Bill Gates Comes in at No. 2 on Forbes Rich List

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eklipz330

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i don't understand why anyone would need a billion dollars. to live super comfortably with all you'll ever need shouldn't be more than a few hundred million, and that;s considering if you were super greedy and superficial...what do they do besides sit on the money? bill gates could probably fix all the MTA problems himself... GIVE NYC YOUR DAMN MONEY!!!
 

jgalecio

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[citation][nom]plznote[/nom]He donates billions to charity....[/citation]

Exactly. What is not mentioned in this article is the fact Gates has donated over 1/3 of his money to charity and that is what brought him down to 2nd place.
 

leorick

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actually, according to Forbes, Bill Gates already donated around 30 billion dollars and this caused him to drop to second place.
 

cliff

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Gates and Buffet donated their way into the 2nd and 3rd spots. Carlos Slim donations? notsomuch.
http://www.fortunewatch.com/will-carlos-slim-follow-bill-gates-and-warren-buffet-not-a-chance/
 

SteelCity1981

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[citation][nom]eklipz330[/nom]i don't understand why anyone would need a billion dollars. to live super comfortably with all you'll ever need shouldn't be more than a few hundred million, and that;s considering if you were super greedy and superficial...what do they do besides sit on the money? bill gates could probably fix all the MTA problems himself... GIVE NYC YOUR DAMN MONEY!!![/citation]

You could live comfortable just off of a couple million if you were smart with your money and invested that money into something that will almost always gurantee never to lose value like gold for example. You could live comfortable just living on the interest each month for from that investment for the rest of your life.
 

molo9000

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[citation][nom]SteelCity1981[/nom]You could live comfortable just off of a couple million if you were smart with your money and invested that money into something that will almost always gurantee never to lose value like gold for example. You could live comfortable just living on the interest each month for from that investment for the rest of your life.[/citation]
Gold doesn't pay interest ;)

My guess is that unless u want to party with 100 girls every single day for the rest of your life, 50-100million is the most you could ever spend.
 

tonydu

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But how much is in his personal offshore accounts? Our company used the same accounting firm that Microsoft used. They move money between countries and offshore corporations to both keep it off the US books and transfer it to wealthy investors -- who were also the executives. Those accountants even said that Microsoft was using the same techniques. We chose the amount of profit to show for each year.

So I'm glad to see Bill Gates giving some away. But that doesn't mean that he isn't a robber baron, with his own self-interest guiding even his charitable donations.
 

dimamu15

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Come on people... really? I can spend all of these money in a DAY. I would not want to do it, but sure can do. Just buy half of China or something... It is possible to do, yet stupid and silly.
Anyways, just gimme one million $, I'll be fine - spending it wisely X)

I do hope Gates donates some of his money. However, I still speculate on that one...
 

dimamu15

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Oh oh wait I know something...... money is irrelevant... they probably own some other bull-poop you can actually touch and value. Cause you know, our money is like gold in WoW.
Yeah, I am so pessimistic.
 

grossemesser

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It is not really of great relevance weather Bill is more of a millionaire than Slim, or how much has he donated already (Gates) but what really REALLY is important about this is the way Carlos Slim makes money, and not only the way but his surroundings too. In a country that is by far the mos violent, justice hungry, corrupt, wrongly administered, and overall a 3rd world country, Mr Slim is the lord of the communications in this, my yet decadent country, and if there is a reason why he holds the greatest amount of money in the world only makes evident the kind of crap all of us mexicans are living in and around, and the fact that almost the totality of us HAVE to give money to his well established, deep rooted (in the government) monopoly. He is slowly moving in the shadows (and through a lot of his straw men, even though he is believed to be one himself) to sink even deeper this country, in spite of our well being... of course aided by his politician friends, and money, can buy a LOT of friends. So that's it gentlemen... we are REALLY FU%#ED UP!
 

funnyman06

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Bill Gates has donated Billions of dollars to charities around the world. I have personally met Mr. Gates and he was one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. If you walked up on him on the streets you would not believe that he is the 2nd richest man in the world. On top of what he has already donated, both Bill and Melinda Gates have promised to donate 1/3 of their fortune to charitable organizations. He really is just a rich geek.
 

FloKid

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Even if 4.5 trillion is divided equally to all of the people on Earth, it would be only $1000 for each person. Considering there is 6 bill peeps on this planet. So yeah, no reason to cry about their sleepless nights. Plus they have most of it invested into other companies that work and help shape our society. Now anyone to help me make some more fantasy FPS maps... or am I alone on this one 2? lol
 

tonydu

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[citation][nom]funnyman06[/nom]... I have personally met Mr. Gates and he was one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. [/citation]

I've met lots of executives. And I've worked with several direct reports to Bill.

Let me put it this way: He hides the bulk of his wealth. He threatened companies to stop competition. He bought silence when he could. He sliced up markets with his "competitors" in order to insure massive profit and avoid any real competition -- at great cost to the public.

So a "down to earth" guy who knows how to generate good PR by giving away billions while keeping the bulk for himself -- he gets small praise from me.
 

scook9

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[citation][nom]tonydu[/nom]I've met lots of executives. And I've worked with several direct reports to Bill.Let me put it this way: He hides the bulk of his wealth. He threatened companies to stop competition. He bought silence when he could. He sliced up markets with his "competitors" in order to insure massive profit and avoid any real competition -- at great cost to the public.So a "down to earth" guy who knows how to generate good PR by giving away billions while keeping the bulk for himself -- he gets small praise from me.[/citation]
You do not get that rich with out being a little ruthless. How many rich "nice people" do you know? Not a lot because they get walked all over by people like Gates. You do not have to like him but it is respectable having amassed that much wealth.
 
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