2009 Top 50 Billionaires

Top 50 Billionaires in the World 2009

08/18/09

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William Gates III $40 billion Microsoft/U.S. 53. Married, three children Software visionary regains title as the world's richest man despite losing $18 billion in the past 12 months. Stepped down from day-to-day duties at Microsoft last summer to devote his talents and riches to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Organization's assets were $30 billion in January; annual letter lauds endowment manager Michael Larson for limiting last year's losses to 20%. Gates decided to increase donations in 2009 to $3.8 billion, up 15% from 2008. Dedicated to fighting hunger in developing countries, improving education in America's high schools and developing vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS. Appointed Microsoft Office veteran Jeffrey Raikes chief executive of Gates Foundation in September. Gates remains Microsoft chairman. Sells shares each quarter, redeploys proceeds via investment vehicle Cascade; more than half of fortune 08/18/09

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Warren Buffett $37 billion Investments/U.S. 78. Widowed, remarried; three children Last year America's most beloved investor was the world's richest man. This year he has to settle for second place after losing $25 billion in 12 months. Shares of Berkshire Hathaway down 45% since last March. Injected billions of dollars into Goldman Sachs, General Electric in exchange for preferred stock last fall; propped up insurance firm Swiss Re in February with $2.6 billion infusion. Admits he made some "dumb" investment mistakes in 2008. Upbeat about America's future: "Our economic system has worked extraordinarily well over time. It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and it will continue to do so." Scoffs at Wall Street's over-reliance on "history-based" models: "If merely looking up past financial data would tell you what the future holds, the Forbes 400 would consist of librarians." Son of Nebraska politician delivered newspapers as a boy. Filed first tax return at age 13, claiming $35 deduction for bicycle. Studied under value investing guru Benjamin Graham at Columbia. Took over textile firm Berkshire Hathaway 1965. Today holding company invested in insurance (GEICO, General Re), jewelry (Borsheim's), utilities (MidAmerican Energy), food (Dairy Queen, See's Candies). Also has noncontrolling stakes in Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo. 08/18/09

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Carlos Slim Helú $35 billion Telecom/Mexico 69. Widowed, six children Economic downturn and plunging peso shaved $25 billion from the fortune of Latin America's richest man. Global recession testing his ability to live up to the principles he sets for his employees: "Maintain austerity in times of fat cows." Son of a Lebanese immigrant bought fixed-line operator Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) in 1990; now controls 90% of Mexico's telephone landlines. Would be a billionaire based on his dividends alone. Biggest holding: $16 billion stake in America Movil, Latin America's largest mobile phone company, with 173 million customers. America Movil and Telmex reportedly planning to jointly invest $4 billion to bolster telecom infrastructure in Latin America. Buying up cheap media, energy and retail assets. Last year took stakes in New York Times Co., former billionaire Anthony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media and Bronco Drilling; also increased 08/18/09

4

Lawrence Ellison $22.5 billion Oracle/U.S. 64. Thrice divorced, remarried; two children Database titan continues to engulf the competition; Oracle has racked up 49 acquisitions in the past four years. Bought BEA Systems for $8.5 billion last year. Company still sitting on $7 billion in cash. Revenues up 11% to $10.9 billion in the six months ended Nov. 30, 2007; profits also up 11% to $2.4 billion. Stock down 25% in past 12 months. Invested $125 million in Web software outfit Netsuite; took public in 2007, stock down 80% since. His shares are still worth $300 million. Chicago native studied physics at University of Chicago, didn't graduate. Started Oracle in 1977. Public in 1986, a day before Microsoft. Owns 453foot Rising Sun; built a smaller leisure boat because the long yacht is hard to park. Squabbling in court with Swiss boating billionaire 08/18/09

5

Ingvar Kamprad $22 billion Ikea/Sweden 83. Divorced, remarried; four children Peddled matches, fish, pens, Christmas cards and other items by bicycle as a teenager. Started selling furniture in 1947. Opened first Ikea store 50 years ago; store's name is a combination of initials of his first and last name, his family farm and the nearest village. Retired in 1986; company's "senior adviser" still reportedly works tirelessly on his brand. Discount retailer now sells 9,500 items in 36 countries; prints catalog in 27 languages. Revenues up 7% to $27.4 billion in fiscal-year 2008. Opened 10th store in China this February; planning to open first in Dominican Republic later this year. Three sons all work at the company. Thrifty entrepreneur flies economy class, frequents cheap restaurants and furnishes his home mostly with Ikea products. 08/18/09

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Karl Albrecht $21.5 billion Supermarkets/Germany 89. Married, two children Germany's richest person owns discount supermarket giant Aldi Sud. Retailer faring well amid economic downturn; analysts expect its 2008 sales to be up 9.4% to $33.7 billion. Sales in the U.S. up estimated 20% last year to $7 billion. Plans to open 75 U.S. stores in 2009, including first in New York City. With younger brother, Theo, transformed their mother's corner grocery store into Aldi after World War II. Brothers split ownership in 1961; Karl took the stores in southern Germany, plus the rights to the brand in the U.K., Australia and the U.S. Theo got northern Germany and the rest of Europe. Retired from daily operations. Fiercely private: little known about him other 08/18/09

