The Richest People On The Planet 2013

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Bill Gates is number two on Forbes' list of richest people on the planet. Larry Ellison is number five on the list and the 19th through the 21st spots are occupied by Jeff Bezos, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Missing from the list again this year....all of us. ;)

The ranks of the world’s billionaires, as monitored and tallied by our global wealth team, have yet again reached alltime highs. The 2013 Forbes Billionaires list now boasts 1,426 names, with an aggregate net worth of $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion. We found 210 new ten-figure fortunes. Once again the U.S. leads the list with 442 billionaires.
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I'm actually on the list



...I printed it and sat on it! woohoo!!!
 
I wouln't know what to do with all that $$...once you buy everything you want the rest is just Monopoly $$
 
polonyc2 said:
I wouln't know what to do with all that $$...once you buy everything you want the rest is just Monopoly $$
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Well Bill Gates does give out quite a bit in charity. Call him underhanded for his business tactics, but he is one of the most charitable people in the world these days, touching many peoples lives.
 
Interesting....

If you took every penny ALL these people have and put it ALL together into one lump sum, you STILL would NOT have enough money to even come close to the astronomical debt the US government owes. It would never be enough to make any difference to anything that is a problem with government. For that reason (and that reason alone), it makes no sense at all to attack "the rich" to fix any kind of social/economic issues. But taking every penny from them all WOULD end up destroying huge amounts of potential for economic growth. It's an argument that I'm hearing all too often and is based on ignorance, envy, and jealousy.

People in general really need to get back to looking at "the rich" with the thought of getting rich themselves.
 
prndll said:
People in general really need to get back to looking at "the rich" with the thought of getting rich themselves.
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While some of this is true, you need to look not only at how those people got rich, and how they are staying rich.

When the super-rich can lobby for the laws to be changed, so that their precious niche is impossible to break into / compete in, then we have a problem. And that is exactly what has happened and continues to happen more and more. When you don't even have a chance because you aren't "in the club", then what do you do?
 
lilbabycat said:
While some of this is true, you need to look not only at how those people got rich, and how they are staying rich.

When the super-rich can lobby for the laws to be changed, so that their precious niche is impossible to break into / compete in, then we have a problem. And that is exactly what has happened and continues to happen more and more. When you don't even have a chance because you aren't "in the club", then what do you do?
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Well, there's drugs and Arms dealing.
 
lilbabycat said:
While some of this is true, you need to look not only at how those people got rich, and how they are staying rich.

When the super-rich can lobby for the laws to be changed, so that their precious niche is impossible to break into / compete in, then we have a problem. And that is exactly what has happened and continues to happen more and more. When you don't even have a chance because you aren't "in the club", then what do you do?
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I am less concerned with how tech companies like Microsoft and Apple and the like stay rich, and way more concerned with the lobbyists who have corrupted the FDA and allow crap like High Fructose Corn syrup in a shit ton of our food, even stuff it has no business being in, and then we wonder why obesity and cases of diabetes have spiked? Or allowing "pink slime" in our ground beef which allows us all to have a nice healthy helping of ammonia with our burgers. Or that allows food companies to put tree bark in our food to make it more "filling" under the guise of calling it cellulose or cellulose gum.

And lets not even get into the changes in drug policy, where medications that list a laundry list of side effects are still pushed to the masses that never would have seen the light of day 50 years ago because they would have been tested over 10 years before being given to the public and found dangerous.

Instead of getting mad at people who have made money and know how to keep making money, how about getting mad at things like what I mentioned that actually have a much more direct impact on the way we live our daily lives?

And for any asshole who wants to play partisan politics, the changes to the FDA have happened with both republicans and democrats in office. :p
 
lilbabycat said:
While some of this is true, you need to look not only at how those people got rich, and how they are staying rich.

