The 400 Richest Americans

How does Warren Buffett gear up for his shareholder's meet?

2008-05-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

Source : News Bulletins/CNBC-TV18

CNBC’s Becky Quick, in her special show, Warren Buffett: The Billionaire Next Door - All Access, CNBC spoke exclusively to Warren Buffett and took an "exclusive" look inside the Buffett's annual meeting with Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders; getting an unprecedented access into the world of one of the world’s most successful investors. Becky accompanied Buffet for three days and shares with us, her impressions of the tour...

Every year, Warren Buffett invites each and everyone of his shareholders here to his hometown for the granddaddy of all annual meetings. Over 30,000 of them will actually show up to the centre just to catch a glimpse of the 'Oracle of Omaha,' as Warren Buffet is called. Over the next three days, Warren Buffett will tirelessly answer questions from his shareholders. He will walk miles through this Convention Centre through all the back halls and he will catch up with old friends over a can of Coke or a game of bridge.

And for the first time, CNBC is with him every step of the way from setup to breakdown and everything in between.

It is the calm before the storm. Hundreds for Berkshire’s owner in town, building the exhibits that cover this 200,000 square foot floor. Tonight they get to meet their big boss, Warren Buffett.

It is Thursday evening and the Oracle of Omaha’s whirlwind weekend is just beginning. First he meets with the troops, employees from dozens of Berkshire’s companies, taking photos with each and everyone.

We are all heading to the Omaha Bridge studio to play with long time friend Carol Loomis, Editor at Large of Fortune Magazine.

Q: Tonight when you play bridge, what is your strategy?

Loomis: To win.

Buffett: We have probably played about eight years in a row and we come out on Thursday night always before the meeting to play.

Q: Have you done the last few years?

Buffett: I am glad you asked. I think about the eight times that we have played, we won about five in a row.

Q: There is like 30 teams or something?

Buffett: Yes. Then last year we came second.

Loomis: One year in between we were sixth or seventh or out of the money. I am not sure.

Q: If they voted now that you guys are in here, at this point?

Buffett: They have voted every place in the world, not because we were winning.

It is the first of many late nights for Buffett. This game goes on for more than three hours. Playing against the world’s richest man, doesn’t seem to intimidate his opponents.

Buffett and Loomis ultimately take home second place.

After spending Friday morning in the office, the oracle heads over to the Quest Center to check on the progress.

First stop, the Live Bulls representing Justin Boots. That was acquired by Buffett in July 2000. Then it is off to the collectors car, made by Marman Industries, which is a company that he started buying into late last year. These cars are worth over USD 1 million apiece.

But Buffett’s favourite stop may be the See’s Candeies display. He picked up that when Richard Nixon was President in 1972. Here he can size up the peanut butter and the chocolate fudge that he will be snacking on all through the meeting tomorrow.

Q: How many of these do you eat usually during the meeting? How many ounces?

Buffett: Fudge is probably USD 130 in the ounce. Certainly 8 ounces, that is USD 1000. The Coke is USD 150 for 12 ounces. There is almost 1 and half ounces of sugar in a 12-ounce can. Sugar is pure carbohydrates. So, three cokes is USD 450. And then you go to lunch.

Q: So how many calories do you consume on a day for the annual meeting?

Buffett: Plenty.

Q: How many dinners do you go to?

Buffett: I go to two dinners tonight and I go to two dinners tomorrow. But I won’t eat a lot during these necessarily. Dinners are not when I load up. I’ve already had peanuts and then a chocolate chip ice cream, and a Cherry Coke this morning. That is it. Now it is time for lunch.

Narration: Of course lunch is no low-cal affair. Buffett picks the menu for the special sit-down with managers of Berkshire’s 88 companies. His favourite foods are all here. Hotdogs, hamburgers and of course ice-cream sundaes. This is a unique event.

Buffett: We have no business arrangement at Berkshire where our managers have a meeting. We have one meeting for the CEOs and one for the CFOs. But I never call our managers here. So, they don’t even get to know each other except through this meeting.

Narration: He takes time to thank the managers and remind them what is important to Berkshire.

Buffett: Although we had like to have more money, we have got all the money we need and we don’t have an ounce more of reputation that we need and we never want to trade reputation for more money. Fortunately we don’t have to.

Narration: Back on the floor, Buffett puts the displays to the test climbing on Gus the Bull.

With 30,000 of his closest friends eager to hear his every word, Buffett makes sure his sound systems are up to par.

Buffett: The big news from Omaha is that Carol Loomis and Warren Buffett finished second last night in a local bridge tournament.

As dawn breaks on Saturday, the line to get into the Quest Center is growing by the minute. The Billionaire Next Door arrives at 6 am, just in time to see a portrait of himself being created that uses all Benjamin Moore paint, another Berkshire company. This one was acquired in January 2001.

In just eight minutes, Michael Israel creates a portrait of Buffett that will be auctioned off later this year to benefit Girl’s Inc, which is a favourite Buffett charity. Buffett goes into his usual routine, welcoming the media and taking a crowded spin around the floor.

But the crowds this year is bigger and more aggressive than ever before. After greeting the gecko (GEICO) and donning a leather biker jacket, Buffett finally seeks sanctuary backstage with his daughter Susie.

Q: Have you ever seen him as crazy as this before?

Susie Buffett: No he gets crazy every year. It is fun but crazy.

Q: Why do you think that is?

Susie Buffett: If I give back these sort of boring answer then I think it is true is that he truly is, he is this regular old guy who is doing what he does everyday and he is the most honest business person in the country. People love that, they need it, they want to hear it, they trust him and it causes more and more people to come.

The other piece of it I think is people hear about how fun it is; they want to be part of the party.

When Buffett takes to the stage he isn’t alone. By his side, as he has been for nearly 50-years longtime friend and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger.

Warren Buffett: Charlie and I need each other now. Charlie is 84, I am 77. So I can see and he can hear. So we have to work together even, I can remember his name most of the time.

Q: When you get up on stage you guys just gave each other a signal like you take this one and I will take this one?

Charlie Munger: Warren is the ringmaster. But the interesting thing about this is a normal corporation would not want the top executives out there for six hours taking questions on every subject. Imagine that the legal department would howl on some other corporations. But we don’t answer them.

Q: Have you ever had the lawyers trying to get you guys to not say so much or not write so much?

Buffett: We gave up a longtime ago. I said in my first annual report Berkshire Hathaway, Ropes & Gray were the attorneys for Berkshire and they have been there before and there is this ritual where they send the annual report to the attorney. The guy was a wonderful guy. But I sent it to him and he said, you have changed the basics. What the hell was that, he never saw it on the report.

