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It has been a while since I did my Rich, Richer, Richest post. Since then much water has flowed under the bridge and with Bill Gates stepping down from the Chairpersonship of Microsoft just recently, I thought I would do a recap of the richest.

For quite some time now, our man Bill Gates, computer whiz, philanthropist, business magnate, nice guy, chairman of Microsoft etc., had tenaciously clung to the number one spot and the ‘richest man in the world’ title. The definitive Forbes’ list tells us that not only has the king been dethroned (after 13 years no less), he has been relegated to the third spot! Ah how the mighty have fallen!

So the new title bearer for the ‘richest man in the world’ is Warren Buffet, investor, businessman and philanthropist with a personal fortune of $62.0 billion. Buffet, incidentally, often plays bridge with Bill Gates; birds of a feather, it would seem, play bridge together. He is known as much for his personal frugality as for his immense wealth.

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Tags: Rich List, people by Nicole Price
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With the legendary YSL (Yves Saint Laurent) passing on to the great fashion runway in the sky, I got to thinking which are names that inspire awe in the world of fashion, who rules the roost and who is the most influential? That, and I finally saw the Devil Wears Prada so my interest in the fashion industry was piqued.

While I could not find a definitive top ten list like the one Forbes compiles I found a pretty good compilation by Time here, which named Rose Marie Bravo, of Burberrys as number one among women in fashion, followed by Miucchia Prada and then Anna Vintour editor in chief of Vogue. The list also includes the Olsen twins whose line of ‘tween’ clothing marketed thru Walmart is a runaway success. The list also names Delphine Arnault, board member of Louis Vuitton and Donna Karan, whose label DKNY is one of the most visible and recognizable fashion names anywhere. [Read more →]

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Tags: Clothes, Rich List, people by Nicole Price
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When I talked about the world’s most powerful women in my last post, I was quite surprised that the likes of Oprah were not among those. It is these women in Showbiz who are rich beyond our own humble imaginations and they are the most visible and talked about in the media and do wield a lot of power, no mistake! In fact it is because of their vast wealth that they do wield such clout.

There seems to be some disagreement among the media as to who is the most powerful woman in showbiz. While the BBC quotes one magazine as putting J K Rowling of Harry Potter fame at number one, the Forbes list puts chat queen and teletherapist Oprah Winfrey at No 1. For sheer popularity and adulation, I would also put Oprah at number one and it seems the numbers agree with me. Her fortune totals a staggering $ 1,500 million. J K Rowling is not far behind with her personal fortune at $1000 million!

Martha Stewart, once CEO of Omnimedia, has led a checkered life which has involved a short jail sentence has an average personal fortune of $638 million. She oversees a media empire that includes a television show, a magazine, books, house-ware and a Satellite Radio channel.

Not surprisingly, pop diva Madonna is fourth on this list, her personal worth estimated at $325 million. While I have personally never been a fan of her music, I have always admired her and the way she has constantly reinvented herself.

Canadian singer Celine Dion is one more woman who possesses both talent and a sound business sense. Her entertainment show at Vegas rakes in the money as do her albums worldwide and her personal fortune is at about $250 million.

Mariah Carey has had an up and down career and I always felt her music belies her massive talent. Her talent is impressive, but she insists on making these unremarkable and unmemorable pop songs, but that’s just me, her personal fortune says otherwise. People obviously love her music because she is the sixth most powerful woman in showbiz and is worth $225 Million!

MJ’s younger sister may not be as famous as her much maligned elder brother, but she has done fairly well for herself with her personal fortune worth $150 million. 50 million records sold worldwide and a successful touring schedule as assured her success.

Next on the list is the beauteous Julia Roberts. She is the highest paid (over $20 million per movie) and one of the longest reigning female stars of Hollywood. In fact she got paid $25 million for her role in Monalisa Smiles. Her net worth is estimated at $140 million.

Well known for insuring her butt for an exorbitant sum, the versatile Jennifer Lopez is a lot of things. Singer, actress and performer, she is also a very sound businesswoman with a perfume line, clothing line, a restaurant and a reality show on TV as well. She is worth a very substantial $110 million.

