port Authority officers were present at the World Trade Center cordoning off the area during their morning visit. One Port Authority officer told DailyMail.com he had only learned of the famous couple’s visit that morning. 

DailyMail.com has also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and the DHS Secret Service to ask if they are providing security for the couple’s visit. 

One guard seen accompanying the couple claimed he was with the Department of Homeland Security, but refused to be drawn further on his job title.   

Meghan last visited the city in September 2019 when she made the surprise stop at the US Open. 

This came seven months after her last trip, when pals including Amal Clooney and Gayle King held a lavish baby shower for her at The Mark Hotel’s $75,000-a-night penthouse suite on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

The Duchess traveled to that event from London on a private jet, with the bash estimated to have cost $500,000.   

During their first stop on their Big Apple trip, Meghan and Harry posed for photos in front of the One World Trade Center observatory’s floor-to-ceiling windows, which offer stunning views of New York City and New Jersey. 

The Sussexes were joined by Governor Hochul, 63, Mayor de Blasio, 60, de Blasio’s wife Chirlane McCray, 66, and the couple’s son Dante, 24.  

Harry and Meghan then visited the 9/11 memorial pools around 9am EST.  

The couple inspected the large black pools, built in the footprints of the original Twin Towers, before entering the 9/11 Museum, which sits underneath, and spending around half an hour inside.     

Harry and Meghan, who donned somber dark outfits, walked hand-in-hand around the memorial pools and museum accompanied by National September 11 Memorial & Museum President Alice Greenwald and Patricia Harris from Bloomberg Philanthropy. 

The couple’s two-year-old son Archie and three month-old daughter Lilibet remain at home in California.  

Harry and Meghan arrived at One World Trade Center at 8:14am Thursday in somber outfits, likely chosen for their planned trip to the nearby 9/11 Memorial afterwards. 

The couple exited a black SUV, and were whisked up to the skyscraper’s viewing deck – which sits between floors 100 and 102 – to meet Hochul and de Blasio, who arrived moments before the royals.

Meghan donned a stylish dark blue outfit, with a matching jacket, polo neck, wide-legged trousers, heels and her hair swept back into a business-like bun. She wore simple pearl earrings and muted makeup. 

Harry wore a complementary dark suit and tie. The couple were snapped donning black face masks as they entered One World Trade Center.  

They held hands as the walked up the steps of the building, with Harry giving a wave to watching fans who shouted his name on seeing him.  

No details on why the royals are meeting with the Democrat lawmakers and what they plan to discuss were shared in advance. 

De Blasio’s wife Chirlane McCray, 66, and the mayoral couple’s son Dante, 24, were also there to welcome the royal couple, who are visiting from their home in Montecito, California.

The mayor and governor arrived and entered the building a few minutes ahead of the Sussexes.

A small group of taxi drivers protested the event to call on Mayor de Blasio to offer additional protection for yellow cab drivers who’ve been hit by the rise in popularity of ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft, with security also present to guard the royals and politicians.

‘De Blasio help the cabbies, Mr. Mayor help the cabbies,’ the group chanted as de Blasio arrived at the building.  

One of the drivers told DailyMail.com the mayor should focus on supporting New Yorkers rather than mingling with royals.

‘The mayor should take care of the people, not spend money on this,’ said Barbara Basiaosowca.