The burden of being rich

Have you ever thought about what you’d do if you had one billion dollars (note dear Germans … billion = Milliarde in German)? Well, apart from the fact that you wouldn’t even be among the 100 richest people in the world, wouldn’t you feel a huge burden? You have all this money, you are rich, and you know that millions and millions of people in this world live below the poverty line. So, what would you do? Have you ever thought about the fact that giving away money in an effective way is really hard? Think about it – and enjoy the annual Forbes RICH LIST.

Some statistics:

The average billionaire is 65 years old (what a relief, I still have some time!! :-) ) and lives in the following places:

USA – 38
Germany – 13 (hey, how about creating some more jobs in Germany?)
Russia – 12
Gulf states – 6
India – 3
Others - 28

******

The ranking of the world's 100 richest people as estimated by Forbes
magazine. Listings include rank, name, home country, age where known,
wealth in billions of US dollars and source of the money.

1. William Gates III, US, 50, $50, Microsoft
2. Warren Buffett, US, 75, $42, Berkshire Hathaway
3. Carlos Slim Helu, Mexico, 66, $30, telecom
4. Ingvar Kamprad, Sweden, 79, $28, Ikea
5. Lakshmi Mittal, India, 55, $23.5, steel
6. Paul Allen, Washington, 53, $22, Microsoft, investments
7. Bernard Arnault, France, 57, $21.5, LVMH
8. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Saudi Arabia, 49, $20, investments
9. Kenneth Thomson and family, Canada, 82, $19.6, publishing
10. Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong, 77, $18.8, diversified
11. Roman Abramovich, Russia, 39, $18.2, oil
12. Michael Dell, US, 41, $17.1, Dell
13. Karl Albrecht, Germany, 86, $17, supermarkets
14. Sheldon Adelson, US, 72, $16.1, casinos, hotels
15. Liliane Bettencourt, France, 83, $16, L'Oreal
15. Lawrence Ellison, US, 61, $16, Oracle
17. Christy Walton, US, 51, $15.9, Wal-Mart inheritance
17. Jim Walton, US, 58, $15.9, Wal-Mart
19. S Robson Walton, US, 62, $15.8, Wal-Mart
20. Alice Walton, US, 56, $15.7, Wal-Mart
21. Helen Walton, US, 86, $15.6, Wal-Mart
22. Theo Albrecht, Germany, 83, $15.2, supermarkets
23. Amancio Ortega, Spain, 70, $14.8, Zara
24. Steven Ballmer, US, 50, $13.6, Microsoft
25. Azim Premji, India, 60, $13.3, software
26. Sergey Brin, US, 32, $12.9, Google
27. Larry Page, US, 33, $12.8, Google
28. Abigail Johnson, US, 44, $12.5, Fidelity
29. Nasser Al-Kharafi and family, Kuwait, 62, $12.4, construction
29. Barbara Cox Anthony, Hawaii, 82, $12.4, Cox Enterprises
29. Anne Cox Chambers, US, 86, $12.4, Cox Enterprises
32. Stefan Persson, Sweden, 58, $12.3, Hennes & Mauritz
33. Charles Koch, US, 70, $12, oil, commodities
33. David Koch, US, 65, $12, oil, commodities
35. Raymond, Thomas and Walter Kwok, Hong Kong, $11.6, real estate
36. Adolf Merckle, Germany, 71, $11.5, drugs
37. Sulaiman Bin Abdul Al Rajhi, Saudi Arabia, 86, $11, banking
37. Vagit Alekperov, Russia, 55, $11, oil
37. Silvio Berlusconi, Italy, 69, $11, media
37. Lee Shau Kee, Hong Kong, 78, $11, real estate
41. Vladimir Lisin, Russia, 49, $10.7, steel
42. Michael Otto and family, Germany, 62, $10.4, retail
