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Tag: Billionaire

  • Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Became World’s Richest Man for One Day

    Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Became World’s Richest Man for One Day

    Move over Bill Gates. Someone finally managed to topple the Microsoft founder from his number one spot on the world’s richest list; a spot that he has occupied for over four years.

    Jeff Bezos, the founder of online retail giant Amazon, briefly became the world’s richest man last Thursday after his net worth surged by an astounding $2.5 billion. Before the company released its earnings report, Amazon shares rose to an intraday high of $1,083.31 which translates to Bezos’ net worth escalating to an unprecedented $92.3 billion, according to Bloomberg. This amount overtook Bill Gates’ net worth, computed to be $90.8 billion as of Wednesday.

    However, Amazon was not able to sustain Thursday morning’s rally. By the end of the day, its shares fell by 0.7 percent, eventually settling to $1,046 per share, as reported by the Seattle Times. Thus, Bezos has settled to the number two spot on the list while Gates reclaimed the number one spot that he has held since May of 2013.

    The price of Amazon’s shares has been steadily rising in recent years, eventually moving past the $1,000 per share mark. Jeff Bezos, who is also the CEO and Chairman of the Seattle-based behemoth, owns a substantial 17 percent of Amazon and has greatly benefited from the meteoric rise of its shares.

    Amazon shares rose by a whopping 40 percent since the start of 2017, adding an enormous $24.5 billion to Bezo’s fortune. The increase helped him dislodge famed investor Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway from the number two spot.

    According to IndependentAmazon’s market performance was buoyed by its media streaming services, the popular home digital assistant Alexa, as well as its Prime shopping club. However, investors are still vigilant about the company’s long-term prospects as they keep a close watch on the performance of Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud-computing business, which accounts for nearly 10 percent of their revenue. In fact, Thursday’s correction already reflects the company’s failure to meet estimates and the projected possibility of a third quarter operating loss.

    [Featured Image by Steve Jurvetson/Flickr]

  • Elon Musk: Talulah Riley Divorces Tech Mogul For A Second Time, Seeks Spousal Support

    Elon Musk: Talulah Riley Divorces Tech Mogul For A Second Time, Seeks Spousal Support

    Tech businessman Elon Musk and wife Talulah Riley are divorcing again. According to reports, Riley filed for divorce on Monday, March 21, in the Los Angeles Superior Court to end their second marriage.

    Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors (TSLA) and Riley, an English actress, were married in 2010, divorced in 2012, and remarried after 18 months.

    Elon Musk initially filed for divorce on New Year’s Eve in 2014, but canceled the petition in June 2015. According to the couple, the divorce is amicable and they both agreed to end their marriage after ebing together for more than two years. Musk and Riley have reportedly been living separately for the last six months.

    Riley, citing irreconcilable differences, is said to be seeking spousal support.

    The 44-year-old Elon Musk is co-founder of Paypal and helped put up the electric car company Tesla Motors and SpaceX. The billionaire also backed up the building of the Hyperloop, a bullet train that would easily transport people at the speed of sound. Musk has also tried his hand at acting. He appeared on The Big Bang Theory and in Iron Man 2. He is set to unveil the latest version of Tesla’s electric car later this month, according to reports.

    Riley, 30, appeared in the 2005 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Thor: The Dark World, and Inception. The actress is also a writer and a director. She wrote her first feature film Scottish Mussel back in 2014, and is now working on her first novel Acts of Love, which is scheduled to debut in August.

    Elon Musk and Talulah Riley do not have any children together but the entrepreneur has five children with ex-wife, Justine Musk.

    “Mr. Musk and Ms. Riley continue to see each other occasionally as friends,” according to a statement from the couple’s representative.

  • Salma Hayek Married a Billionaire, But Handles Her Own Expenses

    Salma Hayek can’t say enough about her husband, Francois Pinault. In 2013, Forbes reported that Pinault and his family had a net worth of $15 billion. But that is not what Hayek is so crazy about. In fact, she distances herself from that in some ways.