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Mukesh Ambani $19.5 billion Petrochemicals/India 51. Married, three children Oversees Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company by market cap, despite stock falling 40% in past year. Merging his Reliance Petroleum with flagship Reliance Industries. As part of deal, will exercise right to buy back Chevron's 5% stake in Reliance Petroleum at $1.2 per share--the same price at which he sold it three years ago. Today the stock trades for $1.80 a share. Increased stake in Reliance Industries last October; paid $3.4 billion to convert 120 million preferential warrants into shares. Reliance Petroleum refinery on India's western coast began operating in December despite falling global demand and declining margins. Late father Dhirubhai founded Reliance and built it into a massive conglomerate. After he died, Mukesh and his brother, Anil, ran the family business together for a brief time. But siblings feuded over control; mother eventually brokered split of assets. Brothers may be looking to bury hatchet; played joint hosts at mother's recent 75th birthday bash. Has yet to move into his 27-story home that he's building at a reported cost of $1 billion. Ardent fan of Bollywood films. Wife, Nita, oversees school named after his father.

08/18/09

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Lakshmi Mittal $19.3 billion Steel/India 58. Married, two children Indian immigrant heads world's largest steel company; ArcelorMittal was formed via hostile takeover three years ago. Stock in company makes up bulk of his fortune; shares at a fouryear low, with steel prices down 75% since last summer. Company forced to pay heavy fines after a French antitrust investigation found 10 companies guilty of price-fixing in European steel markets. Arcelor posted $2.6 billion loss in most recent quarter; announced plans to slow acquisitions, cut capital expenditures, pay down debt. Started in family steel business in the 1970s, branched out on his own in 1994. Initially bought up steel mills on the cheap in Eastern Europe. Company bought 19.9% stake in Australia's Macarthur Coal last year. Also owns pieces of Mumbai's Indiabulls Group, London's RAB Capital; owns stake in, sits on board of Goldman Sachs. Holds substantial cash; owns 1208/18/09

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Theo Albrecht $18.8 billion Supermarkets/Germany 87. Married, two children Runs discount supermarket group Aldi Nord; firm holding up amid economic downturn. Sales expected to hit $31 billion in 2008. After World War II he and older brother Karl transformed their mother's corner grocery into Aldi. Brothers split ownership in 1961; Karl took the stores in southern Germany, plus the rights to the brand in the U.K., Australia and the U.S. Theo got the northern Germany stores and the rest of Europe. Unable to operate Aldi stores in U.S., Theo developed discount food store Trader Joe's; now has more than 320 U.S. stores. Also owns stake in Supervalu. Became a recluse after being kidnapped for 17 days in 1971; said to collect old typewriters, loves golf 08/18/09

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Amancio Ortega $18.3 billion Fashion/Spain 73. Divorced, remarried; three children Railway worker's son started as a gofer in a shirt store. With then wife Rosalia Mera, also now a billionaire, started making dressing gowns and lingerie in their living room. Business became one of world's most successful apparel manufacturers. Today Inditex has more than 4,000 stores in 71 countries. Sales: $12.3 billion. Ortega is chairman. Company exported its cheap chic Zara stores to four new markets last year: Ukraine, South Korea, Montenegro and Honduras. Stock up 1% in past 12 months, but fortune down because of weak euro. Also has personal investments in gas, tourism, banks and real estate. Owns properties in Madrid, Spain; Paris; London; and Lisbon, Portugal; plus a luxury hotel and apartment complex in Miami, a horse08/18/09

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Jim C. Walton $17.8 billion Wal-Mart/U.S. 61. Married, four children Wal-Mart remains the exception to the rule in the crumbling retail sector, thanks to its global footprint and deeply discounted prices. Also helping: the exodus of competitors like Circuit City and and Linens 'n Things. Shares down 25% since September. Fourthquarter profit hurt by lawsuit settlements, poor currency exchange; still beat analyst expectations. Stake in solar-paneling outfit First Solar fared far worse; shares down 60% since August after surging 120% in previous 12 months. Sam Walton started as J.C. Penney clerk in 1940; opened Newport, Ark., five-and-dime store Benjamin Franklin five years later. Lost lease in 1950. With brother James started general store chain in Bentonville, Ark., in 1962. Today Wal-Mart is world's largest retailer: 7,200 stores, 2 million employees serve 200 million customers. Sales: $378 billion. Jim chairs Arvest Bank Group, Community Publishers. 08/18/09

