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WEALTHY PEOPLE

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Mon 9 Jan 2012

WEALTHY CHINESE WOMEN X 2

Posted by Henry under COUNTRIES , POWERFUL PEOPLE , WEALTHY PEOPLE
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 Li Binlan

Age: 56

2011 net worth (US$): 1 billion

2010 net worth (US$): NA

General ranking: 135

Company: A Best

Headquarters: Guangdong

Title: Chairwoman

Main focus: Retail

A newcomer on this year’s list, Li Binlan’s reputation as a strong-willed and visionary leader has earned her the nickname “Iron Lady of Retail.” Her reign at A Best has seen the company expand rapidly since its first supermarket opened in Bao’an, Shenzhen, in 1995 to more than 100 stores across the country today. Last year, the company reported a US$2.6 billion operations revenue, ranking 22nd in China’s retail industry.

(10) Liu Xiaomeng

Age: 56

2011 net worth (US$): 1 billion

2010 net worth (US$): 980 million

General ranking: 135

Company: Suning Appliance Group Co., Ltd.

Headquarters: Jiangsu

Title: Director of Fund Settlement Center

Main focus: Retail – appliances

Very little is known about Liu Xiaomeng, 56, who has kept a very low public profile. She helped to start Suning, one of the largest electrical appliance retailers in China, in 1990. Since then, the company has grown to include nearly 1,400 franchised stores in China and Japan, going public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2004. In 2010, Suning made US$24.4 billion in revenue and has a brand value worth US$7.94 billion. Liu, as one of the company’s “old heads,” now has a 42 percent stake.

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

 

Wed 6 Jul 2011

WHO & WHERE ARE THE RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD??

Posted by Henry under STATISTICS SURVEYS REPORTS , WEALTHY PEOPLE
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WORLDS WEALTH DISTRIBUTION CHARTS

December 7, 2006 A new study on The World Distribution of Household Wealth by the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University was launched earlier this week.

The study shows the richest 2% of adults in the world own more than half of global household wealth. The most comprehensive study of personal wealth ever undertaken also reports that the richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global assets in the year 2000, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total.

In contrast, the bottom half of the world adult population owned barely 1% of global wealth.

The research finds that assets of US$2,200 per adult placed a household in the top half of the world wealth distribution in the year 2000.

To be among the richest 10% of adults in the world required US$61,000 in assets, and more than US$500,000 was needed to belong to the richest 1%, a group which — with 37 million members worldwide — is far from an exclusive club.

Sourced & published  by Henry Sapiecha

 

Thu 16 Jun 2011

RICHEST 40 PEOPLE IN TAIWAN WITH PHOTOS

Posted by Henry under PEOPLE , WEALTHY PEOPLE
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1

#1 Cher Wang & Wenchi Chen


Net Worth $8.8 Billion Source HTC
Age 53 Marital Status Married, 2 children

Taiwan’s richest couple is on an upswing. Shares in smartphone manufacturer

HTC have nearly tripled in past year on strong sales, a gain that helped

catapult them to the top of this year’s Taiwan rich list. HTC is also expected

to enter the market for tablet PCs in April with a model called the Flyer.

Wang, one of 9 children of deceased Taiwan management icon Y.C. Wang

(see Wang Yung-Tsai, No. 6), was part of an investor group that bought

a 26% stake in Hong Kong television broadcaster TVBS earlier this year.

Her mother died in March
2

#2 Tsai Wan Tsai

Net Worth $7.0 Billion Source finance
Age 81 Marital Status Married, 4 children
Tsai and sons Daniel and Richard have turned Fubon Financial into one of
Taiwan’s most successful financial institutions, expanding from a core in
nonlife insurance to a brokerage-to-bank business. The company is looking
to expand in Taiwan through acquisitions and is eyeing China growth
through a stake in Xiamen International Bank. Major investor in Taipei
Mobile and cable stations. Nephews T.Y. Tsai, Tsai Hong-Tu and
Tsai Cheng-Da are also on this year’s list.

