Addicted 2 Success » Warren Buffett

15 Super Rich Billionaires Who Stay Grounded & Humble

Joel — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 13:35:30 +0000

The following 15 super rich & successful billionaires prove to us all that “money doesn’t always change you“.

15 Humble & Grounded Billionaires

Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA

Ingvar Kamprad’s Net worth: $3 billion

The founder of IKEA said he drove 15-year-old Volvo and always flew economy class, according to a 2006 Reuters article.

His frugal ways extend to his home in Switzerland, which is reportedly decorated mostly with inexpensive IKEA furniture, as well as a few family heirlooms.

According to The Daily Mail, Kamprad and his wife are often seen eating in cheap restaurants and haggling over prices at the market.

Note: Some Swedes will tell you that Kamprad is not as frugal as he would have you believe.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple

Tim Cook’s Net worth: unknown, but he made $378 million in 2011

He may not technically be a billionaire, but Apple CEO Tim Cook is compensated handsomely.

Even so, he chooses to live a modest lifestyle. Cook lives in a modest, 2,400-square-foot condo in Palo Alto, which he bought for $1.9 million in 2010.

He’s quoted as saying in the book Inside Apple: “I like to be reminded of where I came from, and putting myself in modest surroundings helps me do that. Money is not a motivator for me.”

Chuck Feeney, co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers Group

Chuck Feeney’s Net worth: currently $2 million (he’s given away billions)

A Depression-era veteran with a strict personal motto: “I set out to work hard, not get rich.”

The co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers has donated more than $4 billion to disadvantaged children and public health initiatives, all while going to great lengths to remain an anonymous donor.

“He has no ego . . . He always chooses the second-cheapest wine from the wine list,” according to his biographer, former Irish Times journalist Conor O’Clery. “When we traveled together he was always dressed like a down-at-heel American tourist.”

David Cheriton, Stanford professor

David Cheriton’s Net worth: $1.3 billion

David Cheriton, the Stanford professor who has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion from Google shares, hates the idea of living like a billionaire.

“I’m actually quite offended by that sort of thing,” he told the Edmonton Journal in a 2006 interview. ”These people who build houses with 13 bathrooms and so on, there’s something wrong with them.”

Cheriton called himself “spoiled” for taking a windsurfing vacation in Hawaii, and in a recent Forbes profile said that his biggest recent splurge was his 2012 Honda Odyssey.

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos

Tony Hsieh’s Net worth: $1 billion

After selling a company to Microsoft for $265 million, Tony Hsieh could have lived in the lap of luxury. Instead, he has invested $350 million of his own money into his online business to transform downtown Las Vegas into a tech hub.

And by all accounts his lifestyle hasn’t changed since his early days in business.

“Money is just a way for Tony to get to his endgame,” said Erik Moore, an early Zappos investor. “Money just doesn’t matter to him. If he only had a million dollars left, he’d spend $999,999 to make Vegas work. He would be just as happy with a dollar in the bank and being around people he cares about and care about him.”

Karl Albrecht, co-founder of Aldi

Karl Albrecht’s Net worth: $25.4 billion

Aldi is to Europe what Walmart is to the US. Albrecht founded the company with his late brother Theo, and together the two made billions building the notoriously no-frills chain.

Raised by a shopkeeper mom and a miner father, they remained true to the vision of frugality that drove both their stores and their lives. When Theo was kidnapped for 17 days in 1971, his brother negotiated a bargain ransom of $4 million — which he then wrote off as a business expense.

Christy Walton, heir to Walmart fortune

Christy Walton’s Net worth: $27.9 billion

Walton is the widow of John T. Walton, one of the sons of Walmart founder Sam Walton.

Despite their wealth, Walton wanted a normal upbringing for her son, so she raised him in an 1896 Victorian home in National City, Calif., outside of San Diego.

After her husband died in a plane crash, Walton donated the home to the International Community Foundation – Center for Cross-Border Philanthropy.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg’s Net worth: $9.4 billion

As the mastermind behind Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg is a billionaire many times over. But the 28-year-old leads a surprisingly low-key lifestyle.

He recently upgraded to a $7 million house in Palo Alto, but The Los Angeles Times called the home “still well below his means.”

