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Sunday, January 17, 2016

Top 15 Billionaires In The World (updated 03/27/2016)


1. Bill Gates, $79,2 Billion

It's a landmark year for the world's richest man. Bill Gates and his friend Paul Allen launched Microsoft 40 years ago with the goal of getting a computer on every person's desk. Now, 84% of U.S. households own a computer. Fifteen years ago, Bill and Melinda Gates started their charitable foundation with the goal of reducing inequity, and have put more than $30 billion to work toward that end. Early in 2015 the couple picked a big bet for the foundation's next stage: "The lives of people in poor countries will improve faster in the next 15 years than at any other time in history. And their lives will improve more than anyone else's." In May Gates said his foundation would back a disease surveillance network in Africa and South Asia to be on the lookout for the next Ebola or SARS. The following month Melinda Gates announced a $776 million investment over the next 6 years to improve nutrition and reduce child mortality caused by malnutrition.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

 

2.  Carlos Slim Helu & family, $77.1 Billion

Telecom magnate Carlos Slim Helu has some 300 million mobile phone and land-line subscribers in 19 countries through America Movil, which he controls. His lock on Mexico's telecom market -- America Movil units have had a 70% share of the mobile phone market and 80% of landlines -- will be loosened under a Mexican law passed last year that forbids companies from controlling more than 50% of telecom and broadcast markets. Slim has been buying assets in Spain and has bid on oil production contracts in Mexico, which opened to private and foreign capital for the first time in 8 decades. On the philanthropic side, in July his Carlos Slim Foundation partnered with the nonprofit Autism Speaks to translate information and tools into Spanish.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

3. Warren Buffet, $72.7 Billion


Revered as a corporate deity for his decades-long reputation for smart investing, Warren Buffett pulled off his biggest deal ever in August, when his Berkshire Hathaway agreed to pay a record $37 billion for Precision Castparts, a maker of aerospace and industrial parts. Lately he's also teamed up in various ways with 3G Capital-a firm run by several Brazilian billionaires-in deals for Kraft Foods, Heinz, Burger King and coffeehouse chain Tim Hortons. Berkshire Hathaway, which owns companies like Geico, Dairy Queen and Fruit of the Loom, is now the fourth most valuable public company in the U.S. Going into the 2016 presidential elections, Buffett is one of Hillary Clinton's biggest proponents. He has long supported the former First Lady's bid to return to the White House-donating to her campaign and, perhaps more crucially, adding his stamp of approval. He has quietly become a big backer of Planned Parenthood and gun-control group Everytown for Gun Safety. In July Buffett gave away Berkshire stock worth more than $2.8 billion, bringing his lifetime giving to nearly $25.6 billion. Buffett says his best ever investment was buying Benjamin Graham's legendary book, "The Intelligent Investor," in 1949. He later studied under Graham at Columbia Business School. Buffett is known for his relative frugality, still living in the Omaha home he purchased for $31,500 in 1958.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

4. Amancio Ortega, $66,8 Billion


Spaniard Amancio Ortega grew up the son of a railway worker and is now the world's richest retailer. He cofounded Zara in 1975 with lingerie and bathrobes he and his former wife Rosalia Mera made in their living room. By the mid-1980s, he had taken Zara all over Spain and was ready to expand overseas. As his empire grew, Ortega caught the retail establishment by surprise, limiting advertising, expanding aggressively, and controlling much of his own supply chain. Louis Vuitton fashion director Daniel Piette once called Inditex "possibly the most innovative and devastating retailer in the world." Ortega powered through the Spanish financial crisis, personally gaining $45 billion from 2009 to 2014 as his shares of Inditex defied the rest of the Spanish stock market. In the last decade, he has taken billions in Inditex dividends and reinvested the money into real estate in marquee cities, including Madrid, Barcelona, London, Chicago, Miami and New York.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

5. Larry Elison, $54,3 Billion

Though he stepped down as Oracle CEO in September 2014, Larry Ellison still calls some of the shots at the database-software giant. In June 2015 he announced that Oracle was expanding its cloud-computing business, putting it in direct competition with Amazon.com's Web Services unit. Oracle could use a new source of growth. Revenues this year through May fell slightly from the previous year to $38.2 billion. After building databases for the CIA, Ellison founded Oracle in 1977 and tapped into businesses' growing need for customer relationship management databases. Both of his children are looking to leave their mark on Hollywood. Daughter Megan has financed films such as "Zero Dark Thirty" and "American Hustle"; son David is a producer of mainstream franchises like "The Terminator" and "Mission: Impossible".

