Can You Blame The Search Engine For Lost Wedding Presents?

Gates Still Richest, Gambling Tycoons Make The List

from the slouching-towards-bethlehem dept

Fri, Mar 10th 2006 10:20am — Joseph Weisenthal

Congratulations to Bill Gates for once again coming out on top of the Forbes' richest people list. Larry and Sergey are gaining, but it'll probably take more than the acquisition of an Ajax word processor to bridge the gap. While these lists make for great gawking and cocktail-party chatter they can be informative as to the world's economic zeitgeist. The emergence of steel barron Lakshmi Mittal (#5) in recent years reflects the world's growing thirst for industrial materials. World #3 Carlos Slim Helu, founder of wireless giant America Movil, has capitalized on economic growth in Latin America. Fittingly this year's new entrants are in the realm of gambling. Executives at gambling sites Bodog.com as well as Party Gaming both made the list, as the world still can't come down from Texas Hold 'Em fever. At the same time, speculation is a hot hobby, with the newly public NYSE and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange profiting greatly. It seems that as people get rich they like to bet on things like sports, cards and the price of December 2009 light sweet crude contracts. Let's hope this merry fit of speculation and gambling doesn't end like every single one before it.

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32 Comments

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Ben McNelly, 10 Mar 2006 @ 11:26am

Dang.
mmm, dang.. I missed the list again.
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- Bilal Aslam, 10 Mar 2006 @ 11:53am
  
  Re: Dang.
  Lol, yeah if u take the richest person on there, i have about 0.00001% of their net worth >
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  - saejin, 11 Mar 2006 @ 5:09pm
    
    Re: Re: Dang.
    If you had have about 0.00001% of how mush they had then you are still a multi-millionare!
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    - XYZ, 11 Mar 2006 @ 6:17pm
      
      0.00001%
      0.00001% of $1 Billion is $100,000.....not a multi-millionaire....but I would'nt complain
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- Playgued, 10 Mar 2006 @ 12:17pm
  
  Re: Dang.
  You're lucky. In a better world that would be the waiting list for the guillotine.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2006 @ 12:58pm
    
    Re: Dang.
    Why? Because they were successful?
    
    waaaah!
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    - angry dude, 10 Mar 2006 @ 1:10pm
      
      Bill Gates
      I have no problem with Bill Gates being No 1 on this list as long as his company doesn't steal intellectual property from me or other guys.
      Unfortunately, MS routinely and knowingly steals IP from smaller rivals and individuals.
      Somebody estimated that the total liabilities of MS for illegaly using someone else's IP are somewhere between 100 and 200 billion bucks...
      When all those small companies and individuals start demanding their compensation from MS (and some of them already did), Bill Gates will quickly move down on that list...
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      - Question, 12 Mar 2006 @ 7:33pm
        
        Re: Bill Gates
        how do I go about "demanding my compersation" from MS
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        angry dude, 13 Mar 2006 @ 7:15am
        
        Re: Re: Bill Gates
        Invent some neat software trick, file a patent on it,
        offer to license or sell it to MS...
        MS will always say that they are not interested in your stuff (no matter how brilliant your stuff is...), but then will quickly turn around and implement it in their products without asking you...
        
        Once you get your patent (3-5 years later), just sue the crap out of them...
        
        Read this: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8122859/
        
        To add to this story, MS recently had to "downgrade" their Office suite to get rid of this useful feature from Amado's patent.
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phreakindee, 10 Mar 2006 @ 12:07pm

HAHAHA
did anyone see number 207, Anurag Dikshit? seriously, thats his name.
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- E. Cox, 10 Mar 2006 @ 1:12pm
  
  Re: HAHAHA
  Seriously? "Dikshit"
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- XYZ, 10 Mar 2006 @ 2:00pm
  
  Re: HAHAHA
  This is an indian name which means as follows.
  
