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An American worth less than $1.55 billion could not land on this year's "The Forbes 400," the annual ranking for the richest people in America. The cut-off increase from last year's $1.3 billion disqualified 113 poor billionaires for this year's list. Bill Gates once again lorded over his fellow wealthy Americans for the 21st consecutive year with a healthy $81 billion, up $9 billion from 2013. He outpaced Warren Buffet ($67 billion), Larry Ellison ($50 billion) and the Koch brothers' Charles and David (each worth $42 billion) to round out the top five. Michael Bloomberg ($35 billion) managed to slide...

It was reported Monday that Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and incredibly wealthy guy, and with his wife, Melinda, have given $1 million to Initiative 594 in Washington state. The ballot initiative, if passed by voters on November 4 (and it currently enjoys overwhelming support), will require universal background checks for all firearm purchases in the state.

... These days you can convert everything from real estate to private company stock to hedge fund shares into a charitable kitty. Moreover, depending on what you give, to what kind of charity and how you time your donation, you may get a much more valuable tax break than if you’d just given cash. Example: Billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is funding his $100 million commitment to Newark, N.J. schools by donating stock to a supporting organization (a rich man’s donor-advised fund) at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a public charity. If he’d sold $100 million in Facebook shares and...

Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, revealed in a recent interview that his family goes to a Catholic church and that religious morality inspires a lot of his charity work. He also shared his personal thoughts on God and the biggest issues facing the world today. "The moral systems of religion, I think, are super important. We've raised our kids in a religious way; they've gone to the Catholic church that Melinda goes to and I participate in. I've been very lucky, and therefore I owe it to try and reduce the inequity in the world. And that's...

George Soros' ex girlfriend, Adriana Ferreyr, lost her temper at her former flame during Tuesday’s deposition, according to court papers. George Soros’ former girlfriend came out swinging at her billionaire ex during a private deposition for her multi-million dollar lawsuit against the octogenarian, newly filed court papers allege. Adriana Ferreyr, a South American soap actress, clocked Soros in the head, knocked the glasses off his California lawyer Martin Singer, cursed his other prominent lawyer William Zabel and even screamed at her own high powered attorney William Beslow, according to papers filed Friday by Singer.

Lease terms are still being negotiated, but these are some of the things expected to be a part of it: rehabilitating Hangars One, 2 and 3, fixing up a golf course, starting a public use and educational facility, and getting rid of NASA’s operation and maintenance cost of the area, among other things. In a press release, NASA did not give a date as to when these negotiations would conclude.

The Washington Post recently published a quixotic editorial maintaining that the left has no deep-pocketed financiers like the right does in the much written about and thoroughly maligned Koch brothers. In its editorial, the paper laments that Democrat groups have no one like the Kochs. For the Post, Reid Wilson wrote that for "Democratic professionals who actually run campaigns, the thing that frustrates them most about the Koch brothers network is that there’s no real equivalent on their side."

<p>George Soros is on board. So are a bunch of other billionaires, many of whom are also denizens of Wall Street.</p> <p>Why is it that so many of the 1% support so called “progressive” candidates? Why would they support those who seek to expand the footprint of government? Isn’t that against their interests?</p>

Ulysses S. Grant passed legislation making December 25th a national Holiday in the USA. The day is also celebrated all over the world. Whether you are a Christian or Jew or Arab, like the Three Wise Men, it is common to give gifts on this day, and send cards to your family friends and neighbors. When I was young, there was no controversy, no fear of a religion being shoved down someone's throat. It was plain and simply a day we were off from school, and we all knew why. The day simply commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, a...

George Soros, the 83-year-old billionaire investor, philanthropist and active supporter of liberal political causes, is set to marry health care and education consultant Tamiko Bolton (42) on Saturday at his estate near New York City.

