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A billionaire is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of currency, such as United States Dollars (USD), Pounds or Euros.
Though a "billion" used to be a million million in much of the Commonwealth of Nations, the American version (one thousand million) is commonplace now in the UK; so in Britain a billionaire is someone with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000 pounds. [1] According to Forbes Magazine, the year 2006 saw not only the biggest increase in billionaires around the world, but also was witness to the biggest economic expansion in history. It is believed that in that period, the world economy grew at an extraordinary rate of 25%. The four cities that have the largest concentration of billionaires according to Forbes are New York City, Los Angeles, Moscow and London.
The first Forbes ranking of billionaires in 1986 found 140 billionaires around the world. The 2007 Forbes ranking counted a total of 946 whose accumulated wealth measured US$3.5 trillion.[2] John D. Rockefeller was the first billionaire in 1916.
FORBES
It has been a busy year for Forbes' team of fortune hunters. Strong equity markets combined with rising real estate values and commodity prices pushed up fortunes from Mumbai to Madrid. Forbes pinned down a record 946 billionaires. There were 178 newcomers, including 19 Russians, 14 Indians, 13 Chinese and 10 Spaniards, as well as the first billionaires from Cyprus, Oman, Romania and Serbia.
Ingenuity, not industry, is the common characteristic; these folks made money in everything from media and real estate to coffee, dumplings and ethanol. Two-thirds of last year's billionaires are richer. Only 17% are poorer, including 32 who fell below the billion-dollar mark. The billionaires' combined net worth climbed by $900 billion to $3.5 trillion. That equates to $3.6 billion apiece.
The average billionaire is 62 years old, two years younger than in 2005. This year's new billionaires are seven years younger than that. Of list members' fortunes, 60% made theirs from scratch.
In Pictures: The World's Billionaires
Within the ranks are simmering rivalries. Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) founder Bill Gates, the world's richest man for 13 years, and his pal Warren Buffett, who holds the No. 2 spot despite enormous charitable donations, are quickly losing ground to Mexico's most-monied man, Carlos Slim Helú. Helú's net worth is up an astonishing $19 billion this year--the single biggest one-year gain in a decade--and is now just $7 billion shy of Gates and $3 billion less than Buffett. In Europe, Russia's mostly young, self-made tycoons are catching up to Germany's often-aging heirs and heiresses. Russia now has 53 billionaires (2 shy of Germany's total), but they are worth $282 billion ($37 billion more than Germany's richest). After a 20-year reign, Japan is no longer Asia's top spot for billionaires: India has 36, worth a total of $191 billion, followed by Japan with 24, worth a combined $64 billion.
India's rich are also marching toward the top of our rankings. Brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani, who split up their family’s conglomerate in 2005, join Lakshmi Mittal, who heads the world's biggest steel company, Arcelor Mittal, among the world’s 20 wealthiest. India now has three in the upper echelons, second only to the U.S.
But even in such a prosperous year, 44 people dropped off the list for various reasons.
All our numbers are based on a snapshot of balance sheets taken on Feb. 9, the day we locked in stock prices and exchange rates. So the five executives who took their Fortress Investment Group (nyse: FIG - news - people ) public at 9:30 a.m. on that morning made the cut. Also on the list is Ernest Gallo, founder of E.&J. Gallo Winery, who died on March 6. But our numbers don't reflect the volatility that shook the markets three weeks later. Between Feb. 9 and March 2 the world's stock markets, as measured by the Morgan Stanley All Country World Local Index, fell by 3.7%. Some fortunes (those based on private accumulations of real estate, for example) didn’t feel a blip. But some suffered severe damage. One big loser was a Spaniard, Enrique Banuelos, whose fortune fell 30% in four days.
Are there billionaires we don’t know about? Surely, yes. For instance, we didn't uncover Ireland's Denis O'Brien, who pocketed $800 million in a junk bond offering, until 13 days after we'd locked in fortunes, so he is not reflected in the rankings.
