Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
$38.5 million lotto winner cheated co-workers out of jackpot, court rules
Americo Lopes leaves a New Jersey courtroom on Wednesday (AP)For most people, sharing a $38.5 million lottery jackpot with five co-workers is a deal they could live with. But it was apparently too much for Americo Lopes, who a jury found guilty of cheating his colleagues out of their rightful share of winnings.
Lopes and his co-workers at a New Jersey construction company took part in a lottery pool going back to 2007. But in 2009, when Lopes discovered he had the winning Mega Millions ticket, he claimed to have purchased the winning numbers on his own, rather than as part of the company pool.
After a unanimous jury decision on Wednesday, Lopes must now pay each co-worker a pretax $2 million from the jackpot, according to a spokeswoman for the Superior Court in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
The Star-Ledger reports that Lopes left the courtroom saying in Portuguese, "they robbed me."
The five former co-workers testified that they gave Lopes money to purchase lottery tickets on the day he purchased the winning ticket. A sixth construction worker who was not in the lottery pool also testified against Lopes. "I have a lot to do," Carlos Fernandez, one of the five plaintiffs, told the Star-Ledger after the verdict was announced.
Still, for all his complaining of being "robbed," it could have been worse for Lopes, who stood to lose up to $20 million of his after-tax $24 million in winnings.
Winning the lottery has been a mixed blessing for a number of past winners. Just last week, a Michigan lottery winner fell under intense scrutiny when it was revealed she was still accepting food stamps despite being a millionaire. The day after Yahoo! News reported on her story, the Michigan Bridge Card program stepped in and removed her from the welfare program.
On the other hand, a number of other lottery winners have voluntarily chosen to share their lottery winnings with family, friends and the less fortunate. Last month, we told you about several repeat Georgia lottery winners who have given away substantial portions of their jackpot winnings.
Winning the lottery can even be fatal in some extreme cases. In 1996, Jeffrey Dampier famously won $20 million in the Illinois state lottery, using some of his money to help family and friends. But when Dampier offered to help his sister-in-law and her boyfriend out financially, they rewarded his generosity by kidnapping and murdering him.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
New iPad unveiled! Details on Apple’s new tablet
By Oliver Libaw | Digital Crave
Wednesday, adding more power, an optional 4G Internet connection, and a supersharp HD display, but keeping the overall look and feel of the previous model.
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| Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple iPad event. (Getty Images) |
High-Resolution Retina Display
As expected, the new iPad features a screen with roughly twice the resolution of the iPad 2. The Retina display, as Apple calls it, first debuted in the iPhone 4 and quickly drew raves for its crisp, detailed images. The iPad's 2048x1536 display makes it the first Apple tablet able to show movies in full HD.
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| Apple's Phil Schiller senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing speaks about the new iPad during an Apple event in San Francisco, California March 7, 2012. (REUTERS/Robert Galbraith) |
The new device also has an A5X processor with quad-core graphics.
Speedy 4G Internet Connection
Apple is offering a 4G connection through both AT&T and Verizon on its new iPad. It's the first Apple device to feature the fast wireless technology.
Battery Life, Size and Weight
The new device can run for 10 hours, said Apple Vice President Phil Schiller. It will last nine hours when on 4G. It weighs 1.4 pounds, and is 9.4 mm thick.
Pricing and Release Date
The new iPad is available in several models. A basic 16GB model costs $499. 32GB is $599 and 64GB is $699. Models with 4G connections cost $629, $729 and $829, respectively.
It will be available March 16, Cook said.
Apple TV Upgrade Also Unveiled
Apple also showed off a new version of its Apple TV device, which lets users stream audio and video from iTunes. The new gadget has an improved interface and supports 1080p resolution for full HD video. The price remains the same at $99.
Tablet Competition Heating up
The iPad dominates the hot tablet market, but it's facing increased competition. A report by Forrester Research estimated the iPad had 73 percent of the tablet market as of last September. But that was before Amazon's hot-selling $199 Kindle Fire debuted. The market research firm iSuppli estimates Amazon shipped 3.9 million Kindle Fires in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with 15.4 million iPads shipped by Apple.