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S. Robson Walton $17.6 billion Wal-Mart/U.S. 65. Divorced, remarried; three children Wal-Mart remains the exception to the rule in the crumbling retail sector, thanks to its global footprint and deeply discounted prices. Also helping: the exodus of competitors like Circuit City and Linens 'n Things. Shares down 25% since September. Fourth-quarter profit hurt by lawsuit settlements, poor currency exchange; still beat analyst expectations. Stake in solar-paneling outfit First Solar fared far worse; shares down 60% since August after surging 120% in previous 12 months. Sam Walton started as J.C. Penney clerk in 1940; opened Newport, Ark., five-and-dime store Benjamin Franklin five years later. Lost lease in 1950. With brother James started general store chain in Bentonville, Ark., in 1962. Today Wal-Mart is world's largest retailer: 7,200 stores, 2 million employees serve 200 million customers. Sales: $378 billion. Rob is Wal-Mart chairman; helping company become eco-friendly through partnership with environmental group Conservation International.

08/18/09

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Alice Walton $17.6 billion Wal-Mart/U.S. 59. Twice divorced Wal-Mart remains the exception to the rule in the crumbling retail sector, thanks to its global footprint and deeply discounted prices. Also helping: the exodus of competitors like Circuit City and Linens 'n Things. Shares down 25% since September. Fourthquarter profit hurt by lawsuit settlements, poor currency exchange; still beat analyst expectations. Stake in solar-paneling outfit First Solar fared far worse; shares down 60% since August after surging 120% in previous 12 months. Sam Walton started as J.C. Penney clerk in 1940; opened Newport, Ark., five-and-dime store Benjamin Franklin five years later. Lost lease in 1950. With brother James started general store chain in Bentonville, Ark., in 1962. Today Wal-Mart is world's largest retailer: 7,200 stores, 2 million employees serve 200 million customers. Sales: $378 billion. Alice's Crystal Bridges art museum in Bentonville under 08/18/09

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Christy Walton & family $17.6 billion Wal-Mart/U.S. 54. Widowed, one child Wal-Mart remains the exception to the rule in the crumbling retail sector, thanks to its global footprint and deeply discounted prices. Also helping: the exodus of competitors like Circuit City and Linens 'n Things. Shares down 25% since September. Fourthquarter profit hurt by lawsuit settlements, poor currency exchange; still beat analyst expectations. Stake in solar-paneling outfit First Solar fared far worse; shares down 60% since August after surging 120% in previous 12 months. Sam Walton started as J.C. Penney clerk in 1940; opened Newport, Ark., five-and-dime store Benjamin Franklin five years later. Lost lease in 1950. With brother James started general store chain in Bentonville, Ark., in 1962. Today Wal-Mart is world's largest retailer: 7,200 stores, 2 million employees serve 200 million customers. Sales: $378 billion. Christy is the widow of John Walton (died 2005); donated 08/18/09

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Bernard Arnault $16.5 billion Luxury goods/France. 60. Divorced, remarried; five children France's richest man lost $9 billion in the past year, as shares of his $22 billion (sales) luxury goods group, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, dropped 29%. Sailing into new waters: bought Princess Yachts, one of Britain's oldest luxury motorboat manufacturers, last summer; picked up yacht builder Royal van Lent soon after. Via his investment arm, Groupe Arnault, owns French tour operator Go Voyages and has a stake in French retailer Carrefour. Built Le Cheval Blanc in French ski resort town of Courchevel, where he often likes to spend New Year's Eve. Also owns two wineries with good friend, Belgian billionaire Albert Frere. Father made small fortune in construction; Arnault put up $15 million from that business to buy Christian Dior in 1985. Still a 08/18/09

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Li Ka-shing $16.2 billion Ports, retail, energy/Hong Kong 80. Widowed, two children Net worth of Hong Kong's "Superman" is down $10 billion in the past year, as stock of his publicly traded conglomerates Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa tumbled. The two companies are about to start construction on a property project in Shanghai, China. HW's retail group plans to open 120 stores in China in 2009. Through the two companies, Li is world's largest operator of container terminals, world's largest health and beauty retailer by number of outlets, a major supplier of electricity to Hong Kong, and a real estate developer. His second-largest holding: Canadian oil firm Husky Energy, which cut spending by almost a third for 2009. Charitable foundation recently raised $510 million by selling 40% of its stake in Bank of China. Avid golfer plays almost every day; sank his 15th hole in one in September. Poor immigrant sold plastic flowers in Hong Kong in the 1950s. 08/18/09

