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10 Richest Heads of State in the World
Oct 19th
They say that being in the top job of any organization is stressful, but that the pay is worth it. It seems the same is true when it comes to the government — as these super-rich heads of state show. Who says working in the public sector has to pay badly?
10. Sebastián Piñera ($2.4 billion)
The incredibly rich but strangely robotic-looking Sebastián Piñera is the lowest in our set of billionaires, with a “mere” $2.4 billion in his pocket. The head of state was originally involved in managing a number of major companies, such as Apple Chile, broadcaster Chilevisión (which he owned 100%) and Chilean airline LAN — with investment in the latter greatly contributing to his personal fortune. In 2010 he graduated to become the “CEO” of his entire nation after being elected President, and in the same year the country’s economy grew by 5.2% — proof that his money-making abilities carry over into the political arena, as well? The Chilean numero uno also currently ranks at number 488 in Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires. Now, if only all his money could do something to make him look less like the Terminator.
9. Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani ($2.4 billion)
Sheikh Hamad originally came to the throne after deposing his father in a bloodless palace coup in 1995. The Emir of Qatar represents his country on state visits and is responsible for leading its development of oil and natural gas resources. The results can be seen in his $2.4 billion bank balance. The military-focused emir, who was educated at England’s Sandhurst Military Academy, has also served as his county’s Minister of Defense, and previously brought in an extensive program of modernization to Qatar’s armed forces. He also has three wives and twenty-four children. A good thing he has plenty of money to pay for babysitters!
8. Mohammed VI ($2.5 billion)
The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, made his billions through inheritance of his family’s vast fortune and his country’s massive reserves of phosphates. As the ruler of his country, he wields vast executive powers, which he has used to undercut the sacredness of the monarchy and increase the power of the prime minister. He has also introduced reforms to make the more corrupt sections of his government more accountable to the public — although some people think these pro-democratic measures have not gone far enough. Mohammed also has a pretty hefty bank balance: he’s reputed to be worth $2.5 billion dollars, and has the sharp suits to prove it. Some people must just be born lucky.
7. Hans-Adam II ($4 billion)
Despite being the head of state of the tiny European country of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II is one of the wealthiest rulers in the world and easily the richest in Europe. He beats more famous monarchs like Britain’s Elizabeth II and Beatrix I of the Netherlands hands down, which has got to be pretty embarrassing for them. Despite being royalty with vast inherited wealth, Adam worked hard for his money: not only does he own the LGT banking group; he was put in charge of the family’s finances at the age of just 27, and did such a good job that today their total wealth amounts to over seven billion dollars. As of 2004 he has formally turned over many of his powers to his son, Prince Alois. Let’s hope the kid makes as good a job of it as the old man.
6. Silvio Berlusconi ($9 billion)
There’s a joke that the official unit for measuring political corruption is called a “Berlusconi.” Shady dealings (Berlusconi has been accused of embezzlement, tax fraud and bribery of judges amongst other things) have certainly helped the Italian leader and entrepreneur get ahead in the world: he’s not only officially the fifth richest head of state but the longest-serving leader of a G8 country, the owner of Italian football giants A.C. Milan — not to mention an investment company that controls Italy’s largest private TV stations — and is constantly seen on the arm of women decades younger than him, to boot. If that’s bad behavior, we’re not sure we want to be good. Mind you, with a list of gaffes that includes passing laws solely to slow down prosecutions against him, referring to Obama as “tanned” and comparing a German MEP to a concentration camp guard, maybe being in his shoes wouldn’t be worth the $9 billion.
5. Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum ($12 billion)
Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum is perhaps surprisingly low on our list at number five. In 2009 Forbes put his fortune at $12bn, but the ruler of billionaire playground Dubai used to be even wealthier, with a fortune in excess of $18 billion. When the late-2000s recession struck, however, the Sheikh lost a lot of money and was even forced to ask neighboring Abu Dhabi for a handout when the markets tumbled. Through investment firm Dubai World, Al Maktoum has control of companies such as port operator DP World Ltd and real estate developer Nakheel Properties, and through the latter has helped to craft the landscape of Dubai, including the distinctive fake archipelago, The Palm Jumeirah. His official website summarizes him as a “Leader,” “Equestrian” and “Poet.” We’d add “staggeringly wealthy Sheikh” to that, as well.
4. Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan ($15 billion)
The President of the United Arab Emirates and Emir of Abu Dhabi acquired his considerable wealth from a combination of real estate investment, inheritance and oil. Due to his father’s ill health, he had been forced to be acting president before assuming the post proper in 2004. He is widely regarded as a pro-Western modernizer by the US, although he is also seen as “distant and uncharismatic” (according to communications published on Wikileaks). Mind you, the head of state is also the third wealthiest monarch in the world, with assets totaling over $15 billion. Who needs charisma if you have that?
3. Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud ($18 billion)
The current King of Saudi Arabia isn’t quite the King of this rich list, coming in at number three. Still, with a massive family fortune of $18 billion behind him — built on the back of his country’s unprecedented oil reserves — he isn’t exactly short of a penny either. The former Saudi Arabian National Guard commander has always had a close relationship with the US, making frequent state visits to its presidents and expressing support for George Bush, Jr. on the second anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. He’s also apparently a big fan of America’s current president, saying “Thank God for bringing Obama to the presidency,” according to private communications revealed by Wikileaks.
2. Hassanal Bolkiah ($20 billion)
The Sultan of Brunei comes in second on our list with a personal fortune estimated at $20 billion. With wealth gained from his country’s vast reserves of oil and natural gas, he has a dynasty behind him believed to be one of the oldest still in existence. The absolute monarch has also used his riches to ensure that citizens of his country have no personal income taxes, free education and universal healthcare — making him pretty much a one-man national healthcare service. Imagine if Obama were able to do this in the US.
1. Bhumibol Adulyadej ($30 billion)
With a fortune estimated at $30 billion in 2009, King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the richest head of state on the planet. The King of Thailand is revered as a demigod in his own country — where he is deemed legally “inviolable” and any criticism aimed his way can lead to a lengthy stretch in prison. The king’s personal fortune is massive: he owns large stakes is several private companies — including Sammakorn, SCG and Thai Insurance PLC — and also has vast land holdings (although government suits stress that the latter do not form part of his personal wealth). In 2008, Forbes estimated that Adulyadej was worth $35 billion, but declines in real estate and stocks meant the figure had dipped $5 billion by the following year. Evidence that the king does return some of the love he receives from his people comes in the form of the various donations he has made to Thai development projects, in areas ranging from agriculture and public health to water resources and public welfare. See, it’s not all take.
Bonus: Vladimir Putin ($40 billion)
Former President (and very probably President-to-be) Vladimir Putin claims his net worth is a relatively modest $150,000, but the Russian head of government is strongly suspected of being far richer. Whistleblowers like former fellow government member Ivan Rybkin and political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky have claimed that the President controls secret assets in oil and natural gas companies like Gazprom and Gunvor… to the tune of more than $40 billion. These allegations have not been proven, but if they are true he would be richest by far of the guys on this list and certainly deserving of a place at the top — even if he has acquired his fortune by means fouler than they are fair.
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10 Richest Criminals of All Time
Oct 14th
Anyone who says crime doesn’t pay should take a look at these men and women. This collection of bank robbers, drug dealers, crime lords and general scumbags shows that if you want to get ahead, sometimes it helps to chop off a few heads… (Note: white collar criminals like Bernard Madoff weren’t considered for this list; our focus was criminals of a more hardcore caste.)