Zuckerberg reportedly drives an Acura “because it’s safe and not ostentatious,” and famously wears the same gray t-shirt and hoodie to work every day.

His wedding to longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan took place in his backyard, and the pair was seen digging in at a McDonald’s on their Italian honeymoon.

David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby

David Green’s Net worth: $4.5 billion

While he could easily afford a Gulfstream of his own, Green, founder of arts and crafts retail chain Hobby Lobby, prefers to fly coach.

Instead of spending his billions on himself and his family, Green has famously become the largest individual donor to evangelical causes in America. He’s given upwards of $500 million in charitable contributions over his lifetime, according to Forbes.

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Buffett’s Net worth: $46 billion

Warren Buffett still lives in the Omaha, Nebraska, home he bought for $31,500 more than 50 years ago.

He doesn’t own a yacht because, as he puts it, “Most toys are just a pain in the neck.” When he married his second wife, rather than a lavish affair, it was a brief afternoon wedding at his daughter’s house in Omaha.

He has also given billions of dollars to charitable causes and begged Washington to increase his taxes.

Alexander Lebedev, Russian businessman

Alexander Lebedev’s Net worth: $1.1 billion

Unlike many Russian oligarchs who flaunt their wealth buying apartments, yachts, and jets, Lebedev is notoriously frugal.

From a Guardian profile:

“Indeed, the most striking difference between him and other oligarchs is his social activism. Lebedev has used his large fortune to improve the lot of ordinary Russians. He talks enthusiastically about such unfashionable themes as flat-pack housing and potatoes.”

He is staunch in his beliefs; Lebedev was charged with “hooliganism” after punching a rival on a talk show last year.

Carlos Slim Helú, chairman and CEO of Telmex

Carlos Slim Helu’s Net worth: $69 billion

Carlos Slim may be the wealthiest person on the planet, but that doesn’t mean he’s an extravagant spender.

The self-made billionaire lives in the same modest six-bedroom house he has owned for the past 30 years, and still drives himself to work, according to The Week.

As far as we can tell, he does not own a yacht or a private plane.

Amancio Ortega, founder of Zara

Amancio Ortega’s Net worth: $57.5 billion

2012 was a good year for Zara founder Ortega, whose net worth rose by $22.2 billion last year.

Even so, he hasn’t let the success go to his head. Ortega and his wife live in a discreet apartment building in La Coruña, Spain, and he’s a simple dresser, wearing a uniform of blue blazer, white shirt and gray pants every day.

He goes to the same coffee shop every day and eats lunch with his employees in the Zara cafeteria. And Ortega drives an Audi A8, not some fancy supercar.

One major indulgence: Ortega owns The Global Express BD-700, a private jet designed by Bombardier that carries price tag of $45 million.

Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro Limited

Azim Premji’s Net worth: $12.2 billion

As the owner of the technology-service giant, Wipro, Azim Premji is worth more than $12 billion.

Regardless, he is said to monitor the number of toilet-paper rolls used in Wipro facilities and demands that employees switch off the lights when leaving their offices.

Premji often takes a three-wheel auto rickshaw from the Bangalore airport when returning from business trips, and drives a 1996 Ford, according to a 2003 Businessweek profile.

“Premji makes Uncle Scrooge look like Santa Claus,” said one Bangalore tech executive.

Jim C. Walton, Walmart heir and chair of Arvest Bank

Jim C. Walton’s Net worth: $19.2 billion

Jim C. Walton may belong to one of the wealthiest families in the world, but he has followed in the frugal footsteps of his father, Walmart founder Sam Walton.

The youngest and most private of the Walton siblings, Jim still resides in Bentonville, Ark., where he runs the family’s personal wealth management company from the upstairs office of “a plain old brick building” in downtown Bentonville.

In 2007, it was reported that Walton drove a 15-year-old Dodge Dakota.

Question for the readers: How would you act if your net worth was in the billions? Would it change who you are? Would you be able to live a normal life?

Article Originally By: Julie Zeveloff & Gus Lubin | BusinessInsider.com

22 Must Know Investment Quotes By Some Of The Worlds Greatest Investors

Joel — Wed, 23 May 2012 04:09:16 +0000

A number of these stock market legends have predicted huge crashes, have been the backing behind very successful, world renowned companies and a few of them have even made their millions to billions in just days.