When the super-rich can lobby for the laws to be changed, so that their precious niche is impossible to break into / compete in, then we have a problem. And that is exactly what has happened and continues to happen more and more. When you don't even have a chance because you aren't "in the club", then what do you do?
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You took the words right out of my mouth, more or less. I, for one, don't have a problem with there being rich people. If you actually understand the way economies work, as someone prndll pointed out, you need rich to prop up the economy. They are the ones providing the jobs. What I take issue with is what lilbabycat mentioned. The rich are taking a disproportionate amount of they money these days. If some of this money were leveled out lower, theoretically the economy wouldn't be as bad a shape as it is. I say theoretically, because the government has screwed that all up with all the loans we give out and wasteful spending. Even if the middle class had more of that money there wouldn't be enough to take in taxes to help (keep in mind the rich know how to make more money on that money so it's not a simple redistribution of money). Unless the greed can be curtailed somehow, this country is screwed.
 
Zion Halcyon said:
I am less concerned with how tech companies like Microsoft and Apple and the like stay rich, and way more concerned with the lobbyists who have corrupted the FDA and allow crap like High Fructose Corn syrup in a shit ton of our food, even stuff it has no business being in, and then we wonder why obesity and cases of diabetes have spiked? Or allowing "pink slime" in our ground beef which allows us all to have a nice healthy helping of ammonia with our burgers. Or that allows food companies to put tree bark in our food to make it more "filling" under the guise of calling it cellulose or cellulose gum.

And lets not even get into the changes in drug policy, where medications that list a laundry list of side effects are still pushed to the masses that never would have seen the light of day 50 years ago because they would have been tested over 10 years before being given to the public and found dangerous.

Instead of getting mad at people who have made money and know how to keep making money, how about getting mad at things like what I mentioned that actually have a much more direct impact on the way we live our daily lives?

And for any asshole who wants to play partisan politics, the changes to the FDA have happened with both republicans and democrats in office. :p
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And this is related to the topic how exactly?
 
"how these people got rich" is the key question....and "how they are staying rich" is certainly a consideration.

Where as Gates is among the "super rich"....he didn't do it by lobbying (although he did reach that point of being able to). Regardless of any level of ethics Gates may or may not have, it comes down to a series of decisions he made and the FACT that everyone (almost literally) buys MS products.

Zuckerburg is on his way but it's not due to lobbying...although he is getting there more and more NOW.

Apple took a tremendous leap forward with all it's itoys. It wasn't due to lobbying....it was due to everyone buying them, wanting them, and doing everything humanly possible to have them (even spending money they didn't have).

Same thing with Zuckerburg...without everyone (almost literally) using Facebook, Zuckerburg is nothing.

My point is that getting "in the club" is wrong thinking in the first place. You have to create your own club. Too many people have done it....it CAN be done (even still).

The truth is that unless you inherit it, win the mega-lotto, or are elected to it.....the single biggest method for getting rich and staying rich is by giving as big a portion as humanly possible of what people want to the people. This is why so many people get rich through realistate, oil, steel, advertising, banking, lawyers, doctors, etc. etc.etc.

Most of what is "rich" is had via hard work and good decisions. It's NOT about getting "in the club". "The club" exists in the first place because people have created it and it's NOT just a club (the club of the rich)...This is a 'group' of clubs that collectively are called "the rich". Not everyone stays rich....many people get rich and lose it.

"what do you do?".....make your own club...but do you have to stamina, the wisdom, and something that everyone wants?
 
Zion Halcyon said:
I am less concerned with how tech companies like Microsoft and Apple and the like stay rich, and way more concerned with the lobbyists who have corrupted the FDA and allow crap like High Fructose Corn syrup in a shit ton of our food, even stuff it has no business being in, and then we wonder why obesity and cases of diabetes have spiked? Or allowing "pink slime" in our ground beef which allows us all to have a nice healthy helping of ammonia with our burgers. Or that allows food companies to put tree bark in our food to make it more "filling" under the guise of calling it cellulose or cellulose gum.