Buffett is the ultimate showman. Every year he plans a surprise for the shareholders. This year the surprise is daytime soap star Susan Lucci. She has gamely agreed to come out and greet the crowd.

The show is about to begin to a standing room only audience. After five hours and over a 100 questions from shareholders Buffett and Munger spend another two and a half hours meeting each and everyone of Berkshire’s international shareholders.

Buffett: They have this autograph on the passport. That is one of the things that we get asked to autograph.

Q: Are you allowed to autograph passports?

Buffett: Apparently, I mean we have been autographing. If not, I’ll have to go with this protection programme after this dinner.

The day still isn’t over. Buffett goes to two dinners and gets about five hours of sleep. Sunday, he is right back at it, visiting the crowd shopping at his jewellery store at Borsheim’s and playing bridge with Berkshire Manager and some other friends.

After a three-hour press conference he heads to dinner at Gorat’s with his family and of course his friends including Berkshire Board Member, Bill Gates and celebrates.

Not many CEOs arrive at their annual meeting to roaring applause from their shareholders. But Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting got its start from much more humble beginnings.

Buffett says, “You would have to go way back. We used to hold them in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where Berkshire Hathaway started. I would go back there and there was me and somebody taking the minutes. We would have about anywhere between eight and 12 people for the next 10 or so years until about 1981. We held a luncheon at National Indemnity. So, it was a slow starter.”

Talking about how the event got bigger and gained momentum, Buffett says, “I think shareholders felt welcome, which is somewhat unusual. We welcomed their questions, we met with the people in lobbies and then we gradually added various little factors like some of the products that our companies sold.” He adds, “We liked talking about whatever questions our shareholders might ask.”

According to Buffett, his shareholders were real owners. “They want to learn more about the company. There are two different types, the very sophisticated type that want to ask sophisticated questions and also the type who put a good bit of their life savings in it.

Rob Sullivan, a Berkshire shareholder buying stocks since the 1970s calls Buffett the Michelangelo of investing. He says, “I advise everybody that there is never a better person to manage money than Warren Buffett. I’ve never met one. I don’t think I ever will meet one. He is the Michelangelo of investing. It is a six sigma event that we might not ever see again in the next 100-200 years.”

Sullivan adds, “At one point we had 550 A-shares, because we bought them at less than USD 200-300.” The average price for an A-share today is over USD 130,000.

Talking about his people and the business, Buffett says, “Some ticker symbol that moves around in a chart or something that gets recommended by some analyst, it is a real honest to god business that they have bought into and that they are going to part of for the rest of their lives.”

Warren Buffet is a man of numbers. He tracks everything from the investment he makes, down to the shareholders requests and the number of requests for tickets for his annual meeting. In the weeks leading to his meeting, his favourite game is guessing the number of requests that come in. Warren buffet laughs saying “ It’s like guessing the earning numbers.”

On the D-Day, the carefully decorated (Convention) Hall turns into a madhouse, with shareholders rushing through the door looking for seats in the front row. Warren Buffet recalls a time when he was standing near the entrance and people just rushed by him in search of seats in the front row to get a clear view him.

A spot on the floor of the display areas at the venue of the Meeting is difficult to get. Buffet says that it is difficult to decide amongst Berkshire’s 88 companies, whom to let in. When Berkshire’s shareholders come in for the meeting, the whole city of Omaha benefits. The city’s hotel rooms book up fast. Furniture shops, jewellery stores offer discounts to visiting shareholders. One retailer describes the event – the Berkshire weekend as the ‘Grand Slam’ of all retailing. Big spenders come in private jets. Buffett says that people are in a mood to buy.

Lakshmi Mittal

2008-04-24T04:27:00.000-07:00

Net worth: $32 billion

Chairman and chief executive, ArcelorMittal

Lakshmi Mittal is a London-based Indian billionaire industrialist, born in Sadulpur village, in the Churu district of Rajasthan, India, and resides in Kensington, London. He is the richest man in Europe and the fourth richest person in the world, with a personal fortune of US$45.0 billion according to Forbes magazine.

The Financial Times named Mittal its 2006 Person of the Year. In May 2007, he was named one of the "100 most influential people" by Time magazine.
The Indian steel titan is head of ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steelmaker by output. Mittal is the fifth-wealthiest person in the world, according to Forbes’ annual billionaires list, released last March.

Lakshmi Mittal began his career working in the family's steelmaking business in India, and in 1976, when the family founded its own steel business, Mittal set out to establish its international division, beginning with the buying of a run-down plant in Indonesia. Shortly afterwards he married Usha, the daughter of a well-to-do moneylender. In 1994, due to differences with his father and brothers, he branched out on his own, taking over the international operations of the Mittal steel business, which was already owned by the family. Mittal's family never spoke publicly about the reason that caused the split.

Recently, Mittal had emerged as a leading contender to buy Barclays Premiership clubs Wigan and Everton. However on 20 December 2007 it was announced that the Mittal family had purchased a 20 per cent shareholding in Queens Park Rangers football club joining Flavio Briatore and Mittal's friend Bernie Ecclestone. As part of the investment Mittal's son-in-law, Amit Bhatia, took a place on the board of directors. The combined investment in the struggling club sparked suggestions that Mittal might be looking to join the growing ranks of wealthy individuals investing heavily in English football and emulating other similar benefactors such as Roman Abramovich.

As of March 2008, Mittal remains the richest man living in the United Kingdom. However, he has not yet received British citizenship, and therefore cannot be officially considered until late 2008/early 2009. Throughout 2007 he failed to reach the official "United Kingdom Residents" rich list as he primarily stayed in Romania as he attempted to buy the country's National Steel Industry. As of 8th October 2007, the 44.79% stake which the Mittal family have in Arcelor-Mittal was worth $47.159 billion dollars, down from $48.4 billion in late September.This makes him the world's 5th wealthiest man after Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Carlos Slim and Ingvar Kamprad. As of 11th October 2007, his stake was worth $50.56 billion dollars, making him the fifth person in the world to have more than $50 b wealth.

As of 2008 April 1, Mittal family owns 43.04% of Arcelor Mittal, worth $50.42 billion.