Here are 22 must know investor quotes by some of the worlds greatest investors.

The Top 22 Investment Quotes

Warren Buffett (Net Worth $39 Billion) – “‘Price is what you pay; value is what you get.’ Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down.”

George Soros (Net Worth $22 Billion) - ”I’m only rich because I know when I’m wrong…I basically have survived by recognizing my mistakes.”

Carl Icahn (Net Worth $13 Billion) - “You learn in this business: If you want a friend, get a dog”

David Rubenstein (Net Worth $2.8 Billion) – “Persist – don’t take no for an answer. If you’re happy to sit at your desk and not take any risk, you’ll be sitting at your desk for the next 20 years.”

Ray Dalio (Net Worth $6.5 Billion) – “More than anything else, what differentiates people who live up to their potential from those who don’t is a willingness to look at themselves and others objectively.”

Alisher Usmanov (Net Worth $18.1 Billion) - ”First of all I trust my own instinct, experience that I gained over years and feeling when the moment is right for buying shares. That is what one calls intuition.

Carlos Slim (Net Worth $69 Billion) - “Anyone who is not investing now is missing a tremendous opportunity.”

Eddie Lampert (Net Worth $3 Billion) – “This idea of anticipation is key to investing and to business generally. You can’t wait for an opportunity to become obvious. You have to think, “Here’s what other people and companies have done under certain circumstances. Now, under these new circumstances, how is this management likely to behave?”

T. Boone Pickens (Net Worth $1.4 Billion) - “The older I get, the more I see a straight path where I want to go. If you’re going to hunt elephants, don’t get off the trail for a rabbit.”

Charlie Munger (Net Worth $1 Billion) – “If you took our top fifteen decisions out, we’d have a pretty average record. It wasn’t hyperactivity, but a hell of a lot of patience. You stuck to your principles and when opportunities came along, you pounced on them with vigor.”

Jim Cramer (Net Worth $100 Million) - “As long as you enjoy investing, you’ll be willing to do the homework and stay in the game. That’s why I try to make the show so entertaining, because if you aren’t interested, you’ll either miss the opportunity to make money in the market or not pay enough attention and end up losing your shirt.”

Michael Milken (Net Worth $2.1 Billion) – “My experience indicates that most people who’ve accumulated a great deal of wealth haven’t had that as their goal at all. Wealth is only a by-product, not the original motivation.”

David Tepper (Net Worth $5 Billion) – “This company looks cheap, that company looks cheap, but the overall economy could completely screw it up. The key is to wait. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to do nothing.”

Benjamin Graham – R.I.P (Net Worth Unknown) – “The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator. This means that he should be able to justify every purchase he makes and each price he pays by impersonal, objective reasoning that satisfies him that he is getting more than his money’s worth for his purchase.”

Louis Bacon (Net Worth $1.4 Billion) – “As a speculator you must embrace disorder and chaos.”

Paul Tudor Jones (Net Worth $3.2 Billion) - “Were you want to be is always in control, never wishing, always trading, and always, first and foremost protecting your butt. After a while size means nothing. It gets back to whether you’re making 100% rate of return on $10,000 or $100 million dollars. It doesn’t make any difference.”

Peter Thiel (Net Worth $1.5 Billion) – “Value investors look at cash flows. If a company can maintain present cash flows for 5 or 6 years, it’s a good investment. Investors then just hope that those cash flows—and thus the company’s value—don’t decrease faster than they anticipate.”

Bruce Kovner (Net Worth $4.3 Billion) - ” My experience with novice traders is that they trade three to five times too big. They are taking 5 to 10 percent risks on a trade when they should be taking 1 to 2 percent risks. The emotional burden of trading is substantial; on any given day, I could lose millions of dollars. If you personalize these losses, you can’t trade.”

Rene Rivkin (Net Worth $346 Million) - “When buying shares, ask yourself, would you buy the whole company?”

Peter Lynch (Net Worth $352 Million) – “I think you have to learn that there’s a company behind every stock, and that there’s only one real reason why stocks go up. Companies go from doing poorly to doing well or small companies grow to large companies.”