43. Pierre Omidyar, US, 38, $10.1, eBay
44. Leonardo Del Vecchio, Italy, 70, $10, eyewear
44. Michele Ferrero and family, Italy, 79, $10, chocolates
44. Forrest Mars Jr, US, 74, $10, candy
44. Jacqueline Mars, US, 66, $10, candy
44. John Mars, US, 69, $10, candy
44. Viktor Vekselberg, Russia, 48, $10, oil, metals
50. Mikhail Fridman, Russia, 41, $9.7, oil, banking
51. Spiro Latsis and family, Greece, 59, $9.1, banking
52. John Kluge, US, 91, $9, Metromedia
53. Carl Icahn, US, 70, $8.7, leveraged buyouts
53. Kirk Kerkorian, US, 88, $8.7, investments, casinos
55. Birgit Rausing and family, Sweden, 82, $8.6, packaging
56. Mukesh Ambani, India, 48, $8.5, petrochemicals
56. Serge Dassault and family, France, 80, $8.5, aviation
56. Hans Rausing, Sweden, 80, $8.5, packaging
59. Galen Weston and family, Canada, 65, $8.4, retail
60. Susanne Klatten, Germany, 43, $8.1, BMW
61. Rudolf August Oetker and family, Germany, 89, $8, food
62. Oleg Deripaska, Russia, 37, $7.8, aluminum
63. Sumner Redstone, US, 82, $7.7, Viacom
64. Alexei Mordashov, Russia, 40, $7.6, steel
65. Donald Newhouse, US, 76, $7.5, publishing
65. Samuel Newhouse Jr, New York, 78, $7.5, publishing
65. Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, France, $7.5, Chanel
65. Reinhold Wurth, Germany, 70, $7.5, manufacturing
69. Joseph and Moise Safra, Brazil, $7.4, banking
70. Philip Knight, Oregon, 68, $7.3, Nike
71. George Soros, US, 75, $7.2, hedge funds
72. Ernesto Bertarelli, Switzerland, 40, $7.1, biotech
72. Suleiman Kerimov, Russia, 40, $7.1, stocks
74. Philip and Cristina Green, Britain, $7, retail
74. Francois Pinault, France, 69, $7, retail
74. August von Finck, Germany, 76, $7, investments
77. Mohammed Al Amoudi, Saudi Arabia, 60, $6.9, oil
77. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair and family, United Arab Emirates, 52, $6.9,
banking
79. Maria-Elisabeth and Georg Schaeffler, Germany, $6.8, ball bearings
80. Charles Ergen, US, 53, $6.7, EchoStar
80. Edward Johnson III, US, 75, $6.7, Fidelity
82. Kun-Hee Lee and family, South Korea, 64, $6.6, Samsung
82. Stefan Quandt, Germany, 40, $6.6, BMW
84. Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi, Saudi Arabia, 94, $6.5, banking
84. Rafael del Pino and family, Spain, 85, $6.5, construction
84. Stanley Ho, Hong Kong, 84, $6.5, gaming
84. Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, Denmark, 92, $6.5, shipping
84. Keith Rupert Murdoch, US, 75, $6.5, News Corp.
89. Philip Anschutz, US, 66, $6.4, investments
89. Hasso Plattner, Germany, 62, $6.4, SAP
89. Vladimir Potanin, Russia, 45, $6.4, metals
89. Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia, 40, $6.4, metals
93. Vladimir Yevtushenkov, Russia, 57, $6.3, telecom
94. Micky Arison, US, 56, $6.1, Carnival Cruises
94. Curt Engelhorn, Germany, 79, $6.1, drugs
94. Friedrich Flick Jr, Germany, 79, $6.1, investments
94. German Khan, Russia, 44, $6.1, oil, banking
94. Ronald Perelman, US, 63, $6.1, leveraged buyouts
94. Johanna Quandt, Germany, 78, $6.1, BMW
100. Dan Duncan, US, 73, $6, energy
100. Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor and family, Britain, 54, $6, real estate