At number 10 with a net worth of $110 Jennifer Anniston is not someone to feel sorry for, but I have nevertheless had sympathy for her because of the raw deal she got from her husband of several years Brad Pitt. And just for the record, Friends is my all time fav sitcom; I still watch reruns!

The Olsen twins occupy the number 11 spot and after that is the rudderless Britney Spears. Judith “Judge Judy” Sheindlin is next at number 13 followed by Sandra Bullock. At number 15 is Cameron Diaz and super model best known as the Victoria’s Secret model Gisele Bundchen is at no. 16. Chat host Ellen Degeneres is at no 17 followed by Nicole Kidman at no 18. Christina Aguileria is at number 19 and Renee Zellweger is at No. 20 with the personal fortune of $45 million.

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If you remember my Rich, Richer, Richest post a while back, you’ll remember who the richest men in the world are (there were only two women there, tsk, tsk). Then I saw the news about Hillary Clinton making a comeback with her recent wins in the primaries, and I thought to myself that soon the most powerful man in the world could be a woman! So I began wondering - ‘Who are the most powerful women in the world today?’ While richest is a term you can easily quantify, in terms of millions and billions, most powerful isn’t that cut and dried. You understand that ‘most powerful’ is not an objective term and is subject to opinions and points of view.

By a long shot, and in a lot of people’s opinion Angela Merkel is the most powerful woman on earth. Forbes has bestowed this honor on her several years in a row. Nicknamed ‘The Iron Frau’ (frau means lady in German), in an obvious allusion to Margret Thatcher, she has steadfastly stood for what she believes in. For instance she was instrumental in having the G8 agree to reduce carbon emissions and then in getting the EU countries to agree on a treaty replacing the European Union Constitution.

Wu Yi is the vice premier of the People’s Republic of China is the formidable lady whom Forbes put at number 2 on their list of 2007. She replaced Condoleezza Rice who held the number two position in 2006 (Rice slipped to No. 4 in 2007).

Ho Ching is the CEO of Temasek Holdings (which is valued at over $100 billion) and the wife of the Prime Minister of Singapore. In 2007, TIME magazine named her as one of the “100 most influential men and women” who shaped the world.

Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State, USA, slipped two places in the year 2007 and may exit the list altogether if the Republicans are voted out in the coming election. Having suffered racial discrimination while growing up, she became a powerful leader later and came to be know as the ‘Warrior Princess’ because of her strong will and note-worthy achievements.

Indra Nooyi is the Chairperson and CEO of Pepsico, one of the biggest companies in the world. Born in India, she is the person due to whom Pepsico came to adopt the “performance with purpose” approach. She pioneered Pepsico’s foray into healthy food and a diverse work force.

Sonia Gandhi, the president of the ruling party of India, does not hold any post in the government, but she wields more power than if she did, because of the importance of the Gandhi Dynasty in Indian politics and because of her intrinsic leadership qualities. Born in Italy, she married Rajiv Gandhi who later became Prime Minister of India. Some years after his assassination she assumed the mantle of Congress leader.

I was surprised Oprah did not feature in this Forbes list, especially with the power of her Book Club. She does however, feature in the top 10 most powerful women in Showbiz list. As do J.K. Rowling, Julia Roberts and Madonna. Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, I think women such as these are inspiring role models for all of us, men and women alike. What do you think? And Happy Women’s day all of you: Women enjoy yourselves and Men, make sure they do!

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Tags: General, Rich List, people by Nicole Price
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Actually, got a LOT of extra money to spend? While looking for the most exclusive and expensive things money can buy, one thing became really clear to me. All you need to do is add gold, platinum, silver, diamonds and other precious stones to anything and you have earned yourself the ‘most expensive’ tag for that particular item category. So while it wasn’t surprising to see the most expensive, dresses, lingerie, shoes, watches and of course pieces of jewelry full of the above, some other items were quite shocking to say the least. Precious metals and stones were added to the most unthinkable items. So here you have it, all the bling and baubles in the most unlikely places.

The Most Expensive Computer Mouse
Price tag: USD 24,180
Pat Says Now, a Swiss manufacturer has made the most expensive computer mouse in the world. It is cast from 18 carat white gold and set with 59 brilliant cut diamonds. There are two designs to choose from, the beautiful “Diamond Flower” design and the “Scattered Diamond” design. You can choose your mouse in yellow, white or red gold with black or white trim. How much for the mouse pad to keep this on?

The Most Expensive iPhone Case
Price Tag: USD 20,000
iPhone CaseCase-mate’s ingeniously named “Diamond Case” for the iPhone is made with 42 nuggets of expensive stones, totaling 3.5 carats, and is embedded in 18k gold. Wouldn’t I just buy 50 iPhones instead?

The Most Expensive Corkscrew
Price tag: USD 71,000
Frank Sveid’s corkscrew is the most expensive one in the world. The fifty-two pieces of this corkscrew are made from aviation titanium and the fingertip level is made of eighteen carat platinum or yellow gold. One also has the option of the hinges being cast in gold. The box that the corkscrew sits in can also be customized with many different options for types of wood and color of lining. The presentation box and the corkscrew can both be engraved. When not in use, the corkscrew can be folded compactly.

The Most Expensive TV
Price tag: USD 130,000
The Yalos Diamond LCD TV is plated in white gold and encrusted with 20 carats worth of diamonds. Just what everyone needs! Hope they gave enough thought to the picture and sound quality as well.

The Most Expensive Tea Bag
Price tag: $14,000
PG Tips is a British company that makes tea. They celebrated their 75th birthday by getting Boodles jewelers, an exclusive jeweler based in the UK, to make a diamond teabag. The tea bag was hand-crafted using 280 diamonds.

The Most Expensive Cricket Ball
Price tag: $68,000
This diamond studded cricket ball was presented to the Best Indian and Best International players at the 2007 Cricket World Cup tournament. The diamond cricket ball was created by Gitanjali Gems Limited, India. Each diamond ball is studded with 5,728 pieces of diamonds. Boy that should give them more than enough incentive to win!

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So we all know who the richest American is. Bill Gates has hung on to that title since as long as we can remember. What I present to you is a list of people who are the richest individuals in their respective countries. And boy are they rich!

Only two women in the list! That is sad. All you women of the world, wake up and smell the dough!

So here goes, lets start with USA itself.

USA

William Gates III (yes thats the real name of Bill Gates)

Age: 51
Net Worth: $59.0 billion
Source: Microsoft, Software, Self made
Marital Status: Married, 3 children
Hometown: Medina, WA, United States
Education: Harvard University, Drop Out

By the age of 17, Gates had sold his first computer program, a time tabling system for his high school, for $4,200. Bill Gates has been listed as Number 1 on “Forbes’ Richest People” list for thirteen years in a row. Boy, that must feel good.

India

Here we have a kind of a tie. Lakshmi Mittal was clearly leading, but the current market boom in India has led to Mukesh Ambani’s wealth see a huge spurt. Most believe that Mukesh has beaten Mittal but this is still to be verified. So here we cover them both.

Lakshmi Mittal

Age: 57
Networth: $51 billion
Marital Status: Married, 2 children
Hometown: London

Asia’s richest man celebrated merger between his Mittal Steel and Arcelor in September, with party for 100 bankers, advisers. Called it Mittal’s 111. ArcelorMittal, which he heads, is world’s largest steelmaker with $90 billion in sales. His family has bought up a 20 per cent stake in Queen’s Park Rangers. Sure did not know football was one of his interests.

Mukesh Ambani

Networth: $49 billion
Age: 50
Marital Status: Married, 3 children
Hometown: Mumbai

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani has believed to have overtaken NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal to become the richest Indian in the world, thanks to the unprecedented boom in the domestic stock market. He is building a new house in south Mumbai, Antilla, that will allegedly cost over $1 billion and be more than 500 feet tall. Here are some of the specs: 27 floors of which 6 floors are for car parking, 1 floor for car maintenance, 1 floor for entertainment center comprising a mini-theater with a seating capacity of 50 people, 3 floors of terrace gardens, 3 floors for healthclub, gym and swimming pool, 2 floors of glass fronted apartments for guests and an air space floor which will act as a control room for helicopters landing on the helipad above. Phew, hope I can get an invitation….

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