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Michael Bloomberg $16 billion Bloomberg LP/U.S. 67. Divorced, two children New York City mayor facing a fiscal crisis as banking chaos destroys Wall Street. Lucrative bonuses that came with working on Wall Street fueled spending on apartments, restaurants and shopping in recent years; as bonuses dry up, so does the city's income. Forecasts predict NYC's tax revenues will fall 28%--nearly $7 billion--in 2010 from 2008. Law passed in October will allow Bloomberg to run for third term later this year. Approval rating now 52%, down from 71% last summer. Becomes one of the world's richest men after a transaction put a solid valuation on Bloomberg LP: He borrowed to buy a 20% stake in his company from Merrill Lynch in July for $4.5 billion. Today he owns 88% of the financial data and news outfit he founded in 1982. Boston-born son of accountant got engineering degree from Johns Hopkins; M.B.A. from Harvard. Became a trader at Salomon Brothers 1970s, quit with $10 million in stock. Created financial information services firm Innovative Market Systems to sell financial data, analytic tools to Wall Street. Renamed Bloomberg LP in 1987; added news service, magazine, cable network, radio station. Has given away nearly $800 million to charity in the past five years.

08/18/09

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Stefan Persson $14.5 billion Hennes & Mauritz/Sweden 61. Married, three children Heads cheap-chic fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz; H&M known for bringing in big names like Madonna, Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Kylie Minogue to design affordable collections for its 1,700 stores. Opened first store in Japan last fall. Business holding up so far amid economic downturn; sales, profits up 13% each in 2008. Stock up 3% in past year, but his fortune dragged down by weak euro. Plans to create 6,000 new jobs, open 225 stores this year, including first in Beijing. Stefan's father Erling founded H&M in 1947; Stefan took over in 1982, gave up chief executive position in 1998 but remains chairman. Son Karl-Johan, 34, will become chief this summer. Stefan is a founder of the Mentor Foundation, nonprofit that combats substance abuse among youth. Enjoys downhill skiing, tennis and golf. 08/18/09

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Charles Koch $14 billion Koch Industries/U.S. 73. Married, two children Fortune of one of America's richest men down more than 25% in past six months as fertilizer, oil, chemical markets all collapsed. Still, sales at his Koch Industries topped $100 billion in 2008; company now America's second-largest private company. Father, Fred C. Koch (died 1967), invented method of turning heavy oil into gasoline. Sons Charles, David, Frederick and William inherited Koch Industries after father's death. Charles and David bought out William and Frederick for $1.1 billion in 1983. Today company has stakes in pipelines, refineries, fertilizer, fibers and polymers, forest and consumer products, chemical technology. Employs 80,000 workers in 60 countries. Purchased Invista, maker of Lycra and Coolmax fabric, in 2004 for $4.2 billion. Dropped $21 billion on paper and building-supply vendor Georgia-Pacific the following year. Brothers each own 42%. Charles is chief executive. Studied 08/18/09

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David Koch $14 billion Koch Industries/U.S. 68. Married, three children Fortune of one of America's richest men down more than 25% in past six months as fertilizer, oil, chemical markets all collapsed. Still, sales at his Koch Industries topped $100 billion in 2008; company now America's second-largest private company. Father, Fred C. Koch (died 1967), invented method of turning heavy oil into gasoline. Sons Charles, David, Frederick and William inherited Koch Industries after father's death. Charles and David bought out William and Frederick for $1.1 billion in 1983. Today company has stakes in pipelines, refineries, fertilizer, fibers and polymers, forest and consumer products, chemical technology. Employs 80,000 workers in 60 countries. Purchased Invista, maker of Lycra and Coolmax fabric, in 2004 for $4.2 billion. Dropped $21 billion on paper and building-supply vendor Georgia-Pacific the following year. Brothers each own 42%. David is executive vice president. Holds chemical engineering degrees from MIT; pledged $100 million to alma mater for cancer research last year. Pledged another $100 million to New York's Lincoln Center last July.

08/18/09

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Liliane Bettencourt $13.4 billion L'Oréal/France 86. Widowed, one child Europe's richest woman and L'Oréal's biggest shareholder is embroiled in a sensational scandal. Only daughter and heir, Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, petitioned courts to investigate reported $1 billion worth of cash and gifts her mother allegedly gave to Francois-Marie Banier, 61, a well-known photographer, writer and painter whom she befriended. Daughter claims Banier took advantage of her mother, who became a widow in November 2007. Liliane denies it; mother and daughter apparently no longer speak. Case now in court. Not Bettencourt's first brush with scandal: her father, L'Oréal founder Eugene Schueller, is said to have had wartime ties 08/18/09

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Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Alsaud $13.3 billion Investments/Saudi Arabia 54. Thrice divorced, remarried; two children Even the "Buffett of Arabia" has been battered by the global financial crisis. Shares of his Saudi-listed investment vehicle Kingdom Holding fell 60% in the last year, as shares of Citigroup-once its largest holding--lost 86% of their value in 12 months. Alwaleed announced he was purchasing an additional 1% of Citigroup shares in November 2008, only to see the stock plunge further. Recently sold $1 billion worth of real estate and shares of various companies to meet Kingdom Holding's debt obligations. Nephew of the Saudi king still plans to build the world's tallest building in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Prince first came to prominence in the early 1990s after purchasing a stake in what was then Citicorp. Owns a jewelry collection he values at $730 million, plus 08/18/09