And lets not even get into the changes in drug policy, where medications that list a laundry list of side effects are still pushed to the masses that never would have seen the light of day 50 years ago because they would have been tested over 10 years before being given to the public and found dangerous.

Instead of getting mad at people who have made money and know how to keep making money, how about getting mad at things like what I mentioned that actually have a much more direct impact on the way we live our daily lives?

And for any asshole who wants to play partisan politics, the changes to the FDA have happened with both republicans and democrats in office. :p
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C'mon you know this answer. We all do. Money, money money. It truly is what makes the world go 'round these days. Corporations would charge you for the air you breathe if they could. Hell, the state of Oregon fined a man for building a pond and collecting rain. I didn't know the rain belonged to the state of Oregon. It's that bad these days.
 
Zion Halcyon said:
I am less concerned with how tech companies like Microsoft and Apple and the like stay rich, and way more concerned with the lobbyists who have corrupted the FDA and allow crap like High Fructose Corn syrup in a shit ton of our food, even stuff it has no business being in, and then we wonder why obesity and cases of diabetes have spiked? Or allowing "pink slime" in our ground beef which allows us all to have a nice healthy helping of ammonia with our burgers. Or that allows food companies to put tree bark in our food to make it more "filling" under the guise of calling it cellulose or cellulose gum.

And lets not even get into the changes in drug policy, where medications that list a laundry list of side effects are still pushed to the masses that never would have seen the light of day 50 years ago because they would have been tested over 10 years before being given to the public and found dangerous.

Instead of getting mad at people who have made money and know how to keep making money, how about getting mad at things like what I mentioned that actually have a much more direct impact on the way we live our daily lives?

And for any asshole who wants to play partisan politics, the changes to the FDA have happened with both republicans and democrats in office. :p
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I agree with this completely. To me this is one of the most alarming things happening in our country right now, the garbage we are being fed is banned in most other industrialized countries or at the very least there is better labeling.

As far as the rich thing goes, the biggest problem to me is not that people are rich or how rich they are, its more about the decline of the middle class. I personally dont care about rich people or being rich, I have no envy or jealousy, I dont ever want to be rich. I just want to live and give my family a decent quality of life.
 
I find it funny that my brother, who makes a LOT of $$$, is paying out an extra 5-6% in his income (no idea...minimum $20,000 extra in taxes?) because he started his own business, now employs 20+ people, grows his business and is FRUGAL to no ends.....and he gets slammed for his industry and risk-taking.

I almost don't WANT to try to grow my business, because all that will happen is more punishment for risk taking.
 
lilbabycat said:
While some of this is true, you need to look not only at how those people got rich, and how they are staying rich.

When the super-rich can lobby for the laws to be changed, so that their precious niche is impossible to break into / compete in, then we have a problem. And that is exactly what has happened and continues to happen more and more. When you don't even have a chance because you aren't "in the club", then what do you do?
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What you do is vote out of office the people making the laws. Besides i'st not only the super-rich who play that game. Unions are also the problem. They lobby for laws that benefit themselves which screw the rest of us.
 
Not trying to get all political...

prndll said:
, it makes no sense at all to attack "the rich" to fix any kind of social/economic issues.
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See that's why nm
o one is going after a person's wealth, as represented by this list, they instead go after the INCOME of people. So your argument of "if you take all these peoples money..." is kind of silly because that is not be suggested except by silly irrational people. (and no not Obama)
 
spamhunter said:
What you do is vote out of office the people making the laws. Besides i'st not only the super-rich who play that game. Unions are also the problem. They lobby for laws that benefit themselves which screw the rest of us.
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You, my friend, are disillusioned if you think the influential people in Washington are going to be just voted out. Take, for instance, Donald Rumsfeld. That cat has been floating around in Washington, in one form or another, since the early 60's.
 
