Billionaires

Creepy Looking Woman

2009-03-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

Did you use shampoo today to wash your hair? What brand? Was it Head & Shoulders? Garnier? Pantene? I used L'Oreal. I love the smell and the kids bottles are so much fun!

Well, one woman (who is really scary looking) is the company's biggest shareholder: Liliane Bettencourt. Worth? $13.4 BILLION.

Apparently, there was some random scandal (gasp!) between her and her daughter where her daughter accused her of giving over $1 BILLION to Bettencourt's friend. Then as you can guess, DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA. Now they don't talk to each other. WOW.

Okay, the most awaited part. HER PICTURE:

YIKES. Don't get nightmares guys ;)

How to Become a Billionaire - Sanjana style

2009-03-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

Move to Somalia -- the exchange rate is about 1,500 Somalian shillings to 1 USD. There. You're richer.

:)

Advertising

2009-03-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

A key component of becoming rich is having a good way of advertising. Look at GEICO. They have great ads and tons of customers.

Here are some creative ideas...

If you plan to work at Lego,

How about as a chest physician?

NO THERE'S BETTER.

Hairstylists aren't always successful but this will definitely get you somewhere.

So, when making ads, think twice about what you can do. You'll definitely get somewhere :)

“I want to put a ding in the universe.”

2009-03-23T19:55:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged about him yet...I think I'm a disgrace to the world of rich people. Steve Jobs! YAY FOR THE APPLE MAN! From the big, fat iPods (that I don't even know the name of, although my mom still has one -- it stopped working) to the new, miniscule nano (really. It's like the size of half my pinky), this man has gone through ups and downs with biiiiig competition.

But one thing that surprised me was that he's not as rich as I thought he'd be. He's only worth $3.4 BILLION (haha listen to me talk. this is definitely getting to my head). WELL, in my defense, compared to everyone else, he's not that...fortunate. HAH.

So, if you didn't know already, Jobs made his money through being CEO of the Apple Company and working with Pixar.

I would say that at least 25% of the Harker population has a Mac. 99% has an iPod/iPhone from Apple. The best part is that this man deserves all of it.

Fun Fact! He likes turtlenecks :)

Fun Quotes About Money :)

2009-03-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

Okay guys, to kick off the weekend, I've decided to share my favorite quotes on money.

"I've been rich and I've been poor: rich is better."
~Sophie Tucker

"When I was young I used to think that money was the most important thing in life. Now that I am old, I know it is."
~Oscar Wilde

"Whoever said money can't buy happiness didn't know where to shop."
~Gertrude Stein

"If you owe the bank $100, that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem."
~J.P. Getty

"To make a million, start with $900,000."
~Morton Shulman

Wii Play What He Made.

2009-03-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

[taken from http://www.nintendo.com.au/ngmcontent/Image/Wii_Mario_Kart_Wii_Mario_ch.jpg]

Nintendo is one of the biggest gaming companies in the world. It originates in Japan started by Hiroshi Yamauchi. This man, worth $4.5 BILLION, founded this company as a playing card company and look at it today. From Mario to the Wii, this man has continued to come up with genius inventions.

Although he retired in 2005, he ran the company for a good 55 years and today, at the age of 81, still is a big shareholder of the company.

My personal favorite game from Nintendo is Mario Kart. Thank the lord above for creating such amazing people to let me race fiercely in awesome courses like Moo Moo Meadows.

YAY FOR MARIO!

DROP-OUTS!

2009-03-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, since I'm feeling sort of lazy right now, I think I'm going to skip the research and talk about something that I find totally weird and intriguing. The fact that almost 1/3 of these famous billionaires are either high-school or college dropouts just gets me. How can someone who left school to pursue something and become so big?

Yeah, I guess passion is a big part of it. All these people who left school to achieve their dreams had a lot of previous knowledge on their subject. But...WHY? Why leave Harvard? Are they psychic? Do they know exactly what is going to happen to them?

Let's take Bill Gates for example. He dropped out of HARVARD to become an engineer. Did he know that he would become the richest man in the world? Was it the determination?

I'd like to hear all your thoughts on this topic. Why do you think people who didn't complete their education became so big?

“Actually I am very glad that people can buy Armani - even if it's a fake. I like the fact that I'm so popular around the world."