10. Joseph Kennedy ($200-400 million, a billionaire figuring in today’s inflation)
Joseph Kennedy was the harmless-looking patriarch of one of the most powerful families in America, a corporate big shot… and strongly connected to the bootleggers who made millions selling alcohol during the Prohibition Era — if not a bootlegger himself. He is widely thought to have had dealings with Frank Costello, the head of the Luciano crime family, to facilitate smuggling alcohol into the country for easy distribution during the post-WWI period. Not only did Kennedy make a profit on his river of illicit booze, but he was also credibly accused of framing one of his rivals for rape in order to acquire his business (not to mention of being a gross anti-Semite and a major supporter of Hitler). Still, with his fortune measuring in the billions in today’s money (in 1957 he was named one of America’s richest people by Fortune magazine) it probably wouldn’t have been wise for the rest of the Kennedys to have disowned him completely…
9. Meyer Lansky ($300-400 million)
The suave, well-dressed “Mob’s Accountant,” Meyer Lansky had a formidable illegal gambling empire in America from the 1930s onwards, with branches stretching from Florida to Las Vegas. Much of the rest of his fortune was generated through his ultra-close links with the Mafia, particularly Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel. He was such a compelling criminal that several movie gangsters were allegedly based on him, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather series and Max Bercovicz from the epic Once Upon a Time in America. Even after his retirement, Lansky still made Forbes’ list of the 400 richest people in America, and at the time of his death in 1983, the FBI reckoned he had hundreds of millions in concealed back accounts. Now that’s good investing…
8. Griselda Blanco, “The Godmother” ($500 million)
The Miami-based “Godmother,” Griselda Blanco was arguably the most ruthless gangster working in the drug trade in the ’70s and ’80s. She was known equally for her good business sense as she was for her sociopathic tendencies (at the age of 11 she took a fellow child hostage, demanded a ransom and eventually killed him with a bullet to the head). Nothing like learning your job skills early in life… Blanco was also suspected of murdering her three husbands, ordering more than 200 hits during her time as a mob boss, and forcing men to have sex with her at gunpoint. She went into hiding in the mid-2000s and was last seen in 2007. If she is still alive, she is believed to be one of the wealthiest self-made women on the planet… If the glass ceiling was going to crack, why did it have to be here?
7. Anthony Salerno ($600 million)
The real life “Fat Tony” wasn’t nearly as cuddly as his Simpsons counterpart. Easily distinguishable by his trademark cigar and fedora, Anthony Salerno worked his way up to Consigliere of the Genovese family in the 1970s, having spent the previous few decades practicing his skills in illegal gambling, loan sharking and protection rackets. In the ’60s, his New York numbers empire was generating $50 million annually. Salerno was also notable for sending his close personal friends Christmas cards with pictures of himself in pyjamas on the front. Come to think of it, that is pretty cuddly… Nevertheless, he died at the age of 80, having spent the fading years of his life in jail.
6. Joaquín Loera ($1 billion)
Mexican criminal Joaquín Loera is a dark horse compared to more flamboyant drug dealers like Pablo Escobar, but that doesn’t make him any less influential. On the contrary. Loera, who made most of his billion dollars selling drugs from Mexico — and goes by a number of nicknames, including El Chapo and Crystal King — is currently a fugitive in his own country but is believed to be the most powerful drug dealer on Earth — meaning that the reported figure for his wealth could be a big under-estimate (he might be worth closer to $5 billion). The man who was listed as the the 937th richest man in the world by Forbes in 2010 was last heard from leaving a taunting message for the police near the bullet-riddled corpses of two military officers: “You’ll never get ‘El Chapo’, not the priests, not the government.” Well, he’s gotten away with it so far.
5. Al Capone (nearly $1.3 billion per year in income, allowing for inflation)
Iconic gangster Al Capone was practically the Bill Gates of the criminal world in his heyday. Capone supplied America with a river of bootleged alcohol in the 1920s and 1930s, and was frankly the real “untouchable” in Chicago. His iron-fisted (although certainly not iron-chinned!) rule over his city netted him a substantial income. Although there are no exact figures, it is estimated that in 1929 his criminal activities brought in more than $100,000,000 per year, over a billion dollars in today’s money. The cigar-chomping one even found the time to be a noted philanthropist and public figure… All that before he was brought down on tax evasion charges and syphilis. What a way to go for Chicago’s Godfather.
4. Susumu Ishii ($1.5 billion)
Scary tattooed Yakuza Godfather Susumu Ishii was a member of a manned suicide torpedo unit during World War II. However, after making it through the war alive, he fought his way into a new position as a gangster (sadly, one of the only jobs with long-term prospects as bad as his previous one) and worked his way up the career ladder in the Inagawa-kai gang. He made his estimated billion-and-a-half dollars primarily through loans, banking deals and real estate scams, but lost most of it when Japan’s bubble economy burst at the end of the 1980s. The gangster was so popular that when he died in 1991, his funeral was attended by over 5,000 people. How many bosses, mob or not, can say that?
3. Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas ($2.7 billion)
Carlos Lehder was one of the co-founders of the infamous Medellín cartel, the group of South America-based drug barons who at their peak were responsible for shipping $60 million of illegal substances per day (and another of whose leaders, José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, made Forbes‘ annual list of billionaires, in 1988). Described as a megalomaniac, this criminal spared no expense on the transportation of his precious cocaine, even buying a private plane and a Bahamian island to help him smuggle the substance into the US. How many legitimate businessmen could afford that? After amassing a fortune that would make ‘Scarface’ blush, he was eventually imprisoned in the 1980s and is still in jail in the US to this day. Hmm, on second thought, maybe crime doesn’t pay after all…
2. Pablo Escobar ($9-25 billion)
From being born in a village in Columbia with no electricity, Pablo Escobar worked his way up to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the world. Now that’s a self-made man. At the peak of their operations, he and his associates in the Medellín cartel smuggled around 15 tons of cocaine every day, and protected their shipments by offering snooping officials “lead or silver” — lead for bullets or silver for a bribe. In 1989, Forbes magazine estimated that he was the world’s seventh richest man, with assets of close to $25 billion, and control of 80 percent of the global cocaine market. Despite being a ruthless, murderous drug lord, Escobar was also a compassionate family man (he once reportedly burned $1 million in cash to keep his daughter warm while on the run) but that doesn’t make his illegal exploits any less ominous.
1. Amado Carrillo Fuentes (around $25 billion)
Hans Gruber lookalike and cocaine baron Amado Fuentes was practically a real life James Bond villain. He had the whole package: a vast, drug-based Mexican empire; incredible hardware (including a fleet of 727 jets to transport his product); he even had plastic surgery to alter his appearance. And he was rich. At the time of his death from medical complications, his net worth was estimated to be around $25 billion, which would make him the richest criminal of all time on record. That may be quite an accomplishment, but it’s not exactly a career that is going to earn you much respect… except amongst other drug barons, of course.
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10 Richest Terrorists Ever
Apr 28th
Terrorists often recruit followers and sell themselves to the media by portraying themselves as fighters for freedom who are defending the oppressed and battling against evil. This doesn’t do much to justify the unjustifiable – the killing of innocent men, women and children, and the terror put into the hearts of countless others, causing them to live in fear. It turns out that many of these terrorists could have done a lot more for the oppressed by simply giving away their own vast fortunes – in some cases inherited, in others embezzled, and in still others built up from the activities of the terror groups they headed.
10. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
On 25 December 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded a flight in Amsterdam bound for Detroit with plastic explosives in his underwear. The explosives failed to detonate and he was apprehended by authorities. The failed underwear bomber came from one of the wealthiest families in Nigeria, where his father was chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria. When studying in University College London he resided in a pricey £4 million ($7 million) apartment, a far cry from normal student digs. Thankfully he never thought to use his family money to pay someone to teach him how to use explosives properly.
9. Velupillai Prabhakaran
Velupillai Prabhakaran founded the Tamil Tigers in 1976 to fight for an independent state for the Tamil ethnic group. From then until his death in 2009, Prabhakaran headed the brutal organization which carried out assassinations of Sri Lankan politicians, pioneered the use of explosive belts in suicide missions, and even used light aircraft in attacks. In 2007, Janes Intelligence Review estimated that the Tamil Tigers generated an annual revenue of $300 million – all of it directly and indirectly controlled by Velupillai Prabhakaran.
8. Patricia Hearst
In 1974, newspaper heiress and socialite Patricia Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, a Californian urban guerrilla group. After they demanded goods worth a total of $400 million to be given to needy Californians, Heart’s father donated $6 million to the poor, but the SLA found that to be insufficient. Hearst, possibly under the effects of brainwashing and suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, joined her captors and was convicted of bank robbery in 1976. Her sentence was commuted by Jimmy Carter and she eventually received a presidential pardon from Bill Clinton. Her family’s media empire reportedly earns up to $5 billion in annual revenue.
7. Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden is not only one of the world’s best known terrorists; he is also one of the richest. A member of a powerful and wealthy Saudi family, he inherited a vast fortune. After 9/11 brought him to international attention and made him a household name, his personal fortune was estimated to be $300 million, although this assessment was later downgraded to a comparatively paltry $50 million. Whether it is $300 million or $50 million or somewhere in between, it’s certainly enough money to live on, although there’s probably not much that can be done to make a cave in the Afghan mountains feel homely.
