Forbes List Includes Ruth Parasol &Calvin Ayre
Published: Friday, March 10, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
FORBES LIST OF THE WORLD'S RICHEST PEOPLE INCLUDES RUTH PARASOL & CALVIN AYRE
Latest Forbes list shows an abundance of billionaires
Forbes Magazine's annual list of the rich and famous is always an interesting read, and the current list includes names that will be familiar to online casino gamblers. 20 years ago, the Forbes list named some 140 billionaires. This year the list is a record 793, up 102 from last year.
They’re worth a combined $2.6 trillion, up 18 percent since last March. Their average net worth: $3.3 billion. Strong stock markets around the world (the U.S. being the notable exception) contributed to this surge in wealth.
Not in the Top Ten (see below) but certainly featuring are two online gambling moguls who have found a new way to make money. Forbes highlights PartyGaming, the company that operates the popular PartyPoker Online Poker Room Site and went public in London last June, turning three of its founders into billionaires overnight. Among the three is American Ruth Parasol, the list’s only new self-made woman.
Forbes also mentions Canadian playboy Calvin Ayre who went down to Costa Rica a decade ago and began taking online bets at Bodog Gambling Site. Most of his revenue comes from the U.S., where online sports gaming is illegal. Now he too is a billionaire, and one, at least so far, beyond the extraterritorial reach of the U.S. law enforcement and tax authorities.
India is home to 10 new billionaires, more than any other country besides the U.S. Notable newcomers include Kushal Pal Singh, India’s biggest real estate developer; Tulsi Tanti, a former textile trader whose alternative energy company owns Asia’s largest wind farm and Vijay Mallya, the liquor tycoon behind Kingfisher beer.
China now has eight billionaires, four times as many as last year. Solar power mogul Zhengrong Shi joins the list at $2.2 billion.
Russia, whose RTS stock exchange was up 108 percent, benefited from strong gains in commodities prices. The surge swelled the fortunes of its 33 billionaires, including seven newcomers who join the list. Russians are worth $173 billion this year, $82 billion more than last year.
TOP TEN
- William Gates (Bill Gates)
- Warren Buffett
- Carlos Slim Helu
- Ingvar Kamprad
- Lakshmi Mittal
- Paul Allen
- Bernard Arnault
- Prince Alwaleed
- Kenneth Thomson
- Li Ka-shing
The U.S. is home to 44 new billionaires and commands nearly half of the fortunes on the roster. Bill Gates retains his title as the world’s richest person for the twelfth straight year, proving that while it’s getting easier to make a billion, the same can’t be said for making $50 billion.
In second place is his good friend and bridge partner Warren Buffett. The Sage of Omaha is worth $42 billion this year, $2 billion less than last.
Other notables in the Top 20 include number 7, Bernard Arnault, the pope of fashion who runs LVMH and oversees its high-end brands including Louis Vuittton and Dom Perignon; and Roman Abramovich, the 39-year-old Russian oil baron who liquidated his biggest asset last year for $13 billion.
Seventy-eight women make the list, 10 more than last year, though only six are self-made including the Queen of All Media, Oprah Winfrey, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and Ebay’s Meg Whitman.
Hind Hariri, daughter of slain Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, who is eight months younger than Germany’s Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis, is, at 22, the list’s youngest member.
Twelve people return to the list including Hiroshi Mikitani, founder of Japanese Internet shopping mall Rakuten.
