Certain projects, such as adding a well thought-out family room can be a wise investment, as they do add to the value of the home. Other projects, however, allow little opportunity to recover the costs when it's time to sell.
Certain projects, such as adding a well thought-out family room can be a wise investment, as they do add to the value of the home. Other projects, however, allow little opportunity to recover the costs when it's time to sell.
Depending on which estimate you believe, Obama's proposed budget would raise the tax bill of a household with a yearly income of $50k - $75k between $63 and $100 per year. However, that's not all you should know.
Depending on which estimate you believe, Obama's proposed budget would raise the tax bill of a household with a yearly income of $50,000 to $75,000 between $63 and $100 per year. However, that's not all you should know.
The following Internet browser extensions have achieved popularity among consumers, thanks to a series of unique and practical benefits.
There is a widening range of online tools that have been designed to help save hard-earned cash. The following Internet browser extensions have achieved popularity among consumers, thanks to a series of unique and practical benefits.
Now that nearly a decade has passed since the housing market peaked, what lessons can investors and banks learn from the banking crisis brought on by the Great Recession?
Now that nearly a decade has passed since the housing market peaked, what lessons can investors and banks learn from the banking crisis brought on by the Great Recession?
While pursuing an MBA comes with its own set of challenges, an MBA can be a valuable asset on the path to a better career for young professionals with clear career goals and realistic expectations.
While pursuing an MBA comes with its own set of challenges, an MBA can be a valuable asset on the path to a better career for young professionals with clear career goals and realistic expectations.
This week we examine ways in which inflation nibbles away at your retirement income, especially in light of the President's proposal for Chained CPI adjustments to Social Security.
This week we examine ways in which inflation nibbles away at your retirement income, especially in light of the President's proposal for Chained CPI adjustments to Social Security.
By Tim Parker
Billion is starting to become a household term thanks, in large part, to the government. Remember the $700 billion bailout called TARP? Just recently, during the fiscal cliff debates, President Obama commented that each side was only a few hundred billion apart. Billion is the new million!
Make no mistake, a billion of anything is a lot! If the average lifetime earnings of an American is about $2 million, he or she would have to earn 500 times more to reach billionaire status. Forbes has on its list of the world's billionaires only 1,226 entries. With that in mind, what kind of people would make up this list in your mind? Investing tycoons? People who have inherited generations' worth of riches? You're right, but that's not the whole list. Here are a few people that don't exactly fit the mold.
Oprah Winfrey
Sure, Oprah is a big name but even with the high salaries of athletes, actors, and TV personalities, Oprah is the only one to join the billionaire club. She also holds the distinction of being America's only African-American billionaire. Worth $2.7 billion, Winfrey rose to fame as host of the Oprah Winfrey show. She later retired from the show to start the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Winfrey's primary residence is a 42-acre California abode that boasts 23,000 square feet of living space and is valued at $100 million. Although she lives like a billionaire, she is an active philanthropist and champion for children's rights.
Dustin Moskovitz
Does 28 years old seem a little young to be a billionaire? It is, but Dustin Moskovitz made $2.7 billion the way every American twenty-something billionaire does: through Facebook. Moskovitz was a co-founder of Facebook and college roommate of CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Moskovitz was Facebook's first chief technology officer but left the company in 2008 to start a new software company, Asana. (Don't feel bad, most people haven't heard of it either.)
He's engaged to Cari Tuna, a former journalist who now heads up Moskovitz's foundation, Good Ventures. Moskovitz, like Buffett, doesn't live like he could. He rides his bike to work and flies commercial.
Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg has been entertaining us for decades with his 26 films, including "Jurassic Park," "Schindler's List," "E.T. The Extra Terrestrial," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Jaws." His blockbuster movies have boosted his net worth to $3.2 billion.
With the profits from his movie, "Schindler's List," Spielberg set up the Righteous Persons Foundation which according to its website, is dedicated to forming a diverse and vibrant Jewish community in the United States.
James Dyson
Does the name sound vaguely familiar? James Dyson is the inventor of those space-age vacuums. Best known for inventing the bag-less vacuum, he also invented a fan that doesn't have any blades called the air multiplier. Doesn't sound like something that would make somebody a billionaire, does it? Dyson is worth $4.2 billion, thanks to his many successful inventions and his investment in Ingenious Media, the investment company behind the movies "Avatar" and "Live Free or Die Hard."
The Bottom Line
It's true that most billionaires have spent a lifetime building their fortunes as investors and entrepreneurs, though not all fit the mold. Certainly some people you may assume are billionaires by how large they live are not nearly as rich as these unlikely billionaires!
