Holiday Chats.
By John Dietz - 
Email Editor
Date : 11-Dec-2007
 Holiday Message |  |
Dear Subscriber:
Today's newsletter is a holiday reprieve from court cases and wealth preservation to cocktail conversation. Quote some of the facts listed below, add a little name dropping, and you are bound to appear worldly, well informed, and be the hit of the party. Aside from the fun, there is some insight as to how money flows through society. It is mind-stimulating food.
| The list of billionaires compiled by Forbes Magazine is out! If you had to guess, would you have it right? |
Here are the countries and their billionaires according to Forbes Magazine.
The USA has 320 billionaires.
Bill Gates (Microsoft), Warren Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway), Sheldon Adelson (hotels and investments), Lawrence Ellison (Oracle), Sergy Brin (Google), Larry Page (Google) Kirk Kirkorian (casinos and investments), Michael Dell (Dell), Charles Koch (Oil), David Koch (Oil), Paul Allen (Microsoft) and Christy Walton (Wal-mart) are leading the way on the U.S. billionaire list.
| Germany | 55 billionaires |
| Russia | 53 billionaires |
| India | 43 billionaires |
| UK | 28 billionaires |
| Turkey | 25 billionaires |
| Canada | 23 billionaires |
| China | 20 billionaires |
| Brazil | 20 billionaires |
| Spain | 20 billionaires |
| Hong Kong | 18 billionaires |
| Australia | 16 billionaires |
| France | 15 billionaires |
| Saudi Arabia | 13 billionaires |
| South Korea | 10 billionaires |
| Sweden | 8 billionaires |
| Taiwan | 8 billionaires |
| Switzerland | 8 billionaires |
| Ukraine | 7 billionaires |
| United Arab Emirates | 5 billionaires |
| Egypt | 4 billionaires |
| Netherlands | 4 billionaires |
| Norway | 4 billionaires |
| Singapore | 4 billionaires |
| South Africa | 3 billionaires |
| Philippines | 3 billionaires |
| Cypress | 2 billionaires |
| Czechoslovakia | 2 billionaires |
| Serbia | 2 billionaires |
| Romania | 2 billionaires |
So who is the most powerful woman according to Forbes? (No, it is not Oprah.)
| #1 | Angela Merkel | Chancellor of Germany |
| #2 | Wi Yi | Vice Premier of China |
Some other powerful women include:
| #3 | Indrya K. Nooyi | Chairmen of PepsiCo |
| #4 | Condelyzza Rice | US Secretary of State |
| #21 | Oprah Winfrey | CEO Harpo |
Interestingly, the women CEOs of Kraft, Xerox, Rite Aid, Sarah Lee, and Bank of China ranked above Oprah. Melissa Gates is ranked number 24, and Hillary Rodham Clinton is ranked number 25.
Here is the list of CEO 2007 compensation (in Millions) that is bound to raise some eyebrows at the table.
| #1 | Steven Jobs | Apple | 646.60 |
| #2 | Ray R. Irani | Occidental Petroleum | 321.64 |
| #4 | William P. Foley II | Fidelity National Financial | 179.56 |
| #5 | Terry S. Semel | Yahoo | 174.20 |
| #7 | Angelo R. Mozilo | Countrywide Financial | 141.98 |
| #8 | Michael S. Jeffries | Abercrombie & Fitch | 114.64 |
| #11 | Harold M. Messmer Jr. | Robert Half Int | 74.25 |
| #18 | Robert J. Ulrich | Target | 48.09 |
Hansen Natural (CA), NutriSystem (PA), and Under Armour (MD) made the top three best small companies. Pet Med X-Press ranked number six and Build A Bear ranked number 23 (in case you have one under the tree). Hansen Naturals sells organic and healthy juices and sodas, and we all know that Nutri Systems and Under Armour are the cool sports clothing.
Highest sales volume for insurance companies was Met Life with $47 billion, Prudential with $31.6 billion and Aflac with $14.5 billion. It may be that commercials have something to do with insurance sales.
Highest sales volume for diversified financials was Berkshire Hathaway with $97.7 billion, Morgan Stanley with $72.6 billion, and Goldman Sachs with $63.4 billion. (You cannot go wrong speaking of Warren Buffet at a party).
PepsiCo out does Coca Cola in sales (great family conversation, teenagers love to guess at this).
Walt Disney, News Corp, and Comcast are the top three media companies in sales. If you could not get a copy of High School Musical II, you know why. It seems everything with “Disney” sells out.
Lowes, CVS, and Best Buy are the top three retailers in profits (so that would mean our top three priorities are home repairs, health, and TV).
Wal-mart, Exxon, and Shell were the three largest companies in sales while Exxon, Shell, and BP made the top three in profits. (Wal-mart dropped to number 17 in profit). It seems that people love to give their opinion on Wal-mart. I find that the opinions vary, just like politics.
What athlete made the most money in 2007? Tiger Woods with 100 million. Now that's a good day on the course!
That should be enough to stimulate some conversation while the turkey settles. Relax, enjoy the time with family and friends, and let's look forward to a prosperous 2008.
Have a great holiday season. We will report in the new year.
Until next time,
John
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ABOUT THIS EDITOR:
John Dietz is a strategic advisor at Trustmakers.com with a passion for client solutions that can encompass your business, your real estate, and your personal assets. Mr. Dietz serves to educate you on the latest in asset protection planning.
12 DECEMBER
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