    “I have a system in my life that I’ve chosen,” Salma Hayek told Allure, “where my expenses from before the marriage are my expenses.”

    This includes properties she bought and charitable endeavors she launched.

    “Maybe that’s also part of what works right in my marriage. I still have my independence. But he likes it. I have my problems, and I don’t have to dump them on him. I take care of them on my own. And I get a lot of respect from him. Always take care of yourself.”

    If it is not the money that draws Salma Hayek, then what is it? Hayek draws a comparison between her marriage now and the relationships she had in the past.

    “I wish I knew when I was younger that I was going to fall crazy in love with the perfect man,” Hayek says. “I was so worried, and I dated some people I shouldn’t have dated. You get desperate, and you start seeing wonderful things in, like, the wrong guys. I also found some pretty good guys. But I wish I could say to myself, ‘Hey, chill out. You’re going to get a great husband that’s going to adore you.’ I would have saved myself a lot of personal drama.”

    Her connection to Pinault, the father of her daughter, is palpable.

    “I always miss him when we’re not together. It’s sort of nice to miss each other a little bit.”

    When her daughter was born, Salma Hayek thought about quitting acting. It was Pinault who made her get back up and get back to work.

    “I said, ‘I don’t think I want to work anymore.’ And it was François who said, ‘Oh no, you’re going back to work.’ And I said, ‘I don’t want to.’ ‘Well you have to. We are not putting up with some lazy girl in the house. That’s not who I married.’”

    It’s not that Pinault was a slave driver. In fact, his reasoning was very sweet.

    “And then,” Hayek explains, “he said something so beautiful, ‘I don’t want to be deprived of your work. I want to watch it, too. And the world has not seen the best of you yet. So you cannot stop until some of that is put out.’ So he sort of really pushed me, ‘Get up on your feet and get out there.’ And he was right. It’s important not to lose that part of yourself.”

  • Liu Yiqian: Why Is Everyone Mad At This Chinese Billionaire?

    People are mad at Chinese billionaire Liu Yiqian and the reason may shock you.

    This wealthy individual decided to splash the cash a few days ago, spending a whopping $36 million for a 500-year-old artifact.

    The “chicken cup” as it’s known, is one of a few precious porcelain cups that remain from the Ming Dynasty.

    The cup earned its name from the image of a cockerel, hen, and chicks painted onto it.

    This item is considered the Chinese equivalent of the holy grail.

    Naturally, when a man dares to drink from such a rare and highly revered item, it’s going to cause some major backlash.


    Liu seemed oblivious to the possible negative response. He said, “Emperor Qianlong has used it, now I’ve used it.”

    While that may come off as particularly conceited, Liu insisted that it was “a simple thing”.

    A Sotheby’s staff member had prepared tea for Liu. It occurred to Liu that it would be a unique and wonderful experience if he were to enjoy his beverage from the multimillion dollar cup.

    “[I] excitedly poured some of that tea into the cup and drank a little…what is so crazy about that?”

    What’s crazy, in the mind of the disapproving bystanders, is that anyone would want to “desecrate” such a sacred artifact. One so rare that what few survived the Ming dynasty are locked away in museums.

    Said one angry commenter, “No people who are civilized would treat a cultural treasure like this. No wonder Chinese people are looked down on by other countries’ citizens.”

    However anyone feels about what Liu has done, one unshakable fact remains: He owns the artifact. It is his chicken cup and NOBODY else’s.

    Having paid the price of a small country to own the rare item, wouldn’t it be fair to say he should be able to use it accordingly?

    Well, the debate certainly rages on when it comes to major historical items and the reality of private ownership.

    Should Liu Yiqian have left the chicken cup as is or is he right to drink out of an item he rightfully owns? Comment below!

    Image via YouTube

  • Dr. Dre Beats Deal: An Apple For Dre Keeps The Dr. Well Paid

    Dr. Dre Beats Deal: An Apple For Dre Keeps The Dr. Well Paid

    Those who “forgot about Dre”, will remember him well after his recent Beats deal with Apple

    When he and Interscope buddy Jimmy Iovine came up with the idea for the Beats by Dr. Dre headphones in 2008, the invention was meant to supplant those god awful ear buds that come with your ipod. The still sought after headphones continue to grace the good doctor’s bank account with additional zeroes years after their inception.