There are other challengers, too. Microsoft is preparing a touchscreen-friendly new version of Windows that will further blur the lines between a tablet and traditional computer. And Samsung, Asus, Toshiba, and others continue to improve tablets running the Android operating system, though none of the devices has caught fire the way the iPad has.
With a gorgeous new display and other improvements, the new iPad may be enough to keep Apple's hot streak alive.
$336 Million Powerball Winner, Louise White, Rhode Island Woman, Claims Prize
- Louise White, right, 81 from Newport, R.I., is presented a check for $336 million …
- $336 Million Powerball Winner, Louise White, Rhode Island Woman, Claims Prize (ABC …
Louise White, a "vivacious" 81-year-old of Newport, R.I., stepped forward today as the winner of $336.4 million, the third largest Powerball lottery in the history of the game.
"I want to say that I'm very happy and I'm very proud. This will make my family very happy," she said. "We are truly blessed. Thank you."
White took her bonanza calmly, speaking briefly and then leaving the crowded news conference for her new team of attorneys to handle.
One of her attorneys, Jason Kurland, called her "vivacious as any octogenarian."
The funds will go to the Rainbow Sherbert Trust, named after the dessert that she purchased last month while buying the lottery ticket, although the correct spelling is sherbet.
A family spokesman said the winning ticket was kept in White's Bible -- which she then slept with -- until she could get to a bank and put it in a safe deposit box.
White chose to accept the lump sum payment of $210 million, rather than the 30 annuity payments paid out over 29 years. White will pay about $52.5 million in federal taxes and $14.7 million in state taxes.
White said in a statement that was handed out at the news conference that she was waiting that Saturday, Feb. 11, with a grocery list for someone to take her to the store. In her list was a Powerball ticket in time for the evening's drawing. She said she the person who was supposed to take her that morning "was working all day at home and couldn't get away."
"Then around [7 p.m.] a family member wanted some rainbow sherbert to eat later, so they decided to go to the Stop N Shop," White wrote in a statement.
"I had just finished making a sandwich and was asked if I wanted anything at the store and I said emphatically, 'I can't believe you asked me if I want you to get me something. NO, I don't want you to get me something,'" she wrote in the statement, "I want to go with you!" After buying the tickets, White said she was at home later that evening listening to the news "while the family enjoyed the rainbow sherbert."
She listened to news and copied down the winning numbers, but didn't check her tickets until later. When she realized she had the matching numbers, she yelled, "Is anybody awake? I want you to come look at something."
She said she and her family were in disbelief, checking the lottery website, then re-starting the computer and checking it again.
"We hugged each other and jumped up and down screaming!!," she wrote. "Then I was told to 'Sign it quick!!'"
"We're excited, very blessed and will determine in the coming months how we'll spend the money, but we know we'll always have rainbow sherbert," she wrote.
The sherbert and the ticket was sold from Stop & Shop at 250 Bellevue Ave. in Newport, R.I. for $3, among the three quickpick tickets she bought.
A spokeswoman for Stop & Shop had said before today's announcement that White's family are "frequent" and "valued" customers at the store. "We're very pleased to be part of the history," Suzi Robinson said before the announcement.
Powerball Winner Louise White Is 81
Robinson said White's son, LeRoy White, 63, of Newport is "well known in the community." LeRoy White, a musician, lives about a mile away from the grocery store. Her attorneys said she was from Newport though public records show she at one time lived in the town of Middletown, about five miles away.
In Louise White's Facebook profile page, she lists Verizon Wireless under the "Employers" category.
Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chaffee was present for the historic win and praised for waiting to claim her prize and getting professional help as well. "You were lucky and smart," Chaffee said.
The jackpot win is the first since the newly revamped $2 version of the PowerBall game debuted Jan. 15, according to lottery officials.
While the chances of winning the lottery are slim, there are ways to increase your chances, says Richard Lustig, a seven time lottery winner in Florida who has earned more than $1 million.
In "Learn How to Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery," Lustig shares the strategy he calls "the winning lottery method."
"[Playing the lotto is] like any investment. You have to invest money to get something out of it," says Lustig, 59, a former singer and drummer from Florida. "Most people buy a $1 ticket and win $10 and they put the $10 in their pocket," says Lustig. Those people are playing the game wrong. Instead, he says, if you win $10, then you should buy $11 worth of tickets because "if you lose, you only lost a $1."
