Free Republic

An Egyptian billionaire’s offer to buy a Mediterranean island for refugees from the war-torn Middle East region to inhabit and build a new country was not well received by the intended beneficiaries. “Building a new country is too much work,” complained Muhammad Moosheer. “Why can’t we go to countries that will give us food and houses? Why should we be denied the benefits that America or Germany grant to their people?” US President Obama agreed, calling the job of building a new country from the ground up “daunting. Frankly, the idea makes no sense. There’s no need to reinvent the...

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is so impressed with Donald Trump’s success that he is now considering running for office himself. “I love the fact that he has changed the game. … The idea of imperfect candidates with forceful ideas opens the door for a lot of people that would not have previously run,” said Cuban, cautioning that if he were to follow Trump’s example, “My positions would be far different.” Cuban — who in the past has feuded with his fellow rebel billionaire — is hosting a Monday mega-rally for Trump at his Dallas arena. The Republican frontrunner called...

An Egyptian billionaire has offered to buy an island from Greece or Italy and develop it to help hundreds of thousands of people fleeing from Syria and other conflicts. Announcing the initiative on Twitter, telecoms tycoon Naguib Sawiris said: 'Greece or Italy sell me an island, I'll call its independence and host the migrants and provide jobs for them building their new country'. More than 2,300 people have died at sea trying to reach Europe since January, many of them Syrians who fled their country's four-and-a-half year conflict. His comments also come just days after heartbreaking images emerged of three-year-old...

Cairo (AFP) - Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has offered to buy an island off Greece or Italy and develop it to help hundreds of thousands of people fleeing from Syria and other conflicts. "...I'll...host the migrants and provide jobs for them building their new country," he wrote...he said:..."You have dozens of islands which are deserted and could accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees."...the "main thing is investment in infrastructure"..."And if things improve, whoever wants to go back (to their homeland) goes back," said Sawiris,...

It’s been a bad week for billionaires and climate change activists Tom Steyer and George Soros. Soros is being labeled a hypocrite for making a $2 million investment in coal while Steyer is catching flak after an investigation by Associated Press revealed that a California proposition Steyer backed in 2012 has not translated into the green energy generation and jobs that were promised.

Trump says he's prepared to spend $1 billion on campaign By Eugene Scott, CNN Updated 0202 GMT (0902 HKT) August 16, 2015 | Video Source: Des Moines, Iowa (CNN)—Donald Trump said Saturday that he's prepared to spend $1 billion on his campaign if necessary. "It's irrelevant," he said when asked by CNN's Jeremy Diamond outside the Iowa State Fair on how much he has spent so far on his campaign. "I make $400 million a year, so what difference does it make? What I want to do is make the country great." Pressed again later in the afternoon if he...

Hillary Clinton’s family foundation quietly updated its list of donors last week, significantly reducing the amount that it says has been given by a Mexican telecom tycoon whose company was recently accused of deceptive U.S. advertising. The little-noticed update to the website of the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation added contributions made in the first half of this year. But it also dramatically reduced listed contributions from billionaire Carlos Slim. Prior to the update, Slim was listed as a $1 million to $5 million contributor. The updated version of the site says he has donated between $250,000 and $500,000....

July 31, 2015 (NewsBusters) -- In response to a series of incriminating under-cover videos from The Center for Medical Progress about the major abortion provider, organizations have been cutting ties -- or denying ties -- to Planned Parenthood. But where nonprofits are concerned, tax records keep the story straight. Between 2010 and 2013, no fewer than 966 individual organizations donated to Planned Parenthood. Of those, 31 gave more than $1 million each during those four years, totaling $374,199,059. The seven highest donors made up $324.8 million of that. These largest Planned Parenthood donors include Warren Buffett, George Soros, Bill Gates, and others....

"He can't possibly win the nomination," is the phrase heard most often when Washington insiders mention either Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders. Yet as enthusiasm for the bombastic billionaire and the socialist senior continues to build within each party, the political establishment is mystified. They don't understand that the biggest political phenomenon in America today is a revolt against the "ruling class" of insiders that have dominated Washington for more than three decades. In two very different ways, Trump and Sanders are agents of this revolt. I'll explain the two ways in a moment. Don't confuse this for the public's...

In 2012, six Republicans gave $5 million or more over the course of the entire presidential campaign. For 2016, nine Republicans gave $5 million or more in the first six months. Donors can contribute unlimited amounts to candidates' super PACs, and they have. Here are the nine Republicans who you need to know as their donations shape the primaries. Dan and Farris Wilks: $15 million The billionaire brothers made their fortunes in fracking, and along with their wives, are sending $15 million to boost fellow Texans Ted Cruz's presidential campaign. Robert Mercer: $11.3 million Mercer, a reclusive hedge funder from...