Awards

• 2008: Padma Vibhushan
• 2007: Bessemer Gold Medal
• 2006: Person of the Year - Financial Times
• 2004: European Businessman of the Year - Fortune magazine
• 1998: Willy Korf Steel Vision Award - American Metal Market and PaineWeber’s World Steel
Dynamics

• 1996: Steelmaker of the Year - New Steel
For more about this dynamic man go on and read his Biography entitled Lakshmi Mittal - Billionaire Steel Magnate

ANGELINA JOLIE GOSSIP, NEWS & TRIVIA

2008-02-13T08:20:00.001-08:00

Visited the Iraqi capital Baghdad, in her role as a United Nations good will ambassador, on a mission to highlight the plight of Iraqi refugees. (February 7, 2008)

Jolie, who is reportedly expecting twins with partner Brad Pitt, is craving mustard-smothered onion rings and cinnamon chili chocolates. (February 2008)

Fueled rumors she is pregnant by turning up to the Screen Actors Guild Awards in a flowing, loose-fitting dress. (January 28, 2008)

Topped a Reuters poll of the best celebrity humanitarians of 2007.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's 1-year-old daughter Shiloh has been named the most influential infant in the world by Forbes magazine. (December 2007)

Her help was sought by a left-wing Filipino farmers group that wanted to call attention to thousands of rural people who had been displaced by increased military operations. (December 2007)

Was voted as the sexiest film star by over 20,000 movie buffs in a poll conducted by Empire magazine. (December 2007)

Ethiopian adoption agency Wide Horizons for Children said Jolie's adoption of baby Zahara was legal, rejecting reports that the child's relatives want her back. (November 15, 2007)

Her skin-tight black leather pants split down the back while she was on the red carpet for the London premiere of BEOWULF. Luckily Brad Pitt covered the exposed area with his hand. (November 11, 2007)

Jolie and Brad Pitt are teaming up to produce a new TV series based on the lives of aid workers. (October 22, 2007)

Jolie and Brad Pitt may not be doing their four children any favours by constantly moving from city to city around the world, according to an expert psychotherapist. (October 2007)

Says that she and Brad Pitt have never said ''I love you'' to each other. (September 2007)

Has complained people take her politics ''less seriously'' because she is an actress. (August 30, 2007)

Said she gave up lesbian and kinky sex after falling for Brad Pitt. (August 2007)

Liliane Bettencourt from Wikipedia

2008-01-07T08:24:00.000-08:00

Liliane Bettencourt (born 21 October 1922) is the second richest person in France, ranking 12th in wealthiest people in the world and the wealthiest woman living. Forbes

magazine estimated her wealth in 2007 at $20.7 billion.

Bettencourt was the only child of Mr. Eugène Schueller, the founder of L'Oréal, one of the world's leading cosmetics and beauty companies. In 1927, her mother died when Liliane was 5 years old.

In 1950, she married French politician André Bettencourt and together, they lived in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France until Andre's death in November 2007. They had one daughter, Françoise, who married Jean-Pierre Meyers, the grandson of a rabbi who died in Auschwitz concentration camp. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers is a member of L'Oréal's board of directors

In 1957, Bettencourt inherited the L'Oréal fortune from her father. She is the principal shareholder of L'Oréal. The company ownership breakdown: 27.5% by Liliane Bettencourt, 26.4% by Nestlé, the remaining 46.1% are publicly traded.

She created the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, which awards the "Liliane Bettencourt Prize for Life Sciences" to a European researcher under the age of forty-five.

A report by Forbes has her listed as the second richest person in France behind Bernard Arnault who has an estimated $26.0 billion.

Mukesh Ambani is world's richest man

2007-12-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

India’s Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited, a company built from scratch by his late father Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani, has becomed the world’s richest man. Mukesh Ambani has surpassed Bill Gates, Carlos Slim and Warren Buffett, to become the world’s richest man. The strong bull rally witnessed in the Indian stock markets has boosted the market capitalisation of all reliance group companies in which Mukesh Ambani has a very significant stake. His brother and younger son of Dhirubhai Ambani, Anil Ambani, the chairman of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group has also forged his way into the top 20 richest billionaires. Anil is likely to make it to the top 10 once Reliance Power IPO hits the market and gets listed in the stock markets. Mukesh Ambani is the first Indian to make it to the top of the list of richest men in the world.

The five richest people in the world with their net worth

1. Mukesh Ambani ($63.2 billion)
2. Carlos Slim Helu ($62.2993 billion)
3. William (Bill) Gates ($62.29 billion)
4. Warren Buffett ($55.9 billion)
5. Lakshmi Mittal ($50.9 billion)

Source : CNBC TV Broadcast

While Carlos Slim and Bill Gates are head to neck in second and third, Indian born steel tycoon, Lakshmi Mittal - Chairman of Arcelor-Mittal is the fifth in the list of richest men in the world. It is to be mentioned that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have, in the recent past, donated a part of their wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, an organisation founded by Bill gates and his wife Melinda Gates, which is primarily involved in enhancing healthcare and reducing extreme poverty, globally.

Some More Details about Mukesh Ambani
Mukesh Ambani is the face of new emerging India. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, India’s largest private sector company. Mukesh Ambani was born on April 19, 1957 in Mumbai. His father Dhirubhai Ambani was then a small businessman who later on rose to become one of the legends of Indian industry. The Hindi film Guru is said to have been made based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani. Everyone aspiring to make it big in Business, should read the biography of Dhirubhai Ambani. His rags to riches story is very insightful and motivating.

Mukesh Ambani did his Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from University of Bombay (now Mumbai) and Masters in business Administration from Stanford University, USA. A few years back there was a rift between Mukesh Ambani and his brother Anil Ambani. The entire assets of the Reliance group were divided between Mukesh and his brother Anil. From there on, both the brothers have multiplied their wealth and started out new ventures. From running an online gaming and social networking venture to oil processing, from retail to telecom, from power generation to financial services, the Ambanis have a presence in every other Industry, in India.

Mukesh Ambani - Richest Man only on Paper?
Many critics have argued that Mukesh Ambani’s wealth is only on paper. To an extent they are correct. Looking at the volatility in the Indian stock markets, which can crash by a whooping 10% in a single day, Mukesh’s stay at the top of the list can be shortlived. However, Mukesh doesn’t seem to be a person who is bothered about being the Number 1 on the list of richest men in the world. He would be more concerned about generating wealth for himself and his shareholders. He and his late father Dhirubhai Ambani have generated enormous amounts of wealth for shareholders. Reliance Industires Limited shareholders respect him a lot. Infact, they recently gave him a standing ovation when he came to speak at the Reliance Industires Limited AGM. Mukesh Ambani truly is, the face of new emerging India.