6. Thomas “Slab” Murphy
In 1998, Thomas Murphy lost an 11-year libel battle against the Sunday Times, who had named him as an IRA member and organizer of bombing campaigns. In 2004, the BBC included him on their Underworld Rich list due to an estimated €50 million ($75 million) fortune built by smuggling of livestock, oil, and cigarettes. But this wasn’t the only way in which he was smokin’; his smuggling skills allegedly gained him a high rank in the IRA, who he supplied with guns and explosives for use in their terrorist struggle against Britain. Since 2008 he has been involved in a string of legal proceedings with both the British and Irish governments related to tax evasion, smuggling and money laundering, and has already paid £1 million ($1.6 million) in settlements.
5. Yasser Arafat
Despite being a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Yasser Arafat was the founder and leader of Fatah, an organization which joined with the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1967. The PLO was identified by the US as a terrorist group in 1987 and again in 2004, and by the Israeli government until 1991. Member organizations of the PLO committed such heinous acts as bombing school buses and assassinating Israeli athletes at the Olympics. In 2002, the Israeli Military’s Chief of Intelligence alleged that Arafat had a net worth of over $1.3 billion (with some US sources suggesting it could be as high as $3 billion). Much of that personal fortune is alleged to have been taken directly from funds that were intended to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.
4. Carlos Lehder
One of the founders of the Medellín Cartel in Columbia, Carlos Lehder built a vast fortune of almost $1 billion from drug-running and intimidation. Before his downfall, this made him one of the richest men in the world. Allegedly linked to FARC and a founding member of a paramilitary group created to retaliate against anyone who harmed cartel members, he was involved in various killings, kidnappings and acts of terror. His downfall came about when the Colombian Minister of Justice was assassinated in 1984, and the president of Colombia, worried about suffering the same fate, became open to US extradition requests. He is currently serving a 55-year prison sentence in the United States, despite persistent rumors that he was secretly released in 1995.
3. Thaksin Shinawatra
A former prime minister of Thailand, Shinawatra Thaksin was deposed in a military coup in 2006. His family’s net worth is estimated to be between $2 billion and $3 billion, although much of it has been frozen since he was deposed despite his ploy of registering assets and accounts in the names of various children and relatives. While he had previously been wanted in connection with corruption charges, in 2010 a Thai court issued an international arrest warrant for Thaksin on terrorism charges, accusing him of fomenting violent political protests in which over 80 people died. He remains a fugitive.
2. Dawood Ibrahim
India’s most wanted man and a prominent figure in international organized crime and money laundering, Dawood Ibrahim is suspected of masterminding the 1993 Bombay bombings and involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Due to these allegations, and his connections with Al-Qaeda, he has been identified as a global terrorist by the United States and India and is on the Interpol wanted list. Despite sanctions on his assets and bank accounts, his sprawling empire is still believed to be worth between $6 billion and $7 billion, with some sources estimating it could be as high as $20 billion.
1. Pablo Escobar
This Colombian drug lord was one of the richest criminals to have ever lived. With a personal net worth of $25 billion in 1989, there are stories of him burning $2 million in paper bills to keep his daughter warm while on the run. When, in 1986, he decided to enter politics, he offered to personally pay the country’s $10 billion debt. This vast fortune was built up through trafficking cocaine, and when the Colombian government made noises about extradition, the Medellín Cartel, which he ran, began a sustained campaign of terrorism against them. Between political assassinations and the murders of police officers and civilians, the Cartel may have killed over 3,500 people, and many of whose deaths were ordered directly by Pablo Escobar.
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10 Richest College Dropouts on Earth
Apr 7th
“We don’t need no education” ~ Pink Floyd, “Another Brick in the Wall”
A college education is often touted as being a prerequisite to a good life and a high income. Unsurprisingly, college prospectuses promote the success of their alumni as a reason why you should choose to complete a degree at their particular campus. However, there are plenty of billionaires in the world who traded in their college degrees for a successful business life. In fact, the Forbes World’s Billionaires list 2011 actually identifies the most wealthy college dropouts on earth today. Proof if ever it was needed that slackers don’t always comes second, and that when it comes to business, the studious can’t always cut it.