 7,000 81
3

#3 Tsai Eng-Meng

Net Worth $6.1 Billion Source food
Age 54 Marital Status NA
Built a fortune in the snack business on the mainland, using experience
gained with the same products back home in Taiwan. Tsai’s Want Want
China is also turning itself into a beverage company. Some $1.1 billion,
nearly half of the company’s 2010 sales, came from beverages, mostly
Hot-Kid milk. Tsai is also in the media, hotel and insurance industries.
 6,100 54
4

#4 Wei Ing-Chou

Net Worth $5.7 Billion Source food
Age 57 Marital Status Married, 3 children
This fortune includes stakes held by 4 brothers—Wei Ing-Chou, Wei Ying-Chiao,
Wei Yin-Chun and Wei Yin-Heng—who have turned Tingyi into one of the
world’s most successful food and beverage companies

 

 5,700 57
5

#5 Terry Gou

Net Worth $5.6 Billion Source electronics
Age 60 Marital Status Married, 3 children
Taiwan’s richest man in 2010, Gou runs electronics contract manufacturer
include Apple and HP. A spate of suicides at mainland facilities has ebbed,
but subsequent wage
increases and rising costs have eroded profits. Gou founded the company
in 1974 with $7,500.
Reportedly looking to make large investments in Brazil.

 5,600 60
6

#6 Wang Yung-Tsa


Net Worth $3.9 Billion Source plastics
Age 90 Marital Status Married
Younger brother of deceased Taiwan business icon Y.C. Wang quietly helped
create one of Asia’s largest petrochemical giants, the Formosa Plastics Group.
Main businesses include Formosa Plastics, Nan Yan Plastics and Formosa
Chemicals. Controversy has followed Y.C.’s death: The empire has run afoul
of the Taiwan government in connection with a spate of pollution and safety
problems. Formosa Petrochemical said in May it would form a joint venture
with Kraton of the U.S. to produce thermoplastic rubber.

 3,900 90
7

#7 Barry Lam

Net Worth $3.3 Billion Source quanta computer
Age 62 Marital Status Married, 2 children

Taiwan electronics industry pioneer is holding his own wealthwise at a time

when the popularity of smartphones is creating upheaval in the market for
his main product, notebook computers. Shares in Lam’s Quanta Computer,

one of the world’s biggest notebook makers, are flat for the year.

Quanta is a patron of the arts

 3,300 62
8

#8 Lin Yu-Lin

Net Worth $3 Billion Source real estate
Age 75 Marital Status Married, 7 children
Lin’s fortune has benefited from the recovery of Taiwan’s real estate market.
Owns key commercial property, including Hung Tai Center, and investments
in companies such as Hung Sheng Construction, Cooperative Construction
and Hung Tai Asset Management, as well as part of En Tie Commercial Bank.
Hobby: golf. Brother Lin Rong San, No. 10 on the list, has separate real estate
empire.

 3,000 75
9

#9 Luo Jye

Net Worth $2.9 Billion Source tires
Age 85 Marital Status Married, 4 children
From early success in Taiwan as a supplier of bicycle tires, Luo-led tiremaker
Cheng Shin Rubber has ridden China’s auto industry boom into the ranks of
the world’s billionaires. Cheng Shin supplies the China market from a large
manufacturing base in Fujian Province, across the Taiwan Strait. Shares
have risen 49% in the past year. Customers include GM, Ford. It plans to
expand in Taiwan and China.

 2,900 85
10

#10 Lin Rong San

Net Worth $2.8 Billion Source real estate
Age 72 Marital Status Married, 4 children
Lin has built one of Taiwan’s largest property fortunes with large holdings
in northern Taiwan. Political shaker close to former Taiwan president
Lee Teng-Hui is less than loved in China: Lin publishes the Liberty Times,
a popular daily that’s skeptical about China. Controls Union Bank, shares of
which have climbed more than 40% in the past year. Three sons are actively
involved in the business empire. Brother Lin Yu-Lin also on this year’s list.

 2,800 72
11

#11 Jason Chang


Net Worth $2.3 Billion Source electronics
Age 67 Marital Status Married, 3 children
Shares of Chang’s semiconductor packaging company,
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, surged 20% over the past year.
The family, which has listed real estate company Hung Ching Development
in Taiwan, has also been accumulating real estate on the mainland, including
Shanghai.