The process earned him $98,000 after he played the Fantasy 5 game in Florida. The first prize he took home was in 1992, for $10,000.
"I use lottery money all the time to buy more tickets," Lustig said in 2010.
His biggest prize was more than $842,000 in 2002.
Peyton Manning will be cut by Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday
(Getty Images)
Peyton Manning's career with the Indianapolis Colts will reportedly end Wednesday.
According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the team will announce the release of the four-time league MVP at a news conference. Cutting him will prevent a $28 million cap hit for the team and instantly make Manning the most coveted free agent since Reggie White.
Manning underwent multiple surgeries to fuse vertebrae in his neck over the past 19 months. He missed the entire 2011 season.
[ Jerry Rice: 49ers should pursue Peyton Manning ]
The move has been in the works ever since it became apparent that the Colts would be in a position to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. Still, as recently as seven months ago, Manning being released by the Colts would have been unthinkable.
He was the face of the Indianapolis Colts franchise, the man who resurrected a team that spent most of its 13 previous years in the city as an NFL also-ran. Indy landed the No. 1 pick of the 1998 draft and used it to take Archie Manning's son, a football player pegged for greatness ever since he stepped on a high school field.
Peyton ended up becoming the rare savior who lived up to expectations. He had the team in the playoffs in 1999 and only missed out on the postseason once in the next 10 seasons. Manning won four league MVPs and led the Indianapolis version of the Colts to their only Super Bowl win at the end of the 2006 season.
[ Related: Peyton Manning still could have fantasy value ]
Provided he's able to play, Manning will attract unprecedented attention in the free-agent market.
Meanwhile, Andrew Luck will have two roles to play in Indianapolis. He'll have to be the franchise's next superstar -- while, at the same time, replacing a true legend.
According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the team will announce the release of the four-time league MVP at a news conference. Cutting him will prevent a $28 million cap hit for the team and instantly make Manning the most coveted free agent since Reggie White.
Manning underwent multiple surgeries to fuse vertebrae in his neck over the past 19 months. He missed the entire 2011 season.
[ Jerry Rice: 49ers should pursue Peyton Manning ]
The move has been in the works ever since it became apparent that the Colts would be in a position to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. Still, as recently as seven months ago, Manning being released by the Colts would have been unthinkable.
He was the face of the Indianapolis Colts franchise, the man who resurrected a team that spent most of its 13 previous years in the city as an NFL also-ran. Indy landed the No. 1 pick of the 1998 draft and used it to take Archie Manning's son, a football player pegged for greatness ever since he stepped on a high school field.
Peyton ended up becoming the rare savior who lived up to expectations. He had the team in the playoffs in 1999 and only missed out on the postseason once in the next 10 seasons. Manning won four league MVPs and led the Indianapolis version of the Colts to their only Super Bowl win at the end of the 2006 season.
[ Related: Peyton Manning still could have fantasy value ]
Provided he's able to play, Manning will attract unprecedented attention in the free-agent market.
Meanwhile, Andrew Luck will have two roles to play in Indianapolis. He'll have to be the franchise's next superstar -- while, at the same time, replacing a true legend.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Drew Brees is ‘livid’ about the franchise tag
Drew Brees with his tongue out.
Drew Brees was hit with the franchise tag by the New Orleans Saints on Saturday, despite having made it clear that that's not what he wanted. So what happens now? Well, according to CBSSports.com's Rapid Reports, Brees gets really mad.
"Drew Brees is "livid" about being franchise tagged and not receiving a long-term contract, according to WIST-AM in New Orleans. The radio station cites sources in the Brees camp that he will not sign the franchise tag deal. Brees and the Saints have until July 15 to hammer out a long-term deal."My two immediate reactions:
1) Of course he's livid.
2) He'll get over it.
I do believe that it's a ridiculous thing for the Saints to do, and I don't understand why they're antagonizing Drew Brees, who is pretty much the franchise savior. But it's also way too early to accuse the Saints of having made any kind of major mistake, either. Only about a million times in NFL history has a player said he was offended by a contract offer and then gone on to sign a long-term deal with the same team that insulted him so harshly.