Another BS list for the sheeple...where are the Rothchild bankesters listed whose net worth is in the trillions?
I
 
@sfsuphysics
I do see your point, all I'm saying is that I just do not believe that the "real" problems have anything to do with the people on this list (although there are those super-uber-rich that have achieved too much power) or rich people in general. Being rich is so demonized that people forget that most of the "real" problems result from government. All this list really does is stir up anger in people. Although it's good to know who these people are. I feel like all this takes on a very wrong focus. I just get tired of hearing people complain about rich people.
 
prndll said:
Interesting....

If you took every penny ALL these people have and put it ALL together into one lump sum, you STILL would NOT have enough money to even come close to the astronomical debt the US government owes. It would never be enough to make any difference to anything that is a problem with government. For that reason (and that reason alone), it makes no sense at all to attack "the rich" to fix any kind of social/economic issues. But taking every penny from them all WOULD end up destroying huge amounts of potential for economic growth. It's an argument that I'm hearing all too often and is based on ignorance, envy, and jealousy.

People in general really need to get back to looking at "the rich" with the thought of getting rich themselves.
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You're right in that taking all of their money would not make much of a dent in our debt (not that it matters, I'll get to that in a minute). However, there absolutely should be more tax brackets. The top bracket right now is 39.6% at $400,000 for a single filer. That's loose change in the couch for a billionaire. I think the tax brackets should top out around 50% and $10 million. And remember these are marginal rates for anyone who thinks someone making $10 million per year would actually owe 50% of it. Their effective rate would be much lower.

Now regarding the debt, people seem to forget that we are a monetary sovereign nation, or maybe they have no idea what that means. We do not have to pay off our debt, ever, nor should we. Attempts to pay down the debt, especially during a recession, is economic suicide. The U.S. could actually pay off 100% of it's debt right now with the stroke of a pen. That wouldn't be smart considering the massive inflation it would cause, but we could do it. As long as we can pay the interest on the debt (which we can, easily), then we are fine. The U.S. cannot go bankrupt unless it chooses to. People don't seem to understand that the federal budget does not work like a personal budget or a business budget. People and businesses do not have monetary sovereignty. They cannot issue currency. The federal government can. That's a very important distinction that people simply do not understand. If anyone starts saying "derp derp the Chinese own us they can forces us to pay it back herp derp INFLATION!!! derpy herpy derp blah blah" then you are a moron who doesn't understand this stuff at all.
 
lilbabycat said:
While some of this is true, you need to look not only at how those people got rich, and how they are staying rich.

When the super-rich can lobby for the laws to be changed, so that their precious niche is impossible to break into / compete in, then we have a problem. And that is exactly what has happened and continues to happen more and more. When you don't even have a chance because you aren't "in the club", then what do you do?
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Right on man. I get so sick of the right-wing talking points about how we should be in awe and inspired by the wealthy. When the game is rigged, its hard to want to keep playing. I'm no left-wing loon either, I'm a registered republican...at least for now.
 
ravx25 said:
you need rich to prop up the economy. They are the ones providing the jobs.
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Jobs are provided by economic activity. The rich generate a lot of economic activity, but the net worth of the people on this list could be seen (in some kind of basic way - as there a lot of other factors to consider) as a representation of the economic activity they aren't generating - the jobs they aren't providing.
 
prndll said:
Interesting....

If you took every penny ALL these people have and put it ALL together into one lump sum, you STILL would NOT have enough money to even come close to the astronomical debt the US government owes. It would never be enough to make any difference to anything that is a problem with government. For that reason (and that reason alone), it makes no sense at all to attack "the rich" to fix any kind of social/economic issues. But taking every penny from them all WOULD end up destroying huge amounts of potential for economic growth. It's an argument that I'm hearing all too often and is based on ignorance, envy, and jealousy.

People in general really need to get back to looking at "the rich" with the thought of getting rich themselves.
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No offense but wanting to be rich is one of the worst things to want. Wanting to be something that you're not is only going to lead to suffering because you're not happy where you're at and you're craving something that even when you do get you will only crave even more money and materialistic things.

