[mattSantill]

Anyone find it interesting that over two thirds of the billionaires on this list are self starters? These folks began with as much money as we all have....
So let this be some motivation for you entrepreneurs out there.

How about Warren Buffet getting the number 1 spot?
I brefiely read The intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham several years back. But I have now purchased a more recent edition and plan on studying it thouroughly. Anyone master "value investing" ?

[mattSantill]

Warren takes Bill Gate's spot....
Forbes.com Video Network

World's Billionaires

1. Warren Buffet
2. Carlos Slim Helu
3. William Gates III
4. Lkshmi Mittal
5. Mukesh Ambani
6. Anil Ambani
7. Ingvar Kamprad
8. KP Singh
9. Oleg Deripaska
10. Karl Albrecht

[ADVERTISE HERE!]

Is this because he has surpassed Senor Gates in earnings...or rather because Gates has given so much away to charity?

[mattSantill]

Microsoft trying to buy Yahoo... hurt their stock.... Berkshire Hathaway went up 25%

[ProLogic]

I thought Carlos Slim Helu was the richest?

[mattSantill]

nope I think Bill Gates has had it for a long period of time

[byzantium]

BBC (England) news article on the billionaire list:

BBC NEWS | Business | Buffett 'becomes world's richest'

Interesting comments on the part of Forbes. The world is in a global boom that is proving true JFK's assertion that a rising tide lifts all boats, yet the US doesn't seem to be sharing in this great wealth creation machine, unless you're at the very top. Instead, Americans seem to be sinking deeper into desperation and poverty. Americans still live better than some guy in a mud hut in Africa, but when the comparison is to say India's new middle class, we don't live much better than them, and they can live like Americans on a fraction of the money that an American would spend to sustain that lifestyle. Is the American empire over? Will the world happily spin on without us, or will we drag them down?

By the way, Benjamin Graham won't tell you everything you need to know about investing like Warren Buffett. The best books on that are Buffettology and The New Buffettology by Mary Buffett (former daughter in law of Warren) and a book by a guy named Vick, I think it's called How To Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett. I'm a big fan of Buffett and plan to apply his methods as soon as I get some cashflow. The US stock market is on a downtrend, which according to Buffett is the best time to buy. But you can't buy just anything.

[ProLogic]

Originally Posted by mattSantill

nope I think Bill Gates has had it for a long period of time

Bill has not been the richest for almost a year now.

[thumpsky]

I bet the richest people in the world don't report their earnings.

[ProLogic]

Originally Posted by thumpsky

I bet the richest people in the world don't report their earnings.

I believe popularity has a lot to do with it as well. Some people don't like the recognition, hell, I don't blame them.

[lenix]

I strongly believe that Bill Gates is still the richest man in the world today, Forbes should tell us how they came about their verdict, what are their criteria? and how do they access the information on which their decison is made?