2009-03-17T21:00:00.001-07:00

Giorgio Armani
[taken from http://images.broadwayworld.com/upload/42553/Giorgio_Armani.jpg]

Numero 224. Raised and originally from Italy, this fashionista is currently worth $2.8 BILLION. (Okay, YES this is waayyy less that what we started with, but HEY! Everyone worked hard for their moola and they deserve to be applauded!) Anyhoo, this man's name is Giorgio Armani.

Apparently, he attended MEDICAL SCHOOL for two whole years. And now, he's one of the top fashion designers in the world. Enough said.

Armani began his passion for fashion in the late 1950s, where he worked as a window dresser (someone who dresses up the mannequins in the windows) at a department store called La Rinascente. He then worked in a partnership with close friend Nino Cerruti for 4 years and then opened his own design business in 1974 - menswear only. Women's clothing styles started in 1975.

Armani is considered to be an arrogant and rude workaholic, but his line means the world to him. Today at 74, Armani is still running his successful line, now including perfume, baby clothes, home furnishings and watches. He is also about to open a hotel in Dubai and just recently opened a HUGE store in Manhattan.

Advice from the wise guy?
"To create something exceptional, your mindset must be focused relentlessly on the smallest detail."

[information from Forbes and http://www.infomat.com/whoswho/giorgioarmani.html]

The Mars Family!

2009-03-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to go a little bit out of order to something that I find a little more interesting: THE MARS FAMILY! Okay, so you guys are probably wondering who these people are. Well, as the name suggests, they are the family that created the Mars bars! (Yes, the candy.) Also in their delicious line of candies are the Snickers bars and the 3 Musketeers bars.

The family consists of three people: Forrest Mars Junior (#42), Jaqueline Mars (#43), and John Mars (#44). All three of them are worth about $9 BILLION (according to Forbes).

They also bought Wrigley's gum, Pedigree pet food, Whiskas pet food, and Uncle Ben's Rice.

Who knew that one could make so much money through just food sales?

[taken from http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/05_01/marsbarMS1205_468x272.jpg]

After a long day's work...

2009-03-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Whenever I think of rich people, I think of their houses. Where do they live? Is it BIG? Is it lavish? Well, most of them have HUMONGOUS houses. Er, actually, all of them do.

#1 Bill Gates

1835 73rd Ave NE, Medina, WA 98039

[taken from http://news.cnet.com/i/ne/p/2004/40778167yBXwRF_600x390.jpg]

Okay. So my first word to this is WOW. It is 1.5 acres large, with 7 bedrooms, 24 bathrooms, 6 kitchens and 6 fireplaces.

Some of the cool stuff:

Swimming Pool - 17 x 60 feet
Grand Staircase - 92 feet long 63 feet high (84 steps)
Theater - 20 seats; 1,500 feet
Library - 2,100 square feet

Rumor has it that... guests that come to his home carry pins from which they can control the temperature, music, and lighting based on their preferences.

Annual Property Tax: $1.06 MILLION
Property Value: $147.5 MILLION

Visit this link for a virtual tour of his home...created by the architects for him himself.

....

So, I'm thinking that every weekend I'll blog about their houses. What do you guys think about that? Please comment your suggestions as to what you would like to see.

Fish, seeds, Christmas tree decor and pencils...

2009-03-13T20:29:00.001-07:00

Ingvar Kamprad
[taken from http://www.ullamontan.com/foton/portratt_diverse/kamprad_ingvar_l.jpg]

So there's this store called IKEA. It specializes in modern furniture with bold colors and interesting shapes. And the brain behind it is a plain old genius. His name is Ingvar Kamprad, born and raised in Sweden selling cheap, unnecessary items and now owning one of the most AWESOME furniture companies in the world.

Kamprad is worth about $22 BILLION. He opened his first furniture store in 1947, however IKEA started about 50 years ago.

Fun Fact! The name IKEA is from Kamprad's first and last initials, the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd) and the his hometown in Sweden (Agunnaryd).

Today, this 83-year old man continues to run his company, although he's retired. His three sons mainly run it though. According to Forbes, his company now sells 9,500 items in 36 different countries, printing catalogs in 27 different languages.

Advice from the wise guy?
"You can do so much in 10 minutes' time. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good.. Divide your life into 10-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity."

"I love sailing. I like it more when I'm winning."

2009-03-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

Lawrence Joseph Ellison
[taken from http://www.newyorkmonthlyherald.com/Laurence.gif]

Number 4. Lawrence "Larry" Ellison. Founder of Oracle Corporation and worth $22.5 BILLION. He, like Bill Gates, was a college-dropout, from the University of Illinois and University of Chicago.

