Billionaires on Planet Earth: 1200 of the Most Influential Productive Capital Inspired Achievers

By Joseph J. Randazzo

“Billionaires are a unique fraternity and bread of humans that have excelled in the workforce more productive and creative than the successful entrepreneur, where timing in business supersedes talent and determination, persistence and sheer guts have shadowed and outreached college degrees.” Currently, there are over 2300 billionaires on planet Earth and growing each and every year. These individuals think and act differently thus resulting in extreme capital collections along with owning about 30% of the sports teams and massive collections of art, sacred writings, and toys. The category of women Billionaires seems to be growing fast in the USA, China, and Hong Kong, where most of the world's billionaires operate in the workforce. Although there may only be a handful of Super-Billionaires who amassed over $50 Billion Dollars, the playing field is open in the future for many newcomers. What makes them different? What can we learn? Who’s next? Study the habits of, . . . . “Billionaires On Planet Earth” from 120 of the most successful. They are thrifty and consider basic cost. They are continuing a constant quest for learning the latest information. They know the value of exercise and smart food to secure wellness. They understand the value of rest, meditation and prayer. They start their day early and have a plan ready for action. They see things differently and act on them. They don’t understand, “No” as an answer. They are always possibility thinkers and then doers of action. They have learned, the more you give, the more you get in the realm of tithing, philanthropy and just old fashion basic giving back.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elohim Inc
• Release date: Mar 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781545750520

Book preview

Billionaires

On Planet Earth

Almanac Vol. 3

Joseph J Randazzo

Dedicated To:

This Book is dedicated to my family and four children.

ePUB ISBN: 978-1-5457-5052-0

Mobi ISBN: 978-1-5457-5053-7

BILLIONAIRES ON PLANET EARTH

Copyright © 2019 by Joseph J. Randazzo

Registered ® with Writers Guild of America.

All publishing rights belong exclusively to Elohim Inc. Printed in the United States of America.

All right reserved under International Copyright Law. All and any contents and/or cover may not be reproduced used in whole or in part in any form without the expressed written permission and consent from the Publisher, Distributor and Rights Holder.

Tribute to Innovation

History has shown us that Leonardo Da Vinciamassed a library of some of the most well-known art in the world.It still to this day inspires many other artiest and innovators.

Da Vinciwrote over 6000 pages in his on-going working note books of drawings regarding inventions, jokes, music, science discoveries, biology, art, inspirational quotes and more.

An Offer to A Billionaire He Couldn’t Refuse

In 1994, before he first became the richest person in the world, Bill Gates couldn’t resist splurging on Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester for $30.8 million, — making it one of the most expensive books ever sold. The 72-page document, which contains Leonardo’s sketches and ideas on astronomy, mechanics, botany, mathematics and architecture, was written between 1506 and 1510.

Studies on the Ashen Glow of the Moon, from Leonardo Da Vinci’s scientific treatise

Codex Leicester, which is on display at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

CreditBill Gates/bgC3, via Uffizi GalleryGates reflects,… When I think about the connection between art and optimism, the first person who comes to mind is Leonardo da Vinci. I’ve been reading about Leonardo for decades—including Walter Isaacson’s outstanding 2017 Journey—and in 1994 I bought one of the notebooks, known as the Codex Leicester, in which Leonardo recorded his thoughts and sketched out ideas.

Gates further comments, what does a Renaissance artist have to do with optimism? For me, the connection is innovation. I feel optimistic about the future because I know that advances in human knowledge have improved life for billions of people, and I am confident they will keep doing so. And although I am no art expert, everything I have learned about Leonardo leads me to believe he was one of the most innovative thinkers ever.

Leonardo Da Vinci Masterpieces

William Henry Gates III

William Henry Gates III was born to successful parents on October 28, 1955. He was educated at Harvard University until his friend Paul Allen convinced him to take a leave of absence to help him develop a computer.Gates is an American business magnate, investor, author, philanthropist, humanitarian, and programmer. He is best known as the principal founder of the Microsoft Corporation. He was also the largest individual shareholder of the company until May 2014.

In 1975, Gates and Paul Allen launched Microsoft Corporation, which became the world’s largest PC software company. Gates led the company as chief executive officer until stepping down in January 2000.

