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Billionaires - Wal-Mart, Dollar Rattle Billionaire Ranks
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Wal-Mart, Dollar Rattle Billionaire Ranks
Thu Mar 10,11:48 PM ET
By Emily Chasan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Four heirs to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. founder Sam Walton dropped out of the Forbes Magazine's top 10 list of the world's billionaires in 2004, brought down by the retailer's stagnating shares.
They were largely replaced by businessmen from other regions of the world, who benefited in part from the impact of the weak dollar.
Wal-Mart Chairman S. Robson Walton, with a personal wealth of $18.3 billion, was the only Walton to make the top 10 this year after several years in which all five Waltons made the cut.
Slow growth and a bevy of legal problems at the retail behemoth has prompted a 10.8 percent decline in Wal-Mart's stock price since March 2004, cutting the personal wealth of Walton's five heirs by almost $2 billion each.
And the dollar's steady slide in 2004 has fattened the coffers of billionaires abroad. Of the top 10 billionaires, half live outside of the United States, compared with two last year, and several saw their wealth increase by as little as $2.2 billion to as much as $18.8 billion.
The Walton's were replaced on the list by Indian steel magnate, Lakshmi Mittal, who took the no. 3 spot, with a net worth of $25 billion, and Mexican entrepreneur Carlos Slim Helu, who took the fourth spot after his telecommunications fortune grew by $10 billion this year. Ingvar Kamprad, founder of Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea, and German supermarket owner Karl Albrecht also made the top 10, at no. 6 and no. 8, respectively.
Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates held onto his title as world's richest man for the 11th year in a row, but no.2 billionaire, investor Warren Buffett, narrowed the gap between them to just $2.5 billion. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shares outperformed those of Microsoft this year, prompting speculation the "Oracle of Omaha" may overtake Gates soon.
Saudi Prince Alwaleed, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and Oracle Corp. chief executive Larry Ellison rounded out the top 10.
BUDDING BILLIONAIRES
The billionaires club is not as exclusive as it used to be, but the rich are richer.
More than 130 new billionaires were added to the list this year, including gas pipeline tycoon Daniel Duncan, Red Bull energy drink creator Dietrich Mateschitz and lifestyle trendsetter Martha Stewart.
The combined net worth of the billionaires rose to $2.2 trillion from $1.9 trillion a year earlier, while the overall number of billionaires grew to 691 from 587.
Daniel Duncan, a Houston natural gas pipeline mogul who was raised by his grandmother, was the wealthiest new billionaire on the list, with a net worth of $5.1 billion.
The United States had 69 new billionaires, while there were 38 in Europe and 13 in Asia.
Martha Stewart also made her debut onto the list after shares of her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., doubled during her five-month stint in prison.
"Success does not always mean you have your freedom," said Steve Forbes, chief executive of the Forbes publishing company.
Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was the biggest net loser after charges of fraud and theft landed him in a Moscow prison in October. Khodorkovsky, who just a year ago was ranked 16th among the world's billionaires, lost $12.8 billion from his net worth, Forbes magazine said.
Sixty-eight of the billionaires were women this year, including Russia's first female billionaire, Elena Baturina, a former factory worker who started a plastics company. The majority of the billionaires were self-made and 18 were high school dropouts, Forbes magazine said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...rporate_life_dc |
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| Q5echo |
| my god! i couldn't fathom losing $12 BILLION in one year and ending up in a pound-me-in-the-ass Russian prison. incredible. |
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| JM |
funny.
that swedish Ikea guy is a billionaire - IKEA = huge corporation.
Liberal Seattle hates big corporations, yet 50% of people i see in IKEA on any given day i'm there are hippies and gays.
oh, the german guy who owns supermarkets i believe also owns Trader Joe's - another establishment liberals love to call their own.
:clown:
>JM< |
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| JM |
ps.
go Wal-Mart. i had to listen to a coworker's spiel a week ago on how Wal-Mart was "horrible".
I said people are gonna do what they're gonna do.
I prefer to not get ed in my every time I pay for something knowing I could pay less at WM.
>JM< |
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| Q5echo |
| you tell'em J to the Mizzo;) |
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