#14 Mukesh Ambani

2007-11-26T02:01:00.001-08:00

©AP Photo/AFP

Age: 49

Fortune: inherited and growing

Source: petrochemicals

Net Worth: $20.1 bil

Country Of Citizenship: India

Residence: Mumbai , India, Asia & Australia

Industry: Manufacturing

Marital Status: married, 3 children

Education: University of Bombay, Bachelor of Arts / Science
Stanford University, Master of Business Administration
Snatched title of India's richest resident from Azim Premji. Since splitting with younger brother Anil in 2005 and taking control of $20 billion (revenues) Reliance Industries, founded by his late father Dhirubhai Ambani, fortune has soared by $11 billion. Oil-refining subsidiary Reliance Petroleum, in which Chevron has 5% stake, listed May 2006. Betting $5.5 billion on retail ventures including Reliance Fresh, a chain of food stores; 60 are now open. Megaplans include $10 billion investment to develop special economic zones. Recently got board approval to hike personal stake in Reliance Industries from 44% to 48%.

#13 Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud

2007-11-26T01:59:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud

Age: 50

Fortune: self made

Source: investments

Net Worth: $20.3 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Saudi Arabia

Residence: Riyadh , Saudi Arabia, Middle East & Africa

Industry: Investments

Marital Status: married, 2 children

Education: Menlo College, Bachelor of Arts / Science
Syracuse University, Master of Science
The most active and successful investor in the Middle East is a nephew of the Saudi king. His risky bet on Citigroup in the early 1990s paid off hugely and accounts for nearly half his fortune. A plan to list shares in his Kingdom Holding Company on the Saudi stock exchange late last year was delayed by weakness in the Saudi market, which has fallen 60% since it peaked in late February 2006. The drop in value of Alwaleed's Saudi holdings was offset by gains in investments such as Citigroup and News Corp. In February 2006 Alwaleed listed Kingdom Hotel Investments, which encompasses his hotel holdings in the Middle East, on the Dubai exchange. Alwaleed loves hotels. Last year he and a partner also closed a $3.9 billion deal to buy Fairmont Hotel & Resorts and more recently he announced that, with Bill Gates, he would take Four Seasons Hotels private for $3.8 billion, including debt.

#12 Liliane Bettencourt

2007-11-23T02:51:00.001-08:00

©VILLARD/SIPA

Age: 84
Fortune: inherited

Source: L'Oreal

Net Worth: $20.7 bil

Country Of Citizenship: France

Residence: Paris , France, Europe & Russia

Industry: Manufacturing

Marital Status: married, 1 child

Education:

Daughter of L'Oréal founder Eugene Schueller, a man who is said to have a checkered past with wartime ties to the Nazi regime. Liliane has held onto a controlling stake in the cosmetics giant for more than 4 decades. Her Bettencourt Schueller Foundation supports medical, cultural and humanitarian endeavors in France and developing countries.

#11 Lawrence Ellison

2007-11-23T02:50:00.001-08:00

©SF Chronicle/ Mike Kepka

Age: 62

Fortune: self made

Source: Oracle

Net Worth: $21.5 bil

Country Of Citizenship: United States

Residence: Redwood City, California , United States, North America

Industry: Software

Marital Status: married, 2 children

Education: University of Illinois, Drop Out

Brash software titan still at helm of Oracle Systems, database outfit he cofounded 30 years ago. Reshaping the industry with a massive shopping spree; spent $19 billion buying 21 software companies in past 3 years. Biggest acquisitions: PeopleSoft for $11 billion, Siebel Systems for $5.9 billion. Deals added $4.6 billion to company's annual revenue, 18,000 to employee count. Combination makes Oracle, already strong in database management, a big player in business applications like accounting and personnel. Now stitching it all together into software suite Fusion for release by 2008. Predicts earnings will grow 20% a year for the rest of the decade. Chicago native studied physics at U of Chicago; didn't graduate. Started Oracle in 1977. Took public in 1986, a day before Microsoft. Companies have been fiercely competitive ever since. Spends lots of time on distractions: tweaking his 40-acre Japanese-style estate, cruising on his 453-foot yacht, Rising Sun (world's second largest). Plans to sail in 2007 America's Cup in Spain. Turned blasé on being a billionaire: "Money is just a method of keeping score now."

The World's Richest People

2007-11-23T02:47:00.000-08:00

Edited by Luisa Kroll and Allison Fass

It has been a busy year for Forbes' team of fortune hunters. Strong equity markets combined with rising real estate values and commodity prices pushed up fortunes from Mumbai to Madrid. Forbes pinned down a record 946 billionaires. There were 178 newcomers, including 19 Russians, 14 Indians, 13 Chinese and 10 Spaniards, as well as the first billionaires from Cyprus, Oman, Romania and Serbia.

Ingenuity, not industry, is the common characteristic; these folks made money in everything from media and real estate to coffee, dumplings and ethanol. Two-thirds of last year's billionaires are richer. Only 17% are poorer, including 32 who fell below the billion-dollar mark. The billionaires' combined net worth climbed by $900 billion to $3.5 trillion. That equates to $3.6 billion apiece.

The average billionaire is 62 years old, two years younger than in 2005. This year's new billionaires are seven years younger than that. Of list members' fortunes, 60% made theirs from scratch.

In Pictures: The World's Billionaires

Within the ranks are simmering rivalries. Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) founder Bill Gates, the world's richest man for 13 years, and his pal Warren Buffett, who holds the No. 2 spot despite enormous charitable donations, are quickly losing ground to Mexico's most-monied man, Carlos Slim Helú. Helú's net worth is up an astonishing $19 billion this year--the single biggest one-year gain in a decade--and is now just $7 billion shy of Gates and $3 billion less than Buffett. In Europe, Russia's mostly young, self-made tycoons are catching up to Germany's often-aging heirs and heiresses. Russia now has 53 billionaires (2 shy of Germany's total), but they are worth $282 billion ($37 billion more than Germany's richest). After a 20-year reign, Japan is no longer Asia's top spot for billionaires: India has 36, worth a total of $191 billion, followed by Japan with 24, worth a combined $64 billion.

India's rich are also marching toward the top of our rankings. Brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani, who split up their family’s conglomerate in 2005, join Lakshmi Mittal, who heads the world's biggest steel company, Arcelor Mittal, among the world’s 20 wealthiest. India now has three in the upper echelons, second only to the U.S.

But even in such a prosperous year, 44 people dropped off the list for various reasons.

All our numbers are based on a snapshot of balance sheets taken on Feb. 9, the day we locked in stock prices and exchange rates. So the five executives who took their Fortress Investment Group (nyse: FIG - news - people ) public at 9:30 a.m. on that morning made the cut. Also on the list is Ernest Gallo, founder of E.&J. Gallo Winery, who died on March 6. But our numbers don't reflect the volatility that shook the markets three weeks later. Between Feb. 9 and March 2 the world's stock markets, as measured by the Morgan Stanley All Country World Local Index, fell by 3.7%. Some fortunes (those based on private accumulations of real estate, for example) didn’t feel a blip. But some suffered severe damage. One big loser was a Spaniard, Enrique Banuelos, whose fortune fell 30% in four days.