 2,300 67
12

#12 T.Y. Tsai

Net Worth $2.25 Billion Source finance
Age NA Marital Status NA
One of 3 Tsai family brothers who inherited most of Cathay Financial Holding
when their father,
Tsai Wan-Lin, died in 2004. T.Y. sold most of his stock to brothers Hong-Tu
and Cheng-Da last year,
industry sources say. Outgoing sibling is now investing in real estate projects.
Sole child, a daughter, is helping in new company. Cathay Financial says it
can’t comment on any transfer of shares among the
3 brothers. Collects cars.

 2,250 -
2,200 65
14

#14 Michael Chiang

Net Worth $2 Billion Source electronics
Age 58 Marital Status Married, 2 children
Chiang debuts on the Taiwan rich list after the IPO last year of TPK Holdings,
a supplier of touchscreens for Apple’s iPhones and iPads. Based in Taiwan, the
company mainly manufactures its products in Xiamen in mainland China.
Chiang’s first company, TVM, was a supplier of video monitors. Shares fortune
with his wife.

 2,000 58
15

#15 Chao Teng-Hsiung


Net Worth $1.7 Billion Source real estate
Age 67 Marital Status Married, 3 children
Chao’s real estate development company, Farglory Land Development, ranks
as one of Taiwan’s largest. It is expanding on the mainland through a joint
venture with Hong Kong billionaire Hui Wing Mao’s Shimao Group.
Last November announced plans to invest as much as $1 billion in a project
that will house the stock exchange in Abu Dhabi.

 1,700 67
16

#16 Chang Yung Fa


Net Worth $1.65 Billion Source transport
Age 83 Marital Status 4 children
His Evergreen Marine is one of the world’s largest container shipping
companies.
Other Chang-controlled businesses include carrier EVA Air, Evergreen
Transport
and Central Insurance. EVA said in December that it would pay $50 million
for a
16% stake in China Cargo Airlines, a mainland cargo joint venture between
China
Eastern Airlines and China Ocean Shipping Group, both of China. Donated
$12 million
to the Japanese Red Cross after that country’s earthquake in March.

 1,650 83
17

#17 Liao Long-Shing

Net Worth $1.6 Billion Source petrochemicals
Age 58 Marital Status Married, 2 children
Liao’s late father, Suhon Lin, cofounded Chang Chun Group with Tseng
Shin-Yi in 1949. The 3 families each own a third of what today has become
a major plastics and petrochemicals manufacturer with interests in Taiwan
and the mainland. Overseas business partners include Bayer and Mitsubishi
Gas Chemical.

 1,600 58
17

#17 Suhon Lin

Net Worth $1.6 Billion Source petrochemicals
Age 83 Marital Status Married, 4 children
Liao’s late father, Suhon Lin, cofounded Chang Chun Group with Tseng
Shin-Yi in 1949. The 3 families each own a third of what today has become
a major plastics and petrochemicals manufacturer with interests in Taiwan
and the mainland. Overseas business partners include Bayer and Mitsubishi
Gas Chemical.

 1,600 83
17

#17 Tseng Shin-Yi

Net Worth $1.6 Billion Source petrochemicals
Age 83 Marital Status Married, 2 children

Liao’s late father, Suhon Lin, cofounded Chang Chun Group with Tseng

Shin-Yi in 1949. The 3 families each own a third of what today has become

a major plastics and petrochemicals manufacturer with interests in Taiwan

and the mainland. Overseas business partners include Bayer and Mitsubishi

Gas Chemical

 1,600 83
20

#20 Tsai Cheng-Da

Net Worth $1.55 Billion Source finance
Age NA Marital Status Married
Two of 3 Tsai brothers who inherited large stakes in Taiwan’s Cathay
Financial Holding when their father, Tsai Wan-Lin, died in 2004.
With brother Cheng-Da, Hong-Tu bought most of younger sibling T.Y.’s
shares at the end of last year, say industry sources. Cheng-Da remains
chairman. Cathay says it can’t comment on any transfer of shares among
the 3 brothers.

 1,550 -
20

#20 Tsai Hong-Tu


Net Worth $1.55 Billion Source finance
Age 69 Marital Status Married, 3 children
Two of 3 Tsai brothers who inherited large stakes in Taiwan’s Cathay
Financial Holding when their father, Tsai Wan-Lin, died in 2004.
With brother Cheng-Da, Hong-Tu bought most of younger sibling T.Y.’s
shares at the end of last year, say industry sources. Cheng-Da remains
chairman. Cathay says it can’t comment on any transfer of shares among
the 3 brothers.