John Templeton (Net Worth $20 Billion)- “The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell.”

John (Jack) Bogle (Net Worth $4 Billion) - “If you have trouble imagining a 20% loss in the stock market, you shouldn’t be in stocks.”

Article By Joel Brown

Multi-Billionaire Warren Buffet’s 5 Tips To Live By

Joel — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:30:29 +0000

Multi Billionaire Investor ‘Warren Buffett‘ who once was ‘The Richest Man In The World‘, shares his 5 major rules to living a successful life.

Warren Buffet’s 5 Life Tips

On Earning: “Never depend on a single income. Make Investments to create a second source.”

On Spending: “If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.”

On Savings: “Do not save what is left after spending, spend what is left after saving.”

On Taking Risks: ”Never test the depths of the river with both of your feet.”

On Expectations: “Honesty is a very expensive gift. Do not expect it from cheap people.”

Here are five lessons that the Oracle of Omaha – Warren Buffett passed on to his son, Peter Buffett.

Stay in Milwaukee

In other words, follow your own path, not the approach taken by everyone else. After his big career breakthrough – scoring the memorable “Fire Dance” scene in the Oscar-winning film ‘Dances with Wolves’ – Peter Buffett didn’t move to Hollywood. Instead he continued to live in Milwaukee, and remained true to himself. His father, of course, did the same thing, remaining in his home town of Omaha instead of following the investing herd and moving to Wall Street. Warren Buffett has said this makes him a better investor, because he doesn’t get caught up in the fear, greed or conventional wisdom that other investors fall prey to.

Give Your Kids Opportunity, Not Handouts

Peter Buffett says his father helped him get started, but didn’t give him so much money that he could just sit back and live off the inheritance. As Warren Buffett put it: “Enough to do anything but not enough to do nothing.” It’s a useful starting point even if you’re not in Buffett’s league when it comes to wealth. You might decide to pay your children’s way through college, for example, but tell them that after that, they’re on their own.

Give to Charity, and Get a Lot Back

Sure, Peter Buffett may have a little more to drop in the collection plate than you do, but the lesson he learned still applies. In 2006, Warren and Susan Buffett gave each of their kids $1 billion to give to charity. With his wife, Jennifer, Peter launched the NoVo Foundation, which helps girls and women around the world who “suffer from violence, poverty and discrimination simply because they are female.”

Peter remembers his dad asking: “Do you think this will affect your music?” “I didn’t know what he was talking about,” Peter says — but then the work he was doing with girls in Africa started to seep into his art. “My music has taken all these interesting turns because of the foundation. Which I never would have expected.”

Invest in Potential

Great investors and smart bettors understand that biggest returns come not from the best company or the fastest horse, but the most undervalued stock or the least appreciated steed. Peter Buffett said he applied his father’s investing wisdom to his charitable foundation: “If you invest in an undervalued asset and just let it grow, the market will catch up and recognize its value and you’ll get a huge return,” Peter Buffett says. “To me, that’s an adolescent girl in the developing world.”

Do What You Love

“[My Dad] always said, ‘Do what you love,’” says Peter. “That was critical. Really, my Dad and I do the same thing … He told me: ‘Don’t settle for anything other than your passion – if you’re lucky enough to find it.” But finding it, Peter says, is the hardest part.

5 Lessons for Peter Buffett from Warren Buffet originally appeared here

(Infographic) Why Billionaire Bill Gates Is Better Than Batman

Joel — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:46:23 +0000

You could say that Bill Gates is the modern day Batman, giving to the poor and saving the world, one needle at a time with his sidekick Melinda Gates and the head honcho Warren Buffet. So why is Bill Gates better than Batman? This Infographic by Frugaldad.com explains why.

This Infographic is shared with the permission of Frugaldad.com.

Bill Gates Vs.Batman Infographic

The Top 25 Millionaires & Billionaires That Are Using Their Money To Save The World

Joel — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:11:08 +0000

When you think of the word “Philanthropist“, people such as Bill & Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett & Oprah Winfrey may come to mind. These are just a few of the many super rich that have devoted their lives to changing the world for the better through the riches and Success they have made over their lives. Read on to see the list of the Top 25 Richest Millionaires & Billionaires giving away their money to make this world a better place.