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Michael Otto & family $13.2 billion Retail/Germany 65. Married, two children Otto family's shopping center outfit ECE Group is taking advantage of weak markets to make a big move in America; recently agreed to buy stake in struggling U.S. mall giant Developers Diversified Realty. Family's Paramount Group bought Deutsche Bank's Wall Street headquarters in 2007; reportedly paid a record price per square foot for lower Manhattan. Michael retired that same year after 26 years as chief executive; still heads supervisory board of $14.8 billion (sales) Otto Group. Father Werner Otto started out making a 14-page shoe catalog in 1949; it later sold everything from toys to building supplies. Michael joined in 1971 and expanded operations overseas and moved company into Internet sales; now world's second-biggest Internet retailer after Amazon.com. Owns 96% stake in home furnishings retailer Crate & Barrel. Environmentalist supports foundation that funds 08/18/09

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David Thomson & family $13 billion Thomson Reuters/Canada 51. Divorced, three children Chairman of Thomson Corp., media conglomerate, in which his family has a 55% stake. Grandfather Roy founded the business in 1934. Renamed Thomson Reuters after completing acquisition of Reuters in April 2008; stock down 25% since. With brother Peter, he serves as co-chair of family's investment concern, Woodbridge. Helped oversee donation of father Kenneth's (died 2006) art collection to Art Gallery of Ontario; 2,000-piece collection includes medieval ivory diptychs and American Indian art. Reportedly split from American actress Kelly Rowan last April around the time she gave birth to a daughter. 08/18/09

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Michael Dell $12.3 billion Dell Computer/U.S. 44. Married, four children Computer king has lost millions buying shares of the company he founded 25 years ago. Bought up $200 million in Dell stock between July and September 2007; shares down more than 60% since. Returned to chief executive post last year. Company hammered as cash-strapped consumers and corporations wait for the recession to end before upgrading their computers; fourthquarter profits down 48%. Sales down 17%. Planning to reduce costs by $4 billion annually by 2011; caused ire in Ireland after relocating factory to cheaper Poland. Started selling PCs out of University of Texas dorm room with $1,000. Built business with direct-sales method; public in 1988. Majority of wealth invested via MSD Capital. Michael & Susan Dell Foundation supports education, health initiatives; endowment exceeds $1 billion. 08/18/09

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Donald Bren $12 billion Real estate/U.S. 76. Twice divorced, remarried; seven children Attended University of Washington on skiing scholarship; halted Olympics bid after injury in 1956. Joined Marines, then built first house on $10,000 loan in 1958. Planned and developed 10,000-acre Rancho Mission Viejo in California, sold to Philip Morris in 1967. With partners, bought 145-year-old real estate master planner and developer Irvine Co. for $337 million in 1977. Became firm's principal owner in 1996. In California, developed central Orange County, Irvine and half of Newport Beach. Today owns 400 office buildings, 90 apartment communities, 40 retail centers, resort properties and new housing communities in Orange County, San Diego, Los Angeles and Silicon Valley. Company has permanently protected more than half of the 93,000-acre ranch, creating public parks and trails. Conservation program deals with more than 50,000 acres, protecting a wide range of endangered plant and animal species. Has given away more than $1.3 billion to charity.

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Larry Page $12 billion Google/U.S. 36. Married Google co-founder continues to dominate search business despite facing strong headwinds. Stock down 30% in past six months, slicing nearly $4 billion from personal balance sheet. Company posted better than expected earnings in January; trimmed staff and employee perks. Added oceans to Google Earth, but pulled the plug on radio and print ad projects. Android phone has had mixed reviews. Professor's son met partner Sergey Brin in computer science Ph.D. program at Stanford. Duo dropped out in 1998 to start Google from friend's garage. Initial financing came from angel investors K. Ram Shriram, Andy von Bechtolsheim, professor David Cheriton. Venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital pitched in $25 million. Longtime tech exec Eric Schmidt brought on in 2001; took company public in 2004. Sales: $21.8 billion. Net margin: 19%. 08/18/09

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Sergey Brin $12 billion Google/U.S. 35. Married, one child Google co-founder continues to dominate search business despite facing strong headwinds. Stock down 30% in past six months, slicing $3.9 billion from personal balance sheet. Company posted better than expected earnings in January; trimmed staff and employee perks. Added oceans to Google Earth, but pulled the plug on radio and print ad projects. Android phone has had mixed reviews. Professor's son emigrated from Russia, met partner Larry Page in computer science Ph.D. program at Stanford. Duo dropped out in 1998 to start Google from friend's garage. Initial financing came from angel investors K. Ram Shriram, Andy von Bechtolsheim, professor David Cheriton. Venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital pitched in $25 million. Longtime tech exec Eric Schmidt brought on in 2001; took company public in 2004. Sales: $21.8 billion. Net margin: 08/18/09