 1,550 69
22

#22 Lin Yu-Chia

Net Worth $1.5 Billion Source glass
Age NA Marital Status NA
Shares of glass manufacturer Taiwan Glass soared 72% over the past year,
nearly doubling the family’s fortune. Revenues last year rose by 25% to
$1.4 billion.

 1,500 -
23

#23 Leslie Koo

Net Worth $1.45 Billion Source cement
Age 57 Marital Status Married, 2 children
Taiwan Cement, founded by Koo’s father, is thriving in China.
The company has been expanding production of new facilities at a time
when the Chinese government is looking to retire in-efficient older ones.
Profit at Taiwan Cement’s Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, TCC International
Holdings, quintupled to $100 million in 2010.

 1,450 57
24

#24 Samuel Yin


Net Worth $1.43 Billion Source diversified
Age NA Marital Status NA
Heads Reuntex Group, with interests in real estate and retail. Looking to
team up with Pou Chen Corp. (see Tsai Chi Jui, No. 31) to purchase AIG’s
Taiwan operation, Nan Shan Life Insurance. Long-awaited listing of Yin’s
China hypermarket chain, RT-Mart China, on track for 2011. Founded
the Guanghua Education Foundation on the mainland, which has provided
support to 100,000 graduate students.

 1,430 -
25

#25 Hsu Chen

Net Worth $1.41 Billion Source food
Age 59 Marital Status Married, 1 child
Cofounder and chairman of Hsu Fu Chi International, which produces and
sells cookies and sweets in China. Singapore-listed company is based in
mainland China’s Guangdong Province. Sales in the 12 months to June 2010
rose 14% to $662 million. New product: Mobao, a muffin cake.
Brothers Hsu Hang and Hsu Pu serve on the company’s board.

 1,410 59
26

#26 Chen Yung-Tai

Net Worth $1.4 Billion Source real estate
Age 75 Marital Status NA
Chen parlayed success selling office equipment in Taiwan early in his career
into a cross-Strait distribution and real estate empire. Aurora Telecom
distributes telecommunications products in nearly 300 stores in Taiwan.
Aurora Corp. sells office equipment. Chen has choice property across from
the Bund in Shanghai and in the Hsinyi District in Taipei.

 1,400 75
27

#27 Douglas Hsu

Net Worth $1.38 Billion Source diversified
Age 68 Marital Status Married, 3 children
Far Eastern Group, founded by Hsu’s father, has business in textiles,
mobile phones, transportation, retailing and banking, among other businesses.
Its polyester unit has seen rising demand in the face of higher prices for cotton
in the past year. Shares in flagship Far Eastern Century have gained by more
than a third in the past year. A Taiwan court last September cleared Hsu of all wrongdoing in connection with a department store takeover.

 1,380 68
28

#28 Tsai Ming-Kai

Net Worth $1.35 Billion Source semiconductors
Age 61 Marital Status NA
Leads Mediatek, a semiconductor design company specializing in chips for TVs,
DVDs and wireless communications. Sales in the first quarter plunged by 39%
from a year earlier; profit margins were off as well. Looking to expand its
customers, MediaB-tek in March acquired Wi-Fi chip supplier Ralink in an
all-stock transaction. Tsai holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical
engineering from National Taiwan University and the University
of Cincinnati, respectively.

 1,350 61
29

#29 Jeffrey Koo

Net Worth $1.3 Billion Source finance
Age 77 Marital Status Married, 4 children
Financial industry tycoon’s wealth picks up this year as earnings at his
flagship bank, Chinatrust, improved. Family-controlled brokerage KGI
hopes to expand in China following the signing of a cross-Strait economic
agreement last year. Son Andre privatized Singapore-listed Finance One.
Leslie Koo (No. 23) is his nephew.

 1,300 77
30

#30 Kenneth Yen

Net Worth $1.29 Billion Source autos
Age 46 Marital Status Married, 1 child
Yen chairs Yulon Motor, Taiwan’s largest automaker and a joint venture
partner of Nissan in Taiwan. Inroads in China have helped boost the
company’s stock price 90% in the past year.