Billionaires Giving Away Money

#25 Lee and Jane Seidman

Amount donated in 2010: $42 million

Net worth: Not available

Beneficiary: University Hospitals in Cleveland

Background: Seidman is the retired founder and president of the Motorcars Group, a Cleveland-based conglomerate of car dealerships. He pledged in 2010 to give away 90% of his wealth before the end of the year.

#24 Larry Ellison

Amount donated in 2010: $45.1 million

Net worth: $39.5 billion (via Forbes)

Beneficiary: Ellison Medical Foundation

Background: Ellison, the founder of Oracle, started his foundation in 1997 for biomedical research.

#23 Bennett S. LeBow

Amount donated in 2010: $49 million

Net worth: Not available

Beneficiary: Drexel University

Background: LeBow is the chairman and CEO of Borders and chairman of the Vector Group, a holding company for manufacturers of cigarettes. He’s a graduate of Drexel and the university’s business school bears his name.

#19 (tie) P. Roy and Diana Vagelos

Amount donated in 2010: $50 million

Net worth: $535 million (via the National Herald)

Beneficiary: Columbia University Medical Center

Background: Dr. Vagelos is the former CEO and chairman of pharmaceutical giant Merck. He’s an alumnus of the medical school associated with the hospital.

#19 (tie) Paul Ichiro Terasaki

Amount donated in 2010: $50 million

Net worth: Not available

Beneficiary: University of California at Los Angeles

Background: Dr. Terasaki is a pioneer in the field of organ transplant medicine. In 1946 he developed the test that became the international standard method for tissue typing. He conducted his research in the university’s laboratories.

#19 (tie) Ming Hsieh

Amount donated in 2010: $50 million

Net worth: $1.6 billion (via Forbes)

Beneficiary: University of Southern California

Background: Hsieh founded AMAX Information Technologies, a computer server and storage systems maker, and Cogent, which develops automated fingerprint-identification systems. He’s a graduate of the school, as well as a trustee.

#19 (tie) Ned Evans

Amount donated in 2010: $50 million

Net worth: $6.5 billion (via Boston Magazine)

Beneficiary: Yale University

Background: Evans, who passed away last year, was a private investor and the chairman of publishing company Macmillan from 1979 to 1989. He was also a well-known horse breeder, as well as an alumnus of Yale.

#18 Charles E. Kaufman

Amount donated in 2010: $53.3 million (estimated bequest)

Net worth: Not available

Beneficiaries: The Pittsburgh Foundation and other charities

Background: Kaufman, who passed away last year, was an investor and the former director of purchasing at pharmaceutical company Merck. His gift will support research in biology, chemistry, and physics

#17 Bill and Karen Ackman

Amount donated in 2010: $59.3 million

Net worth: $700 million (via Forbes)

Beneficiary: Pershing Square Foundation

Background: Ackman is the founder of New York-based hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management. Along with his wife, he created the Pershing Square Foundation in 2006 to support education, human rights, social entrepreneurship, and other causes.

#16 Pierre and Pam Omidyar

Amount donated in 2010: $61.5 million

Net worth: $6.2 billion (via Forbes)

Beneficiaries: HopeLab, Humanity United, Omidyar Network, and the Ulupono Initiative

Background: Omidyar is the founder of eBay. His wife is the chairwoman of HopeLab, a nonprofit that develops technology to benefit chronically ill children.

#15 Henry C. Jr. and Jane Woods

Amount donated in 2010:$67 million (bequest)

Net worth: Not available

Beneficiaries: Lawrenceville School and North Shore Country Day School

Background: Woods is the heir to the Sahara Coal Company fortune. The bulk of last year’s donation went to the Lawrenceville School, a private school in New Jersey from which he graduated and where he was a longtime teacher and chair of the English department.

#14 David and Patricia Atkinson

Amount donated in 2010: $80 million

Net worth: Not available

Beneficiary: Cornell University

Background: Atkinson is a former partner of Miller, Anderson & Sherrerd, a money management firm. He now runs Atkinson & Company, a private investment business he owns with his wife. Their gift went towards a research center focusing on energy, sustainability and the environment.

