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Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Nokia Morph Concept (NanoTechnology)
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Nokia Morph Concept (NanoTechnology)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Qualities of Leadership - Leadership Quotes
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Mahatma Gandhi - Biography !!!
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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
| Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi | |
|---|---|
 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 1940s | |
| Born | 2 October 1869 Porbandar, Kathiawar Agency, British India |
| Died | 30 January 1948 (aged 78) New Delhi, Union of India |
| Cause of death | Assassination |
| Resting place | Rajghat, New Delhi, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Other names | Mahatma Gandhi, Bapu |
| Alma mater | University College London, University of London |
| Known for | Prominent Figure of Indian Independence Movement Propounding the philosophy of Satyagraha and Ahimsa |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Spouse(s) | Kasturba Gandhi |
| Children | Harilal Manilal Ramdas Devdas |
| Parents | Putlibai Gandhi (Mother) Karamchand Gandhi (Father) |
Signature  | |
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Hindi: मोहनदास करमचंद गाँधी, Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી, pronounced [moːɦən̪d̪aːs kərəmʨən̪d̪ ɡaːn̪d̪ʱiː] (
Gandhi first employed non-violent civil disobedience while an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, during the resident Indian community's struggle for civil rights. After his return to India in 1915, he organized protests by peasants, farmers, and urban labourers concerning excessive land-tax and discrimination. After assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns to ease poverty, expand women's rights, build religious and ethnic amity, end untouchability, and increase economic self-reliance. Above all, he aimed to achieve Swaraj or the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi famously led his followers in the Non-cooperation movement that protested the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (240 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930. Later, in 1942, he launched the Quit India civil disobedience movement demanding immediate independence for India. Gandhi spent a number of years in jail in both South Africa and India.
As a practitioner of ahimsa, he swore to speak the truth and advocated that others do the same. Gandhi lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he had hand spun himself. He ate simple vegetarian food, eventually adopting a fruitarian diet, and also undertook long fasts as a means of both self-purification and social protest.
Contents[hide] |
Early life and background
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi[2] was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, a coastal town in present-day Gujarat, India. His father, Karamchand Gandhi (1822–1885), who belonged to the Hindu Modh community, was the diwan (Prime Minister) of Porbander state, a small princely state in the Kathiawar Agency of British India.[3] His grandfather's name was Uttamchand Gandhi, fondly called Utta Gandhi. His mother, Putlibai, who came from the Hindu Pranami Vaishnava community, was Karamchand's fourth wife, the first three wives having apparently died in childbirth.[4] Growing up with a devout mother and the Jain traditions of the region, the young Mohandas absorbed early the influences that would play an important role in his adult life; these included compassion for sentient beings, vegetarianism, fasting for self-purification, and mutual tolerance between individuals of different creeds.[citation needed]
The Indian classics, especially the stories of Shravana and Maharaja Harishchandra from the Indian epics, had a great impact on Gandhi in his childhood. The story of Harishchandra, a well known tale of an ancient Indian king and a truthful hero, haunted Gandhi as a boy. Gandhi in his autobiography admits that it left an indelible impression on his mind. He writes: "It haunted me and I must have acted Harishchandra to myself times without number." Gandhi's early self-identification with Truth and Love as supreme values is traceable to his identification with these epic characters.[5][6]
In May 1883, the 13-year old Mohandas was married to 14-year old Kasturbai Makhanji (her first name was usually shortened to "Kasturba," and affectionately to "Ba") in an arranged child marriage, as was the custom in the region.[7] Recalling about the day of their marriage he once said that " As we didn't know much about marriage, for us it meant only wearing new clothes, eating sweets and playing with relatives." However, as was also the custom of the region, the adolescent bride was to spend much time at her parents' house, and away from her husband.[8] In 1885, when Gandhi was 15, the couple's first child was born, but survived only a few days; Gandhi's father, Karamchand Gandhi, had died earlier that year.[9] Mohandas and Kasturba had four more children, all sons: Harilal, born in 1888; Manilal, born in 1892; Ramdas, born in 1897; and Devdas, born in 1900. At his middle school in Porbandar and high school in Rajkot, Gandhi remained an average student academically. He passed the matriculation exam for Samaldas College at Bhavnagar, Gujarat with some difficulty. While there, he was unhappy, in part because his family wanted him to become a barrister.