 1,290 46
31

#31 Tsai Chi Jui

Net Worth $1.28 Billion Source shoes
Age 71 Marital Status Married, 3 children
The family’s Taiwan-listed Pou Chen Corp. is one of the world’s largest shoe
and sportswear producers. A supplier to Nike, Adidas and Reebok, it operates
factories in China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico, producing 284 million
pairs of shoes in the year ending September 2010. Retail flagship Pou Sheng
International handles sales in China for some of its manufacturing customers.
One problem on the horizon: rising commodity costs.

 1,280 71
32

#32 Allen Horng

Net Worth $1.26 Billion Source electronics
Age NA Marital Status NA
Horng’s Catcher Technology is a tech standout. Shares in the supplier of
computer cases to Apple, Dell and others have soared 138% in the past year,
making Horng a returnee to this year’s list. Catcher was founded in 1984.
Horng began his career as an ear, nose and throat doctor.

 1,260 -
33

#33 Tsai Yung-Lung


Net Worth $1.25 Billion Source manufacturing
Age 55 Marital Status Married, 1 child
Chairs Gem-Year Industrial, producer of bolts, nuts, screws and other fasteners.
Sales in 2010 grew an impressive 77% to $462 million.
Gem-Year went public in Shanghai in 2007.

 1,250 55
34

#34 Lin Ming-Cheng

Net Worth $1.2 Billion Source finance
Age 68 Marital Status Married, 3 children
President of Hua Nan Bank hails from one of Taiwan’s multigenerational
fortunes. Shares in Hua Nan’s parent rose by a third in the past year.
Another investment: Ta Yung Hsing Yeh real estate company.

 1,200 68
35

#35 Chen Chao Chuan

Net Worth $1.15 Billion Source shipping
Age 82 Marital Status Married, 7 children
Runs Wan Hai Lines, one of the largest Asian shipping companies. Shares have
climbed nearly 30% since last year. Teamed up with No. 16 Chang Yung Fa’s
Evergreen and Interasia Lines of Japan to launch a service to Madras, India in
April.

 1,150 82
36

#36 Steven Pan

Net Worth $1.1 Billion Source hotels
Age 46 Marital Status NA
Family-owned hotel company Formosa International Hotels is digesting its
2010 acquisition of Regent International, which has 5-star hotels in Beijing,
Berlin, Bordeaux, Singapore, Taipei and other cites.

 1,100 46
37

#37 Wu Chung-Yi


Net Worth $1 Billion Source manufacturing
Age 55 Marital Status NA
Chairman of Fine Blanking, a manufacturer of auto parts. Made most of his
money through a stake in Tingyi before he sold his stake in 2007. Member
of the board of directors at Wei Chuan, a food company that is partly owned
by Tingyi.

 1,000 55
38

#38 Lin Ming-Hsiung


Net Worth $980 Million Source retailing
Age 62 Marital Status Married, 3 children
Controls PX Mart, a low-cost department store chain with 574 stores in
Taiwan that benefited from economic recovery last year: Sales rose 16%
last year to $2 billion.

 980 62
39

#39 Bruce Cheng

Net Worth $950 Million Source electronics
Age 75 Marital Status Married, 2 children
Founder of Delta Electronics, one of Asia’s largest makers of power supplies,
with plants in Taiwan, China, Mexico. Invested $15 million in a fourth plant
in India this year.

 950 75
40

#40 Shi Wen Long


Net Worth $930 Million Source plastics
Age 82 Marital Status Married
Shi made his early money in plastics through Chi Mei Corp. Now a late career
fling in tech is losing money. Chimei Innolux, a flat-panel business in which
Shi holds a minority stake, lost $475 million in the first quarter of 2011.

 930 82
 

Sat 21 May 2011

EUROPES 25 WEALTHIEST PEOPLE LISTED HERE WITH PHOTOS

Posted by Henry under PEOPLE , STATISTICS SURVEYS REPORTS , WEALTHY PEOPLE
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Europe’s 25 Richest

Europe now has 248 billionaires with a total wealth of $1 trillion. More than one-third of that wealth is held by the region’s 25 richest. Among them are the people behind some of our favorite brands and stores, like Louis Vuitton, Ikea, H&M, Nutella and Trader Joe’s. Russia takes the lead with nine of the top 25, followed by Germany and Sweden with four apiece.