#13 Juanita Kious Waugh

Amount donated in 2010: $83.7 million (estimated bequest)

Net worth: Not available

Beneficiaries: The Mayo Clinic, Saint Joseph’s College in Indiana

Background: Waugh, who passed away last year, managed her family’s farms and was the heir to part of their cattle, farming and banking fortune. She and her parents had been patients of the Mayo Clinic.

#12 Terrence and Kim Pegula

Amount donated in 2010: $88 million

Net worth: $3.1 billion (via Forbes)

Beneficiary: Pennsylvania State University

Background: Pegula founded East Resources, an oil and gas exploration and development company, which he sold to Royal Dutch Shell in 2010 for $4.7 billion. The donation from Pegula, an alumnus, will go towards the university’s hockey program.

#10 (tie) Mark Zuckerberg

Amount donated in 2010: $100 million

Net worth: $17.5 billion (via Forbes)

Beneficiary: Startup: Education

Background: Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, made a huge donation to his own foundation, which will support programs that benefit the school system in Newark, N.J. The sum will be paid out over five years.

#10 (tie) Marc and Lynne Benioff

Amount donated in 2010: $100 million

Net worth: $1.9 billion (via Forbes)

Beneficiary: University of California at San Francisco Children’s Hospital

Background: Benioff is the founder of Salesforce.com. His daughter was born at the hospital, and he is a member of its board.

#9 Meyer and Renee Luskin

Amount donated in 2010: $100.5 million

Net worth: Not available

Beneficiary: University of California at Los Angeles

Background: Luskin is the chairman of Scope Industries, a major maker of animal feed. He is a graduate of UCLA and the couple’s gift will go towards a variety of academic programs.

#8 T. Boone Pickens

Amount donated in 2010: $101 million

Net worth: $1.45 billion (via Forbes)

Beneficiaries: Oklahoma State University and other charities

Background: The founder of oil company Mesa Petroleum and energy investment firm BP Capital, Pickens is a graduate of OSU. His donation will endow need-based scholarships for students.

#7 Frances Lasker Brody

Amount donated in 2010: $110 million (estimated bequest)

Net worth: Not available

Beneficiary:The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

Background: Brody, who passed away in 2009, was the heir to both the fortune of her father, an advertising pioneer, and her husband Sidney Brody, a real estate magnate. She was a member of the library’s board of overseers, and her donation was largely funded by the sale of her vast art collection.

#6 Leonard Blavatnik

Amount donated in 2010: $117.2 million

Net worth: $9.5 billion (via Forbes)

Beneficiary: University of Oxford

Background: Blavatnik is the founder of Access Industries, a major holding company. He did not attend Oxford, but decided the university was the right choice after learning that it wanted to create a school dedicated to “improving government and public-policy practices globally.”

#5 Edythe and Eli Broad

Amount donated in 2010: $118.3 million

Net worth: $6.3 billion (via Forbes)

Beneficiary: Broad Foundations

Background: Broad is the founder and chairman of homebuilder KB Home Corporation and financial services company SunAmerica. The couple’s foundation supports civic programs, contemporary art museums, education, and medical and scientific research. Broad is also funding a new art museum in Los Angeles.

#4 Irwin and Joan Jacobs

Amount donated in 2010: $119.5 million

Net worth: $1.15 billion (via Forbes)

Beneficiaries: University of California at San Diego Health System, Joan and Irwin Jacobs Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego

Background: Jacobs is a co-founder of Qualcomm, the wireless communications company. The bulk of their donation went to the UCSD health system, which is building a new medical center to be named after the couple.

#3 T. Denny Sanford

Amount donated in 2010: $162.5 million

Net worth: $600 million (via The Daily)

Beneficiaries: Sanford Health Foundation, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and the Florida Hospital for Children

Background: The noted philanthropist is chairman of United National Corporation, a banking business in South Dakota. His most recent gift to his foundation will establish a national institute for research and treatment of breast cancer.

#2 Michael R. Bloomberg

Amount donated in 2010: $279.2 million

Net worth: $19.5 billion (via Forbes)

Beneficiaries: Arts, human services, public affairs, and other groups

Background: The founder of Bloomberg LP and Mayor of New York city gave to 970 different nonprofit groups in 2010. Since 2004, the first year the Philanthropy list was published, he has given away well over $100 million annually.