The Saints still have until July 15th to make that happen. That's plenty of time for wounds to heal, people to calm down and to get a deal worked out.
I just can't picture the Saints ‒ even with as poorly as they've handled this so far ‒ doing something as insane as letting Brees go. There are currently, what, two other guys that can do for a team what Brees can do for a team? He is, by any definition of the word, elite. He can make a bad team a good team. Guys like that should, and usually do, get the gigantic paychecks.
But let's not ignore pessimism completely. If Brees wants, he can refuse to sign the franchise tag offer, and hold out. Maybe the Saints never wake up, and maybe that happens, and they get a taste of life with Chase Daniel as the starting quarterback (Note to Saints fans: If you enjoyed 1984 through 2005, you'll love Chase Daniel). Or maybe no long-term deal can be worked out, and Brees plays one season under the franchise tag and then walks.
So things aren't great at the moment, but it's a little early to declare this a disaster, either. I just have a hard time believing that the Saints would screw up a decision that seems like it should be so easy.
First ‘Halo 4′ details have the world talking about Master Chief
By Ben Silverman
He's back. Or will be, shortly.
We last saw the 1,000-pound star of Microsoft's Halo franchise, the iconic Master Chief, hurtling through space after finishing the fight (kind of) in 2007's Halo 3. A fourth game was revealed to be in the works last year, but the specifics have been under tight wraps.
Those loosened up a bit on Monday thanks to the release of a behind-the-scenes trailer created by 343 Industries, the Microsoft developer tasked with handling the franchise. And we're guessing you're interested, as "Halo 4" almost immediately vaulted into the Top 10 Twitter trending topics within hours of the video's premiere.
Hawk-eyed Halo fans will find plenty to chew on here. Check it out
It's a little light on the story tidbits — we know that Master Chief will face a new foe, but we have zero idea who or what that is yet — though 343 does mention a number of cool factoids. Chief's armor and HUD (head-up display) have gotten serious facelifts, the burst-fire Battle Rifle makes a return, and plenty of multiplayer gameplay footage shows that yes, you will be getting your butt kicked online again.
But perhaps the most interesting news comes at the 2:55 mark or so, when Halo franchise development director Frank O' Connor mentions that they're finally going to give "a convincing reason" why the Red and Blue Spartan soldiers (the two opposing sides in Halo's long-running multiplayer) are fighting in the first place. A damsel in distress? The last pop tart? Just plain bored? The possibilities are endless.
The game is due out this holiday season, but expect plenty more info along the way.
Halo 4
He's back. Or will be, shortly.
We last saw the 1,000-pound star of Microsoft's Halo franchise, the iconic Master Chief, hurtling through space after finishing the fight (kind of) in 2007's Halo 3. A fourth game was revealed to be in the works last year, but the specifics have been under tight wraps.Those loosened up a bit on Monday thanks to the release of a behind-the-scenes trailer created by 343 Industries, the Microsoft developer tasked with handling the franchise. And we're guessing you're interested, as "Halo 4" almost immediately vaulted into the Top 10 Twitter trending topics within hours of the video's premiere.
Hawk-eyed Halo fans will find plenty to chew on here. Check it out
It's a little light on the story tidbits — we know that Master Chief will face a new foe, but we have zero idea who or what that is yet — though 343 does mention a number of cool factoids. Chief's armor and HUD (head-up display) have gotten serious facelifts, the burst-fire Battle Rifle makes a return, and plenty of multiplayer gameplay footage shows that yes, you will be getting your butt kicked online again.
But perhaps the most interesting news comes at the 2:55 mark or so, when Halo franchise development director Frank O' Connor mentions that they're finally going to give "a convincing reason" why the Red and Blue Spartan soldiers (the two opposing sides in Halo's long-running multiplayer) are fighting in the first place. A damsel in distress? The last pop tart? Just plain bored? The possibilities are endless.
The game is due out this holiday season, but expect plenty more info along the way.
Halo 4
Monday, March 5, 2012
.....Slim Beats Gates in First Daily Billionaire Ranking
Bloomberg
Carlos Slim, the telecommunications tycoon who controls Mexico's America Movil SAB (AMXL), is the richest person on Earth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world's 20 wealthiest individuals.