Are there billionaires we don’t know about? Surely, yes. For instance, we didn't uncover Ireland's Denis O'Brien, who pocketed $800 million in a junk bond offering, until 13 days after we'd locked in fortunes, so he is not reflected in the rankings.

In Pictures: The World's Billionaires

Acknowledgments
Monir Barakat, Wafra Investment Advisory Group; J. M. Degen & Co.; Andriy Dmytrenko, Dragon Capital, Kiev; Euromonitor; Alaric Hu, Bank of America; Ignatov & Co. Group; John S. Mason, Stephen Mason Associates; Millennium Capital; S&J, Korea; Planet Retail, London; Renaissance Capital; Edward W. Townshend, Colliers Jackson-Stops; Jim Wagoner, United Country Lambert Realty; Zawya Research Database; Finn Øystein Bergh, Kapital magazine; Ketil Skjak, real estate analyst, SEB Enskilda

Reported By
Cristina von Zeppelin, Chaniga Vorasarun, Tatiana Serafin, Devon Pendleton, Megha Bahree, Helen Coster, Kerry A. Dolan, Russell Flannery, Suzanne Hoppough, Megan Johnston, Naazneen Karmali, Maxim Kashulinsky, Matthew Miller, Kiyoe Minami, Forbes Russia, Kirill Vishnepolsky

Additional Reporting By
Maggie Chen, Chandrani Ghosh, Lea Goldman, Evan Hessel, Steven Lee, Burak Mavi, Hulya Odemis, Jessica Ramakrishnan, Matthew Rand, Kemal Sen, Matthew Swibel, Forbes Turkey, Nathan Vardi

Research By
Heidi Brown, Forbes Israel, Forbes Poland, Josephine Lee, Theo Albrecht Germany Deborah Orr

Database By
Mitchel Rand

#10 David Thomson & family

2007-10-31T07:56:00.002-07:00

Age: 49

Fortune: inherited

Source: inheritance

Net Worth: $22.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Canada

Residence: Toronto , Canada, North America

Industry: Media/Entertainment

Marital Status: divorced, 3 children

Education:

Took control of family fortune after his father, Kenneth Thomson, died last June. Had already succeeded his father as chairman of Thomson Corp., media conglomerate in which the family has a 70% stake, in 2002. Grandfather Roy founded the business in 1934. Company traded away traditional printed titles in order to move into software and electronic media for professionals, like Westlaw, a legal research tool. With his brother Peter also serves as cochair of family's investment concern, Woodbridge. Well known art collectors, the family bought $5 million worth of native North American art at auction last year, including a $1.8 million face mask, the highest amount ever spent on a single piece of native North American art. David said the family bought the collection in honor of his late father.

#9 Li Ka-shing

2007-10-31T07:56:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of Hutchison Whampoa Age: 78

Fortune: self made

Source: diversified

Net Worth: $23.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Hong Kong

Residence: Hong Kong , Hong Kong, Asia & Australia

Industry: Diversified

Marital Status: widowed, 2 children

Education: High School, Drop Out

Asia's richest resident. His fortune is centered on conglomerates Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa. Through them Li is the world's largest operator of container terminals, a major supplier of electricity to Hong Kong, a cell phone provider, retailer and real estate developer. Also has a nearly $10 billion stake in Canadian oil company Husky Energy. Recently announced plans to donate one-third of wealth over time, calling it "his third son." Eldest son, Victor, helps run massive empire; son Richard struck out on his own in early 1990s. Once a poor immigrant, Li got his start selling plastic flowers in Hong Kong in the 1950s.

#8 Amancio Ortega

2007-10-31T07:54:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Inditex Group Age: 71

Age: 71

Fortune: self made

Source: Zara

Net Worth: $24.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Spain

Residence: La Coruna , Spain, Europe & Russia

Industry: Apparel

Marital Status: married, 3 children

Education: High School, Drop Out

Son of a railway worker. Ranks among world's 20 richest for first time. With help from then-wife Rosalía Mera, got start making gowns and lingerie in his living room 44 years ago. Business became one of world's most successful apparel manufacturers, $8.7 billion (2005 sales) Inditex. Group also owns 3,000 Zara retail stores in 64 countries. Ortega is chairman. Through his investment vehicles has invested in gas, tourism, banks and real estate; has properties in Madrid, Paris, London, Lisbon, plus luxury hotel and apartment complex in Miami. Reportedly owns a horse-jumping circuit and part of a soccer league. Shuns neckties.

#7 Bernard Arnault

2007-10-31T07:53:00.000-07:00

Age: 58

Fortune: inherited and growing

Source: LVMH

Net Worth: $26.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: France

Residence: Paris , France, Europe & Russia

Industry: Diversified

Marital Status: married, 5 children

Education: Ecole Polytechnique de Paris, Bachelor of Arts / Science

Put up $15 million from his family's midsize construction firm to buy Christian Dior in 1985. Since then has built the world's largest luxury goods empire, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, whose brands also include Dom Pérignon, Fendi and Tag Heuer Still heads the company, which is expanding rapidly in China, Russia and India. LVMH recently hired Frank Gehry to design a $127 million private museum in Paris. Son Antoine, 27, joined sister Delphine, 31, on LVMH's board last year. Arnault also set up an investment fund with his good friend Albert Frere in 2006; pair own two wineries together. In December opened his four-star hotel Le Cheval Blanc in ski resort Courcheval, France, where he often spends New Year's Eve. Said to be a skilled pianist.

#6 Sheldon Adelson

2007-10-31T07:51:00.001-07:00

Age: 73

Fortune: self made

Source: casinos, hotels

Net Worth: $26.5 bil

Country Of Citizenship: United States

Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada , United States, North America

Industry: Gambling/Leisure

Marital Status: married, 5 children

Education: City College of New York, Drop Out

Son of a Boston cabdriver borrowed $200 from his uncle to sell newspapers at age 12. Made first fortune in trade shows. Created computer industry's premier show, Comdex, mid-1980s; ran 70% profit margin renting space for 15 cents a square foot and leasing it to exhibitors for up to $40 a square foot. Sold show to Japan's Softbank for $862 million in 1995. Then Las Vegas: bought old Sands casino for $128 million, demolished it to build the $1.5 billion all-suites Venetian casino resort and the 1.2-million-square foot Sands Convention Center. Changed the way Vegas does business by enticing conventioneers to Sin City midweek, taking emphasis off gambling. Sold suites for $250 a night, added high-end retailers, celebrity-chef restaurants. Old guard mocked him: "I loved being the outsider. I didn't care what those guys said." Took Las Vegas Sands public December 2004. Building $1.8 billion Palazzo resort adjacent to arch-rival Steve Wynn's Wynn Las Vegas. Big bet on Asia: opened $265 million Sands Macau casino May 2004, recouped entire investment in one year. Ramping up construction on Cotai Strip: $6 billion project will place 7 hotel-casinos on Macau's 2 islands, Taipa and Coloane. Cornerstone of project will be $1.8 billion Venetian Macau. Last May won coveted Singapore gaming license. Plans to build $3.5 billion Marina Bay Sands on 51-acre site with a view of the city's skyline.