Honestly, I don't think that theres anything special about being rich. Theres more than likely poor and ordinary people that make less than $100,000 that are happier than the people on this list.

Also why are most of the richest people old? Are you just supposed to live an ordinary life, retire at around age 70 if you're lucky and lived that long (good chance anyone might die before than) and than live out your old dying days with more money and do what?

Or you can work your butt off while you're young eventually getting rich when you're old in your dying days and again whats the point?

Either option sounds worthless. Personally I make jack squat but I'm happy and thankful that I have what I need and a little more and I'm content and at peace.
 
ravx25 said:
You took the words right out of my mouth, more or less. I, for one, don't have a problem with there being rich people. If you actually understand the way economies work, as someone prndll pointed out, you need rich to prop up the economy. They are the ones providing the jobs. What I take issue with is what lilbabycat mentioned. The rich are taking a disproportionate amount of they money these days. If some of this money were leveled out lower, theoretically the economy wouldn't be as bad a shape as it is. I say theoretically, because the government has screwed that all up with all the loans we give out and wasteful spending. Even if the middle class had more of that money there wouldn't be enough to take in taxes to help (keep in mind the rich know how to make more money on that money so it's not a simple redistribution of money). Unless the greed can be curtailed somehow, this country is screwed.
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The rich do not create jobs. Demand for products and services create jobs. Businesses are not charities and they do not provide jobs out of the goodness of their hearts. If there is demand for a product that a business makes, they can justify hiring people to provide for that demand. If demand suffers, they cut jobs. Where does that demand come from? Primarily the middle class. A strong middle class means a strong economy, which means more jobs.

Also, while the government is absolutely guilty of wasteful spending, understand that most of that spending is for services and labor. Government spending is jobs spending. You cut spending, you cut jobs, it's as simple as that. So what happens when those people lose their jobs? They go on unemployment and start collecting a check. So the government is still paying them and getting nothing in return. I'd much rather the government waste money as long as that money is providing an american a job, or it's being spent on american products. Government spending is really only a huge issue when it's being wasted on other nations instead of our own.
 
i960 said:
...If anyone starts saying "derp derp the Chinese own us they can forces us to pay it back herp derp INFLATION!!! derpy herpy derp blah blah"...
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The biggest concern I have with China is that everything (well, almost anyway) is made there. I want to see alot more manufacturing in the states again. I take issue with the Chinese hacking problem but that's more of a minor thing (in a way - related though).
 
@Sovern
Of course, being happy is more important. That's not what I'm saying. Being happy should go without saying.
 
prndll said:
The biggest concern I have with China is that everything (well, almost anyway) is made there. I want to see alot more manufacturing in the states again. I take issue with the Chinese hacking problem but that's more of a minor thing (in a way - related though).
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I agree with that and tend to buy american when I can. But only if the quality justifies the price increase. I want value for my money. If widget A made in america is only 10% better than widget B made in china, but widget A costs 100% more, then it's not a good value and I won't buy it. There are exceptions to that, especially if it's a product made within my local area. But in general, those products tend to be far far more than 10% better than the chinese equivalent.
 
Hmmm, combine the 3 Mars candy scions tied at 17th and they would be 5th.
 
ravx25 said:
Well Bill Gates does give out quite a bit in charity. Call him underhanded for his business tactics, but he is one of the most charitable people in the world these days, touching many peoples lives.
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Which is only natural when you have more money than you even know what to do with.

I mean, seriously, even MC Hammer wouldn't be able to burn through Gates' savings account.
 
prndll said:
The biggest concern I have with China is that everything (well, almost anyway) is made there. I want to see alot more manufacturing in the states again. I take issue with the Chinese hacking problem but that's more of a minor thing (in a way - related though).
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A lot of manufacturing is coming back or being moved to different countries now. Vietnam has been stepping up for example and they're a lot better when compared to China.
 
Wow. I'm a little shocked that there's no one under 50 on that list (is there even anyone under 60?).
 
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