Forbes's first annual list of the world's billionaires, published a quarter-century ago, had 140 names. This year, a record 1,226 billionaires made the list, with a combined net worth of $4.6 trillion, also a record and up from $4.5 trillion in 2011.
Innovation, strong consumer brands and a rebounding U.S. stock market helped produce 128 newcomers to this year's list and brought 17 former members back into the billionaire ranks. Falling stock markets, particularly in China and Russia, were mainly responsible for knocking out 117 individuals.
In addition, 12 members from the 2011 list passed away, including buyout titan Theodore Forstmann and Apple's (AAPL) Steve Jobs, whose widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, takes his spot on the 2012 list.
Carlos Slim Helú of Mexico tops the ranks for the third consecutive year, but the gap between him and Bill Gates tightened. Slim's fortune, at $69 billion, is down $5 billion from a year ago. He was one of seven in the top 20, including Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison, whose fortunes slipped.
Meanwhile Gates, whose foundation helped wipe out polio in India, was $5 billion richer, at $61 billion, thanks to the rising value of Microsoft (MSFT) shares. Read the full article at MSN...
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's record $639 billion bankruptcy ended on Tuesday, clearing the way for it to start distributing about $65 billion to creditors starting on April 17, court documents show.
Lehman has said that it expects that first group of payments to creditors to be at least $10 billion.
Lehman, now a small fraction of its former size, collapsed on September 15, 2008 with $639 billion in assets, rocking the foundations of the global financial markets and catalyzing the Great Recession.
Exactly 1,268 days later, the legal end to the case enables Lehman to start paying back the creditors, which include Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs Group Inc and hedge fund investors such as Paulson & Co, which together had asserted more than $300 billion in claims.
But Lehman Brothers will live on for some time as a sliver of its former self, selling assets and continuing to operate in its midtown Manhattan headquarters, where it is down to two floors.
New York Yankees co-owner Hal Steinbrenner said he wants to lower the team’s player payroll to $189 million over the next few years to avoid paying baseball’s luxury tax.
Under Major League Baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement, the tax threshold will be $189 million during the 2013 season. Teams that spend more on players have to pay an escalating levy based on how far they are above the salary limit.
Steinbrenner said the Yankees’ payroll this season is projected to be about $210 million, the highest in the majors. Their payroll was just more than $212 million last year, when they paid a luxury tax of $13.9 million, the Associated Press said.
The housing bust isn’t over yet. Home prices hit their lowest levels since 2006, and experts say more losses could be on the way — in particular for the nation’s priciest properties.
New figures from the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released today show prices fell for the fourth straight month in December.
Of the 20 metropolitan areas tracked, prices in all but one city fell over the past year. And in several cities a new trend appears to be unfolding: home prices stopped falling among lower-priced homes while price declines are picking up among the more expensive ones.
In Minneapolis and Boston, for instance, prices among the cheapest homes increased by 8% and 3%, respectively, from June through December, while the most expensive homes fell 3% and 2%, according to the latest seasonally-adjusted data. And in Chicago, prices for the most affordable homes rose 2% while the priciest homes dropped 2%.
A photo of a gay Marine locked in a passionate welcome home kiss with his boyfriend has gone viral, sparking a groundswell of support from backers of the military's policy of allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the military.
The photo, which shows Sgt. Brandon Morgan locking lips with partner Dalan Wells during a recent homecoming in Hawaii, was posted to a Gay Marines Facebook page on Saturday.
Since then, the shot has received tens of thousands of "likes," shares and comments, prompting the young soldier to send a grateful message to all of his supporters.
"To everyone who has responded in a positive way. My partner and I want to say thank you," the blog Joe. My. God. quoted Morgan as saying.
The sexy Angelina Jolie shined at the Oscars last night.
The sultry actress stepped out on the red carpet wearing a gorgeous black velvet Versace gown and hills to match.
The media is crowning her the best dressed for the evening, but she's not the only one.
Among the contenders were Penelope Cruz wearing Armani Privé, Jennifer Lopez wearing Zuhair Murad, and the always funny Tina Fey who wore a stunning navy Carolina Herrera gown.
See a few photos below and log on to the New Yorker for more information.
No matter how much she brags about being a "black" or "African American" woman, the black community (mainly women) still don't think its enough.
Every time a magazine photograph's Beyonce, the black community goes mad. Every time Beyonce is featured in a commercial, the black community calls it a scandal. Beyonce married a black man, her father is black and yet, it appears that no matter what the superstar does, she will never have peace within the black community just because of her skin tone.
Now that Beyonce is in the new 'L'Oreal True Match' commercials, the black community is once again in protest.
The real issue behind the anger in the black community isn't Beyonce's ads, its the fact that many black people are so jealous of her. Beyonce has the "look" of what America and much of the world defines as beautiful. Its a European type look that she was born with (hence the word French).
Beyonce has a beautiful mix of multiple ethnicity's and there is no shame in that. How can you hate on an individual that was born a certain color (sound familiar)? I seriously doubt that when Beyonce was in her mothers womb, she asked to look the way she does.
Why is this important you ask? Because it shows the true reason behind this anti-Beyonce dynamic. Many black people or African Americans want to have her skin tone; some will do whatever it takes to get there too. Those who can't look like her will simply hate on her and call her a self-hating woman because truly, they are self-hating and they want to look like she does and have the acceptance society has given her. They forget however, that black is beautiful and that they should love and embrace who they are and how they look.
Why should Beyonce deny a part of who she is genetically to please another group of people? Will it really make a difference anyway?
And what some African Americans or black people don't understand is that they are being just as racist against their own kind as they were treated many years ago. Not to mention, it shows that as a people, the African American community will never get ahead with silly drama like this.
Beyonce has genetic parts of her that she desires to explore, which explain her many looks with hair, fashion, music, and more. Being that she is who she is physically, mentally, and emotionally, she has the right to do that because its in her genetic makeup.
I am so sick of hearing all this backlash against Beyonce just because of her skin color, and it makes me angry because its coming from a group of people who went through the same thing years ago and they don't even realize what they are doing.
Leave Beyonce alone, let her love who she was born to be and look like, and just enjoy her as an artist and as a person.
Disclaimer: The writer of this article is African American (surprise). But if you want to be technical: African American, Haitian, and Native American.
Check out photos from this years London Fashion Week.
Featuring stylish designs from Christopher Bailey, Mary Katrantzou, the late Alexander McQueen, Mulberry, and so many more, this years stunning show had a definite A-list collection.
See a few runway photos below, courtesy of Stylebistro.
Forbes's first annual list of the world's billionaires, published a quarter-century ago, had 140 names. This year, a record 1,226 billionaires made the list, with a combined net worth of $4.6 trillion, also a record and up from $4.5 trillion in 2011.