#6 Sheldon Adelson

2007-10-31T07:51:00.000-07:00

Age: 73

Fortune: self made

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2007-10-25T11:32:00.001-07:00

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#5 Lakshmi Mittal

2007-10-19T00:03:00.000-07:00

Age: 56

Fortune: inherited and growing

Source: steel

Net Worth: $32.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: India

Residence: London , United Kingdom, Europe & Russia

Industry: Manufacturing

Marital Status: married, 2 children

Education: St Xavier's College Calcutta, Bachelor of Arts / Science

Steel titan known for his dealmaking won six-month battle for rival Arcelor. The $34 billion merger created an industry behemoth that now accounts for 10% of world's production, putting it well ahead of Japan's Nippon Steel. Mittal owns 44% of combined $80 billion (sales) Arcelor-Mittal and is its chief executive. Mittal began his career working in the family's steelmaking business in India. Today Arcelor-Mittal operations span more than 60 countries and employ 330,000. Not content to dominate the steel industry, Mittal is branching out. Among his latest deals: spent $980 million for a 50% stake in Kazakh oil firm Caspian Investment Resources, a subsidiary of Russia's Lukoil. This Londoner is the UK's richest resident.

#4 Ingvar Kamprad & family

2007-10-19T00:02:00.000-07:00

Age: 80

Fortune: self made

Source: Ikea

Net Worth: $33.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Sweden

Residence: Lausanne , Switzerland, Europe & Russia

Industry: Retailing

Marital Status: married, 4 children

Education:

Peddled matches, fish, pens, Christmas cards and other items by bicycle as a teenager. Started selling furniture in 1947. Now his company Ikea, which sells hip designs for the cost conscious, is one of the most beloved retailers in the world, with an almost cultlike following. Ikea, which has stores in 34 countries, continues to expand into new markets such as Chengdu, China and opened its first store in Japan last April. As egalitarian as his brand, Kamprad avoids wearing suits, flies economy class and frequents cheap restaurants. Has been quoted as saying that his luxuries are the occasional nice cravat and Swedish fish roe. Says his home is furnished mostly with his own Ikea products.

#3 Carlos Slim Helu

2007-10-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

Age: 67

Fortune: self made

Source: telecom

Net Worth: $49.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Mexico

Residence: Mexico City , Mexico, Latin America

Industry: Communications

Marital Status: widowed, 6 children

Education:

The world's third-richest man is $19 billion richer this year and catching up with Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffett thanks to a strong Mexican equities market and the performance of his wireless telephone company, America Movil. The son of a Lebanese immigrant, Slim made his first fortune in 1990 when he bought fixed line operator Teléfonos de México (Telmex) in a privatization. Last year he spent $3.7 billion to buy the Latin American operations of Verizon Communications, expanding his empire into Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. A widower and father of 6, Slim is a baseball fan and art collector. He keeps his art collection in Mexico City's Museo Soumaya, which he named after his late wife. In recent years he has donated close to $4 billion to education and health projects, and to the revitalization of downtown Mexico City's historical district.

#2 Warren Buffett

2007-10-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

Age: 76

Fortune: self made

Source: Berkshire Hathaway

Net Worth: $52.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: United States

Residence: Omaha, Nebraska , United States, North America

Industry: Investments

Marital Status: married, 3 children

Education: University of Nebraska Lincoln, Bachelor of Arts / Science
Columbia University, Master of Science
Nation's most beloved investor married longtime girlfriend Astrid Menks on his 76th birthday last August. Had long promised to give away his fortune posthumously. Then last June announced he had irrevocably earmarked the majority of his Berkshire Hathaway shares to charity. At the time the gift was worth $31 billion; believed to be the largest gift in history, it will go mostly to the Gates Foundation. Son of Nebraska politician delivered newspapers as a boy. Filed first tax return at age 13; claimed $35 deduction for bicycle. Studied under value-investing guru Benjamin Graham at Columbia, learned to hunt for undervalued stocks. Bought control of textile firm Berkshire Hathaway 1965; added insurance underwriting for the investable float. Today holding company has insurance (Geico, General Re), apparel (Fruit of the Loom), utilities (MidAmerican Energy), home furnishings (R.C. Willey). Also has noncontrolling stakes in Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo. Despite gifts, the Oracle of Omaha is $10 billion richer than last year: Berkshire stock up 22% in past 12 months.

#1 William Gates III

2007-10-18T23:58:00.000-07:00

Age: 51

Fortune: self made

Source: Microsoft

Net Worth: $56.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: United States

Residence: Medina, Washington , United States, North America

Industry: Software

Marital Status: married, 3 children

Education: Harvard University, Drop Out

After numerous delays, Microsoft visionary released latest operating system, Vista, in January. Last June announced his retirement from company he cofounded 31 years ago. The Harvard dropout who promised "a computer on every desk and in every home" now focusing time and talents on tackling diseases (hepatitis B, AIDS, malaria) in Africa, boosting America's lackluster high school graduation rate and helping women abroad start small businesses. This summer bridge buddy Warren Buffett pledged majority of his Berkshire Hathaway stock to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation over the next 20 years, potentially doubling foundation's endowment. Sells 20 million Microsoft shares a quarter, plows proceeds into personal investment vehicle Cascade. Today more than half of net worth invested outside Microsoft.

The Forbes 400

2007-10-18T23:53:00.000-07:00

One billion dollars is no longer enough. The price of admission to this, the 25th anniversary edition of the Forbes 400, is $1.3 billion, up $300 million from last year. The collective net worth of the nation's mightiest plutocrats rose $290 billion to $1.54 trillion.

Wall Street led the charge, despite this summer's market jitters. Nearly half of the 45 new members made their fortunes in hedge funds and private equity. Money manager John Paulson joins the list after pocketing more than $1 billion short-selling subprime credit this summer.