In Pictures: The World's Billionaires
This list of billionaires is based on an annual ranking of the world's wealthiest people compiled and published by Forbes magazine in March 2007 including some revisions announced by Forbes later in 2007. There are altogether 946 billionaires on this list with 178 newcomers and 17 returning. The total net worth is an estimate measured in United States dollars, based on the closing stock prices and exchange rates on 9 February 2007, with the second and third place rankings updated in April, 2007.
Though Carlos Slim Helú is now listed in second place, due to exchange rates, stock valuations, and the overall impossibility of selling all shares at an equal price, the top three placeholders are statistically indistinguishable.
The combined net worth of the list is US$3.5 trillion, a US$900 billion increase from 2006.
Top Billionaires reported by Forbes
Forbes The Top 20
Acknowledgments
LINKS and REFERENCE
Unless you live on a desert island, you could not survive in the modern world without it.
International Accumulation of Foreign Reserve currencies
MONEY FINDER
Katherine Hudson
SOLAR COLA and SOLAR ENERGY drinks as an INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY?
The soft drinks market is a tough place to do business, unless you have something different to offer and the marketing muscle to match.
For nearly 100 years Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola have dominated the marketplace with similar products. Each company spends around $600-800 million dollars a year to maintain its market position. The advertising centers around sport and music, with a scattering of irregular television campaigns. Each company launches (or attempts to launch) new brands every year. So far, they have not proved as successful as their regular cola brands.
Red Bull, although in a different drinks category, spends not quite as much on advertising , but has managed to acquire instant status and volume sales from sponsoring formula one, the Darpa Desert Challenge, and now the New Jersey MetroStars football team.
Solar Cola, apart from it's contemporary name, is a healthier cola based drink. Just as refreshing, it contains a unique blend of added ingredients as an aid to good health and energy levels. The company contributes to and sponsors alternative projects, to include these websites, featuring movies, music and several thousand pages of news and general information, which generates in excess of 6 million visits a month already. Recent acquisitions include the rights to the Solar Navigator World Electric Challenge, and also the new Bluebird Electric land speed record car for 2007. The company may also sponsor the London to Brighton Solar Car Run in 2009 (dependent on the number of university entries received).
It is thought that this marketing strategy will equal several hundred thousand dollars of conventional Ad Agency spending. As an example of the kind of media coverage such nautical expeditions generate, you have only to look at the newspaper coverage when Ellen Macarthur completed her world circumnavigation. The same holds true for Sir Francis Chichester and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.
The design of the Solar Cola can is copyright protected, with trademark applications in the USA, Australia and Europe pending in Class 32 and rights already granted in the UK. Introduction of the drink is held in abeyance pending official launch of one or other sponsored projects, which will be activated when the time is right, such activation to coincide with the market introduction of the drink.
Solar Cola PLC is shortly to be activated for online investment as their trading arm. The company is forecast to produce excellent results for investors, with sustained growth to be followed by an eventual flotation on the Stock Markets of the world in the next few years. At this point estimates suggest investors will reap substantial gains - in line with international Licensing expectations.
Solar Cola Ltd is managing the funding requirement for the trading company. They are looking for medium term or seed investment between £4-5 million to kick start phase two of the venture: which is to volume produce the product for supply to supermarkets and other retail outlets.
If you are a Business Angel, or Equity House, looking for a business with the potential for rapid growth, please contact SOLAR COLA LTD for details. Ask for our Marketing Director: Katherine Hudson
By Post:
World
Solar Challenge Herstmonceux United Kingdom
By Email: katherine@solarnavigator.net
Or leave a message: 0044 1323 831727
This material and any views expressed herein are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an endorsement or inducement to invest in any specific program. Before investing in any program, you must obtain, read and examine thoroughly its disclosure document or offering memorandum.
Healthier alternative tastes for adventure capitalists
Solar Red | Solar Crush | Solar Cola | Solar Spice | Solar +
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