March 17, 2011--Forbes' Richest & Most
I don't exactly know how or why I stumbled on the Forbes' lists of the world's richest and most powerful men and women, but somehow I did. When trolling the Web this sort of thing just seems to happen, and I wound up lingering among those named for an hour or so thinking about the meaning of I'm not sure just what.
I do know, though, what to think when the list of the world's most powerful people has Barack Obama in 2nd place while in 1st there is Hu Jintao, president of China.
And we know why in 4th place there is the almost-dead king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud. Obvious.
Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin is in 5th place while the Russian president doesn't even make the list.
Pope Benedict XVI, without an army or much of an economy, is in 5th place while Bill Gates is in 10th and Mark Zuckerberg, whose Facebook is allegedly half responsible for the revolutions sweeping the Middle East, is down in 40th. The notorious, ultra-conservative funders of the Tea Party, the Koch brothers are as a single entity in 54th and Osama bin Laden is relegated to 57th place.
With each listing Forbes supplies a brief note about why the person is deemed to be so powerful. About bin Laden they say:
Anyone costing us over a trillion to wage a losing war, in my view, should be higher up on the list of the most powerful than, say, the prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, who, though he is about to be convicted of statutory rape, is in 14th place.
Wondering about Berlusconi's ranking, I checked what Forbes has to say about its methodolgy. In regard to the Italian prime minister, they say:
Being indicted, I suppose, and palling around at pool parties with under-age girls with Muammar Gaddafi kept him from being ranked even higher.
In regard to the world's most powerful women, what do you make of their placing Michelle Obama at the top of the list? Being married to the commander in chief, to me, hardly qualifies as power. Nor does trying to get Americans to lose weight.
I'd put German chancellor Angela Merkel, currently in 4th place, at the top since she is presiding over the only strong economy in the Euro Zone. At the least, she belongs ahead of Oprah Winfrey, who Forbes places in 3rd place. Now I know she has a huge American following and is worth a billion or two, but . . . really?
And I have nothing at all to say about their listing Lady Gaga as the 7th most powerful woman in the world.
When it comes to wealth, things are also interesting.
First, in the spirit of Hu Jintao being the world's most powerful person, it should be no surprise the the richest American, Bill Gates, is "only" the world's 2nd wealthiest person with $56 billion in assets, while Carlos Slim of Mexico, who continues to be in 1st place, is worth considerably more at $74 billion.
Russia may still be considered by some to be a developing country, but of the top 100 wealthiest people, 15 are Russian billionaires. Vladimir Lisin is the richest of them, worth $24 billion; and Forbes lists the source of his wealth as "steel." Which means that when the USSR imploded, Lisin was allowed to "buy" the Soviet's enormous steel production infrastructure. In no way does this make him the Andrew Carnegie of Russia. Lisin is not your proverbial self-made man, as he is designated in Forbes. Quite the contrary, as with all the other Russian billionaires he is a self-made crook.
Case in point, in 99th place is Russia's Leonid Mikhelson, worth $9.1 billion, all of it in natural gas. Again, as with Vladimir Lisin, we're not talking T. Boone Pickens.
It also appears that it is helpful to have the right daddy. Especially, Daddy Sam Walton, founder of Walmart.
In 10th place is Christy Walton who is worth $26.5 billion; in 20th place we find Jim Walton who has $21.3 billion; right behind him in 21st place is Alice Walton at $21.2 billion; and then there is S. Robson Walton who is worth $21.0 billion. Between them, these four Waltons control a neat $90.0 billion in assets, which makes Señor Slim look like a piker.
You can come to your own conclusions about all of this by looking at the attached link from Forbes. I've obviously come to mine.
I do know, though, what to think when the list of the world's most powerful people has Barack Obama in 2nd place while in 1st there is Hu Jintao, president of China.
And we know why in 4th place there is the almost-dead king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud. Obvious.
Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin is in 5th place while the Russian president doesn't even make the list.
Pope Benedict XVI, without an army or much of an economy, is in 5th place while Bill Gates is in 10th and Mark Zuckerberg, whose Facebook is allegedly half responsible for the revolutions sweeping the Middle East, is down in 40th. The notorious, ultra-conservative funders of the Tea Party, the Koch brothers are as a single entity in 54th and Osama bin Laden is relegated to 57th place.
With each listing Forbes supplies a brief note about why the person is deemed to be so powerful. About bin Laden they say:
Despite infrequent communications, persistent rumors of his death, symbolic power undiminished: Impressionable youths continue to self-detonate in his name; casus belli of two U.S.-led wars costing over $1 trillion.
Anyone costing us over a trillion to wage a losing war, in my view, should be higher up on the list of the most powerful than, say, the prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, who, though he is about to be convicted of statutory rape, is in 14th place.
Wondering about Berlusconi's ranking, I checked what Forbes has to say about its methodolgy. In regard to the Italian prime minister, they say:
We determined if [those who made the list] were powerful in multiple spheres, awarding bonus points for those who can project their power many ways. Silvio Berlusconi, for instance, got a big boost for not only being the prime minister of Italy, but also a billionaire media mogul and owner of a soccer team, AC Milan.
Being indicted, I suppose, and palling around at pool parties with under-age girls with Muammar Gaddafi kept him from being ranked even higher.
In regard to the world's most powerful women, what do you make of their placing Michelle Obama at the top of the list? Being married to the commander in chief, to me, hardly qualifies as power. Nor does trying to get Americans to lose weight.
I'd put German chancellor Angela Merkel, currently in 4th place, at the top since she is presiding over the only strong economy in the Euro Zone. At the least, she belongs ahead of Oprah Winfrey, who Forbes places in 3rd place. Now I know she has a huge American following and is worth a billion or two, but . . . really?
And I have nothing at all to say about their listing Lady Gaga as the 7th most powerful woman in the world.
When it comes to wealth, things are also interesting.
First, in the spirit of Hu Jintao being the world's most powerful person, it should be no surprise the the richest American, Bill Gates, is "only" the world's 2nd wealthiest person with $56 billion in assets, while Carlos Slim of Mexico, who continues to be in 1st place, is worth considerably more at $74 billion.
Russia may still be considered by some to be a developing country, but of the top 100 wealthiest people, 15 are Russian billionaires. Vladimir Lisin is the richest of them, worth $24 billion; and Forbes lists the source of his wealth as "steel." Which means that when the USSR imploded, Lisin was allowed to "buy" the Soviet's enormous steel production infrastructure. In no way does this make him the Andrew Carnegie of Russia. Lisin is not your proverbial self-made man, as he is designated in Forbes. Quite the contrary, as with all the other Russian billionaires he is a self-made crook.
Case in point, in 99th place is Russia's Leonid Mikhelson, worth $9.1 billion, all of it in natural gas. Again, as with Vladimir Lisin, we're not talking T. Boone Pickens.
It also appears that it is helpful to have the right daddy. Especially, Daddy Sam Walton, founder of Walmart.
In 10th place is Christy Walton who is worth $26.5 billion; in 20th place we find Jim Walton who has $21.3 billion; right behind him in 21st place is Alice Walton at $21.2 billion; and then there is S. Robson Walton who is worth $21.0 billion. Between them, these four Waltons control a neat $90.0 billion in assets, which makes Señor Slim look like a piker.
You can come to your own conclusions about all of this by looking at the attached link from Forbes. I've obviously come to mine.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
5:37 AM
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