    Last year alone, Beats headphones raked in about a billion dollars.

    That may be why Apple is buying the company that sells the popular product for $3.2 billion.

    Andre Young (which – if you don’t know, now you know – is his government name) pretty much confirmed as much in a recent video posted to Tyrese Gibson’s Facebook page.

    The footage shows the 49-year-old Death Row Records co-founder with party-goers “getting drunk off Heinekens” and celebrating hip hop opulence. And why not, when he’s about to be the “First billionaire in hip-hop, right here on the motherf—–g West Coast!”

    Or is he?

    Conferring with the judges (over at Forbes), I’m being informed: not quite.

    While that final financial figure (after capital gains taxes) may make Dre $200 million short of landing that “billionaire” label, it may still seem a better deal compared to the work and effort of making an album or doing a tour after. That’s a matter sparking a fan schism. After scouring Twitter, I see an even opinion mix supporting both sides. If producing rap’s your passion, the deal’s less appealing. But if making paper’s the priority, the doc’s rocking the rap world.

    Indeed, if the video announcement is true, Dr. Dre will be the hip hop kid with the most toys – if we’re measuring status in cash, not new albums. And I’m not being snarky. I just know a few people who might like to use those majestic headphones to actually enjoy “Detox” sometime before they die.

    But if we consider him as a person (which, I know, is hard in “I/ME” culture), he’s also an artist by trade and a man with a family. As an artist, he’d admittedly “rather be behind the scenes and organizing”. So it’s not altogether surprising that someone with an auditory gift for quintessential sound prefers to propagate protégé’s or fantastic music devices.

    Also, given his age and the tragic passing of his son, perhaps family and time spent with friends is more of a life priority. Our opinions on the life of a man we don’t know are ultimately immaterial, but I’m just offering a different perspective for fans craving ear refills from the hip-hop doctor.

    Plus, hope’s not lost for Detox. He’s still recording:

    Forbes status, new albums, or not – Mr. Young’s an old school hip-hop classic who’s managed to remain relevant in his field. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading this.

    Congratulations on your deal, my dude.

    Image via Youtube

  • Clippers Owner: Don’t Bring Black People To My Games

    Come reader, as we glimpse into the vain and amoral ponderings of the filthy rich and the honesty among the people that love them.

    Donald Sterling is the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Los Angeles Clippers owner. In 1981 he bought the Clippers for $12.5 million – a team now worth $575 million according to Forbes. Sterling is a billionaire and rather racist.

    Sterling’s self-respecting and obviously not-in-it-for-the-money girlfriend V. Stiviano describes herself on her Instagram as a: “Artist, Lover, Writer, Chef, Poet, Stylist, Philanthropist.”  Her website, vstiviano.com, looks like this:

    The darlings of TMZ Sports managed to get their hands on a recorded conversation planned by Stiviano that took place on April 9th. Stiviano and her boyfriend, Mr. Sterling, got in a heated argument in which he voiced his opposition of her taking pictures with minorities and Magic Johnson. Highlights of the recording include Sterling saying:

    “It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?” (3:30) – Ironically, Stiviano is a both black and Mexican.

    “You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want.  The little I ask you is not to promote it on that … and not to bring them to my games.” (5:15)

    “I’m just saying, in your lousy f******* Instagrams, you don’t have to have yourself with, walking with black people.” (7:45)

    Pictures like these are what Sterling is upset about:

    This isn’t the first time Sterling’s racism peered its ugly head. ESPN reported in November 2005 he wound up paying a fine of $2.73 million to settle claims in regards to discriminatory rental practices. In February 2009 he was sued for employment discrimination on the basis of age and race; that same year in August, the Los Angeles Times reported that he was sued again by the U.S. Department of Justice for housing discrimination, unwilling to rent to non-Koreans in Koreatown, Los Angeles, and to African Americans in Beverly Hills.