Leveraged buyout titans David Bonderman and James Coulter of Texas Pacific Group make their first appearance on the list, along with William Conway, Daniel D'Aniello and David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group. Blackstone billionaires Peter Peterson and Hamilton "Tony" James also join the Forbes 400 for the first time.

In Pictures: The Forbes 400

Other new members of the list include oilman Harold Hamm, who landed on our ranking after taking his Continental Resources (nyse: CLR - news - people ) oil and gas operation public in May. Brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta scratched and clawed their way onto the list with their Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view fight fest. The Fertitta brothers also recently took their Station Casinos (nyse: STN - news - people ) gambling company private with Forbes 400 member Tom Barrack for $9 billion in cash and assumed debt.

Twelve people returned to the list, including computer memory mavens David Sun and John Tu, and John Catsimatidis, who made his fortune buying and holding an oil refinery and New York City real estate through his holding company Red Apple Group.

The youngest member of the Forbes 400 this year is 33-year-old John Arnold, a former Enron trader who now runs hedge fund Centaurus Energy and has amassed a $1.5 billion fortune. The oldest member of the list is potato king John Simplot, who is 98 years old and worth $3.6 billion.

The biggest gainer this year was Kirk Kerkorian, who padded his fortune by $9 billion as shares of his MGM Mirage (nyse: MGM - news - people ) casino outfit rose 135% over the past year. Kerkorian enters the top 10 along with Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) billionaires Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who are up $4.4 billion and $4.5 billion, respectively; and brothers Charles and David Koch, who added $5 billion apiece to their fortunes on surging energy and commodities prices. They replace Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) co-founder Paul Allen and four members of the Walton family.

Seven members of last year's list have died, including media mogul Barbara Cox Anthony; she is replaced by her two children, James Kennedy and Blair Parry-Okeden. Other notable deaths include Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people ) scion Helen Walton, real estate mogul Leona Helmsley and Cargill grain heir W. Duncan MacMillan.

Fifty people couldn't keep up. They include online gambling titans Ruth Parasol and J. Russell DeLeon, whose PartyGaming Internet poker company's stock has fallen 75% in the past 12 months. Also dropping off the list is caffeine king Howard Schultz, whose Starbucks (nasdaq: SBUX - news - people ) stock has languished over the past year, and Campbell Soup (nyse: CPB - news - people ) heir Dorrance Hill Hamilton, who had appeared on every Forbes 400 list since 1982.

The World's Billionaires - Forbes

2007-10-04T03:07:00.001-07:00

Edited by Luisa Kroll and Allison Fass

The average billionaire is 62 years old, two years younger than in 2005. This year's new billionaires are seven years younger than that. Of list members' fortunes, 60% made theirs from scratch.

In Pictures: The World's Billionaires

But even in such a prosperous year, 44 people dropped off the list for various reasons.

In Pictures: The World's Billionaires

Research By
Heidi Brown, Forbes Israel, Forbes Poland, Josephine Lee, Theo Albrecht Germany Deborah Orr

Database By
Mitchel Rand

10 top Indian CEOs!!!!!

2007-10-04T03:03:00.000-07:00

Lakshmi N Mittal

Steel tycoon Lakshmi Niwas Mittal is the richest Indian in the world, with an estimated wealth of $25 billion. He resides in London, has his company registered in the Netherlands, but still holds an Indian passport. Although Mittal Steel was already the world`s biggest steel company, his king-sized ambitions were evident when he took over steel giant Arcelor to create a new steel behemoth -- Arcelor-Mittal. L N Mittal left India in the mid-1970s to start his career. He was sent to Indonesia by his father to shut down the family`s ailing steel plant and sell the land. Instead, young Mittal saw an opportunity and turned the plant around. To prove that this was no fluke, Mittal acquired a 1.3 million tonne, Iscot Steel plant in Trinidad & Tobago, which was losing $100,000 a day. One year of Mittal-style management and it was making profits, the LN Mittal legend was born. That move helped him get into America. The Mexican government seeing the success that Mittal made of Iscot, asked him to take over their ailing steel plants in 1992. But it was not all that smooth. In 1994 Mittal had differences with his brothers and father, and went on to form his own company. The following year Mittal entered the European market, acquiring the 5 million tonne Kazakh steel plant, Karmet. Meanwhile, Mittal had listed Ispat International on the New York and Amsterdam Stock Exchanges in 1997. Eight years later Mittal Steel became the world`s largest steel maker when he took over the US`s largest steel producer -- the International Steel Group. He then consolidated all his steel holdings into Mittal Steel.

Ratan Tata

Ratan Naval Tata, a bachelor, is the chairman of the Tata Group, India`s most respected conglomerate. He was born into a Parsi family in Mumbai (then called Bombay) to Soonoo and Naval Hormusji Tata on December 28, 1937. He did a short stint with Jones and Emmons in Los Angeles, California, before returning to India in 1962. He had earlier turned down an IBM job offer. He joined the family business in 1962 and worked with many of his group`s companies. He took over as group chairman from the legendary J R D Tata in 1991. Since then, he has been instrumental in boosting the fortunes of the Tata Group, which has amongst the largest market capitalisations in the Indian stock markets. Tata Motors developed the Tata Indica in 1998. This was the first `entirely Indian` passenger car. Ratan Tata`s dream now is to manufacture a car costing just Rs 100,000. Ratan Tata holds a degree in Architecture and Structural Engineering from Cornell University. He has also done the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School in 1974-1975. Ratan Tata was honoured with one of India`s highest civilian awards, the Padma Bhushan, on January 26, 2000.

Mukesh D Ambani

Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and managing director of India`s largest private sector enterprise -- Reliance Industries Limited -- was born on April 19, 1957. His father, the legendary Dhirubhai Ambani, was then a small businessman who later on rose to become one of the legends of Indian industry. Mukesh joined Reliance Industries in 1981 and was the brain behind Reliance`s backward integration from textiles into polyester fibres and into petrochemicals. During the process of backward integration, Mukesh Ambani led the creation of 51 new, world-class manufacturing facilities involving diverse technologies that raised Reliance`s manufacturing capacities manifold. The world`s largest grassroots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar is his brainchild. He was also the in-charge of Dhirubhai`s dream project Reliance Infocomm. But after the split in the Reliance Empire, Reliance Infocomm went to his brother Anil. Mukesh Ambani is now planning to enter retail sector in a big way and will launch a chain of `Reliance Fresh` retail stores. He also entered into an agreement with the Haryana government to establish a Special Economic Zone with an investment running into billions of rupees. He has a bachelor`s degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Bombay and a master`s in Business Administration from Stanford University, USA.