10. Roman Abramovich
With $13.4 billion to his name, Roman Abramovich is joint 53rd on the list of the world’s richest people. Abramovich claims to have attended the Moscow State Law Academy, graduating in 2001, and has been linked with the Ukhta Industrial University and The Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas in Moscow. Both of the latter universities deny that he attended, and it is rumored, but unsubstantiated, that he dropped out of the Russian capital’s law school. With sources conflicted about the precise course of events it seems somebody may be trying to change the record here – only in Mother Russia! Still, with an oil fortune, diverse investments and England’s Chelsea Football Club in his possession, all the hearsay surrounding his education is unlikely to bother the Moscow business magnate.
9. Mark Zuckerberg
Still only 26, Mark Zuckerberg became the youngest self-made billionaire in the world and, with $13.5 billion in his pocket, the 52nd richest person on the planet. As immortalized in the Hollywood movie The Social Network, he dropped out of Harvard, where he studied psychology and computer science, to head west to California, overseeing the rise of the social media phenomenon that is Facebook. Even though Facebook was originally targeted at a college market, it was by dropping out and seeking venture capital that Zuckerberg gained such huge success.
8. Steve Ballmer
The 46th richest man in the world is following in the footsteps of the 2nd (of whom, more later). The current CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer did complete a college degree (in mathematics and economics) before working for Proctor & Gamble but dropped out of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business to join Microsoft as its 30th employee. We think that qualifies him as a failing student of sorts, so he makes the grade for this list. That said, the savvy timing of his employment meant that his salary included a percentage share in the company which he has since parlayed into $14.5 billion of personal wealth, placing him 46th in the world in terms of net worth. So, if you’re an OTT ball of energy with a certain amount of business nous, it seems you can afford to drop out…
7. Michael Dell
It is clear that Michael Dell valued education only as a route to business success. At the age of just 8, he applied to take a high school equivalency test so that he could enter business sooner. What’s more, while attending high school he invested money from part time jobs in the stock market and successfully targeted newlyweds for newspaper subscriptions while working for the Houston Post, such that he made $18,000 that year – more than his teacher’s salaries. As a pre-med at the University of Texas at Austin, he founded the company that would become Dell. Unsurprisingly, he never completed his studies, but now has a personal wealth of $14.6 billion, making him the world’s 44th richest person. ‘Nuff said.
6. Azim Premji
Azim Premji managed to skyrocket the Indian IT company Wipro Ltd. from a worth of $2.5 million to one that is now valued at $1.4 billion. His 78% stake in Wipro along with other investments have generated him a personal worth of $16.8 billion, making him 36th on the world rich list. He took over the family business, which later became Wipro, after his father died in 1966. This unexpected tragedy meant he had to leave his course in electrical engineering at Stanford University. Azim Premji is nothing if not persistent, however, and he completed the degree 30 years later.
5. Sheldon Adelson
Precocious tycoon Sheldon Adelson owned his first business at the age of 12, making a career selling newspapers on street corners, and moved on through finance and charter tours to found COMDEX, a computer trade show that was first held in 1979. He briefly attended City College of New York, but dropped out before completing his studies. It seems to have been a good idea, though, as his acquisitions of Las Vegas casinos and hotels has brought him a net worth of $23.3 billion, making him the 16th richest person in the world.
4. Mukesh Ambani
Entering the top ten richest people on Earth now – so you know dropping out can’t always be a bad thing! – meet Mukesh Ambani, ranked 9th in the world, with a net worth of $27 billion. He joined his father’s business, Reliance Industries, in 1981 and now owns a 48% stake in the company. Reliance industries is India’s largest private sector company and has diversified interests in everything from communications to petrochemicals. Ambani enrolled at Stanford in 1979 but dropped out of his business masters in order to focus on his father’s business, a focus that has clearly reaped dividends. And while he had earlier gained a degree from from the University of Bombay, a dropout is a dropout, be they a billionaire or no…
3. Eike Batista
The son of a Brazilian mining executive, Eike Batista spent much of his childhood in Germany and studied engineering in Aachen University. However, rather than completing his degree, he started a gold mining company in the Amazon in 1980 – a move that took the shine off his educational record but would soon fill his pockets. In 2000, he sold his share of the company for a cool $1 billion; but he didn’t rest on his laurels, instead investing these funds into further mining ventures and oil and gas exploration. His business savvy and ability to take advantage of market trends have allowed him to amass $30 billion in personal wealth, making him the 8th wealthiest individual alive and giving him the number one spot in Brazil.