    More money more problems.

    Update (2014.04.28): DeadSpin recently acquired extra audio of the conversation above. Assumingly, Stiviano is selling it to the highest bidder:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tof8ty3xzY

    Now, what Sterling is suggesting is a racist culture in the elite that is unchangeable by the will one. It is deep rooted and still manages continuation in modern times; inescapable.

    Images via YouTube, NBA.COM, vstiviano.com, twicsy (1), (2), (3)

  • Michael Milken And Sumner Redstone To Donate $80 Million To George Washington University

    George Washington University will be receiving an $80 million donation from philanthropists Michael Milken of the Milken Institute, and Sumner Redstone of CBS Corporation and Viacom. The amount is the largest the university has ever received.

    Half of the $80 million, which is from Milken Institute, will be given in a span of five years in order to provide support for the school of public health. A sum of $30 million from Redstone will be covering the costs for establishing a center for wellness and prevention. The other $10 million from the Milken Family Foundation will be given throughout this year and next year to support the university’s public health dean.

    Business tycoons Milken, 67, and Redstone, 90, have been friends for 30 years. According to Redstone, “We’ve been friends, not just business friends.” Both have built their own businesses and both are billionaires. Another experience that these men share is that they were both diagnosed with prostate cancer.

    The two acknowledge changes in their diet and exercise as the reason why they are still alive. Milken said that they are focused on providing people in lower socioeconomic groups a lifestyle that will give them a better quality of life.This is the reason why they donated the $80 million to GWU.

    The university is keen on targeting different conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. These chronic conditions are said to be responsible for over 75% of health care costs each year in the United States.

    Milken and Redstone’s monetary contribution is said to be unique as the majority of the donations the university receives geared towards cure and treatment. This time, however, the donation will be towards changing behavior.

    Lynn Goldman, a pediatrician and epidemiologist from GWU, said that the philanthropists’ contributions to the university will be an enormous boost for the institution.

    Michael Milken talks about prostate cancer research

    For more info on  GW’s Public Health Program,  click here

    Image via Youtube

  • Sheryl Sandberg Becomes One of The World’s Youngest Female Billionaires

    On Tuesday, Jan. 21, it was announced that the Facebook, Inc. stock closed at an unprecedented record high. As a result of the monumental feat, the company’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg became a billionaire.

    According to Bloomberg, Sandberg owns approximately 12.3 million shares of the online social networking service, which closed at $58.51 on the Nasdaq exchange late Tuesday. Her stake in the company equates to more than $750 million.

    It has also been noted that Sandberg has collected more than $300 million selling shares since the Menlo Park, CA-based company became publicly traded in 2012. The former Google executive also owns an estimated 4.7 million stock options that began vesting in May of last year.

    In March 2008, it was announced that Sandberg would be leaving Google to join Facebook. The Harvard alum immediately began working to implement effective methods to make the world’s largest social media platform even more profitable.

    Sandberg was also referenced by The Facebook Effect author David Kirkpatrick. The author, whose book chronicles the history of the company, weighed in on Sandberg’s feat in a phone interview with Bloomberg. “Did she do a billion dollars-worth of work? I don’t know,” said Kirkpatrick. “She had the good fortune to land in the right place where her talents could really be applauded.”

    However, Sandberg’s accolades go much further than her executive position for the global company. She is also the author of the best-selling book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, which was released in 2013. The book, co-written with journalist Nell Scovell, has sold more than one million copies nationwide.

    (image)

    “She went to Google, moved on to go to Facebook, went to write a book, and she’ll know when to run for political office, and probably win that office,” Kirkpatrick said.

    With her long list of laudable feats, only time will tell where her success will lead. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 44-year-old COO is now considered one of the youngest female billionaires in the world.

    Image(s) via Wikimedia Commons | Lean In (Book)  Wikimedia Commons | Sheryl Sandberg

  • Bill Gates’ Tops Forbes 400 Again, Grows Even Wealthier

    The old cliche, “Money makes money,” is quite factual when it comes to billionaire business magnate, Bill Gates. The man just keeps getting richer with time.