Nandan Nilekani

N andan Nilekani is the CEO and managing director of Infosys Technologies. He, along with N R Narayana Murthy and five others, co-founded India`s IT jewel, Infosys. Born in Bangalore to Durga and Mohan Rao Nilekani, he graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. After graduation, he met Narayana Murthy, who then led Patni Computer Systems`s software group, seeking a job. Murthy hired the young engineer. That was the beginning of a relationship that was to create Indian corporate history. Three years later, seven enthusiasts (including Nandan) decided to start their own outfit (Infosys Technologies Ltd) with Murthy in the lead. Their decision rewrote the domestic software industry of India. He became the chief executive officer of Infosys in March 2002. He now leads the company with Narayana Murthy having retired in August 2006. He is married to Rohini, an English-language novelist, and they have two children: daughter Janhavi and son Nihar. He speaks Konkani at home. In 2006, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. He is regarded by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in its issue of May 2006.

Azim H Premji

Azim Hashim Premji, the chairman of Wipro Technologies, is one of the richest Indians. He is an icon among Indian businessmen, especially in the software industry. Born on July 24, 1945, Premji was studying Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, USA when due to the sudden demise of his father, he was called upon to handle the family business at the age of 21. Wipro was then Western Indian Vegetable Products, a small cooking oil company. Premji diversified into bakery fats, ethnic ingredient based toiletries, hair care soaps, baby toiletries, lighting products and hydraulic cylinders. And then shifted focus from soaps to software. He transformed Wipro into one of India`s most successful IT companies. Under Azim Premji`s stewardship, Wipro has grown from a fledgling Rs 70 million oil company into an IT giant with a turnover of $2.4 billion and an employee strength of 57,000. Azim Premji has regularly featured in the Forbes` list of the world`s richest people. He was also rated among the world`s 100 most influential people by the Time magazine. In 2005, the Indian government honoured him with Padma Bhushan, one of the nation`s highest civilian awards.

Anil D Ambani

The fourth richest Indian today, with a net worth of about $13.5 billion, Anil Ambani is chairman of Reliance Communications, Reliance Capital, Reliance Energy and Reliance Natural Resources Limited. Before the Reliance empire split, he was vice chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited. The Reliance group was founded by his late father Dhirubhai Ambani. Anil was born on June 4, 1959. He joined Reliance in 1983, two years after his elder brother Mukesh, as co-chief executive officer. He is credited with leading India`s foray into overseas capital markets with international public offerings of global depositary receipts, convertibles and bonds. He also directed RIL`s efforts to raise $2 billion from global markets. Anil was elected as an independent Member of the Rajya Sabha with the support of the Samajwadi Party, but resigned on March 25, 2006. Ambani who was once ridiculed for being overweight at a shareholder` s meeting is now a fitness freak and runs the Mumbai marathon regularly. He has a bachelor`s degree in Science from the University of Bombay and a master`s in Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is married to former Bollywood actress Tina Munim.

Sunil Mittal

Sunil B Mittal is chairman and managing director of Bharti group. Bharti is India`s largest GSM-based mobile phone service. Son of a politician, he built his Bharti group, along with two siblings, into India`s largest mobile phone operator in just ten years. Vodafone and SingTel both own stakes in recently renamed flagship Bharti Airtel. The group also has partnerships with Axa for insurance and with the Rothschild family for exporting fruits and vegetables. He plans to go into retailing along with the world`s largest retailer Wal-Mart. The 49-year-old has always been a pioneer. A first generation entrepreneur, he started his first business in 1976 with a capital investment of Rs 20,000. He decided not to be a politician and set up a small bicycle business in Ludhiana. By 1979, Sunil Mittal realised that his ambitions could not be fulfilled in Ludhiana, so he moved out to Mumbai. He initially founded a number of trading concerns, and established the first company to manufacture push button telephones in India. In 1982, Mittal started a full-fledged business selling portable generators imported from Japan. He was one of the first entrepreneurs to identify the mobile telecom business as a major growth area and launched services in Delhi in 1995. Under his leadership the company has gone from strength to strength.

K V Kamath

Kundapur Vaman Kamath is the managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank, the largest private bank in India. Kamath, born on December 2, 1947, began his career with ICICI -- the parent body of ICICI Bank -- in 1971 and has since then worked to take ICICI places. He has helped the financial institution evolve into a modern, tech-savvy organisation. He joined the project finance division of ICICI in 1971 and moved on to different departments to gather rich experience. In 1988, he joined the Asian Development Bank, Manila in their private sector department. He worked in most of the developing countries in the region including China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. In May 1996, he returned to ICICI as its managing director and chief executive officer. He is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Kumar Mangalam Birla

Kumar Mangalam Birla, born on June 14, 1967, is among the richest persons in India and the eighth youngest billionaire outside India. He is chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of India`s largest business groups. Some of the AV Birla group`s companies are: Grasim, Hindalco, UltraTech Cement, Aditya Birla Nuvo and Idea Cellular. He took over as chairman of the group in 1995, at the age of 28, after the sudden demise of his father, Aditya Birla. When he took charge, there were doubts about his ability to handle the giant business house, but he proved all naysayers wrong. In the 11 years that he has led the group, he has won admiration, recognition and praise for his management acumen and contribution to the industry. Under his leadership, the group has consolidated its position in existing businesses and ventured into cellular telephony, asset management, software and BPO. He is a chartered accountant and also holds an MBA from the London Business School.

Rahul Bajaj

Rahul Bajaj is the chairman of the Bajaj Group, which ranks among the top 10 business houses in India. He is one of India`s most distinguished business leaders and internationally respected for his business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit. He took over the reins of Bajaj group in 1965. Under his leadership, the turnover of the Bajaj Auto the flagship company has risen from Rs 72 million to Rs 46.16 billion. The initiation of liberalisation in India posed great challenges for Bajaj Auto. Liberalisation brought the threat of cheap imports and FDI from top companies like Honda. Rahul Bajaj became famous as the head of the Bombay Club, which opposed liberalisation. The scooter sales plummeted as people were more interested in motorcycles and the rival Hero Honda was a pioneer in it. The recession and stock market collapse of 2001 hit the company hard and it was predicted that the days of Bajaj Auto were numbered. However, Bajaj Auto re-invented itself, established a world-class factory in Chakan, invested in R&D and came up with Bajaj Pulsar Motorcycle. Bajaj Pulsar is currently a leader in its segment. Recently, Rahul Bajaj was elected to Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra. He is an alumnus of Harvard, St. Stephen`s and Cathedral.