a visit to the Billionaires Car Club

America's Billionaire Moneymakers Of 2009

In Pictures: America's Billionaire Moneymakers Of 2009

Topping the ranking is Larry Page, last year's fifth biggest loser. The Google ( GOOG - news - people ) co-founder made $8.4 billion between January and mid-December 2009 after shedding $11.9 billion in 2008.

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Ex-wife (Ivana) of ex-billionaire (Donald Trump) booted off plane

Socialite Ivana Trump kicked off an airliner after 'foul-mouthed tirade at noisy children'

Socialite Ivana Trump had to be escorted off a plane after launching a foul-mouthed tirade at noisy children.

The former wife of billionaire property mogul Donald Trump started screaming the F-word as several excited youngsters ran up and down the first-class aisle.

The grandmother of one became even angrier as flight attendants tried to calm her down, allegedly rushing towards the cockpit.

When the pilot asked her to leave the New York-bound flight before take-off, the hysterical Miss Trump refused to budge.

Daily Mail article

New Zealand names its "Billionaire of the year"

Billionaire of the year

David Tepper made bucketloads of cash by betting that banks had been oversold early in 2009.

According to the story, Tepper has pocketed about US$2.5 billion of his hedge fund firm's profit this year. I suppose that explains the cheesy grin (but not the squint, the cheap PC in the background, the rumpled tieless shirt or the rolled up trousers - why is he dressed like a journalist?).

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The Top 5 bad billionaires for the year 2009

Well, here we are at Think Billion$ at the end of 2009 and the end of the decade.

How do we close out the year with some sort of profound post? Well, once again we've been doing some thinking and serious research.

Last year The outcome of which is our First Annual "The Top 5 bad billionaires for the year 2008" list. How about that?

So here's the bad-boy list for this year, and let us know what you think:



Tiger Woods: while technically not a billionaire in net worth terms, everyone has been calling him that over the past couple of years because he has earned a billion from golf winnings and from personal endorsements. Why has Tiger been a bad billionaire for 2009? Come on, is this really a serious question???

Bernie Madoff: we found out about Bernie's badness in 2008, but was locked away in 2009.

Al Gore: we found out this year that Al is a "carbon Billionaire"

Allen Stanford: another convicted billionaire con.

Mark Cuban: for being Mark Cuban.

Warren Buffett dumps shares of Moody's

The billionaire investor who rarely sells, has sold 2.7 million shares of Moody's Corp. (MCO), according to a filing this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB) sold the shares of Moody's Corp. (MCO), according to a filing Wednesday.

The credit scoring agency was once strongly backed by Buffett, in numerous comments over the years, has experienced all sorts of problems associated with the credit crunch and also due to poor internal controls. However, this seems to be a risk reduction move overall. Berkshire still owns 15% of Moody's outstanding stock after the recent sale, down from 20% in July.

It is "Next Time" for Tiger, Inc.

ARTICLE: Tiger Woods, Inc., A Failure in Corporate Governance

Richard Branson Takes Reservations From Would-Be Astronauts

Sir Richard Branson shows off the SpaceShipTwo in a Mojave, California, hangar on Monday.

CNN article

Discover Magazine

Bloomberg

Investor Michael Price is bullish on Bank of America

Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire investor Michael Price said he bought shares of Bank of America Corp. in its $19.3 billion equity sale yesterday after shunning large lenders.

Bank of America raised money in the biggest U.S. offering of stock or preferred shares since at least 2000 to free itself from government restrictions after accepting funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The Charlotte, North Carolina- based company, the largest U.S. bank, sold securities at $15 each, or 4.8 percent less than its closing price yesterday.

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stock quote

Budapest cave-men become instant billionaires

There's rags to riches and then there's rags to mega-riches. Two brothers from Hungary definitely fall into the second category.

Until recently, Geza and Zslot Peladi lived in a cave near Budapest. Completely destitute, the two cave-brothers earned money by gathering scrap metal and selling candy they found on the street. That all changed the moment they heard that they stood to inherit a substantial portion of their maternal grandmother's $6.6 billion fortune. (That's billion, with a "B.")


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Back to the smartphone biz for Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie

NHL commish takes dim view of Canadian billionaire Balsillie


NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman all but ruled out the prospect for Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie one day owning a team in the hockey league.

Balsillie, the co-CEO of BlackBerry wireless device maker Research in Motion, failed in a bid to move the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton, Ontario in September when a U.S. judge blocked the attempt.


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