#1 George Soros

Amount donated in 2010: $332 million

Net worth: $22 billion (via Forbes)

Beneficiary: Open Society Foundations

Background: Soros is a financier and the chair of Soros Fund Management, which manages hedge funds. He’s also the founder of Open Society Foundations, which supports human rights organizations and democratic institutions.

Source: Chronicle of Philanthropy

10 Rare Facts That You May Not Know About The Legendary Mr.Warren Buffett

Joel — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:28:12 +0000

Widely regarded as one of the most successful investor in the world, Mr.”Warren Buffett“, worth $50 Billion Dollars this year on the Forbes Rich List turned 81 a couple days ago.

To celebrate his belated 81st we have decided to feature “10 Rare Facts That You May Not Know About The Legendary Mr.Warren Buffett“.

Warren Buffett’s First Career? Paperboy.

He was a paperboy for The Washington Post… and the Times-Herald, apparently. He began selling both papers so that when customers canceled their subscriptions to one, he had the other ready for them to buy.

His Favorite Restaurant

Image: banlon1964 via flickr

We all knew he was frugal — and Buffett’s favorite restaurant, Piccolo Pete’s in Omaha, proves as much. There you can buy a New York Strip Steak there for $9.95.

Disowned His Granddaughter?

Warren Buffett disowned his granddaughter, Nicole Buffett, in 2006, after she participated in a documentary about children of the ultra-wealthy. Warren’s son, Peter, formally adopted Nicole when he married her mother — but the two divorced 10 years later. Warren Buffett was reportedly so enraged by Nicole Buffett’s participation in the documentary that he wrote to her in a letter, “I have not emotionally or legally adopted you as a grandchild, nor have the rest of my family adopted you as a niece or a cousin.”

Warren Buffett… Not Really a Fan of “The Office”?

Remember Buffett’s cameo on “The Office”? Apparently, he had never even seen the show before.

He’s a Frat Guy

Buffett is a frat guy — no, really. He pledged Alpha Sigma Phi. The fraternity focuses on “silence, purity, charity, honor and patriotism” according to its mission statement.

He Loves Cheetos… and Soda

He loves junk food. A profile on Buffett in the Wall Street Journal noted his penchant for snacking on Cheetos, licorice candy and Cherry Coke.

He Eats Exactly 2,500 Calories a Day

And so long as we’re on the subject of food — Warren Buffett has said he eats exactly 2,500 calories a day. The strategy is part of his own, personal style of nutrition — he famously once said “If I eat more than 2,500 calories a day, I’m going to gain weight. If I eat less than 2,500 a day I’m going to lose weight. I’d like to choose the 2,500 calories that I eat.”

Warren Buffett Poses for a Christmas Card

He once posed for a Boston College MBA student’s Christmas card… Wearing red, light-up reindeer antlers.

His First Return on an Investment? $5.

Buffett bought his first stock at age 11, according to a Salon profile. He later sold it for a $5 profit.

An Open Marriage.. Kinda

Warren Buffett had an open marriage — well, kind of. He and his wife, Susan, separated in the 1970s and lived apart until her death in 2004. As popular lore dictates, Warren then took up a relationship with Susan’s friend Astrid Menks (at Susan’s suggestion). The three remained close through the years, often sending Christmas cards signed “Warren, Susie and Astrid.” Two years after Susan’s passing, Astrid and Warren wed — they had dinner at “Bonefish Grill, a casual seafood restaurant,” afterward.

This post originally appeared on Mogulite

Forbes List Of The Richest Men & Women Around The World

Joel — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:06:42 +0000

Here we have the list of Forbes Richest Men & Women From Around The Globe.

The 2011 Forbes Billionaires List breaks two records: the total number of listees (1,210) and combined wealth ($4.5 trillion). This horde surpasses the gross domestic product of Germany, one of only six nations to have fewer billionaires this year.

Forbes Richest Men & Women From Around The Globe List

BRICs led the way: Brazil, Russia, India and China produced 108 of the 214 new names. These four nations are home to one in four members, up from one in 10 five years ago. Before this year only the U.S. had ever produced more than 100 billionaires. China now has 115 and Russia 101.