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Gerald Grosvenor Cavendish $11 billion Real estate/U.K. 57. Married, four children The sixth Duke of Westminster is the U.K.'s wealthiest landowner. His Grosvenor property group has valuable holdings in the posh Mayfair and Belgravia neighborhoods of London, where rents have fallen almost a third since last spring. Group recently entered into negotiations with banks to refinance debt of its troubled retail arm. Owns additional land in London via private family trusts; also holds farmland in northern England and Scotland. Officer in Britain's 08/18/09

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Steve Ballmer $11 billion Microsoft/U.S. 53. Married, three children Microsoft chief gave keynote address at the International Consumer Electronics Show for the first time in January. Discussed opportunities with smart phones and improved connectedness between tech devices. Tried to take over Yahoo! for $44.6 billion last February; attempt to compete with Google on search backfired after six-month slugfest--featuring a nasty Carl Icahn proxy fight at Yahoo!-yielded no deal. Microsoft sales up 18% to $60 billion last year; net profits rose 26%. Shares still sluggish, down 40% in the past six months. Detroit native dropped out of Stanford M.B.A. program to join former Harvard classmate Bill Gates in 1980. Employee No. 30, chief executive since 08/18/09

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Kwok family $10.5 billion Real estate/Hong Kong Family behind one of Hong Kong's most storied real estate firms was thrown into tumult even before property prices tumbled. Eldest brother Walter stepped down from 18-year chairmanship of Sun Hung Kai Properties last May after disputing with his two younger siblings, Raymond and Thomas. Mother Kwong Siu-hing, 80, took over as chairman. Stock down 50% in past year. Firm still pushing ahead: opened a W hotel in Hong Kong in January and has plans to open another in Shanghai by 2010. In late February sold 150 luxury apartments in its Kowloon residential development, generating $450 million in 08/18/09

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Paul Allen $10.5 billion Microsoft/U.S. 56. Single Microsoft co-founder has lost 65% of his fortune in the last 12 months. Washington State dropout founded software giant with buddy Bill Gates in 1975; left in 1983 after Hodgkin's disease diagnosis. Sold off much of his stake to lose huge sums on far-off visions through holding company Vulcan. Microsoft now makes up 25% of his net worth; shares down 40% since September. Also lost big on investment in Charter Communications; cable outfit announced financial restructuring plan in February; Chapter 11 filing expected by April. Dabbles in odd tech projects; funding research to scan outer space for signs of intelligent alien life, as well as Allen Institute for Brain Science, which is creating a genetic map of the mouse brain. Guitar fanatic owns a rock 'n' roll museum, Jimi Hendrix artifacts. This spring kicks off inaugural season of his Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC; also 08/18/09

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Anil Ambani $10.1 billion Telecom, energy/India 49. Married, two children Last year's biggest billionaire gainer is this year's biggest loser: fortune is down $32 billion in the past 12 months, as shares in Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital all crumbled. Got family's interests in telecom, power and financial services following bitter parting with older sibling Mukesh in 2005. Plans to merge his Reliance Communications with South Africa's MTN were scuttled last July after brother Mukesh threatened to sue, claiming he had right of first refusal. Stock down 58% since. Reliance Power bagged three mega-power projects for a combined 14,000 megawatts last year. Married to former actress Tina Munim, Anil has Hollywood ambitions; Reliance Entertainment is investing $500 million in a new studio venture with Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks; has signed A-list actors George Clooney, Jim Carrey and Julia Roberts to co-produce future films. May soon 08/18/09

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Hans Rausing $10 billion Packaging/Sweden 83. Married, three children Father founded packaging giant Tetra Laval in 1944. Hans and brother Gad inherited the business. Hans sold his share to Gad for estimated $7 billion in 1995. Moved to England in early 1980s to avoid punitive Swedish taxes. Resides on a 900-acre estate in village of Wadhurst in East Sussex; spends time collecting vintage cars. Awarded an honorary knighthood for his services to charity in 2006. Last April son Hans-Kristian and American daughter-in-law Eva were charged with cocaine and heroin possession after Eva allegedly tried to smuggle drugs into the American Embassy in London; drugs were found in their home. The police decided not to prosecute after the couple admitted to possession and agreed to drug counseling. Hans' daughter Lisbet is director of Arcadia charitable trust; daughter Sigrid runs Portobello Books and Granta magazine. 08/18/09