  Dikshit: initated into a religious order Divij: born of the sky, heaven born, divine, a god Divij at: born of the sky, born of heaven Durva: heavenly grass Dvarik: door attendant; one of the eighteen attendants of Surya Dyumnik: inspired; grand; mighty; a son of Vashisth Dyutit: enlightened; clear; shining
  
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  - J Q Public, 10 Mar 2006 @ 2:51pm
    
    Re: HAHAHA
    For $3.3 billion, you could call me "dipsh!t" for all I care. ;)
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    - Jay, 12 Mar 2006 @ 4:03pm
      
      Re: HAHAHA
      Hell, For $3.3 billion, you could even call me collect.
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Ben McNelly, 10 Mar 2006 @ 1:18pm

it could be worse
"New to the technology billionaires' list in 2005 were Anurag Dikshit (#207, $3.3 billion),"

I doubt he got an honerable mention just because he is new. Funny though, this guy down at the Y keeps thnking I am this guy here. We must look alike... Cuz I sure aint rich.
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CW, 10 Mar 2006 @ 5:44pm

Re:HAHAHA
hell for $3.3 billion you can call or do (almost) anything to/at me!!
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- David Mcleod, 10 Mar 2006 @ 6:51pm
  
  Re: Re:HAHAHA
  for 3.3 billion you can call, say,or do anything and everything to me or any member of my family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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haha, 10 Mar 2006 @ 6:01pm

haha
i would not be complaining. for 3 billion dollars u could take my left side(arm leg, knut)

haha
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Andrew Strasser, 10 Mar 2006 @ 8:27pm

These guys obviously missed that discussion in the
I mean If you're at the top to create a trickle at the bottom don't you have to be rushing money out at the top of the waterfall or does that trickle really just help everyone on the way. Where do you take this stuff and is it really worth going there over?
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Chris A, 11 Mar 2006 @ 4:10am

for 3.3 Billion u could...
For 3.3 billion i would...
-tie a 2 ton bolder to by balls and drop it off a bridge.
-cut my nipples off and sow them to my forhead.
-crap while freefalling just before opening the chute
-eat raw sewage with chop sticks

With 3.3 billion i could...
-live on the moon
-each slim jims every day all day
-build the first particle accelerator cannon just for burning ants when i get bored
-buy someone elses balls, have them surgicly grafted on me, and have moon babies with heidi klum

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- Brendan, 11 Mar 2006 @ 9:33pm
  
  Re: for 3.3 Billion u could...
  I'm right there with you.
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TriZz, 11 Mar 2006 @ 1:34pm

For 3.3 billion I'd suck Bill Gates dxck on National Television.

I could spend the .3 billion on mouth wash and then have a REALLY nice life.
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coyote, 11 Mar 2006 @ 5:51pm

What he did.
For 700 Billion I'd spend my most active years creating and growing a software company that would enable people like this to write comments in a forum like this, as long as I didn't have to read them.

BG probably feels this. I on the other hand have been getting a run of cold cards, and was looking for a tiny diversion - which I found.

Cast Out Your Old Tired Expectations.

That's c o y o t E L o g i c

See ya,
c
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JesusH, 11 Mar 2006 @ 7:09pm

0.00001%
So, not to beat a dead horse, but if 0.00001% of $1 Billion is $100,000 and you have $700 Billion, that would be $70 million dollars, which seems like a multi-millionaire to me.

Finally all my college math classes came in handy! I KNEW this day would come!
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Andrew Strasser, 11 Mar 2006 @ 7:29pm

I'll take a millionth in that case.
7 mil not bad.
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Not a Millionaire, 11 Mar 2006 @ 10:54pm

Re: 0.00001%
XYZ is right.
.00001% of 700 Billion => .0000001*700,000,000,000=70,000 that is 70 thousand, not 70 million. For example using smaller numbers => 1% of a hundred dollars is one dollar right? So, .01 * 100 = 1. Remember, you need to move the decimal place over two when using percentages. Now, back to relative integration...
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Abram Gutang, 12 Mar 2006 @ 12:11am

3.3 Billion Dollars (U.S.)
If I had that - I would pay out my debts, and the rest of them could wait some more...
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- Johan, 12 Mar 2006 @ 1:13pm
  
  Re: 3.3 Billion Dollars (U.S.)
  I'd still eat Kraft Dinner
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LukeD, 12 Mar 2006 @ 3:29pm

Re: for 3.3 Billion u could...
I don't know...I would MUCH rather have my balls than a few billion dollars. I mean really!
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Effeminem, 12 Mar 2006 @ 4:13pm

Well, you only really need one testicle. The other is just a spare.
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Solari, 13 Mar 2006 @ 1:27am

Bill G.+B.
Bill and co. deserve every $ they get as they opened up the world in unbeleavable ways. Global mankind should all buy Origami and start a new revolution on the Net.
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Abdul Rahman Aziz, 24 Mar 2009 @ 12:26pm

hi,
good evening sir,i am commenting about you.i am living in Ghana and i am a student and i found my living hard.so i want you to help me please.
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