Saturday, 19 September 2020
Monday, 22 October 2012
20.Paul Allen
Paul Allen
- Net Worth
- $15 B As of September 2012
At a Glance
- Age: 59
- Source of Wealth: Microsoft, investments, self-made
- Residence: Mercer Island, WA
- Country of Citizenship: United States
- Education: Drop Out, Washington State University
- Marital Status: Single
Forbes Lists
#20 Forbes 400
#20 in United States
Profile
Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist
Paul Allen has been enjoying an upswing in wealth and business activity
lately. Shares of the software maker he started with Bill Gates have
risen this year, but the real winners are his private investment
portfolio (media, energy and tech) and years-long effort to rehab
downtown Seattle's South Lake Union district, an urbanista paradise
where more luxury rentals
are going up and companies (Amazon is in 12 buildings) are moving in
(although word is that Allen may be a seller here soon enough). Allen is
that rare billionaire who combines passions for sports and science. He
owns the Seattle Seahawks (pro football), the Portland Trailblazers (pro
basketball) and is a part-owner in the Seattle Sounders FC (pro
soccer). The cancer survivor also has a keen interest in neuroscience,
having recently lost his mother to Alzheimer's disease. To date he has
committed $500 million to the Allen Institute for Brain Science, which
makes public a detailed "atlas" of genes that control the human brain.
He loaned his 414-foot yacht, Octopus and its personal deep-sea
remote-operated vehicle to survey populations of the rare Coelecanth and
recover the bell from the British warship HMS Hood, sunk in 1941 by the
Nazis. Named the most philanthropic American in 2011 by the Chronicle
of Philanthropy, Allen donates prolifically to Seattle-area causes in
education, the arts and health care.
19.Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer
- Net Worth
- $15.9 B As of September 2012
At a Glance
- CEO, Microsoft
- Age: 56
- Source of Wealth: Microsoft, self-made
- Residence: Hunts Point, WA
- Country of Citizenship: United States
- Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Harvard University; Drop Out, Stanford University
- Marital Status: Married
- Children: 3
Forbes Lists
#19 Forbes 400
#18 in United States
Profile:
Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft since
January 2000, is intent on proving the world's biggest software firm is
keeping pace with its nimbler, younger rivals. In the past several
months he's unveiled a significantly new desktop and mobile operating
system (Windows 8), a new tablet (Surface) to take on the iPad, and
switched clunky old Hotmail to a Webbier version of Outlook. He's taken
his lumps, too, in July
writing down 98% of Microsoft's $6.3 billion acquisition of online
display ad seller aQuantive from five years ago. During his tenure,
Ballmer has tripled revenue to $70 billion and boosted profits 155% to
$23 billion. The stock price? You'd have been better off with an index
fund. Ballmer may be getting ready to hand over the reins: he sold 18%
of his shares in November 2010 and said his keynote appearance at the
giant CES trade show in January 2012 would be his last. Ballmer
continues to keep a tight lid on his personal life. Colleagues say he
does little more than work, spend time with his family and play
basketball with buddies. He's a big hoops fan: Ballmer has been
identified as part of an investor group bidding to bring a National
Basketball Association team back to Seattle, which lost the SuperSonics
to Oklahoma City. As for his personal philanthropy, he told one
reporter, "My own world's my own world, so I continue to treat it that
way." A Detroit-area native, Ballmer dropped out of a Stanford M.B.A.
program to join Harvard classmate Bill Gates in 1980 as employee number
30 at Microsoft.
18.John Mars
John Mars
Net Worth
- $17 B As of September 2012
At a Glance
- Age: 76
- Source of Wealth: candy
- Residence: Jackson, WY
- Country of Citizenship: United States
- Education: Diploma, The Hotchkiss School; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Yale University
- Marital Status: Married
- Children: 3
Forbes Lists
#18 Forbes 400
#22 in United States
Profile:
John Mars and his siblings, Forrest Jr.
and Jacqueline, own $33 billion (estimated sales) Mars, the world's
largest candy company thanks in part to its $23 billion acquisition of
gum maker Wrigley's in 2008. Sales of Skittles, the candy Trayvon Martin
was eating when he was killed, spiked, as people bought the chewy candy
in memory of him.The candy maker's other famous brands include Milky
Way, M&M's, 3
Musketeers, Twix, and Snickers, reportedly named for the Mars family's
favorite horse. John's grandfather, Frank Mars, began making chocolates
in 1911 in his Tacoma, Wash. kitchen. His father, Forrest Sr., joined
the company in 1929, around same time when the firm invented
malt-flavored nougat that became the basis of Milky Way and Snickers;
also M&M's, over 400 million of which are produced in the United
States each day.. It also owns food brands like Uncle Ben's Rice and pet
food brand Whiskas. Mars is a noted supporter of the Fred W. Smith
National Library for the Study of George Washington.