Two low-profile Texas brothers have donated $15 million to support Sen. Ted Cruz, a record-setting contribution that amounts to the largest known donation so far in the 2016 presidential campaign. Farris and Dan Wilks, billionaires who made their fortunes in the West Texas fracking boom, have given $15 million of the $38 million that the pro-Cruz super PAC, Keep the Promise, will disclose in election filings next week, according to sources outside the super PAC with knowledge of the giving. The siblings earned their riches with the sale of their company Frac Tech for $3.5 billion in 2011, and since...

Mark Cuban has had beef with Donald Trump for a while, and he decided to reignite his issues with the businessman once again. In some thoughts shared on the Cyberdust app for which he is a chief investor, Cuban questioned the legitimacy of Trump’s 2016 presidential bid. Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks and whose net worth is estimated to be north of $3.5 billion, postured that Trump might not have the funds to make a legitimate push for presidency. His theory is based on the difference between theoretical net worth and actual cash assets. Here is what he posted:...

LACONIA, N.H. -- How much is of his personal fortune is Donald Trump willing to drop on his 2016 presidential campaign? Whatever it takes to come out on top, he told The Huffington Post on Thursday. “You saw my statement yesterday, so it’s pretty irrelevant,” Trump said, alluding to a press release in which his campaign placed his net worth in excess of $10 billion. “I’ll do what I have to do.” Trump has already contributed at least $1.8 million of his own money to his nascent White House bid, which he launched last month, but that may be only...

From dwarves to Dems: There should be no big mystery as to why Alwaleed bin Talal, the Saudi prince Bill Gates talked into giving away all his money to charity, is dumping his riches. No one’s given away all of his money since the last saint more than 2000 years ago. Charity is no longer as conventional as it once was. In the case of the notorious Clinton Foundation, charity eloped with power and has never been the same. Is Prince bin Talal, whose $32 billion fortune makes it possible, about to buy immortality for the Democrats? Now that Barack...

Texas senator Ted Cruz is summoning the biggest donors to his presidential campaign to Colorado Springs in mid-July. Cruz and his top bundlers — those who, according to a top campaign aide, “have met or exceeded their finance goals” by raising a minimum of $100,000 — will convene at The Broadmoor, the five-star resort owned by the conservative billionaire Philip Anschutz. The Colorado event, which will run from July 10-12, will serve as an opportunity for the campaign to update its top donors on the state of the race and to ask them to redouble their efforts on Cruz’s behalf....

'A Saudi Arabian billionaire is planning on giving his entire $32billion (£20bn) fortune to charity. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the richest men in the world, said he wants to donate to groups that promote health and help with disaster relief. The 60-year-old will also support women's charities and those that look towards eradicating disease. He did not say whether the generous move would have any impact on his holdings. Mr bin Talal is the grandson of Saudi Arabia's founder Ibn Saud. He is said to have started his business empire with a $30,000 (£19,000) gift from his father...

Businessman and reality television star Donald Trump will announce his 2016 intentions on Tuesday at a Manhattan skyscraper that bears his name. The Associated Press writes that if Trump, a Republican, decides to run for president, he would be required to release a personal financial disclosure that would reveal intimate details about his personal finances. And Trump is ready to do so. The AP said Trump will share details about his finances that reveal a net worth of $9 billion. The financial disclosure was thought to be the final obstacle blocking Trump from launching a 2016 campaign. Trump’s announcement is...

Kirk Kerkorian, an eighth-grade dropout who traded his way to a $15-billion fortune and for a time was the richest person in Los Angeles, has died. He was 98. Kerkorian’s death was confirmed Tuesday by Anthony Mandekic, the CEO of Kerkorian’s company, Tracinda Corp. Kerkorian died Monday evening at his home in Beverly Hills.

How do Warren Buffett and Bill Gates convince the world's wealthiest people to give away most of their fortunes? The billionaires have organized the "Giving Pledge,” an initiative launched five years ago to convince others to donate at least half of their wealth to charitable causes around the world.

A new billionaire was created almost every week in China in the first quarter of 2015, according to a report by UBS and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Wealth creation is booming for the Chinese -- supported by strong economic growth and robust capital markets -- and it's all happened in the last 15 years, said Francis Liu, a managing director at UBS Wealth Management. They're primarily pulling in the big bucks from real estate, technology, healthcare and other consumer industries, he said. In 2014, there were about 200 billionaires in China, versus 570 in the U.S., according to UBS. Chinese billionaires are also...