    Topping the Forbes’ 400 list for the 20th consecutive year, Gates has been deemed the wealthiest man in America yet again. While everyone commonly accredits Gates’ accumulation of wealth to the ever-successful Microsoft Corporation, that’s actually not where the vast majority of his revenue was acquired.

    Forbes explained in a rather enlightening report that only a fifth of Gates’ astronomical fortune was acquired through profits he’s garnered from Microsoft. According to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, that ‘fifth’ is actually equivalent to approximately 4.8% in ownership of the massive software conglomerate. Then, in addition profits from that 4.8%, Gates’ may have actually come out with a little more than that fifth, as the calculations may have been slightly obscure due to a minute surge in the cost of Microsoft shares last August. With the resignation of Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, the company’s stock elevated to over $36.00 a share before dropping to a consistency of about $32.00 a share.

    According to Yahoo Finance, Cascade, which is Gates’ investment conglomerate, is actually the dominant force behind his empire. Cascade holds approximately 65% of Gates’ assets, due to the success of companies such as Berkshire Hathaway, Canadian National Railway, tractor manufacturing company John Deere, and Coca Cola’s brewing and bottling subsidiary, FESMA.

    With the successful accumulation of assets outside of Microsoft, Gates was approximately $9.8 billion richer at the top of 2013 than the year before, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. Gates’ mind-blowing financial portfolio justifies exactly how he can afford to charitably bestow almost $29 billion over a five-year span. Bill Gates’ empire definitely serves as a prime example of a ‘gift that keeps on giving,’ as he grows richer and richer.

     

     

    Image via WikiMedia Commons

  • Jennifer Pritzker: First Transgender Billionaire

    Jennifer Pritzker has become the first transgender billionaire and has been ranked among FORBES’ list of the top 400 richest Americans. There are only 48 women in total on the list of 400, since we all know that the 1% and much of the workforce is dominated by men. She has an estimated worth of about $1.7 billion. Pritzker is a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served 11 years in active duty, followed by 16 years in the U.S. National Guard.

    She was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois. James Pritzker released a statement declaring that as of August 16, he will undergo a legal name change and will be known as Jennifer Natalya Prtizker. The statement, which was released as an email, went on to say that this change will reflect the beliefs of her true identity that she has held privately and will now share publicly.

    She is known for her philanthropy and is also the founder of the Tawani Foundation, which aims to enhance the awareness and understanding of the importance of the citizen solider. Earlier this year, the organization donated $1.35 million to University of California’s Palm Center, in order to create The Transgender Military Service Initiative. She also donated $25 million to Norwich University, the school that established the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).

    She is one of 11 billionaire members of the extended Pritzker famly that appear on the FORBES list. They sold a majority stake in industrial conglomerate Marmon Holdings to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, according to FORBES Magazine. Her father, who has since passed away, started Marmon Group.

    Their family is very elite in the business world and the community of Chicago. Chicago Business states that her uncles, the late Jay Pritzker and Donald Pritzker, founded the Hyatt Hotel empire. Her half brother Matthew Pritzker is an entrepreneur and her cousin J.B. Pritzker is also a venture capitalist.

    Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are ranked at the top of the list and the highest ranked woman on the list is Alice Walton, who is worth $33.8 billion.

    The issue of Pritzker’s gender is receiving more attention after Bradley Manning, the source of WikiLeaks, declared that he wanted to be woman after being imprisoned and wants to be known as Chelsea from now on. It is a big deal for Pritzker to be open about this, after being ranked among the wealthiest people in the country and a significant step for transgender people.

    Image via Youtube

  • Earl Holding Dies; Billionaire Was 86

    Earl Holding Dies; Billionaire Was 86

    Robert Earl Holding, an American businessman and billionaire, has died at the age of 86.

    According to a Salt Lake Tribune obituary, Holding died on Friday, April 19. The details of his death have not been released, though it is known that Holding had been suffering complications from a stroke he endured in 2002. Holding had continued to operate his business interests for years following his stroke.