On 4 September 1888, less than a month shy of his 19th birthday, Gandhi traveled to London, England, to study law at University College London and to train as a barrister. His time in London, the Imperial capital, was influenced by a vow he had made to his mother in the presence of the Jain monk Becharji, upon leaving India, to observe the Hindu precepts of abstinence from meat, alcohol, and promiscuity.[10] Although Gandhi experimented with adopting "English" customs—taking dancing lessons for example—he could not stomach the bland vegetarian food offered by his landlady and he was always hungry until he found one of London's few vegetarian restaurants. Influenced by Salt's book, he joined the Vegetarian Society, was elected to its executive committee[10], and started a local Bayswater chapter.[4] Some of the vegetarians he met were members of the Theosophical Society, which had been founded in 1875 to further universal brotherhood, and which was devoted to the study of Buddhist and Hindu literature. They encouraged Gandhi to join them in reading the Bhagavad Gita both in translation as well as in the original.[10] Not having shown a particular interest in religion before, he became interested in religious thought and began to read both Hindu as well as Christian scriptures.[4][10]
Gandhi was called to the bar on June 10, 1891 and left London for India on June 12, 1891,[4] where he learned that his mother had died while he was in London, his family having kept the news from him.[10] His attempts at establishing a law practice in Mumbai failed and, later, after applying and being turned down for a part-time job as a high school teacher, he ended up returning to Rajkot to make a modest living drafting petitions for litigants, a business he was forced to close when he ran afoul of a British officer. In his autobiography, he refers to this incident as an unsuccessful attempt to lobby on behalf of his older brother.[4][10] It was in this climate that, in April 1893, he accepted a year-long contract from Dada Abdulla & Co., an Indian firm, to a post in the Colony of Natal, South Africa, then part of the British Empire.[4]
Civil rights movement in South Africa (1893–1914)
Main article: Gandhi's work in South Africa
In South Africa, Gandhi faced discrimination directed at Indians. He was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg after refusing to move from the first class to a third class coach while holding a valid first class ticket.[11] Traveling farther on by stagecoach he was beaten by a driver for refusing to travel on the foot board to make room for a European passenger.[12] He suffered other hardships on the journey as well, including being barred from several hotels. In another incident, the magistrate of a Durban court ordered Gandhi to remove his turban - which he refused to do.[13] These events were a turning point in his life, awakening him to social injustice and influencing his subsequent social activism. It was through witnessing firsthand the racism, prejudice and injustice against Indians in South Africa that Gandhi started to question his people's status within the British Empire, and his own place in society.
Gandhi extended his original period of stay in South Africa to assist Indians in opposing a bill to deny them the right to vote. Though unable to halt the bill's passage, his campaign was successful in drawing attention to the grievances of Indians in South Africa. He helped found the Natal Indian Congress in 1894,[4][11] and through this organization, he molded the Indian community of South Africa into a homogeneous political force. In January 1897, when Gandhi landed in Durban he was attacked by a mob of white settlers and escaped only through the efforts of the wife of the police superintendent. He, however, refused to press charges against any member of the mob, stating it was one of his principles not to seek redress for a personal wrong in a court of law.[4]
In 1906, the Transvaal government promulgated a new Act compelling registration of the colony's Indian population. At a mass protest meeting held in Johannesburg on 11 September that year, Gandhi adopted his still evolving methodology of satyagraha (devotion to the truth), or non-violent protest, for the first time, calling on his fellow Indians to defy the new law and suffer the punishments for doing so, rather than resist through violent means. This plan was adopted, leading to a seven-year struggle in which thousands of Indians were jailed (including Gandhi), flogged, or even shot, for striking, refusing to register, burning their registration cards or engaging in other forms of non-violent resistance. While the government was successful in repressing the Indian protesters, the public outcry stemming from the harsh methods employed by the South African government in the face of peaceful Indian protesters finally forced South African General Jan Christiaan Smuts to negotiate a compromise with Gandhi. Gandhi's ideas took shape and the concept of satyagraha matured during this struggle.
Racism and Controversy
Some of Gandhi's early South African articles are controversial. On 7 March 1908, Gandhi wrote in the Indian Opinion of his time in a South African prison: "Kaffirs are as a rule uncivilized - the convicts even more so. They are troublesome, very dirty and live almost like animals."[14] Writing on the subject of immigration in 1903, Gandhi commented: "We believe as much in the purity of race as we think they do... We believe also that the white race in South Africa should be the predominating race."[15] During his time in South Africa, Gandhi protested repeatedly about the social classification of blacks with Indians, who he described as "undoubtedly infinitely superior to the Kaffirs".[16] Remarks such as these have led some to accuse Gandhi of racism.[17]
Two professors of history who specialize in South Africa, Surendra Bhana and Goolam Vahed, examined this controversy in their text, The Making of a Political Reformer: Gandhi in South Africa, 1893–1914. (New Delhi: Manohar, 2005). They focus in Chapter 1, "Gandhi, Africans and Indians in Colonial Natal" on the relationship between the African and Indian communities under "White rule" and policies which enforced segregation (and, they argue, inevitable conflict between these communities). Of this relationship they state that, "the young Gandhi was influenced by segregationist notions prevalent in the 1890s."[18] At the same time, they state, "Gandhi's experiences in jail seemed to make him more sensitive to their plight...the later Gandhi mellowed; he seemed much less categorical in his expression of prejudice against Africans, and much more open to seeing points of common cause. His negative views in the Johannesburg jail were reserved for hardened African prisoners rather than Africans generally."[19]
Former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela is a follower of Gandhi,[20] despite efforts in 2003 on the part of Gandhi's critics to prevent the unveiling of a statue of Gandhi in Johannesburg.[17] Bhana and Vahed commented on the events surrounding the unveiling in the conclusion to The Making of a Political Reformer: Gandhi in South Africa, 1893–1914. In the section "Gandhi's Legacy to South Africa," they note that, "Gandhi inspired succeeding generations of South African activists seeking to end White rule. This legacy connects him to Nelson Mandela...in a sense Mandela completed what Gandhi started."[21]
Role in Zulu War of 1906
Main article: Bambatha Rebellion
In 1906, after the British introduced a new poll-tax, Zulus in South Africa killed two British officers. In response, the British declared a war against the Zulus. Gandhi actively encouraged the British to recruit Indians. He argued that Indians should support the war efforts in order to legitimize their claims to full citizenship. The British, however, refused to commission Indians as army officers. Nonetheless, they accepted Gandhi's offer to let a detachment of Indians volunteer as a stretcher bearer corps to treat wounded British soldiers. This corps was commanded by Gandhi. On 21 July 1906, Gandhi wrote in Indian Opinion: "The corps had been formed at the instance of the Natal Government by way of experiment, in connection with the operations against the Natives consists of twenty three Indians".[22] Gandhi urged the Indian population in South Africa to join the war through his columns in Indian Opinion: “If the Government only realized what reserve force is being wasted, they would make use of it and give Indians the opportunity of a thorough training for actual warfare.”[23]
In Gandhi's opinion, the Draft Ordinance of 1906 brought the status of Indians below the level of Natives. He therefore urged Indians to resist the Ordinance along the lines of satyagraha by taking the example of "Kaffirs". In his words, "Even the half-castes and kaffirs, who are less advanced than we, have resisted the government. The pass law applies to them as well, but they do not take out passes."[24]
In 1927 Gandhi wrote of the event: "The Boer War had not brought home to me the horrors of war with anything like the vividness that the [Zulu] 'rebellion' did. This was no war but a man-hunt, not only in my opinion, but also in that of many Englishmen with whom I had occasion to talk."[25]
Struggle for Indian Independence (1915–1945)
See also: Indian Independence Movement
In 1915, Gandhi returned from South Africa to live in India. He spoke at the conventions of the Indian National Congress, but was primarily introduced to Indian issues, politics and the Indian people by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a respected leader of the Congress Party at the time.
Role in World War I
In April 1918, during the latter part of World War I, Gandhi was invited by the Viceroy to a War Conference in Delhi.[26] Perhaps to show his support for the Empire and help his case for India's independence,[27] Gandhi agreed to actively recruit Indians for the war effort.[28] In contrast to the Zulu War of 1906 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914, when he recruited volunteers for the Ambulance Corps, this time Gandhi attempted to recruit combatants. In a June 1918 leaflet entitled "Appeal for Enlistment", Gandhi wrote "To bring about such a state of things we should have the ability to defend ourselves, that is, the ability to bear arms and to use them...If we want to learn the use of arms with the greatest possible despatch, it is our duty to enlist ourselves in the army."[29] He did however stipulate in a letter to the Viceroy's private secretary that he "personally will not kill or injure anybody, friend or foe."[30] Gandhi's war recruitment campaign brought into question his consistency on nonviolence as his friend Charlie Andrews confirms, "Personally I have never been able to reconcile this with his own conduct in other respects, and it is one of the points where I have found myself in painful disagreement."[31] Gandhi's private secretary also acknowledges that "The question of the consistency between his creed of 'Ahimsa' (non-violence) and his recruiting campaign was raised not only then but has been discussed ever since."[28]
Champaran and Kheda
Main article: Champaran and Kheda Satyagraha
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Carlos Slim - Biography !!!
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Carlos Slim
| Carlos Slim | |
|---|---|
 Carlos Slim, October 24, 2007 | |
| Born | January 28, 1940 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Ethnicity | Lebanese |
| Alma mater | Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico – UNAM |
| Occupation | Chairman & CEO of Telmex, Telcel and América Móvil |
| Net worth | ▲US$53.5 billion (2010)[1] |
| Religion | Maronite Catholic[2] |
| Spouse(s) | Soumaya Domit (m. 1967–1999) |
| Children | Carlos Marco Antonio Patrick Soumaya Vanessa Johanna |
| Parents | Julian Slim Haddad Linda Helu |
Carlos Slim Helú (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkarlos eˈslim eˈlu], simply known as Carlos Slim (born January 28, 1940), is a Mexican business magnate, philanthropist and the chairman and CEO of Telmex, Telcel and América Móvil. He is currently the wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of around US$53.5 billion through his holdings.[3][4]
Slim has a substantial influence over the telecommunications industry in Mexico and much of Latin America. He controls Teléfonos de México (Telmex), Telcel and América Móvil companies. Though he maintains an active involvement in his companies, his three sons — Carlos, Marco Antonio and Patrick Slim Domit — head them on a day-to-day basis.
Early life
Slim was born in Mexico City, Mexico.[5] His father, Julián Slim Haddad (Arabic جوليان سليم حداد), immigrated to Mexico in 1902 from Lebanon, alone at 14 years of age and speaking no Spanish. He fled the Ottoman Empire, which at the time conscripted young men into its army, causing mothers to send their sons to exile before turning fifteen. Carlos Slim's mother, Linda Helú, was born in Parral, Chihuahua. She was the daughter of José Helú and Wadiha Atta (Arabic وضيحة عطا), Lebanese immigrants who arrived in Mexico at the end of the 19th century. They brought the first Arabic printing press to Mexico,[6] and founded one of the first magazines for the Lebanese community in the country. In 1911, Julián established a dry goods store called La Estrella del Oriente (The Eastern Star) and purchased real estate in downtown Mexico City. In August 1926, Julián Slim and Linda Helú married in Mexico City. They had six children, of whom Carlos was the youngest son. Julian died in 1952.[7]
Slim studied engineering at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. By the time he was 26 years old, his net worth was $40 million.[8] He married Soumaya Domit Gemayel (Arabic سمية جميل), also a Lebanese-Mexican, in 1967. They had six children and were married for 32 years until Domit died of a kidney ailment in 1999. The youngest of their three daughters, Johanna, is married to Arturo Elías Ayub, a board member of some of Slim's companies.
Personal wealth
On August 4, 2007, The Wall Street Journal ran a cover story profiling Slim. The article said, "While the market value of his stake in publicly traded companies could decline at any time, at the moment he is probably wealthier than Bill Gates".[9] On March 29, 2007, Slim surpassed Warren Buffett as the world's second richest person with an estimated net worth of US$53.1 billion compared to Buffett's US$52.4 billion.[10] According to The Wall Street Journal, Slim credits part of his ability to discover investment opportunities early to the writings of his friend, futurist author Alvin Toffler.[9]
On August 8, 2007, Fortune reported that Slim had overtaken Gates as the world's richest man. Slim's estimated fortune soared to US$59 billion, based on the value of his public holdings the end of July. Gates' net worth was estimated to be at least US$58 billion.[9][11]
On March 5, 2008, Forbes ranked Slim as the world's second-richest person, behind Warren Buffett and ahead of Bill Gates.[12] On March 11, 2009, Forbes ranked Slim as the world's third-richest person, behind Gates and Buffett and ahead of Lawrence Ellison.[13]
On March 10, 2010, Forbes once again reported that Slim had overtaken Gates as the world's richest man, with a net worth of US$53.5 billion. Gates and Buffett now have a net worth of US$53 billion and US$47 billion respectively.[14] He was the first Mexican to top the list.[15] It was the first time in 16 years that the person on top of the list was not from the United States.[16] It was also the first time the person at the top of the list was from an "emerging economy."[17]
Achievements and directorships
Slim has been vice-president of the Mexican Stock Exchange and president of the Mexican Association of Brokerage Houses. He was the first president of the Latin-American Committee of the New York Stock Exchange Administration Council, and was in office from 1996 through 1998.
He was on the Board of Directors of the Altria Group (previously Philip Morris; he resigned in April 2006) and Alcatel. Slim currently sits on the Board of Directors for Philip Morris International. He was on the Board of Directors of SBC Communications until July 2004 to devote more time to the World Education & Development Fund, which focused on infrastructure, health and education projects. In 1997, just before the company introduced its iMac line, Slim bought three percent of Apple Computer's stock, which has skyrocketed over the years.
He built the large Mexican financial-industrial conglomerate Grupo Carso which controls, among other companies, Sanborns (a prestigious food chain in Mexico), Mixup (music retail), Sears Mexico, Cigatam, Condumex and Grupo Hotelero Hostam and had indirect control over the CompUSA electronics retail chain.
On December 8, 2007, Grupo Carso announced that the remaining 103 CompUSA stores would be either liquidated or sold, bringing an end to the struggling company.[18] After 28 years he became the Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the business. He is also Chairman of Teléfonos de Mexico, América Móvil, and Grupo Financiero Inbursa.
Slim is said to have shown an interest in buying the Honda Formula One team.[19] Slim would overtake the owner of Force India, Vijay Mallya, to become the richest team owner in a sport famous for being a playground for the super wealthy. Slim made it known in the Mexican press that he will soon announce his intentions to acquire a Major League Soccer franchise to be located in Queens, New York that will initially be set up in the second-tier United Soccer Leagues.[citation needed]
Telecom leadership
Slim gained notoriety when he led a group of investors that included France Télécom and Southwestern Bell Corporation in buying Telmex and Telnor from the Mexican government in 1990 in a public tender during the presidency of Carlos Salinas. Slim was able to raise money for a telecommunications company by purchasing standby letters of credit which enabled him to obtain guaranteed loans which provided the capital. Today, 90 percent of the telephone lines in Mexico are operated by Telmex.[20] The mobile company, Telcel, which Slim also controls, operates almost eighty percent of all the country's cellphones. These operations have financed Slim's expansion abroad. Over the past five years, his wireless carrier América Móvil has bought cellphone companies across Latin America, and is now the region's dominant company, with more than 100 million subscribers. Slim was once MCI Inc.'s largest shareholder, with 13% ownership. On April 11, 2005, The Wall Street Journal announced that he had sold his stake in MCI to Verizon Communications.
Media
On September 10, 2008, Slim announced that he had purchased a 6.4% common-stock stake in The New York Times Company, making him the largest shareholder not related to the company's owners, the Sulzberger family.[21]
On January 19, 2009, the financially troubled New York Times Company announced that it had accepted a $250 million loan from Slim.[22] While the loan will help ease the company's cash-flow problems, it does not come close to eliminating the Times Company's $1.1 billion debt.[22] The company's continuing financial problems and Slim's ongoing interest in its work, as evidenced by his two interventions in the course of five months, has led to speculation that he might be contemplating an outright takeover of the Times Company.[23] A spokesman for Slim told reporters in January 2009 that the Times loan was an investment opportunity "that makes financial sense".[24]
Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo
He leads Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en America Latina SAB de CV (IDEAL – roughly translated as "Promoter of Development and Employment in Latin America"), a Mexico-based company primarily engaged in infrastructure development. IDEAL is active in transportation, crude oil and gas, power, water, real estate and technology. Within these sectors, the company performs as a concessionaire of highways, hydroelectric plants projects, electronic toll collection systems and ports. It is also engaged in the exploration, production, transport, refinement and distribution of crude oil and gas mainly through offshore oil platforms for deep waters. Additionally, it is engaged in the construction and operation of water treatment plants, investments and development of the urban and rural properties, primarily in the commercial, health and education sectors. The company's main subsidiaries are Desarollo de America Latina SA de CV and Promotora del Desarollo de America Latina SA de CV.
Criticism
The Mexican magnate's rising fortune has caused a controversy because it has been amassed in a developing country[citation needed] where per capita income does not surpass $14,500 a year, and nearly 17% of the population lives in poverty.[25] Critics claim that Slim is a monopolist, pointing to Telmex's control of 90% of the Mexican landline telephone market. Slim's wealth is the equivalent of roughly 5% of Mexico's annual economic output.[26] Telmex, which is 49.1% owned by Slim and his family, charges among the highest usage fees in the world, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.[27]
According to Professor Celso Garrido, an economist at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Slim's domination of his country's conglomerates chokes off growth of smaller companies, resulting in a shortage of good jobs and driving many Mexicans to seek better lives north of the Rio Grande.[28]
Slim says he is unfazed by the criticism: "When you live for others' opinions, you are dead. I don't want to live thinking about how I'll be remembered". He also claims indifference about his ranking and says he has no interest in becoming the world's richest person. When asked to explain his sudden increase in wealth at a press conference soon after Forbes annual rankings were published, he reportedly said, "The stock market goes up ... and down", and noted that his fortune could quickly drop.[26]
Cultural businesses
In 2000, Slim organized the Fundación del Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México A.C. (Mexico City Historic Downtown Foundation), whose objective is to revitalize and rescue Mexico City's historic downtown to enable more people to live, work and find entertainment in this area. He has been Chairman of the Executive Committee for the Restoration of the Historic Center since 2001.
The Carlos Slim Foundation sponsors the Museo Soumaya with the most extensive Rodin and Dalí collection in Latin America and one of the largest in the world, as well as renowned religious artworks from colonial times.
Awards
Slim has been awarded the Entrepreneurial Merit Medal of Honor from Mexico's Chamber of Commerce. He is a "gold patron" of the American Academy of Achievement,[29] a Commander in the Belgian Order of Leopold II, CEO of the year in 2003 by Latin Trade magazine, and one year later CEO of the decade by the same magazine.
Top 10 List of Richest people
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William Gates III
Rank: 1 Net Worth: $40.0 bil, Fortune: self made
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 exec of Gates Foundation in September. Gates remains Microsoft chairman. Sells shares each quarter, redeploys proceeds via investment vehicle Cascade; more than half of fortune invested outside Microsoft. Stock down 45% in past 12 months. “Creative capitalist” wants companies to match profit making with doing good.
Warren Buffett
Rank: 2 Net Worth: $37.0 bil, Fortune: self made
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, GE 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.
Carlos Slim Helu & family
Rank: 3 Net Worth: $35.0 bil, Fortune: self made
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 position in Saks. Baseball statistics aficionado, art collector
Lawrence Ellison
Rank: 4 Net Worth: $22.5 bil, Fortune: self made
Ingvar Kamprad & family
Rank: 5 Net Worth: $22.0 bil, Fortune: self made
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; stores’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 tenth 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.
Karl Albrecht
Rank: 6 Net Worth: $21.5 bil, Fortune:self made
Source:Aldi , Age:89, Country Of Citizenship:Germany,Residence:Mulheim an der Ruhr
Industry:Retail.
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 than that he apparently raises orchids and plays golf.
Mukesh Ambani
Rank: 7 Net Worth: $19.5 bil, Fortune: inherited and growing
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 $1.20 per share—the same price at which he sold it 3 years ago. Today the stock trades for $1.80 a share. Increased stake in Reliance Industries in 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.
Lakshmi Mittal
Rank: 8 Net Worth: $19.3 bil, Fortune: inherited and growing
Indian immigrant heads world’s largest steel company; ArcelorMittal was formed via hostile takeover 3 years ago. Stock in company makes up bulk of his fortune; shares at a 4-year 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 12-bedroom mansion in London’s posh Kensington neighborhood.
Theo Albrecht
Rank: 9 Net Worth:Net Worth:$18.8 bil, Fortune:self made
Source:Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Age:87, Country Of Citizenship:Germany
Residence:Foehr, Industry:Retail
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.
Amancio Ortega
Rank: 10, Net Worth: $18.3 bil ,Fortune: self made
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