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Abigail Johnson $10 billion Fidelity Investments/U.S. 47. Married, two children With family, runs Fidelity Investments, America's largest mutual fund company. Falling markets cutting into revenues as assets under management shrank 22% to $1.25 trillion at the end of 2008. Company announced 3,000 job cuts last November, father Edward III refused to rule out more. Ned joined company as analyst in 1957, president 15 years later. "Abby" ran her first diversified fund in 1993. Ned reduced his ownership in 1995, Abby inherited a 24% stake; she is rumored to have sold shares back to family in recent years. Individual stakes now a secret. Family owns 49% of company. Abby became president of company's mutual fund division in 2001. Today runs Personal & Workplace Investing division. Last year several top executives resigned, fueling speculation that Abby will eventually take over. 08/18/09

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Ronald Perelman $10 billion Investments/U.S. 66. Four-times divorced, six children Wharton grad left dad's buyout business; bought $1.9 million stake in jewelry distributor Cohen-Hatfield in 1978. Sold jewelry operation to Sam Walton seven years later. Purchased licorice maker MacAndrews & Forbes, used as a holding company for buyouts. Bought Revlon in 1985. Sold Golden State Bancorp with Gerald Ford to Citigroup in 2002 for $6 billion. Citi shares down 95% in past 12 months; claims to have sold his position in the bank long before its demise. Owns large stakes in lottery outfit Scientific Games, military Humvee maker AM General. Agreed to sell security firm AlliedBarton last year. 08/18/09

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Susanne Klatten $10 billion BMW/Germany. 46. Married, three children Despite her well-guarded privacy, got caught up in salacious scandal: the married BMW heiress claimed publicly that an ex-lover whom she'd met at a hotel bar had blackmailed her for millions. She turned in the man, who had apparently videotaped the escapades with a partner; he was apparently sentenced to six years in prison in early March. Inherited stake in automaker BMW from late father Herbert Quandt, who rescued it from bankruptcy decades ago; also got a 50% stake in pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer Altana. Trained economist with an M.B.A. sits on Altana's board of supervisors; recently upped her stake in the company from 50% to approximately 88%. Plans to 08/18/09

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Birgit Rausing & family $9.9 billion Packaging/Sweden. 85. Widowed, three children With her three children, inherited packaging giant Tetra Laval in 2000 after death of her husband Gad Rausing. Her father-in-law founded the company in 1944. Today sales are $14 billion. All of her children sit on Tetra Laval's board. Son Jorn is head of mergers and acquisitions. Birgit lives quietly in Switzerland. Daughter Kirsten is a horse breeder in the U.K. Son Finn is chairman of the board of the Swedish R.R. Institute of Applied Economic 08/18/09

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Michele Ferrero & family $9.5 billion Chocolates/Italy. 82. Married, two children Richest man in Italy owns Ferrero, chocolatier that makes such brands as Ferrero Rocher, Nutella, Tic Tac and Kinder Eggs. Sales: $7.5 billion. Recently introduced Gran Soleil, a ready-to-freeze dessert that is stored at room temperature; after shaking and placing in freezer for several hours, turns into an ice cream-like substance. Reportedly told Italian media that Gran Soleil will be bigger than 08/18/09

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Jack Crawford Taylor & family $9.5 billion Enterprise Rent-A-Car/U.S. 86. Divorced, two children Distressed auto industry not doing any favors for rental car king; estimated net worth down $4.5 billion since last March. Left Washington University to join Navy; served as a fighter pilot on U.S.S. Enterprise during World War II. Became sales manager for St. Louis Cadillac distributor. Took 50% pay cut to start company that provided replacement cars; eventually rented cars to customers with stolen or damaged vehicles. Business took off in 1970s when insurance companies were ordered by courts to pay for replacement rentals. Today Enterprise revenues exceed $10 billion. Rental car business suffering as automakers sell fleets fewer cars; buyers for used rentals are scarce. Enterprise skirting some industry woes by focusing on insurance replacements; demand remains steady so long as cars break down. Last year appointed nonrelated exec Pamela M. Nicholson president; son 08/18/09

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Mikhail Prokhorov $9.5 billion Metals/Russia 43. Single Bachelor billionaire is now the richest man in Russia despite a 51% drop in his net worth. Cashed out his 25% stake in Norilsk Nickel last spring, unloading the holding to fellow billionaire Oleg Deripaska. Stepped down as general director of metals outfit Norilsk two year ago after being detained on suspicions that he allegedly made prostitutes available to guests he was entertaining in the glitzy French ski resort of Courchevel; he was never charged. Soon after that, split with his longtime partner, 08/18/09

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Lee Shau Kee $9 billion Real estate/Hong Kong. 81. Divorced, five children "Stock God of Asia" is proving mortal. His biggest holding, Henderson Land Development, lost more than half its value in past year. Lee has been engaged in property development in Hong Kong for more than five decades. Chairman of Henderson since 1976, also chairs Hong Kong and China Gas Co. and Miramar Hotel and Investment Co. He is vice chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited and director of Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings) and the Bank of East Asia. Donated $16 million for a library at Shanghai's Fudan 08/18/09