What made him rich and famous though was his foundation of the company Oracle. In 1977, Larry and his two friends created this company as orders from the CIA. They finished the project one year early, and worked on developing it more. The company went public in 1986, making $31.5 million the first day. From then on, it has experienced several falls and rises, but has been a well-standing company.

Larry is very famous for his super-sailing skills. He participates in the American Cup for sailing and has many boats and a yacht. (Eh, no biggie.)

Fun Fact! My dad works for Oracle.

Oops! I almost forgot... :D

Advice from the wise guy?
"When you innovate, you've got to be prepared for everyone telling you you're nuts."

[information from http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/ell0bio-1 and http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/10/billionaires-2009-richest-people_Lawrence-Ellison_JKEX.html]

Correction!

2009-03-11T22:50:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Thanks to my close friend Daniela, I found out that the 2009 standings of the billionaires are different from the very recent 2008 standings.

The three people I mentioned so far have switched spots, now making it:

#1 Bill Gates (down $18 BILLION)
#2 Warren Buffet (down $25 BILLION)
#3 Carlos Slim Helu (down $25 BILLION)

Also, the number of billionaires has decreases significantly, from 1062 to 793. The economy has definitely impacted even the richest of the rich.

Thanks for the update Daniela! :)

"We are not even close to finishing the basic dream of what the PC can be."

2009-03-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

William Gates III
[information and picture gotten from http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/default.aspx?tab=biography]

Okay, fine, fine. Number 3. Who doesn't know this guy? Worth $58 BILLION. Harvard dropout but still one of the leading businessmen of the world. Yes, hopefully you know who I'm talking about...it's Bill Gates.

In his junior year of college (1975), he left to work on the company he started with his friend Paul Allen. This company's name was Microsoft (sound familiar?). They both believed that computers would soon be a useful, almost necessary item in everyone's household. Gates created softwares and wrote manuals and books about how computers could help a business flourish tremendously.

He also developed a resource called Corbis which is a website with archived photography and art from around the world.

Community was very important to him. He and his wife formed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, donating to global health and education causes.

Now you know...I wasn't joking about the genius part.

Advice from the wise guy?
"Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one."

“In a few months, we would like to see one cellular phone for every two Colombians.”

2009-03-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

Carlos Slim Helu
[taken from http://www.aolcdn.com/channels/0c/04/4760751a-00340-02cd5-400cb8e1]

He had a dream. And that was to make telecommunication something regular. Something that everyone would have. This man is now the richest man in Mexico and the second richest in the world. Worth $60 BILLION...the man himself...Carlos Slim Helu.

Words cannot describe him. According to Forbes and Newsweek, he came to Mexico as the son of a Lebanese immigrant. As a child, his father gave all of the kids bank savings books so they could deposit their allowances, teaching Slim about saving and investing. He officially began his money-making journey in 1990, by buying the fixed-line operator Teléfonos de Mexico, aka Telmex. This started his involvement in telecommunications, retail, real estate, media and consumer goods.

He donates to many health and education related funds. Slim is also known for his art collection and love for baseball.

Advice from the wise guy?
"I've always said that the better off you are, the more responsibility you have for helping others."

"In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield."

2009-03-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

Warren Buffet
[taken from http://www.clevelandleader.com/files/berkshire-warren-buffet.jpg]

Starting off as a newspaper boy and today, the richest man in the world: Warren Buffet. Buffet is now 78 years old, and in all these years, he made himself worth $62 BILLION.

But how did he achieve his success?

Well, after working in several different small managements, he became a part of many partnerships and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (a company that manages many other subsidiary companies and deals with mainly insurance). Then, 46 years of assets, contracts, trading, stocks and scandals somehow got him to Forbes' Richest Man.

Another point of key importance is how he saved money. He is living in the same old house in Omaha, Nebraska that he bought almost decades ago for a cheap price.

Advice from the wise guy?
"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."

Billionaires?

2009-03-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

How many billionaires do you know about? 6? Maybe 10? Here's a reality check. There's actually 1062. In this whole entire world, there's 1062. Living in every corner of the Earth, 1062.

From buying a small bank with no hope to starting up candy companies, each and every one of them has a different story.

But what makes them so special? Why did THEY become billionaires? Well, that's what this blog is all about.