billionaire

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Feds Approve Icahn's Yahoo Stock Buys

Activist investor plans additional $2.5B outlay to boost proxy bid

(Newser) - The Federal Trade Commission gave Carl Icahn approval to purchase additional chunks of Yahoo stock, part of the activist investor's plan to gain control of the company's board and perhaps force a sale, MarketWatch reports. Icahn already owns 59 million Yahoo shares and options and is reportedly seeking 93 million...

Best Alma Maters for Billionaires

Yeah, Harvard's the place to be

(Newser) - Bill Gates and Carl Icahn may be college dropouts (Harvard and NYU, respectively), but most billionaires carry a sheepskin diploma with them. These top-tier universities have educated the most billionaires:
  1. Harvard: with 50, including Steve Ballmer, Michael Bloomberg, and Sumner Redstone.
  1. Stanford: was founded by a billionaire and counts 30
...

Peek at Perks in $2B Mansion
 Peek at Perks in $2B Mansion 
May 3, 2008 1:43 PM CDT

Peek at Perks in $2B Mansion

Mumbai mogul plans 27-story abode

(Newser) - The world's fifth-richest man, Mukesh Ambani, beat the competition with plans to build the first billion-dollar home to grace this earth, Forbes reports. In fact, his 27-story high-rise in India will cost $2 billion when it's done next year. Some of its frills:
  • Nine elevators dot the lobby.
  • 80% of
...

JK Rowling Considered Suicide
 JK Rowling Considered Suicide 
Mar 23, 2008 10:01 AM CDT

JK Rowling Considered Suicide

Harry Potter author discusses depression during mid-20s

(Newser) - Before Harry Potter came along, his creator was broke, recently divorced, depressed, and near suicide, reports the Times of London. JK Rowling was a mom in her mid-20s, living in a cramped apartment paid for by a friend when she sought professional help. “We’re talking suicidal thoughts here,...

When It Comes to Yachts, Size Does Matter

Wealthy owners compete for 'bragging rights' with superyachts

(Newser) - Billionaires have a new way to one-up wealthy neighbors: Buy a bigger yacht. Such jumbo boats confer "bragging rights,” one expert says. "No question, that’s a very strong part of the motivation.” And competition is riding a new crest: Four times as many superyachts, all...

Indian Athletes Aim for Gold on Billionaire's Buck

Trust seeks to boost Indian medal count

(Newser) - Young Indians are training for this summer’s Olympics with the backing of a London-based billionaire steel magnate, the Wall Street Journal reports. Lakshmi Mittal was dismayed by India’s poor showing at Athens in 2004—where the burgeoning superpower earned only a single silver, while archrival China won 32...

Buffet Unseats Gates as Richest Man on Earth

He's worth $62B; Gates is now third with $58B.

(Newser) - Bill Gates has passed the gilded torch: Warren Buffett and Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim have ended the Microsoft founder's 13-year reign as richest man on earth, Forbes reports. Buffett's fortune grew $10 billion this year to $62 billion, while Slim weighs in with an estimated $60 billion. Gates trails...

'Indie' Bloomberg Leans Left
'Indie' Bloomberg Leans Left
OPINION
Jan 6, 2008 1:46 PM CST

'Indie' Bloomberg Leans Left

NYC mayor's policies place him squarely in the Democratic corner

(Newser) - Michael Bloomberg may brand himself an independent, but his liberal stances align him with the Democrats, reports the New York Times. Bloomberg supports gay marriage, abortion rights, and stricter gun control laws, levies taxes on the rich and is against deporting illegal immigrants. But supporters say his idea for nonpartisan...

Billionaire Dies After Fall at Building Site

Ken Hendricks, 66, built ABC Supply Co. into home-supply chain

(Newser) - Billionaire Ken Hendricks, 66, died today of head injuries after falling through a hole in his unfinished garage roof, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Hendricks—a high-school dropout who turned ABC Supply Co. into a national building-supply chain—apparently fell through a tarp covering an unfinished portion of an addition to...

West Bank Billionaire Launches Third Party

Vows pragmatic option to Fatah and Hamas

(Newser) - A Palestinian billionaire has started a new party that he hopes will give voters a more pragmatic option to Fatah and Hamas. Minub al-Masri, friend of the late Yasir Arafat, says he launched the Palestine Forum to replace "inexperienced" politicians. But third parties are not unprecedented in Palestine, Newsweek...

These Streets Are Paved in Gold
These Streets Are Paved in Gold
Sep 15, 2007 11:04 AM CDT

These Streets Are Paved in Gold

Forbes publishes list of most expensive US city blocks

(Newser) - Forbes has compiled a list of the most expensive real estate blocks in 10 major cities.  It teamed up with date provider Reply! to compile an index of the 'billionaire rows' of the US. In New York, the block between Fifth Avenue, Madison, 69th and 70th Sts. takes the...