17.Jacqueline Mars
Jacqueline Mars
Net Worth
- $17 B As of September 2012
At a Glance
- Age: 73
- Source of Wealth: candy
- Residence: The Plains, VA
- Country of Citizenship: United States
- Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Bryn Mawr College
- Marital Status: Divorced
- Children: 3
Forbes Lists
#17 Forbes 400
#22 in United States
Profile:
Jacqueline Mars and her two brothers,
John and Forrest Jr, own the largest candy company in the world, $33
billion (estimated sales) Mars, thanks in part to its $23 billion
acquisition of gum maker Wrigley's in 2008. Sales in Skittles, the candy
Trayvon Martin was eating when he was shot, jumped as people bought the
colored chewy candies in support of Martin. The candy maker's other
famous brands include Milky
Way, M&M's, 3 Musketeers, Twix, and Snickers, reportedly named for
the Mars family's favorite horse. Jacqueline's grandfather, Frank Mars,
began making chocolates in 1911 in his Tacoma, Wash. kitchen. Her
father, Forrest Sr., joined the company in 1929, around same time when
the firm invented malt-flavored nougat that became the basis of Milky
Way and Snickers; also M&M's, over 400 million of which are
produced in the United States each day.. Mars also owns consumer and pet
food brands including Uncle Ben's Rice and Whiskas. Jacqueline is a
trustee of the United States Equestrian team and sits on the board of
the Washington National Opera, which completed a merger with the Kennedy
Center in 2011.
16.Forrest Mars, Jr.
Forrest Mars, Jr
- Net Worth
- $17 B As of September 2012
At a Glance
- Age: 81
- Source of Wealth: candy
- Residence: Big Horn, WY
- Country of Citizenship: United States
- Education: Master of Business Administration, New York University; Diploma, The Hotchkiss School; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Yale University
- Marital Status: Divorced
- Children: 7
Forbes Lists
#16 Forbes 400
#22 in United States
Profile:
Forrest Mars Jr. and his siblings, John
and Jacqueline, own $33 billion (estimated sales) Mars, the world's
largest candy maker thanks in part to its $23 billion acquisition of gum
maker Wrigley's in 2008. Sales of Skittles, the candy Trayvon Martin
was eating when he was killed, spiked in the aftermath of the shooting
as people bought the chewy candies in a sign of support of him. The
candy maker's other famous
brands include Milky Way, M&M's, 3 Musketeers, Twix and Snickers,
reportedly named for the Mars family's favorite horse. Forrest's
grandfather, Frank Mars, began making chocolates in 1911 in his Tacoma,
Wash. kitchen. His father, Forrest Sr., joined the company in 1929,
around same time when the firm invented malt-flavored nougat that became
the basis of Milky Way and Snickers; also M&M's, over 400 million
of which are produced in the United States each day. Mars also owns
consumer and pet food brands including Uncle Ben's Rice and Whiskas.
Forrest made headlines in 2011 for protesting the construction of a
Montana railroad that would have facilitated coal extraction from the
state because the proposed route passed through his ranch. When his
attempts to block it via legal action failed, Forrest simply bought a
stake in the railroad and adjusted the route accordingly. A noted
history buff and preservationist, the $23 million Mars Education Center
opened at Fort Ticonderoga last summer. Forrest 's former wife, Deborah,
is a Ticonderoga native.
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
15.George Soros
George Soros
- Net Worth
- $19 B As of September 2012
At a Glance
- Age: 82
- Source of Wealth: hedge funds, self-made
- Residence: Katonah, NY
- Country of Citizenship: United States
- Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, London School of Economics
- Marital Status: Divorced
- Children: 5
Profile:
Legendary investor George Soros retired
in 2011 and turned his hedge fund into a family office, returning just
under $1 billion in assets to outside investors. Soros also brought in a
new investment officer to help oversee the remaining assets belonging
to his family and his foundations. His fortune is down due to a reported
drop in performance but also because our new estimate subtracts sums we
believe he manages for his
foundation. Born in Budapest, Soros survived the Nazi occupation of
Hungary and went on to study at the London School of Economics before
launching storied hedge fund firm Quantum Fund Management in 1969.
Outspoken on world economic policies and an unapologetic proponent of
European integration, Soros has recently called the design of the euro
"very flawed" and described the situation as an "existential crisis" for
Europe. Since 1979 Soros has given away $8.5 billion to human rights,
education and public health groups; $6 billion has gone to international
causes and estimated $400 million to fight poverty. Among his notable
recent gifts: $160 million toward improving the lives of Europe's Roma
minority and $100 million to overcome barriers faced by African American
boys and men. Soros has also committed $150 million to combating
corruption and promoting transparency in governments around the world.
His efforts have resulted in the creation of organizations such as
Revenue Watch, which works to ensure that citizens benefit from their
country's natural resources. In August 2012, at his 82nd birthday party
at his summer home in Southampton, Soros announced that he and his
girlfriend, Tamiko Bolton, are engaged. Bolton is 42 years Soros' junior
and will become the financier's third wife. The couple plans to marry
in the summer of 2013.
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