The 72-year-old's net worth fell $478.4 million in a day to $68.5 billion as of the close of markets on March 2, as U.S. moguls Bill Gates and Warren Buffett placed second and third on the list compiled by Bloomberg News. Brazil's Eike Batista, who ranks 10th, still covets the top spot after vowing a year ago that he'd become the world's wealthiest man by 2015.
"I'm competitive," Batista, who trails Slim by almost $39 billion, said in a March 2 telephone interview from Rio de Janeiro. "It's Brazil's time to be No. 1. Brazilians have always admired the American dream. What's happening in Brazil is the Brazilian dream and I happen to be the example."
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index takes measure of the world's wealthiest people based on market and economic changes and Bloomberg News reporting. Each net worth figure is updated every business day at 5:30 p.m. in New York. The valuations are listed in U.S. dollars.
Today's ranking was published with the release of new billionaires profile pages in the Bloomberg Professional service. The profiles feature a transparent analysis of how each billionaire's fortune was calculated.
Slim's fortune has increased 11 percent this year, according to the index. A spokesman for Slim didn't immediately return a telephone request for comment.
Gates, Buffett
Gates, 56, co-founder of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) in Redmond, Washington, is worth $62.4 billion, down $102.1 million on March 2 and up 11 percent year to date.
The fortune of Buffett, 81, chairman of Omaha, Nebraska- based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/B), declined $336.9 million to $43.8 billion on March 2 and is up 2.4 percent in 2012. Almost all of Buffett's wealth is held in Berkshire Hathaway, the publicly traded holding company he has run since 1965.
The combined net worth of the 20 richest people is $676.8 billion. Nine are Americans, including three from the family of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT)
Number seven is Larry Ellison, 67, chief executive officer of Redwood City, California-based Oracle Corp. (ORCL), the world's third-largest software maker after Microsoft and SAP AG. (SAP) His $38 billion fortune puts him $4 billion ahead of brothers Charles and David Koch, who each own 42 percent of Koch Industries Inc., one of the biggest closely held companies in the world by revenue. Charles, 76, and David, 71, control the Wichita, Kansas, refiner and chemical maker.
Batista, 55, whose investments range from iron ore to coal, is worth $29.8 billion, up $133.9 million on March 2. His fortune has grown 32 percent this year, the most on the list.
The House Wins
Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate who owns 47 percent of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), which operates resorts in Macau and Las Vegas, is number 13 with $25.7 billion. Adelson, 78, and his family have pledged at least $10 million to a super-PAC supporting Newt Gingrich, a Republican presidential candidate.
Liliane Bettencourt, 89, who with her family owns 31 percent of Paris-based cosmetics company L'Oreal SA (OR), is last on the ranking. Bettencourt was the subject of an international scandal in 2007 when her daughter, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, filed a lawsuit accusing a family friend, photographer Francois- Marie Banier, of exploiting her mother's frail state. Evidence later revealed Bettencourt had granted more than $1 billion in cash and gifts to Banier. In October, Meyers and two grandsons became guardians of the clan's $22.4 billion fortune.
Diluting Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg, the 27-year-old founder of Facebook Inc. (FB), the world's largest social-networking company, didn't make the cut. Based on a roughly $100 billion valuation the Menlo Park, California-based company has been trading at in the private market, Zuckerberg's stake may be worth $21 billion, or about 25 percent less than previous estimates, once Facebook holds its initial public offering.
The reason: Facebook will issue more than 500 million shares of its Class B stock at the offering, diluting Zuckerberg's ownership to 21 percent after he exercises 120 million options and sells about 42 million shares to cover the tax bill associated with the gain from those options.
Sweden's Ingvar Kamprad is the richest European, according to the index, ranking fourth globally with a $42.5 billion net worth. Kamprad, 85, controls Ikea Group, the world's largest furniture retailer, through a series of trusts and foundations he asserts he doesn't own.
Luxury Goods
Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC) , places fifth. The majority of Arnault's $42.3 billion comes from his stake in Paris-based LVMH, the world's largest maker of luxury goods. Arnault, 63, controls about 46 percent of LVMH's outstanding stock through his family group, according to the company's latest annual report.
