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Strategies & Market Trends : Zeev's Turnips - No Politics -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LTK007 who wrote (35994)	3/2/2002 12:44:26 AM
From: Mike M	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 99280

Sorry, but not even the rich got richer. Your hypothesis is false: reuters.com. *World's Rich Get Poorer in Forbes Roster* March 01, 2002 09:27 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - The world's richest people are getting poorer, as the global economic downturn and the fight against terrorism have made it harder to make a buck and keep it, according to Forbes magazine. Forbes published its 16th annual ranking of the world's billionaires this week, and Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O founder Bill Gates heads the list of 497 billionaires once again. Last year's total was 538. The magazine said that for every billionaire who joined or returned to the billionaire roster, two others departed. Of those who made the list's final cut, 50 percent saw their net worth fall, 23 percent saw it rise and 19 percent held steady. The billionaires' average net worth dipped from $3.2 billion to $3.1 billion. Warren Buffett, the head of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRKa.N and one of America's most watched investors, ranks second on the list, followed by German discount supermarket kings Karl and Theo Albrecht, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and Oracle Corp. ORCL.O founder Lawrence Ellison. "As a group, our billionaires are worth $190 billion less since last summer, part of a decline that drove 83 people off our list. Of the 497 who remain, 249 of them saw their fortunes sink. But while there are fewer billionaires in the world, there's no shortage of ingenious new ways to create wealth," the magazine reported. In such a tough global economic environment, Forbes listed several big financial losers on its roster, including Japanese investor Masayoshi Son. His worth dropped $77 billion in two years, as the value of his Softbank Corp. 9984.T holdings fell 98 percent. The magazine also cites the $5 billion hit Ted Turner, AOL Time Warner Inc.'s AOL.N largest individual shareholder, has taken as the media giant's stock fell nearly 60 percent in value. Forbes touted six "winners" who managed to turn impressive gains, including Spaniard Amancio Ortega, who took his fashion company Inditex ITX.MC public last year. With his company's value up more than 50 percent, Ortega is now worth $9.1 billion after ranking at $6.6 billion a year ago, Forbes said. Nike Inc. NKE.N Chairman boss Philip Knight also saw a hefty hike in net worth, as rising shoe orders lifted the company's stock to an all-time high in January. "The tattooed titan, whose personal net worth is at an all-time high, just introduced his first $200 sneaker and is now branding the company's trademark swoosh on golf clubs," Forbes said.