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Carl Icahn $9 billion Investments/U.S. 73. Divorced, remarried; two children America's richest "shareholder activist" doling out blame widely: faults "reckless executives who gambled with their company's futures, feckless regulators and somnambulant boards of directors" for financial meltdown. Appeased last August by Jerry Yang, got three seats on Yahoo!'s board after pushing the sluggish search outfit all summer to take $44.6 billion buyout offer from Microsoft. Now taking aim at movie studio Lions Gate Entertainment. Enemy of corporate ineptitude losing his touch; shares of holding company Icahn Enterprises (real estate, hedge funds) down 71% since last March. Started Wall Street career in securities arbitrage at Dreyfus & Co. Big money in 1980s buyouts. Publishes blog about "anti-Darwinian" executives, "myth" of 08/18/09

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Anne Cox Chambers $9 billion Cox Communications/U.S. 89. Twice divorced, three children Surviving daughter of Cox Enterprises founder James M. Cox (died 1957); sister Barbara Cox Anthony passed away in 2007. High school dropout James Sr. worked as a newspaper reporter before buying Dayton Evening News for $26,000 in 1898. Segued into politics; three-term Ohio governor. Today media empire includes 17 daily newspapers, 15 TV stations, 86 radio stations, used car retailer Manheim Auctions, Cox Auto Trader. Sales exceed $15 billion. Nephew 08/18/09

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Jacqueline Mars $9 billion Mars/U.S. 69. Twice divorced, three children Chocolate maker Mars completed purchase of gum giant Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. last October for $23 billion. Merger created world's largest confectionery company; combined sales estimated to be between $22 billion and $28 billion. Much of the deal paid with debt. Grandfather Frank Mars began making chocolates in 1911 in his kitchen in Tacoma, Wash. Father, Forrest Sr., invented M&M's, then introduced malt-flavored nougat, which became foundation of famous candy bar line that includes Milky Way, Snickers, 3 Musketeers. Third generation inherited company when father died in 1999. Also owns pet food operation (Whiskas, 08/18/09

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John Franklyn Mars $9 billion Mars/U.S. 72. Married, two children Chocolate maker Mars completed purchase of gum giant Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. last October for $23 billion. Merger created world's largest confectionery company; combined sales estimated to be between $22 billion and $28 billion. Much of the deal paid with debt. Grandfather Frank Mars began making chocolates in 1911 in his kitchen in Tacoma, Wash. Father, Forrest Sr., invented M&M's, then introduced malt-flavored nougat, which became foundation of famous candy-bar line that includes Milky Way, Snickers, 3 Musketeers. Third generation inherited company when father died in 1999. Also owns pet food operation (Whiskas, Pedigree), Uncle Ben's Rice. 08/18/09

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Forrest Edward Mars Jr. $9 billion Mars/U.S. 77. Married, four children Chocolate maker Mars completed purchase of gum giant Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. last October for $23 billion. Merger created world's largest confectionery company; combined sales estimated to be between $22 billion and $28 billion. Much of the deal paid with debt. Grandfather Frank Mars began making chocolates 1911 in his kitchen in Tacoma, Wash. Father, Forrest Sr., invented M&M's, then introduced malt-flavored nougat, which became foundation of famous candy-bar line that includes Milky Way, Snickers, 3 Musketeers. Third generation inherited company when father died in 1999. Also owns pet food operation (Whiskas, Pedigree), Uncle Ben's Rice. 08/18/09

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George Kaiser $9 billion Energy, investments/U.S. 66. Married, three children Energy titan has lost a quarter of his net worth--$3 billion--in the last six months as oil prices, investments plunge. He'd prefer that others have more of his money anyway. Told lawmakers in January to eliminate or reduce tax incentives for oil and gas industry, saying the money would be better spent on health care or eduction: "Let's give the taxpayer a break during these difficult times." Family fled Nazi Germany in 1938, settled in Oklahoma. Parents developed oil and gas business. Took over in 1969. Today Kaiser-Francis Oil is among the biggest private energy producers. Diversified: owns $1.5 billion stake in Bank of Oklahoma, vast private equity holdings, large derivatives and energy trading portfolio. Recently purchased gas reserves in Oklahoma's Anadarko and Arkoma basins for $412 million from Chesapeake Energy. Passionate philanthropist fights childhood poverty through 08/18/09

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Mohammed Al Amoudi $9 billion Oil/Saudi Arabia. 63. Married, eight children Born in Ethiopia and now a Saudi citizen. Built fortune in construction and real estate in Saudi Arabia before betting on energy. Began investing in Sweden in 1974; owns Svenska Petroleum and Swedish refinery Preem. Has invested more than $2 billion in Ethiopia, from hotels to stevedoring (business of unloading cargo). Hit jackpot with gold mine in the Oromo region of Ethiopia; it now produces six tons of gold annually and is set to double production by 2010. Owns several properties in London and the U.S. 08/18/09

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