This was today writtien for someone on why US corporations lead the world and why I am bullish on US, the previous answer on htis issue is still not complete but the two in continuity will reflect my mind set..
It is not only a uni-polar political world but a uni-polar economic world too.
The recent activity of making big money on the Wall Street has created new innovations and brand of heroes. These innovations and heroes have shifted the axis of economic activity tilted noticeably in favor of US from Japan and Europe. The US public traditionally has been great followers of the equity market, US public awareness and actual percentage of public that invests in the markets is highest compared to all the other industrially advanced nations. Politicians and actors, no more attract the popularity they use to. Since Monica Lewinski case with all its trappings of sex, intrigue, power, and callous display absolute lust any lesser political story have lost interest. it is no more likes of Gore's and Bush's or Tom Cruise that attract highest appearance fee or turn head potential, it is some one like Bill Gates or John Chambers. Who are these new guys on the block with bigger-than-life status?
They are the new leaders of 'information based global economy' those who create the news. These are part of that unique group of people who has helped make many 'Americans' rich over night. Unprecedented new surge of millionaires in US owes its existence to' internet' and stocks like 'Microsoft, IBM Cisco and Intel'. Even the British lottery that give 10's of millions of pounds each month has failed to attract the kind of popular support as some of these internets stocks have, markets have become the absolute new passion of Americans, people have seen neighbors growing rich overnight as a result of one investment in a new stock. They want to be a part of this new wealth creating machine. Once 'gold rush' dominated the early American immigrants dream, now it is the Silicon valley in California. This state hosts the 'richest man of this century' never in the history of mankind so much has accumulated in the hands of so few in such a little time without violence. Some of this wealth like Dell created in a garage.
In UK to be rich is considered a matter of birth right accumulated wealth does not bring respect, misplaced 'class consciousness' still rules Britain, similarly in France new riches are frowned upon it is considered socially crude to show one's riches, it is common proverb that only a 'new rich' will drive a new Mercedes, the hereditary wealth still goes for a Citroen. In US wealth creation is encouraged and display of wealth very much part of the social settings, after all unlike Europe historical roots, the US new immigrants had no qualms to show their new found prosperity as a success over adversity. US society encourages reward and produces new legends in politics and business. Families like Kennedy's and Ford's are living examples of stories from rag to riches. This national past time of 'hero worshipping' and encouraging success has made US today a land of opportunity, unknown talent without restrictions of 'family past or pedigree' on basis of competence alone has created leaders who have snatched the 'coveted prize' of global growth leadership held by from Europe and Japan until 1980 and brought it back to US. Snobbery and class distinction discouraged a lot of talent in Europe and Japan not to be able to go beyond their garages.
This decade has produced new brand of leaders replacing the old families of US and those who broke Japan and Europe's strangle hold on global economy, the ten most popular and richest all owe their wealth to information technology, but more than wealth what they have brought to US is the global dominance of 'economy' through technology, undoubtedly these are the people who made it happen for US.....
I am please to single following as the top titans of the 1999 elite of US today.
1. John Chambers
President and CEO, Cisco Systems Inc.
Chambers has to be the technology world's hero: He's as charming and folksy as Bill Gates is acerbic and ruthless, yet he's achieved the same kind of bigger-than-life status. The center of the technology universe is shifting to the Internet, and Cisco is at the Net's core. With brilliant acquisitions, nearly flawless execution and offering more vision on his universe than the Hubble telescope, Chambers seems to have all the right moves. Since he took the helm in January 1995, his company has grown sevenfold, to $8.5 billion in annual revenue. Wall Street's belief in the company has been unwavering. And Chambers is playing an increasing role in tech politics. We applaud his business savvy and low-key, sophisticated style:
2. Bill Gates
Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft Corp.
In today's public image he is J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller all rolled into one. Gates wasn't feeling the love in 1998. The Department of Justice called him a monopolist and took him to court. Gates can't seem to win--except in the market and on Wall Street, of course. No longer merely a software company, Microsoft is a technology and media conglomerate. Monopolist or conglomerate, its market cap is high enough to make most kingdoms jealous. It's the guy with the $90 billion fortune and this is the guy who made several hundred of him employees super rich.
3. Bernard Ebbers
President and CEO, MCIWorldCom Inc.
Ebbers has courage, vision and tenacity. In fact, we're still in awe of the way he built his company. As the stock market zoomed and the Internet pushed the telecommunications industry into warp drive, Ebbers played these trends like Einstein played physics: He changed the rules. He built his company on stock-based acquisitions and redefined what it means to be a telephone company. This man has guts of steel.
4. Steve Jobs
Co-founder and Interim CEO, Apple Computer Inc.; Chairman and CEO, Pixar Animation Studios
The man who got the consumer computer revolution rolling in the 1970s is at it again. He's brought marketing savvy and profits back to Apple--four straight quarters' worth of earnings as of press time. What's more, Jobs' "Think Different" ad campaign won an Emmy Award, and the slick new iMac proves he can still pull a few worms out of the old Apple. His turnaround strategy is nothing new--layoffs, cost cutting and a shiny new gizmo--but it's working so far, and the company's stock has risen threefold in the past year. Of course, it's too early to tell if the turnaround is for real. And as Apple's interim CEO, Jobs has an easy out if the going gets tough again.
5. Steve Case
Chairman and CEO, America Online Inc.
Why would anyone move from Hawaii to a place called Dulles, Va.? Try 14-plus million customers generating $2.6 billion in revenue for fiscal 1998. That makes AOL the world's largest online service. Wall Street, for one, is sold on the AOL story. And now that the company is teaming with the "Baywatch" babes to sponsor a race car, Dulles is looking a little less dull after all..
6. Michael Dell
Chairman and CEO, Dell Computer Corp.
For a guy who named his company after himself, Dell is pretty low-key. He has bragging rights, though: Depending on whose numbers you use, Dell is either poised to rip the No. 1 spot in PC sales from Compaq Computer Corp. or has already done it. In last year's Elite 10, Upside predicted Dell would achieve revenue of $10 billion in 1998. That estimate was about $2 billion short: Dell saw $12.3 billion in revenue for fiscal '98. From a $1,000 initial investment in 1984, Dell has expanded a garage business into an empire. And he's done so by doing something a lot of us would like to do: cutting the middleman off at the knees. And he's not just doing this in the United States: Ignoring the Asian flu, Dell started selling PCs in China this year.
7. Paul Allen
Co-founder, Microsoft Corp.; Chairman, The Paul Allen Group, Vulcan Northwest Inc.
Allen has come a long way since 1969 when he and some guy named Gates hooked up to test software on minicomputers. Even though he left Microsoft in 1983 (three years before the company went public), he's still the third-richest man in the world (according to Forbes), thanks to his Microsoft stock, which is worth an estimated $22 billion. Allen used that fortune to become a one-man piggy bank for technology companies--when he's not buying sports teams.
8. Masayoshi Son
Founder, President and CEO, Softbank Corp.; Chairman, Softbank Holdings Inc.
As a student at the University of California, Berkeley, Son invented and patented the multilingual pocket translator Wizard, which he sold to Sharp Corp. Since then, however, Son has made acquiring companies and pieces of companies his specialty. This year, parts of his Tokyo-based empire looked like diamonds, others like duds. Softbank is a conglomerate and owes its position to owner ship of sizable parts of key internets US companies like Yahoo. It is also the largest distributor of packaged software and peripherals in Japan. Son says he'll restructure the Softbank empire next year.
Also Nominated in this list of 'titans' are C. Michael Armstrong of AT&T Corp. Craig Barrett of Intel Corp.
Larry Ellison of the Oracle Corp. In world of today these characters are leading the world and far bigger than the yester years images of J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. Investments in their companies have made many a millionaires and in all probability this is going to be the story of the decade. This new economy and markets are all about power of information, these guys are its undisputed leaders. US dominance of global economy looks most likely to stay. If Japan and Europe needs to forge ahead they need to produce their Gate's and Chambers, until such time we are stuck not only in a uni-polar political world but a uni-polar economic world. |