    Holding was worth an estimated $3.2 billion at the time of his death, making him the 423rd richest person in the world, according to Forbes. He was the owner of many businesses, chief among them Sinclair Oil, which he bought in 1976. Holding also owned the Grand America Hotel, Little America Hotels, the Westgate Hotel in San Diego, and two ski resorts, Sun Valley and Snowbasin.

    Holding lived in Utah and is credited with helping to bring the 2002 Winter Olympics to Salt Lake City. Holding was inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2010.

  • T. Boone Pickens Responds to Drake’s Money Boast: Twitter Reacts

    The name T. Boone Pickens may not mean much to a lot of poor people out there, so let’s start things off by properly setting up the story. Pickens is the chairman of BP Capital Management, and he’s made quite a bit of money over the years. How much money, you ask? Well, according to Mashable, Pickens is the 330th richest man in the United States with a net worth of $1.4 billion. That’s a lot of money, by the way. You know, just in case you were keeping score.

    Pickens caused a bit of a stir today when he decided to respond to 25 year-old rapper Drake’s self-congratulating tweet that let all of his followers know that making the first million is actually kind of difficult. In a surprising move, Pickens retweeted Drake’s boastful comment with one of his own. The exchange unfolded as follows:

    The first million is the hardest.
    1 day ago via web · powered by @socialditto
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    The first billion is a helluva lot harder RT @Drake: The first million is the hardest.
    20 hours ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto
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    Nothing like taking the wind out of somebody’s sails. Of course, the exchange was followed closely by those curious individuals who spend an extraordinary amount of time watching the posts tick by on their Twitter home page. Instead of digging through the mess yourself, you can simply eyeball some of the reactions below.

    By the way, Pickens: Good show.

    Boone Pickens absolutely HOUSES Drake, and it was awesome – http://t.co/hKAmM0gI #okstate
    2 hours ago via HootSuite · powered by @socialditto
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    Can’t wait to hear Drake end a bar with “Stuntin like Pickens: HEDGE FUND.”
    5 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto
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    More surprising that a billionaire stunted @Drake on Twitter is that he follows Drizzy: http://t.co/CWuCcTNI via @MTVClutch
    2 hours ago via Social Publisher · powered by @socialditto
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    T Boone Pickens killed Drake without even touching a mic today. Blake Griffined him.
    16 hours ago via MetroTwit · powered by @socialditto
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  • Billionaire Afraid To Leave Boatloads Of Money To Kids

    Gina Rinehart is a Billionaire. She inherited an Australian mining empire from her father. Unfortunately, she doesn’t think her kids are fit to handle the fortune they are likely to inherit from her some day. Evidently Rinehart is not alone. According to surveys, 75% of millionaires didn’t inherit their wealth. So these self made millionaires didn’t grow up with money but interestingly enough, they want their kids to have the same values they did.

    How can you blame the kids though? If you ever watched the show, “My Super Sweet Sixteen,” on MTV, you were probably horrified to see kids that couldn’t even drive yet (and probably won’t ever have to) getting a brand new Lexus or Mercedes for their birthday and acting disappointed. Although it’s hard to be sympathetic with the kids, it seems like it would be up to the wealthy parents to teach their kids about a work ethic and give them an opportunity to work if they want them to have one. So it’s no surprise that Rinehart’s kids are fighting her back to prove they deserve and can handle their boatloads of money.

    Billionaire, Gina Rinehart is currently in the middle of a court battle in Australia that has brought this issue to the news. Rinehart is convinced that her three children aren’t fit for their fortunes and so she’s cut them out of ownership stakes in the family mining business and trust. She claims none of her kids have ever had a real job other than a family one. Court documents state,”None of her children has the requisite capacity or skill, nor the knowledge, experience, judgement or responsible work ethic to administer a trust in the nature of the trust in particular as part of the growing HPPL Group.”

    “If money talks, then no one in Australia shouts louder than Gina Rinehart, who is now a billionaire 17 times… http://t.co/J438NcGG(image) 2 days ago via Facebook ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto