Wall Street Journal (September 24)
“America’s billionaires love Japanese stocks. Why don’t the Japanese?” Despite enthusiasm from overseas, “there are few signs its estimated 125 million residents share in the excitement. Burned by dismal returns since the bursting of Japan’s asset bubble in the late 1980s and early 1990s, generations of families here have stashed most of their money in low-yielding savings accounts rather than trying to increase their wealth through the stock market.”
Tags: 1980s, 1990s, Asset bubble, Billionaires, Dismal returns, Enthusiasm, Excitement, Japan, Low-yielding, Money, Overseas, Residents, Savings accounts, Stashed, Stock market, Stocks, U.S.
U.S. News & World Report (February 24)
Beijing is now “home to more billionaires than any other city in the world” after successfully edging out “New York City as the world’s capital for billionaires.” Of nearly 2,200 billionaires worldwide, 100 reside in Beijing, while 95 call New York City home. Moscow ranks a distant third with 66 billionaires. Nationwide, with 568 billionaires, China has also beaten the U.S., which ranks second, with 535. Japan round out the top ten countries with 42 billionaires, just behind the 49 living in Brazil.
Forbes (March 25)
The world’s ranks of billionaires has expanded to 1,426 and as a group they are richer than ever. “The impressive increase in the net worth of the world’s billionaires and the fact that there are 200 more of these folks than there were a year ago will have leftists everywhere decrying the growing gap between the haves and the have-nots…. But don’t blame these rich…. The overwhelming majority of these people have moved ahead through meeting the needs and wants of other people, not through inheritances or crony capitalism. Their successes didn’t come at the expense of everyone else. Free-market capitalism is not a zero-sum system.”
Tags: Billionaires, Capitalism, Free market, Have nots, Haves, Inheritance, Success
Bloomberg (March 6, 2012)
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Carlos Slim of Mexico is now the richest person on Earth, surpassing previous frontrunner Bill Gates. Warren Buffet rounded out the top three. “The combined net worth of the 20 richest people is $676.8 billion. Nine are Americans.” At number 11, Mukesh Ambani was Asia’s richest. Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing and India’s Lakshmi Mittal also made the top 20.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Carlos Slim of Mexico is now the richest person on Earth, surpassing previous frontrunner Bill Gates. Warren Buffet rounded out the top three. “The combined net worth of the 20 richest people is $676.8 billion. Nine are Americans.” At number 11, Mukesh Ambani was Asia’s richest. Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing and India’s Lakshmi Mittal also made the top 20.
Tags: Asia, Bill Gates, Billionaires, Carlos Slim, India, Lakshmi Mittal, Li Ka-shing, Mexico, Mukesh Ambani, U.S., Warren Buffet
Forbes (March 9)
Worldwide there are now a record 1,210 billionaires. Combined, they are worth $4.5 trillion. You’re most likely to meet one in Moscow, but the world’s richest billionaire remains Mexico’s Carlos Slim who added $20 billion to his wealth, currently estimated at $74 billion. The U.S. hosts 413 billionaires. In China, the number of billionaires doubled to 115. Meanwhile, Japan is home to 26 billionaires, ranging from Masayoshi Son ($8.1 billion) to Yusaku Maezawa ($1 billion).
Tags: Billionaires, Carlos Slim, China, Japan, Mexico, Moscow, U.S.