Amancio Ortega, whose publicly traded Inditex SA (ITX) owns the Zara clothing chain, is Spain's wealthiest individual and sixth in the world with a $38.8 billion fortune. Ortega, 75, has invested dividends from Arteixo-based Inditex into a real estate portfolio that owns office and retail properties in the U.S. and Europe.
No Russians appear in the index as falling metals prices hurt the fortunes of many of the richest oligarchs. Alisher Usmanov, 58, the Muscovite who controls the Metalloinvest metals and mining company and Digital Sky Technologies, which currently owns 5.5 percent of Facebook, is Russia's wealthiest person thanks to a $20.1 billion fortune.
Asia's Wealthiest
Mukesh Ambani, 54, leads Asians with a net worth of $26.8 billion, down $185.4 million in a day. His fortune is up 25 percent this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as his shares in India's top company by market value, Mumbai-based Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), have risen 17 percent.
Hong Kong's Li Ka-shing, nicknamed "Superman" by the local media for his investing prowess, ranks second in the region, with $25.8 billion. Li, 83, owns large stakes in Hong Kong-based property developer Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. (1), Hong Kong shipping and ports operator Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (13) and Husky Energy Inc. (HSE), the Calgary-based energy company.
Lakshmi Mittal, the India-born chairman of ArcelorMittal (MT), the world's biggest steelmaker, is the third-richest Asian, with holdings valued at $23.6 billion. In addition to his ArcelorMittal stake, the 61-year-old London resident owns hundreds of millions of dollars in U.K. real estate.
On the rise: Gina Rinehart, the Australian mining heiress who is worth $20.4 billion. Rinehart, 58, the daughter of the man who discovered the mines that made Australia the world's biggest iron ore exporter, inherited perpetual royalty rights to some of Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO)'s Hamersley mines in addition to other thermal and iron-ore deposits throughout the country.
Soaring demand for coal and iron ore from China have made Rinehart's assets attractive to acquisitive industrial companies. In separate deals in the past year, steelmakers Posco and GVK Power & Infrasture Ltd. (GVKP) agreed to pay a combined $2.9 billion for pieces of Rinehart's empire.
Carlos Slim, the telecommunications tycoon who controls Mexico's America Movil SAB (AMXL), is the richest person on Earth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world's 20 wealthiest individuals.
The 72-year-old's net worth fell $478.4 million in a day to $68.5 billion as of the close of markets on March 2, as U.S. moguls Bill Gates and Warren Buffett placed second and third on the list compiled by Bloomberg News. Brazil's Eike Batista, who ranks 10th, still covets the top spot after vowing a year ago that he'd become the world's wealthiest man by 2015.
"I'm competitive," Batista, who trails Slim by almost $39 billion, said in a March 2 telephone interview from Rio de Janeiro. "It's Brazil's time to be No. 1. Brazilians have always admired the American dream. What's happening in Brazil is the Brazilian dream and I happen to be the example."
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index takes measure of the world's wealthiest people based on market and economic changes and Bloomberg News reporting. Each net worth figure is updated every business day at 5:30 p.m. in New York. The valuations are listed in U.S. dollars.
Today's ranking was published with the release of new billionaires profile pages in the Bloomberg Professional service. The profiles feature a transparent analysis of how each billionaire's fortune was calculated.
Slim's fortune has increased 11 percent this year, according to the index. A spokesman for Slim didn't immediately return a telephone request for comment.
Gates, Buffett
Gates, 56, co-founder of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) in Redmond, Washington, is worth $62.4 billion, down $102.1 million on March 2 and up 11 percent year to date.
The fortune of Buffett, 81, chairman of Omaha, Nebraska- based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/B), declined $336.9 million to $43.8 billion on March 2 and is up 2.4 percent in 2012. Almost all of Buffett's wealth is held in Berkshire Hathaway, the publicly traded holding company he has run since 1965.
The combined net worth of the 20 richest people is $676.8 billion. Nine are Americans, including three from the family of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT)
Number seven is Larry Ellison, 67, chief executive officer of Redwood City, California-based Oracle Corp. (ORCL), the world's third-largest software maker after Microsoft and SAP AG. (SAP) His $38 billion fortune puts him $4 billion ahead of brothers Charles and David Koch, who each own 42 percent of Koch Industries Inc., one of the biggest closely held companies in the world by revenue. Charles, 76, and David, 71, control the Wichita, Kansas, refiner and chemical maker.