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

6. Charles Koch, $42.9 Billion


One of the most politically influential billionaires in the U.S., Charles Koch compares his crusade for smaller government and economic liberty to the civil rights campaign. "Will you stand with us to help save our country?" Koch asked the crowd gathered in August at the Koch-backed Freedom Partners Policy Leaders conference in California. In attendance were Republican hopefuls Jeb Bush, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, all there to pay their respects to the Kochs. Donald Trump wasn't invited. Funding for the Koch influence machine comes from $115 billion (sales) Koch Industries, which Charles continues to steer as chairman. He's held that job since 1967 when the company was worth $50 million. Now the second largest private company in America, it's valued at $100 billion. He owns the vast majority of the business with his brother, David Koch, who runs its chemical technology business.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

6(2). David Koch, $42.9 Billion


New York City's richest resident David Koch shares control of $115 billion (sales) Koch Industries, the second largest private company in the U.S., with his older brother Charles. Koch Industries has interests in oil pipelines, refineries, building materials, paper towels and Dixie cups, and is growing with acquisitions fueled by the company's prodigious cash flow. Charles is chairman, while David runs its chemical technology business. The brothers' fortunes fell slightly in the past year owing to weakness in the manufacturing and pipeline sectors. He's also joined his brother's campaign to raise and spend almost $900 million on political activity, education and issues like criminal justice reform in the run-up to the 2016 election. He is an active philanthropist, having doled out $1.2 billion so far. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has the David H. Koch Plaza, part of a $65 million renovation he funded, and Koch, who has battled prostate cancer, paid $4 million of a $150 million pledge to build a new facility at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

8. Christy Walton & family, $41.7 Billion

Christy Walton married into what became the richest family in the world -- the Waltons, owners of the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart. She inherited her fortune when her husband John Walton, a former Green Beret and Vietnam war medic, died in an airplane crash in 2005. She also owns a stake in solar panel maker First Solar that in mid-September 2015 was worth about $1.3 billion. The bulk of her holdings are in Wal-Mart, which her father-in-law Sam Walton and his brother James founded in 1962. Forbes estimates that Christy owns an 11% stake in the company, lower than previous estimates as a result of new public filings by Wal-Mart. She leads a very private life in Jackson, Wyoming, but in 2013 had a rare bit of publicity when she was given an award by the Imagen Foundation for producing the film "Bless Me, Ultima," based on the book by Rudolfo Anaya, who is considered the father of Chicano literature. Her son battled cancer when he was just three years old and she fought a case of pneumonia that nearly killed her, according to the Imagen Foundation.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

9. Jim Walton, $40.6 Billion


Jim Walton is the youngest of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton's four children. Jim sits on the board of the $486 billion (sales) retailer, which has more than 11,000 stores worldwide. His brother Rob Walton stepped down as chairman of the company in June 2015 after 23 years on the job. The heirs of Sam Walton together own 51% of Wal-Mart's stock through two entities: Walton Enterprises and Walton Family Holdings Trust. Forbes estimates that Jim's stake in Wal-Mart is 12.8%. The stock price fell 15% in the past year, owing in part to a slowdown in key markets like Brazil and China. In February 2015, Wal-Mart announced it would raise its wages in the U.S. to at least $9 an hour in 2015 and at least $10 an hour in 2016. Labor advocates had called for a jump to $15 an hour. Outside of Wal-Mart, Jim Walton is chairman and CEO of the family-founded Arvest Bank, which has branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. The bank has assets of nearly $16 billion and had net profits of nearly $105 million in 2014.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

10. Liliane Bettencourt & family, $40.1 Billion

L'Oreal grand dame Liliane Bettencourt grew even richer in 2014 thanks to a deal in which she purchased an additional 8% stake in the cosmetics empire from Nestle, raising her and her family's chunk of L'Oreal stock to 33%. Her father, Eugene Schueller, founded L'Oreal in 1907. Bettencourt has not been involved in running the company for several years; a legal battle with her daughter Françoise Bettencourt Meyers proved Liliane unfit to manage affairs in 2011. The elderly widow, who suffers from dementia, was replaced on the company's board by her 25-year-old grandson Jean-Victor Meyers in 2012. A trial of ten people who allegedly stole hundreds of millions of euros from Bettencourt began in January 2015. She remains the richest woman in Europe.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

11. Alice Walton, $39.4 Billion

Alice Walton's fortune stems from her stake in mega-retailer Wal-Mart, which her father Sam founded back in 1962. Unlike her siblings Rob and Jim -- also billionaires -- Alice hasn't taken an active role in the company, instead focusing on collecting and curating art. Her work culminated in the opening of the Crystal Bridges Art Museum in her hometown of Bentonville, Ark., in 2011. In 2013, she purchased a New Jersey home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and had it moved down to the museum's campus; it opens for tours in fall. Other staples of the collection include works from the likes of Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell and Georgia O'Keeffe. Some of the pieces in the museum she donated from her personal collection, which is valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. She put her Texas ranch up for sale in September, asking nearly $20 million for the 1,432-acre estate along the Brazos river near Fort Worth. She's also dabbled in political spending, mostly to the Republican party. In 2014 she donated $25,000 to establish a political super-PAC supporting a U.S. presidential bid by Hillary Clinton. Together Alice, her two brothers siblings and their sister-in-law Christy (widow of their brother John, who died in a plane crash) own 51% of Wal-Mart, with 11,000 stores.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