Bernard Arnault

France
$27.5 billion
Source: LVMH

Bling is back, helping fashion icon grab title of richest European for first time as shares of his luxury goods outfit LVMH, maker of Louis Vuitton, Moet & Chandon, surge 57%. Renaissance man owns French tour operator Go Voyages, yacht builder Royal Van Lent; has a stake in French retailer Carrefour.

Amancio Ortega

Spain
$25 billion
Source: Zara

Style maven lords over Inditex. Fashion firm, which operates under several brand names, including Zara, Massimo Dutti and Stradivarius, has 4,500 stores in 73 countries, including new spots in Mexico and Syria. Set up joint venture with Tata Group subsidiary to enter India in 2010.

Karl Albrecht

Germany
$23.5 billion
Souce: Aldi

Owns discount supermarket giant Aldi Sud, one of Germany’s (and Europe’s) dominant grocers. Has 1,000 stores in U.S. across 29 states. Estimated sales: $37 billion. Plans to open New York store this year. With younger brother, Theo, transformed mother’s corner grocery store into Aldi after World War II

Ingvar Kamprad & family

Sweden
$23 billion
Source: Ikea

Ikea’s reputation under fire. In Russia company fired two top managers for allowing bribes to a power supplier. In France firm is facing an extended workers’ strike. A former managing director has published a book exposing questionable ethics.

Stefan Persson

Sweden
$22.4 billion
Source: Hennes & Mauritz

“Cheap chic” mogul is chairman of Hennes & Mauritz (H&M); promoted son, Karl-Johan, 34, to chief executive in July. Retailer is known for bringing on big names, like Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, to design affordable collections for its 1,900 stores.

Liliane Bettencourt

France
$20 billion
Source: L’Oreal

Makeup heiress’ fortune rebounding with L’Oreal shares. Company, founded by her father, celebrated its 100th birthday in 2009. Last year only daughter and heir, Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, petitioned courts to investigate reported $1.4 billion worth of cash and gifts her mother allegedly gave to Francois-Marie Banier, 61, a well-known photographer, writer and painter she befriended. Daughter claims Banier took advantage of her mother, who became a widow in 2007. Liliane denies it.

Michael Otto & family

Germany
$18.7 billion
Source: retail

Father Werner Otto, who turned 100 last August, started out with a 14-page shoe catalog in 1949. Michael joined in 1971, expanded operations overseas and moved company into Internet sales; now world’s second biggest Internet retailer after Amazon.

Michele Ferrero & family

Italy
$17 billion
Source: chocolates

Secretive chocolate chief mulled bidding for British rival Cadbury; backed off this January. Richest man in Italy owns privately held Ferrero, chocolatier that makes such brands as Ferrero Rocher, Nutella, Tic Tac and Kinder Eggs. 2008 Sales: $8.4 billion.

Theo Albrecht

Germany
$16.7 billion
Source: Aldi, Trader Joe’s

Owns discount supermarket group Aldi Nord. With estimated sales of $34 billion, still a sector leader, but lost ground this year as flat sales and strong rivals in some of its European markets pushed down profits. Has been more successful with his U.S. holding: discount food chain Trader Joe’s 340 stores have attracted cost-conscious customers during the recession.

Vladimir Lisin

Russia
$15.8 billion
Source: steel

Russia’s richest is a proletarian success story. First job was as a mechanic in a coal mine. After college in Siberia got job as steelworker. In 1991, when his boss was appointed minister of metallurgy, Lisin came with him to Moscow.

Mikhail Prokhorov

Russian
$13.4 billion
Source: cash, investments

Bachelor billionaire making moves in the U.S. Last fall his Onexim signed an agreement to buy 45% of the Atlantic Yards development project, a stadium and apartment complex in New York, for $200 million; he will also get an 80% stake in the New Jersey Nets basketball team.

Birgit Rausing & family

Sweden
$13 billion
Source: packaging

After death of her husband Gad Rausing in 2000, she and her three children inherited packaging giant Tetra Laval. It was her father-in-law who founded the company, which revolutionized the packaging of liquids such as juices and milk, in 1944. Today sales are $15.3 billion.

Mikhail Fridman

Russia
$12.7 billion
Source: oil, banking, telecom

His Alfa Group, which he shares with fellow billionaires German Khan and Alexei Kuzmichev, buoyed by rising oil prices; stake in TNK-BP doubled over the past year. Interest in Alfa Bank also up; the bank recovered most of its money from borrowers like fellow billionaire Oleg Deripaska.

Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor

& family

U.K.
$12 billion
Source: real estate

The sixth Duke of Westminster is the U.K.’s wealthiest land owner. His Grosvenor property group has valuable holdings on 5 continents: posh Mayfair and Belgravia neighborhoods of London; additional land in London via private family trusts; farmland in northern England and Scotland.

Roman Abramovich

Russia
$11.2 billion
Source: steel, investments

Fortune up on steel price recovery; value of stake in steel giant Evraz increased nearly threefold. Celebrating birth of son with girlfriend and art enthusiast Dasha Zhukova. Threw New Year’s bash for his friends and partners on St. Barts, which cost a reported $5 million; Beyoncé, Prince and Gwen Stefani performed.

Susanne Klatten

Gemany
$11.1 billion
Source: BMW, drugs

Inherited stake in automaker BMW from late father Herbert Quandt, who rescued it from bankruptcy decades ago. A trained economist with an MBA also inherited a 50% stake in chemical manufacturer Altana and sits on supervisory board. Now controls over 95% of Altana; seeking to acquire remaining shares and delist the firm.

Oleg Deripaska

Russia
$10.7 billion
Source: aluminum

Metals magnate back from the brink. Facing margin calls and $20 billion in total debt, he removed the heads of his two largest companies and personally negotiated with the Russian government, banks and other creditors to restructure his loan obligations. This year his Rusal, the world’s largest aluminum producer, raised $2.2 billion in an initial public offering in Hong Kong.

Vagit Alekperov

Russia
$10.6 billion
Source: Lukoil

Former Caspian Sea oil rig worker later became a deputy minister in the Soviet oil industry. In 1991 took three large ministry-controlled oil fields and set up Lukoil. Now president of Lukoil, Russia’s largest independent energy company, with a 20% stake. The firm’s reserves are second only to ExxonMobil

Leonardo Del Vecchio

Italy
$10.5 billion
Source: eyewear

Sent to an orphanage at age 7. Worked as an apprentice at a factory that made molds for auto parts, eyeglass frames. Founded Luxottica in 1961 and started making his own eyeglasses. Still chairs Luxottica, ($6.8 billion fiscal year 2008 sales) world’s largest manufacturer of sunglasses and prescription eyewear and also largest eyewear retailer.

Vladimir Potanin

Russia
$10.3 billion
Source: metals

In January became the first Russian billionaire to announce he would transfer his fortune to charity and not his children. Plans to list Russia’s largest media group, Prof-Media, which owns magazines, radio stations, movie theaters and broadcasts Russian versions of MTV and VH-1, this year.

Ernesto Bertarelli & family

Italy
$10 billion
Source: biotech

Inherited biotech firm Serono when father died in 1998. Ran for years; grew revenues to $2.4 billion in 2006. Blockbuster drug: $1.4 billion (annual sales) multiple sclerosis therapy Rebif. Sold company to Germany’s Merck 2007. With his sister, took home $9 billion. Lost America’s Cup to yachting rival Larry Ellison in February.

Hans Rausing

Sweden
$10 billion
Source: packaging

Father founded packaging giant Tetra Laval in 1944. Hans and brother Gad inherited the business. Hans sold his share to Gad for estimated $7 billion in 1995. Moved to U.K. in early 1980s to avoid punitive Swedish taxes. Resides on a 900-acre estate in village of Wadhurst in East Sussex.

Alexei Mordashov

Russia
$9.9 billion
Souce: steel

Chief executive and controlling shareholder of steelmaker Severstal relieved by steel price recovery; stock price up nearly threefold from last year’s lows. Recently announced the company’s gold unit will buy up foreign assets to expand production of the high-flying metal.

Viktor Rashnikov

Russia
$9.8 billion
Source: steel

In January reaffirmed partnership with billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky’s TMK, one of the largest customers of his iron and steel producer, MMK. Began career at Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel mill (MMK) in 1967 as a mechanic, becoming its general director.

Silvio Berlusconi & family

Italy
$9 billion
Source: media

Suffering from more than just a bruised reputation; in December 2009, man broke the billionaire’s nose and teeth with a statue of Milan’s cathedral. Politico with 9 lives became Italy’s prime minister for a third time in April 2008 after his predecessor lost a confidence vote and new elections were held

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

 

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