Bonus points for an amazing Arianna Huffington glamour shot.
Great quote from Mark Cuban on his lean days: “I used to drive around, look at the big houses, and imagine what it would be like to live there and use that as motivation.”
When Warren Buffett visits his newspapers, he signs dollar bills offered up by his employees. Bet ya Carlos Slim doesn’t do that. Also bet his signature is better than Jack Lew’s. (Buffalo News photo)
Is Carl Icahn a better investor than Warren Buffett?
Is that even possible? If you’ve never heard of Icahn, you’re not alone. Well known in the world of finance but relatively unfamiliar to individuals, Icahn is arguably one of the great value investors of all time. And, lucky for the rest of us, investors can piggyback on his profitable investments by mimicking his moves, or simply by buying shares of Icahn Enterprises.
Giants…
To wannabe investors who think they can’t do it, just keep saying “Yes, Icahn.”
Huguette Clark, who died last year at the age of 104, had a thing for giving out huge gifts, especially near the end of her life. Clark, who was the daughter of copper magnate Sen. William A. Clark, gave $28 million to a nurse and millions more to doctors who cared for her. Now a court-appointed official is trying to get back $37 million in gifts she gave out over the years. This is on top of an issue with her multiple wills, the most recent of which largely left out the family but gave her nurse a massive gift. Clark spent 20 years near the end of her life living in a hospital, paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to do so. Officials say that she spent many of those years in seclusion and was likely taken advantage of, though those who received the gifts deny this. (AP file photo)
![thedailywhat:
Titanic 2 of the Day: Because the maiden voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic didn’t exactly go as planned, an Australian billionaire has commissioned a replica of the ship for a series of journeys that will hopefully have a happier ending.
Clive Palmer, a Queensland-based mining billionaire, is partnering with China’s CSC Jinling Shipyard to build the ship, which will be ready for passengers by 2016.
“It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems,” he said in a statement.
The ship’s first trip will be from London to New York — rather than from Southampton to New York like the “unsinkable” original — and Palmer admits that some potential passengers will stay away because of superstitions.
“It is going to be designed so it won’t sink. But, of course, if you are superstitious like you are, you never know what could happen,” he said, encouragingly.
No word on what kind of deck chairs the new ship will have, or how they’ll be arranged.
[cnn.]
In which a titan of industry tries to become a Titanic of industry.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3bjozCvyR1qzpwi0o1_500.jpg)
Titanic 2 of the Day: Because the maiden voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic didn’t exactly go as planned, an Australian billionaire has commissioned a replica of the ship for a series of journeys that will hopefully have a happier ending.
Clive Palmer, a Queensland-based mining billionaire, is partnering with China’s CSC Jinling Shipyard to build the ship, which will be ready for passengers by 2016.
“It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems,” he said in a statement.
The ship’s first trip will be from London to New York — rather than from Southampton to New York like the “unsinkable” original — and Palmer admits that some potential passengers will stay away because of superstitions.
“It is going to be designed so it won’t sink. But, of course, if you are superstitious like you are, you never know what could happen,” he said, encouragingly.
No word on what kind of deck chairs the new ship will have, or how they’ll be arranged.
[cnn.]
In which a titan of industry tries to become a Titanic of industry.
Obama vs. Romney on tax rates: As you can see, rates are largely the same—except for the nation’s richest and poorest. The poor would pay almost twice as much in taxes under Romney’s plan; meanwhile, the very richest in the country would be forced to cough up about 10% more of their income under Obama. The net effect? In short, Romney’s plan would reduce federal revenues to about 17% of GDP—down .9% from where they are now. Obama’s budget would raise revenues 19.2%, with most of that money coming from those making over $250,000 a year (Graphic and data courtesy of The Washington Post / Tax Policy Center).
Divide this number by 50 and you have the amount of money we make on the blog. Give or take a few million.
Median household income in the nation’s capitol? $84,523 per year. That’s even higher than Silicon Valley, and more than $30,000 above the national median income. Consider that DC is an area of great income disparity, and the numbers seem even bigger.
» Widening his lead: Carlos Slim has not only benefited by expanding his own personal wealth (we’re sure that New York Times investment was a huge part of all that … heh), but the two guys directly behind him – Bill Gates and Warren Buffett – have been giving away much of their wealth lately. Slim has too, but he’s kept a tighter grip on it than those two.
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