12. S. Robson Walton, $39.1 Billion

After nearly a quarter-century Rob Walton stepped down in June 2015 as Wal-Mart chairman, a position he had held since his father Sam's death in 1992. The eldest son, he remains on the board with his brother Jim. Rob's son-in-law Gregory Penner succeeded him as chairman. Rob and Jim's sister, Alice, and sister-in-law Christy have no role at Wal-Mart and generally maintain low profiles. Christy married Sam's second son, John, who died in a plane crash in 2005. Together the 3 siblings and their sister-in-law Christy own 51% of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, with 11,000 stores. The stock price fell 15% in the past year, erasing a combined $16 billion from the 4 Waltons' fortunes, owing in part to a slowdown in key markets like Brazil and China. Dad Sam started Wal-Mart in 1962 in Rogers, Ark. with brother Bud. They quickly charmed Americans with their bargain prices and down-home attitude, including the moment in 1984 when Sam made good on a bet with his employees and danced the hula on Wall Street after Wal-Mart achieved strong financial results.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

13. Bernard Arnault & family, $37.2 Billion


Considered one of the world's ultimate taste-makers, Bernard Arnault oversees an empire of 70 brands including Dom Perignon, Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Sephora, as well as 3,700 retail stores, all under the umbrella of $34 billion (sales) luxury goods powerhouse LVMH, where has been CEO since 1989. The bulk of his fortune is tied up in Christian Dior stock, through which Arnault holds a controlling interest in LVMH. He also has billions of dollars in LVMH stock directly, in supermarket chain Carrefour and, most recently, in Hermes, which he got after LVMH agreed in 2014 to relinquish its stake in the rival fashion house and distribute the shares to its shareholders, including to Arnault. He got his start in luxury in 1984 when he paid $15 million to buy a business that included Christian Dior (his family owned a successful construction company at the time). Today his two older children, Delphine and Antoine, are intimately involved in expanding his vision. Antoine chairs high-end Italian knits company Loro Piana and runs shoemaker Berluti. Delphine serves as executive vice president at Louis Vuitton, LVMH's biggest and most profitable brand. He is married to Helene Mercier, a concert pianist, with whom he has three younger children.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

 14. Michael Bloomberg, $35.5 Billion


Formerly America's richest politician as New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg is mostly occupied with reinvigorating the financial data and media company bearing his name. Since returning as CEO in early 2015, he's shaken up Bloomberg News, replacing its top editor and move to get back to basics and focus on core business news. Bloomberg, a lifelong Democrat before running on the Republican ticket as mayor and serving three terms, still wields enormous political clout, spending millions of dollars supporting progressive issues such as gun control and women's economic development. His work has earned him some powerful supporters: In August conservative Rupert Murdoch publicly urged him to run for President. The former mayor has remained silent. So far Bloomberg has not officially endorsed anyone but has told the New York Times that "Hillary and Jeb are the only two who know how to make the trains run." A major philanthropist, he announced a $100 million donation in June to Cornell's New York City technology campus, bringing his overall lifetime giving to $3.7 billion. In April Mike Bloomberg reportedly paid $25 million for a second London home; he owns a variety of properties around the globe, including in the Hamptons, Manhattan, Westchester County, Colorado and Bermuda.

The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

15. Jeff Bezos, $34.8 Billion, $34.8 Billion

Things are humming at Amazon.com under the leadership of Jeff Bezos. In July the company announced a better-than-expected profit -$92 million- for the second quarter. That news boosted the stock considerably, and the gains have mostly stuck, making Bezos, who owns 18% of Amazon, the fifth richest man in the world. It hasn't been all rosy. In August The New York Times published a scathing story detailing the high-pressure, long-hour work environment inside the retailer. In a letter to employees in response, the Washington Post owner wrote that he didn't recognize the company described but said that anyone working in a company like that "would be crazy to stay." Bezos continues to make bold bets on new technologies. In late July the company proposed a plan for high-speed-drone airspace that would enable flying robots to carry packages to consumers. In September Bezos announced that his aerospace company, Blue Origin, would spend over $200 million to build reusable rockets and launch them into orbit from a site at Cape Canaveral by the end of the decade.

End of The Top 15 Billionaire in The World

source from Fobes.com

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