Billionaire Takes Huge Stake in Bear Stearns

Josephe Lewis becomes largest shareholder with $860M buy

(Newser) - Billionaire Joseph C. Lewis has bought enough stock to become the largest single shareholder in embattled investment bank Bear Stearns, Reuters reports. The reclusive British-born currency trader bought up $860.4 million in shares over the last month, nabbing a 7% stake. Putnam Investing, the second largest shareholder, owns a...

Helmsley's Heir Is the Dog
Helmsley's Heir Is the Dog
Aug 29, 2007 1:16 PM CDT

Helmsley's Heir Is the Dog

Queen of Mean leaves $12M to Trouble, a bunch to charity, ignores 2 grandkids

(Newser) - When the Queen of Mean’s will was read, Trouble, the billionaire hotel magnate’s pampered, biting Maltese, came calling. Leona Helmsley left $12 million to the 8-year-old pooch, along with $38 million to three other family members. The rest—between $4 and $8 billion—went to her charity trust,...

Lebanese Hopes Pinned to Reluctant Billionaire

Can a $2.3B fortune keep Saad Hariri alive long enough to become PM?

(Newser) - Portfolio profiles Saad Hariri, the billionaire who now leads Lebanon's pro-Western majority party and America's last, best Middle Eastern hope. Hariri, pulled into politics when his former-PM father was assassinated in 2005, spends most of his days barricaded inside his Beirut mansion, trying to avoid being murdered by Hezbollah guerrillas.

Barkin Sues Ex for More Millions
Barkin Sues
Ex for More Millions
Aug 3, 2007 2:56 PM CDT

Barkin Sues Ex for More Millions

Claims Perelman owes her film company

(Newser) - Ellen Barkin is $40 million richer after last year’s divorce from billionaire Ron Perelman, but now she says the Revlon mogul owes her production company $3.4 million. Barkin is suing her ex for the funding, promised in a contract—but Perelman has no intention of paying up, the...

Gates Plans to Log Off as Scheduled
Gates Plans to Log Off as Scheduled
Jul 30, 2007 8:03 AM CDT

Gates Plans to Log Off as Scheduled

Despite most volatile market ever, Microsoft chairman will bow out

(Newser) - Bill Gates says that, despite a surge in competition from all sides of the market, his phased exit from Microsoft has been bug-free so far. His two-year transition period halfway done, the chairman and former CEO says that his handpicked successors have been successfully picking up the slack. But doubters...

Mr. Slim Is New Global Fat Cat
Mr. Slim Is New Global Fat Cat
Jul 4, 2007 7:11 AM CDT

Mr. Slim Is New Global Fat Cat

Mexican telecom chief Carlos Slim beats Bill Gates as world's richest man

(Newser) - Move over, Bill Gates. The Microsoft founder, who has  been the world's richest individual for a decade, has lost his lofty perch to a little-known Mexican telecom tycoon, Carlos Slim, the Guardian reports.  His wealth has been estimated at $67.8 billion compared with $59.2 billion for Gates.

Alinghi Defends America's Cup
Alinghi Defends America's Cup
Jul 3, 2007 12:37 PM CDT

Alinghi Defends America's Cup

Swiss team scores 1-second victory over New Zealand to remain atop sailing world

(Newser) - Alinghi defended the America's Cup today, scoring a 1-second victory over Team New Zealand and returning the most prestigious title in international sailing to landlocked Switzerland. The series, contested off Valencia, Spain, was the closest since 1983—the widest margin in Alinghi's 5-2 victory in the nine-race series was 35...

With IPO, Ellison Walks $500M Tightrope

NetSuite offering reveals Oracle chief's major stake in rival

(Newser) - It's murky waters ahead for Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, a day after rival NetSuite Inc. revealed in an IPO filing that the outspoken billionaire holds a 74% stake. That puts Ellison, whose Oracle holdings are valued at $24 billion, in a tricky spot: Other shareholders may view the joint investments...

Billionaires Flee Putin's Russia
Billionaires Flee Putin's Russia
Jul 2, 2007 4:08 PM CDT

Billionaires Flee Putin's Russia

For mainly Jewish oligarchs, wealth and power has given way to prison and exile

(Newser) - A cadre of 50 or so Russian businessmen struck it rich when the USSR's state-owned industries went up for grabs. But most of these billionaire oligarchs are now in prison or have fled, hounded and hectored by the KGB-style tactics of president Putin. The Guardian profiles 7 deposed plutocrats, who've...

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