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Friday, May 17 2013 10:59 PM EDT2013-05-18 02:59:42 GMT
Dick Koetter, left, shares a laugh with Larry Sheffler and Bill Waters, rights, Friday at the reunion of the 126th Supply and Service Company at Cedar Crest Country Club. (H-W Photo/Phil Carlson)
By STEVE EIGHINGER Herald-Whig Staff Writer Joe Koetters has no problem remembering way back when. Late 1968 and most of 1969 represent a special time for Joe and his brother, Dick, plus more than
Joe Koetters has no problem remembering way back when. Late 1968 and most of 1969 represent a special time for Joe and his brother, Dick, plus more than 140 of their comrades in the Army National Guard's former 126th...
Saturday, May 18 2013 1:11 AM EDT2013-05-18 05:11:00 GMT
The Quincy Society of Fine Arts threw a birthday party gala Friday night complete with a toast to its founder and first president George Irwin.
The Quincy Society of Fine Arts threw a birthday party gala Friday night complete with a toast to its founder and first president George Irwin. "We need to raise our glasses to the man who founded this 65 years ago, the...
Saturday, May 18 2013 1:05 AM EDT2013-05-18 05:05:37 GMT
Tracy Marlow and her daughter, Dakota Turkle, have been through a lot together.
Tracy Marlow and her daughter, Dakota Turkle, have been through a lot together. They took their mother-daughter relationship to a new level Friday when both donned caps and gowns for John Wood Community College's...
Saturday, May 18 2013 12:42 AM EDT2013-05-18 04:42:00 GMT
By MATT HOPFHerald-Whig Staff Writer Legislation that would open primary elections to 17-year-olds in Illinois is on its way to Gov. Pat Quinn's desk after the Senate overwhelmingly approved it earlier
Legislation that would open primary elections to 17-year-olds in Illinois is on its way to Gov. Pat Quinn's desk after the Senate overwhelmingly approved it earlier this week. The teens will be able to vote in spring...
Friday, May 17 2013 10:47 PM EDT2013-05-18 02:47:47 GMT
When I trained as a medical technologist at Blessing Hospital in 1964-65, my parents in New Mexico assumed it was a church-related institution. Just recently a friend told me she also assumed that
When I trained as a medical technologist at Blessing Hospital in 1964-65, my parents in New Mexico assumed it was a church-related institution. Just recently a friend told me she also assumed that was its history. It...
Friday, May 17 2013 10:42 PM EDT2013-05-18 02:42:47 GMT
By DON O'BRIEN Herald-Whig Staff Writer The Quincy School Board Finance Committee recommended small changes to the 2013 budget at its monthly meeting Friday. Most of the changes dealt with moving
The Quincy School Board's finance committee recommended small changes to the 2013 budget at its monthly meeting on Friday. Most of the changes dealt with moving money from one line item to another so that the budget...
Friday, May 17 2013 2:52 PM EDT2013-05-17 18:52:14 GMT
Police in Dorchester County, S.C., are investigating the death of a Quincy native who was living in Summerville, S.C.
Police in Dorchester County, S.C., are investigating the death of a Quincy native who was living in Summerville, S.C. Tabetha Thayer Grooms, 37, died on May 9 at a Charleston, S.C., hospital. Coroner Chris Nisbet called the death "suspicious," but did not provide further details, according to a report published in The Post and Courier in Charleston.
Wednesday, May 15 2013 10:13 PM EDT2013-05-16 02:13:46 GMT
A Quincy woman was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital Wednesday afternoon after she was ejected from her van during an accident at 28th and College.According to the Quincy Police Department, Natalie M.
A Quincy woman was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital Wednesday afternoon after she was ejected from her van during an accident at the intersection of 28th and College. According to the Quincy Police Department, Natalie M....
Friday, May 17 2013 7:18 PM EDT2013-05-17 23:18:43 GMT
When I was a kid, I wanted to be ... a veterinarian because I love animals, until I found out you had to give the animals shots and possibly put them down. What would you rather be doing right now?
When I was a kid, I wanted to be ... a veterinarian because I love animals, until I found out you had to give the animals shots and possibly put them down. What would you rather be doing right now? Be a backup dancer on...
Friday, May 17 2013 2:21 PM EDT2013-05-17 18:21:49 GMT
Quincy Mayor Kyle Moore has appointed himself to the Board of Directors for the Great River Economic Development Foundation, the economic development arm for Quincy and Adams County.
Quincy Mayor Kyle Moore has appointed himself to the Board of Directors for the Great River Economic Development Foundation, the economic development arm for Quincy and Adams County.