2. Lawrence Ellison
The death of his adoptive mother prompted Larry Ellison to drop out of his second year at University of Illinois. He then spent a single term at University of Chicago before dropping out again and moving to California in 1964. These two attempts at college certainly were not signs of a lack of determination though. In 1977 he founded the company that would become Oracle, a software firm specializing in data systems. His abandonment of academia to move to California put him at the heart of software and computer innovation, a move that has led to him amassing a fortune of $39.5 billion as of 2011, making him the 5th richest person in the world.
1. Bill Gates
The richest college dropout in the world is also one of the most well known. At number two in the world’s richest rankings and with a net worth of $56 billion, Bill Gates is a household name. He was the world’s richest person from 1995 to 2007 and again in 2009, unsurprising when you consider how ubiquitous Microsoft products are in homes and businesses across the world. Gates enrolled in Harvard as a pre-law major in 1973, but kept up the computer programming he had begun in 8th grade. It was these extracurricular activities that made him his fortune after the release of microcomputer design the Altair 8800 computer prompted him to set up a software company with Paul Allen. In 1975, he took a leave of absence from his studies at Harvard, only to return for an honorary degree in 2007.
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Carlos Slim Richest Man on Forbes Billionaire List
Mar 11th
Image: José Cruz/ABr
The 2010 Forbes billionaire list awarded Carlos Slim Helu its richest man in the world honor. The Mexican tycoon is worth $53.5 billion, beating out Bill Gates ($53 billion) and Warren Buffett ($47 billion). Here are the top 10 richest men in the world, summed up from Forbes’ excellent list:
1. Carlos Slim Helú
Mexican billionaire who owns the biggest mobile phone company in Latin America, American Movil. He also owns a construction conglomerate, as well as stakes in Saks, the New York Times Co., Bronco Drilling, Inbursa, and Independent News & Media.
2. William Gates III
American billionaire who now runs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Besides stakes in Microsoft, he also has large stakes in Televisa, Auto Nation, and the Four Seasons hotel chain.
3. Warren Buffett
Through Berkshire Hathaway, this famous American controls Geico, Dairy Queen, BYD (an electric carmaker), MidAmerican Energy, and now Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
4. Mukesh Ambani
This Indian petrochemical tycoon runs Reliance Industries, India’s leading oil, gas and chemical giant. He owns the Mumbai Indians cricket team, to boot.
5. Lakshmi Mittal
Mittal, who is from India, runs the worlds biggest steelmaking company, ArcelorMittal. He also owns part of a British soccer team and sits on the boards of Goldman Sachs and EADS.
6. Larry Ellison
The Oracle founder, from the US, isn’t doing too badly after recently buying Sun Microsystems. According to Forbes, he also “won America’s Cup in February, besting longtime rival billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli.” Those billionaires sure can race, can’t they?
7. Bernard Arnault
This Frenchman builds his fortune off defining the luxury lifestyle. He owns Louis Vuitton parent company LVMH, which is also developing high-end commercial property in Shanghai, runs a French tour operator, builds yachts, and built a French ski resort. He’s probably the kind of billionaire you want to hang out with.
8. Eike Batista
This Brazillian oil and mining tycoon also runs a shipbuilding business (OSX) that may raise $5.6 billion–the biggest IPO in the world this year (so far). He also lives it up, according to Forbes, which says he is a “onetime champion offshore powerboat racer; formerly married to Playboy cover girl.”
9. Amancio Ortega
Women around the world thank this Spanish fashion mogul for stores like Zara and Stradivarius. Like a proper tycoon, he also dabbles in real estate, soccer, horse-jumping, banks, tourism, and gas. Oddly, he is betting on real estate in Coral Gables, Fla.–does he know something we don’t?
10. Karl Albrecht
This German grocery entrepreneur founded Aldi. He also cultivates orchids. That’s about as much as anyone knows about him, writes Forbes.
Read the rest of the list here.
Overall, there are fewer Americans on the list, but more Chinese, Turkish, Taiwanese, Russian, Brazilian, and Indian billionaires. For a good analysis of the global members of the list, read this Christian Science Monitor article.
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