Love her or hate her, co-star Oprah Winfrey and her big media blitz helped open the pic even if it did little to help her public image by providing more dirt for her detractors. Yet a survey by Fandango found that 72% of Butler ticket-buyers claimed Oprah’s involvement increased their interest in seeing the film which was her first movie role in 15 years. But The Butler still trailed the opening weekend grosses of two recent and similarly race- and civil rights-themed adult pics: 42 and The Help. No one, and certainly not The Weinstein Company, expected director Lee Daniels’...

Oprah Winfrey says she's kinda sorta "sorry" for the fallout that ensued after she told the media about a "racist" encounter at a purse store in Switzerland ... saying, "I'm really sorry that it got blown up." Yeah, right. Oprah addressed the media at the premiere of "The Butler" in L.A. last night -- backpedaling after the shop in question started to refute O's allegations of racism during an incident last month. Last night, Oprah said ... "I think that incident in Switzerland was just an incident in Switzerland. I'm really sorry that it got blown up. I purposefully did...

full title............'Oprah's a liar': Sales assistant in Swiss racist handbag row denies telling TV host that she could not view item because she couldn't afford itThe saleslady went on: 'This is not true. This is absurd. I would never say something like that to a customer. Really never. Good manners and politeness are the Alpha and the Omega in this business. 'I don't know why she is making these accusations. She is so powerful and I am just a shop girl. 'I didn't hurt anyone. I don't know why someone as great as her must cannibalize me on TV. 'If...

Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington and a group of other CEOs and former world leaders have formed a group whose goal is to end capitalism as we know it. The nonprofit, known as “The B Team,” was created to help promote a “better version of capitalism, one that prioritizes people and planet over profit.” This ignores the fact that capitalism is, by definition, motivated by profit. The team, led by Branson and German businessman Jochen Zeitz, calls for drastic changes in how the economy works. These include “new rules and models for the future of business – not incremental ‘change as...

Reuters) - George Soros, who died XXX at age XXX, was a predatory and hugely successful financier and investor, who argued paradoxically for years against the same sort of free-wheeling capitalism that made him billions.

A California billionaire is pledging to spend as much of his fortune as necessary to make climate change “the defining issue of our generation.” Tom Steyer, who made his riches as a hedge fund manager, told The Hill on Tuesday that he wants to make climate change a campaign issue for years to come and Democratic support for environmental protections as widespread as support for gay marriage and immigration reform. “The goal here is not to win. The goal here is to destroy these people. We want a smashing victory,” Steyer said of candidates he judges to be on the...

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is forming a new issues advocacy group to promote immigration reform, education and other policies aimed at growing the economy. … High-tech companies have stepped-up their lobbying on immigration to get more visas for high-tech workers, but the people involved say Zuckerberg’s interest is broader and includes citizenship for those here illegally. …

Hugo Chavez net worth: Hugo Chavez was a Venezuelan politician who had a net worth of $1 billion at the time of his death on March 5th 2013. Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias was born in was born July 28, 1954 in Sanbaneta, Venezuela. When he died, Chavez had been the President of Venezuela since February 2, 1999. At age 17, Chavez enrolled in the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences, graduating in 1975 as a sub-lieutenant with a degree in Military Arts & Sciences. Upon completing his studies, Chavez entered active military service as a member of a counter insurgency battalion...

When Thomas Steyer — a San Francisco billionaire and major Democratic donor — discusses climate change, he feels as if one of two things is true: What he’s saying is blindingly obvious, or insane. It’s a somewhat shocking statement for someone who’s in the running to succeed the cerebral Steven Chu as energy secretary. Granted, he’s a long shot — the leading contender is MIT professor Ernest Moniz, who served as the department’s undersecretary during the Clinton administration — but his backers say his strength lies in combining business savvy with an activist’s passion. But it’s not as if Steyer,...

<p>Facebook didn't pay any federal or state income taxes last year and will receive a hefty tax refund, according to a recent report.</p> <p>How did the social network manage to swing such a nice tax break?</p>