Warren Edward Buffett (born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people. He was ranked as the world's wealthiest person in 2008 and is the third wealthiest person in the world as of 2011.
Numerous books have been written about Warren Buffett and his investment strategies. In October 2008, USA Today reported that there were at least 47 books in print with Buffett's name in the title. The article quoted the CEO of Borders Books, George Jones, as saying that the only other living persons named in as many book titles were U.S. presidents, major world political figures, and the Dalai Lama. Buffett said that his own personal favorite is a collection of his essays called The Essays of Warren Buffett, which he described as "a coherent rearrangement of ideas from my annual report letters" as edited by Larry Cunningham.
Lawrence Joseph "Larry" Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Oracle Corporation, one of the world's leading enterprise software companies. As of 2011, he is the third wealthiest American citizen, with an estimated worth of $33 billion.
In 2005, Oracle paid Larry Ellison a $975,000 salary, a $6,500,000 bonus, and other compensation of $955,100. In 2007, Larry Ellison earned a total compensation of $61,180,524, which included a base salary of $1,000,000, a cash bonus of $8,369,000, and options granted of $50,087,100. In 2008, he earned a total compensation of $84,598,700, which included a base salary of $1,000,000, a cash bonus of $10,779,000, no stocks granted, and options granted of $71,372,700. In the year ending May 31, 2009 he made $56.8 million.
In 2006, Forbes ranked him as the richest Californian.
On July 2, 2009, for the fourth year in a row, Oracle's Board awarded Larry Ellison another 7 million stock options.
On August 22, 2009, it was reported that Larry Ellison would be paid only $1 for his base salary for the fiscal year of 2010, down from the $1,000,000 he was paid in fiscal 2009.
As of March 10, 2010, Larry Ellison was listed on the Forbes list of billionaires as the sixth
richest person in the world.Larry Ellison is the third richest American, with an estimated net worth of US $28 billion.
On July 27, 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported that Larry Ellison was the best-paid executive in the last decade, collecting a total compensation of US $1.84 billion.
Lakshmi Mittal (born 15 June 1950) is an Indian steel magnate. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal, the world�s largest steelmaking company.
Lakshmi Mittal is the richest man in India, Asia and the United Kingdom, and second in Europe and is presently the sixth richest individual in the world with a personal wealth of US$31.1 billion. He is the 44th "most powerful person" of the 68 individuals named in Forbes's Most Powerful People list. His daughter Vanisha Mittal's wedding was the most expensive in the recorded history of the world.
Lakshmi Mittal is an independent director of Goldman Sachs, member of Board of Directors to Goldman Sachs Media/Film IP Group, member of the Board of Directors of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, World Steel Association, Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan, the International Investment Council in South Africa, the Investors' Council to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the World Economic Forum�s International Business Council, the World Steel Association's Executive Committee, the Presidential International Advisory Board of Mozambique and the International Iron and Steel Institute�s Executive Committee.
In 2006, Financial Times named him "Person of the Year". In 2007, Time magazine included him in their "100 most influential persons in the world".
Amancio Ortega (born March 28, 1936) is a Spanish fashion entrepreneur. He is the founder, along with his then-wife Rosalia Mera, and chairman of the Inditex Group. He is ranked by Forbes as Spain's richest man; Europe's second richest man; and the seventh richest man in the world in 2011 . He currently lives with his second wife in a discreet apartment building in the centre of A Coruna.
Amancio Ortega arrived at La Coruna, Spain, at the age of 14, due to the job of his father, a railway worker. Starting as a gofer in various shirt stores in La Coruna, Galicia, in 1972 he founded Confecciones Goa (his initials in reverse), which made bathrobes. In 1975 he opened the first store in what would grow into the enormously popular chain of fashion stores called Zara. He owns 59.29% of the Inditex group (Industrias de Diseno Textil Sociedad Anonima) which includes the brands Zara, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Zara Home, Kiddy's Class, Tempe, Stradivarius, Pull and Bear/Often and Bershka and has more than 92,000 employees.
Amancio Ortega keeps a very low profile and there are practically no photographs of him (except from one photo published at the Inditex website). He refuses to wear a tie, and likes to dress in blue jeans and T-shirts. He is said to take a very active part in the production and design process in the company.
When he made a public appearance in 2000 - as part of the warm-up prior to floating his company on the stock market in 2001 - it made headlines in the Spanish financial press. However, he has never given an interview, and his secrecy has led to the publication of books such as Amancio Ortega: DE CERO A ZARA (From Zero to Zara).
Amancio Ortega, announced his imminent retirement from the fast-fashion giant Inditex, parent company of the Zara chain, stating that he will ask Inditex vice-president and CEO Pablo Isla to take his place at the helm of the textile empire.
Eike Batista (born November 3, 1956), is a Brazilian entrepreneur and president of the EBX Group , which includes five companies that trade on the BOVESPA's Novo Mercado, a special segment of the Sao Paulo stock market where enterprises with the highest standards of corporate governance are listed. The EBX companies listed on the BOVESPA are: OGX (oil and gas), MPX (energy), LLX (logistics), MMX (mining) and OSX (offshore services and equipment).
