World's billionaires, the richest men for 2008 according to Forbes..
The three richest..#1 Warren BuffettAge: 77
Fortune: self made
Source: Berkshire Hathaway
Net Worth: $62.0 bil
Country Of Citizenship: United States
Residence: Omaha, Nebraska , United States, North America
Industry: Investments
Marital Status: widowed, remarried, 3 children
Education: University of Nebraska Lincoln, Bachelor of Arts/Science, Columbia University, Master of Science
America's most beloved investor is now the world's richest man. He soared past friend and bridge partner Bill Gates as shares of Berkshire Hathaway climbed 25% since the middle of last July. Son of Nebraska politician delivered newspapers as a boy. Filed first tax return at age 13, claiming $35 deduction for bicycle. Studied under value investing guru Benjamin Graham at Columbia. He took over the textile firm Berkshire Hathaway in 1965. Today holding company invested in insurance (Geico, General Re), jewelry (Borsheim's), utilities (MidAmerican Energy), food (Dairy Queen, See's Candies). Also has non-controlling stakes in Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo. Insurance operations flourished in 2007. "That party is over. It's a certainty that insurance-industry profit margins, including ours, will fall significantly in 2008." The Oracle of Omaha issued a challenge to members of The Forbes 400 in October; said he would donate $1 million to charity if the collective group of richest Americans would admit they pay lesser taxes, as a percentage of income, than their secretaries. Had long promised to give away his fortune posthumously. He irrevocably earmarked the majority of his Berkshire shares to charity in 2006, mostly to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gift was valued at $31 billion on day of announcement; donation will far exceed that sum so long as Berkshire shares continue to rise.
#2 Carlos Slim Helu & familyAge: 68
Fortune: self made
Source: telecom
Net Worth: $60.0 bil
Country Of Citizenship: Mexico
Residence: Mexico City , Mexico, Latin America
Industry: Communications
Marital Status: widowed, 6 children
Education:
Second-richest man in the world this year; even richer than Microsoft's Bill Gates, at least for now, thanks to strong Mexican equities market and the performance of his wireless telephone company, America Movil. The son of a Lebanese immigrant, Slim made his first fortune in 1990 when he bought fixed line operator Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) in a privatization. In December, America Movil struck a deal with Yahoo to provide mobile Web services to 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. A widower and father of six, Slim is a baseball fan and art collector. He keeps his art collection in Mexico City's Museo Soumaya, which he named after his late wife. In recent years, he has donated close to $7 billion worth of cash and stock to fund education and health projects, and to the revitalization of Mexico City's downtown historical district.
#3 William Gates IIIAge: 52
Fortune: self made
Source: Microsoft
Net Worth: $58.0 bil
Country Of Citizenship: United States
Residence: Medina, Washington , United States, North America
Industry: Software
Marital Status: married, 3 children
Education: Harvard University, Drop Out
Harvard dropout and Microsoft visionary no longer the world's richest man. Blame Yahoo: Microsoft shares have fallen 15% since the company boldly attempted to merge with the search engine giant to better fight Google for Internet dominance. Gates is preparing to give up day-to-day involvement in the company he cofounded 33 years ago to spend more time focused on his philanthropic endeavors. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has $38.7 billion in assets, donates to causes aimed at bringing financial tools to the poor, speeding up the development of vaccines (for AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis), bettering America's lagging high schools. Sells 20 million Microsoft shares every quarter with proceeds going to private investment vehicle Cascade with more than half of net worth now outside of Microsoft. Company spent $6 billion to land Web ad firm Aquantive last May. Would-be rival to Apple's iPod, the Zune, not yet a hit. Believes Microsoft's far-flung bets, including 10-year affair with Internet-based television, may soon pay off; says next 10 years will be the "most interesting" in software history.
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The youngest billionaire... #785 Mark ZuckerbergAge: 23
Fortune: self made
Source: Facebook
Net Worth: $1.5 bil
Country Of Citizenship: United States
Residence: Palo Alto, California , United States, North America
Industry: Technology
Marital Status: single,
Education: Harvard University, Drop Out
Tech's newest golden boy founded addictive social networking site Facebook in February 2004 from his Harvard dorm room. Left school for Silicon Valley later that year; scored initial $500,000 investment from PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel. Venture firms soon swooned, among them Accel Partners and Greylock Partners. Today Facebook boasts 66 million active users. Estimated annual sales: $150 million. Expanding beyond being a college-only message system and photo album; now courting users to 55,000 different high school, business and city networks. Problems with privacy: installed "News Feed" in 2006; program automatically alerted users' friends to changes they made to their profiles. Outcry over privacy concerns led company to backpedal; Zuckerberg issued apology. Similar controversy ensued after release of Facebook Beacon late last year; program automatically alerted friends of activities on selected outside sites, including eBay and Fandango. Microsoft bought 1.6% stake for $240 million last October; deal led many to suggest the company is worth $15 billion. Some analystsâ€â€ÂÂand even a few Facebook investorsâ€â€ÂÂsuggest the company's value is far lower.
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Filipino billionaires There were two Filipinos who made it to this exclusive club of rich people..
#785 Lucio Tan & familyAge: 73
Fortune: self made
Source: diversified
Net Worth: $1.5 bil
Country Of Citizenship: Philippines
Residence: Manila , Philippines, Asia & Australia
Industry: Tobacco
Marital Status: married, 6 children
Education: Far Eastern University, Bachelor of Arts / Science
Former engineer from Fujian Province in China started out mopping floors to put himself through school. Wealth now held in aviation, real estate, mining, liquor and tobacco companies. His Philippine Airlines just emerged from receivership in 2007, but a safety downgrade from the U.S. FAA may limit plans to expand international routes. Also owns a portfolio of real estate in Hong Kong. Hobbies include flying helicopters.
#843 Henry Sy & familyAge: 83
Fortune: self made
Source: malls
Net Worth: $1.4 bil
Country Of Citizenship: Philippines
Residence: Manila , Philippines, Asia & Australia
Industry: Diversified
Marital Status: married, 6 children
Education:
Controls the Philippines' largest retailer, SM Group, named for the small shoe mart he opened in Manila 60 years ago. His SM Prime Holdings owns SM Mall of Asia, the country's largest mall, with more than 4 million square feet of space, as well as another 30-plus malls throughout the archipelago and in China. Has plans to open another three this year. Banco de Oro-Epi, run by daughter Teresita Sy-Coson, is the Philippines' second-largest bank. Aging entrepreneur, who is often seen wearing Hawaiian shirts, remains chairman but is largely handing over daily operations to his six kids.