Batista, 55, whose investments range from iron ore to coal, is worth $29.8 billion, up $133.9 million on March 2. His fortune has grown 32 percent this year, the most on the list.
The House Wins
Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate who owns 47 percent of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), which operates resorts in Macau and Las Vegas, is number 13 with $25.7 billion. Adelson, 78, and his family have pledged at least $10 million to a super-PAC supporting Newt Gingrich, a Republican presidential candidate.
Liliane Bettencourt, 89, who with her family owns 31 percent of Paris-based cosmetics company L'Oreal SA (OR), is last on the ranking. Bettencourt was the subject of an international scandal in 2007 when her daughter, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, filed a lawsuit accusing a family friend, photographer Francois- Marie Banier, of exploiting her mother's frail state. Evidence later revealed Bettencourt had granted more than $1 billion in cash and gifts to Banier. In October, Meyers and two grandsons became guardians of the clan's $22.4 billion fortune.
Diluting Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg, the 27-year-old founder of Facebook Inc. (FB), the world's largest social-networking company, didn't make the cut. Based on a roughly $100 billion valuation the Menlo Park, California-based company has been trading at in the private market, Zuckerberg's stake may be worth $21 billion, or about 25 percent less than previous estimates, once Facebook holds its initial public offering.
The reason: Facebook will issue more than 500 million shares of its Class B stock at the offering, diluting Zuckerberg's ownership to 21 percent after he exercises 120 million options and sells about 42 million shares to cover the tax bill associated with the gain from those options.
Sweden's Ingvar Kamprad is the richest European, according to the index, ranking fourth globally with a $42.5 billion net worth. Kamprad, 85, controls Ikea Group, the world's largest furniture retailer, through a series of trusts and foundations he asserts he doesn't own.
Luxury Goods
Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC) , places fifth. The majority of Arnault's $42.3 billion comes from his stake in Paris-based LVMH, the world's largest maker of luxury goods. Arnault, 63, controls about 46 percent of LVMH's outstanding stock through his family group, according to the company's latest annual report.
Amancio Ortega, whose publicly traded Inditex SA (ITX) owns the Zara clothing chain, is Spain's wealthiest individual and sixth in the world with a $38.8 billion fortune. Ortega, 75, has invested dividends from Arteixo-based Inditex into a real estate portfolio that owns office and retail properties in the U.S. and Europe.
No Russians appear in the index as falling metals prices hurt the fortunes of many of the richest oligarchs. Alisher Usmanov, 58, the Muscovite who controls the Metalloinvest metals and mining company and Digital Sky Technologies, which currently owns 5.5 percent of Facebook, is Russia's wealthiest person thanks to a $20.1 billion fortune.
Asia's Wealthiest
Mukesh Ambani, 54, leads Asians with a net worth of $26.8 billion, down $185.4 million in a day. His fortune is up 25 percent this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as his shares in India's top company by market value, Mumbai-based Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), have risen 17 percent.
Hong Kong's Li Ka-shing, nicknamed "Superman" by the local media for his investing prowess, ranks second in the region, with $25.8 billion. Li, 83, owns large stakes in Hong Kong-based property developer Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. (1), Hong Kong shipping and ports operator Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (13) and Husky Energy Inc. (HSE), the Calgary-based energy company.
Lakshmi Mittal, the India-born chairman of ArcelorMittal (MT), the world's biggest steelmaker, is the third-richest Asian, with holdings valued at $23.6 billion. In addition to his ArcelorMittal stake, the 61-year-old London resident owns hundreds of millions of dollars in U.K. real estate.
On the rise: Gina Rinehart, the Australian mining heiress who is worth $20.4 billion. Rinehart, 58, the daughter of the man who discovered the mines that made Australia the world's biggest iron ore exporter, inherited perpetual royalty rights to some of Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO)'s Hamersley mines in addition to other thermal and iron-ore deposits throughout the country.
Soaring demand for coal and iron ore from China have made Rinehart's assets attractive to acquisitive industrial companies. In separate deals in the past year, steelmakers Posco and GVK Power & Infrasture Ltd. (GVKP) agreed to pay a combined $2.9 billion for pieces of Rinehart's empire.
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