In 2011, Eike Batista was listed by Forbes magazine as the 8th
richest person in the world and the richest in South America. His wealth is estimated at US$ 30 billion .Eike Batista was also featured in Bloomberg Markets magazine as the only Brazilian on the list of the 50 most influential people in global finance, published for the first time in September of 2011. The magazine focused on people "whose comments move markets; whose deals set the value of companies or securities; whose ideas and policies shape corporations, governments and economies".
At the end of 2010, the magazine ranked Batista as the 58th most powerful person in the world, placing him as Brazil's most powerful person after the current president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff. The newspaper Folha de S. Paulo describes Batista as an example of a "self-made man", an entrepreneur with a fortune acquired through his own efforts (and not through inheritance).
The top-ranked Brazilian in March of 2008, on the Forbes magazine list, was Antonio Ermirio de Moraes, in 77th place with a family estate of US$ 10 billion. Another 17 Brazilians were on the list, including Batista (who in 2008 said his goal was to become the
richest man in the world in five years). In 2008 Batista's fortune was estimated at US$ 6.6 billion and he was ranked at the 142nd place on the list of the
richest men in the world. In 2009, he moved up to the 61st position and was considered the
richest man in Brazil.
According to the Brazilian weekly magazine Epoca, Eike Batista is one of the 100 most influential men in Brazil of 2010. IstoE magazine has also listed Batista as one of the 100 most influential people in 2010. In 2011, Eike Batista was included in the 1,000 CEOs ranking by Dinheiro magazine.
Eike Batista has benefited from three decades of experience in international business and has an ability to "generate wealth from scratch". Since the 1980s, Batista created and put into operation eight gold mines in Brazil and Canada (Amapari, Casa Berardi, Crix�s, Musselwhite, New Britania, Novo Astro, Novo Planeta and Paracatu), a silver mine in Chile (La Coipa), and three iron ore mines in Brazil (Mina 63, Tico-Tico and Ipe).
From 2004 to 2010 Eike Batista created and put into operation five companies: MMX (mining), MPX (energy), OGX (petroleum), LLX (logistics) and OSX (offshore industry).
Mukesh Ambani (born on 19 April 1957) is an Indian business magnate. He is the chairman and managing director of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, the largest private sector enterprise in India listed in Fortune 500 magazine. His personal stake in Reliance Industries is 48%. On the 29th of August 2011, Reliance Industries regained its status as the most valued firm in India, after a heady contest with ONGC and Coal India Ltd., both public sector units as well as energy giants.
In 2010, he was named among the most powerful people in the world by Forbes in its list of "68 people who matter most" As of 2011, he is the second
richest man in Asia and the ninth
richest man in the world with a personal wealth of US$27 billion. In 2007, a strong rally in the Indian stock market and the appreciation of the Indian rupee boosted the market capitalisation of Reliance group companies, briefly making him the world�s richest man.
He is a member of the board of directors of Bank of America Corporation and a present member of the international advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations.
He joined Reliance Industries in 1981. He initiated Reliance's backward integration journey from textiles into polyester fibres and further into petrochemicals, petroleum refining and going up-stream into oil and gas exploration and production.
Mukesh Ambani set up one of the largest and most complex information and communications technology initiatives in the world in the form of Reliance Infocomm Limited (now Reliance Communications Limited).
Mukesh Ambani directed and led the creation of the world�s largest grassroots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar, India, with a current capacity of 660,000 barrels per day (33 million tonnes per year) integrated with petrochemicals, power generation, port and related infrastructure.
Christy Ruth Walton (born 1955) is the widow of John T. Walton, who was a son of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. After John's death in June 2005, she inherited his fortune of $15.7 billion.
As of 2011, she is the 4th
richest person in the United States according to Forbes Magazine and the 10th
richest person in the world, as well as the richest woman in the world. As of March 2011, she had an estimated net worth of US$26.5 billion, the bulk of which comes from her shares in Wal-Mart, but also from First Solar, in which her late husband invested. She currently resides in Jackson, Wyoming and has one son, Lukas.
Facesofphilanthropy.com references Conde Nast Portfolio magazine as ranking her the highest female philanthropist, according to the amount she gives as a percentage of her wealth. Between 2002 and 2006, she contributed billions from her then $16.3 billion net worth towards philanthropic efforts.
Non-profit organizations in which Walton is actively serving include the national association of trustees and staff, corporate giving officers, and individual donors - The Philanthropy Roundtable. The San Diego Natural History Museum where she is a board member, as well as the San Diego Zoological Society and the Mingei International Museum are also institutions in which she makes donations towards. In 2006, Walton also donated her own old Victorian home to the International Community Foundation - Center for Cross-Border Philanthropy, which was built in 1896 for former National City postmaster Oliver Noyes and is of historical significance. Since her donation, she has endowed $4 million towards the edifice's preservation.
Additionally, she supports her family's own charitable foundation, the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, which prioritizes education and benefits colleges such as the University of Arkansas, the College of Business Administration of the University of Arkansas, and several other colleges, community trusts, universities and foundations. In 2007, her family's foundation donated as much as $1.6 billion.