In June 2006, Gates announced that he would be transitioning from full-time work at Microsoft to part-time work and full-time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the private charitable foundation that he and his wife, Melinda Gates, established in 2000. The Gates have three children.

Since 1987, Gates has been included in the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people, an index of the wealthiest documented individuals. From 1995 to 2017, Gates held the Forbes title of the richest person in the world, all but four of the years from 1995 to 2017, with an estimated net worth of US$89.9 billion.As of October 2017 Gates, had a net worth of $95.4 billion.

Upon leaving Microsoft, Gates pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors. He donated large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation is reported to be the world’s largest private charity.

In 2009, Gates and Warren Buffett founded The Giving Pledge, whereby they and other billionaires pledge to give at least half of their wealth to philanthropy. The foundation works to save lives and improve global health. It is currently working with Rotary International to eliminate polio.

Gates was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2016. He owns 1% of Microsoft. The rest of his fortune is managed by closely held Cascade Investment which controls stakes in multiple publicly traded companies such as Canadian National Railroad, Deere, and Ecolab. Gates’ currently estimated wealth is $102 billion.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs (Feb 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman and inventor.He played a key role in the success of Apple computers and the development of revolutionary new technology such as the iPod, iPad and MacBook. He was a true innovator of his time and helped to transform our world today in the daily uses of computerized electronic devises.

Steve Jobs was born in San Francisco, to two university students, Joanne Schieble and Syrian-born John Jandali. They were not married at the time, and Steven was given up for adoption.Steven was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, whom he always considered to be his real parents. Steven’s father, Paul, encouraged him to experiment with electronics in their garage. This led to a lifelong interest in electronics and design. Like Da Vinci, who was sent by his peasant mother at a very early age to go live with his father, who in turn inspired young Leonardo in art and sciences.

Jobs attended a local school in California and later enrolled at Reed College, Portland, Oregon. His education was characterized by excellent test results and potential. But he struggled with formal education and his teachers reported he was a handful to teach.

At Reed College, he attended a calligraphy course which fascinated him. He later said this course was instrumental in Apple’s multiple typefaces and proportionally spaced fonts.

Despite the many innovative successes of Jobs at Apple, there was increased friction between Jobs and other workers at Apple. In 1985, removed from his managerial duties, Jobs resigned and left Apple. He later looked back on this incident and said that getting fired from Apple was one of the best things that happened to him – it helped him regain a sense of innovation and freedom that he couldn’t find working in a large company.

On leaving Apple, Jobs founded NeXT computers. This was never particularly successful, failing to gain mass sales. However, in the 1990s, NeXT software was used as a framework in WebObjects used in the Apple Store and iTunes store. In 1996, Apple bought NeXT for $429 million.

Much more successful was Job’s foray into Pixar – a computer graphic film production company. Disney contracted Pixar to create films such as Toy Story, A Bug’s Life and Finding Nemo. These animation movies were highly successful and profitable – giving Jobs respect and success.

In 1996, the purchase of NeXT brought Jobs back to Apple. He was given the post of chief executive. At the time, Apple had fallen way behind rivals such as Microsoft, and Apple was struggling to even make a profit.

Photo: Matt Buchanan

Jobs launched Apple in a new direction. With a certain degree of ruthlessness, some projects were summarily ended. Instead, Jobs promoted the development of a new wave of products which focused on accessibility, appealing design and innovate features.

The iPod was a revolutionary – innovative product. A portable music device that set the standard for portable digital music. In 2008, iTunes became the second biggest music retailer in the US, with over six billion song downloads and over 200 million iPods sold.

In 2007, Apple successfully entered the mobile phone market, with the iPhone. This used features of the iPod to offer a multi-functional and touchscreen device to become one of the best-selling electronic products. In 2010, Jobs introduced the iPad – a revolutionary new style of tablet computer.

The design philosophy and innovation of Steve Jobs was to start with a fresh slate and imagine a new product that people would want to use. This contrasted with the alternative approach of trying to adapt current models to consumer feedback and focus groups.

Job’s explained his philosophy of innovative design. "But in the end, for something this complicated, it’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them."

– Steve Jobs, BusinessWeek (25 May 1998)

Apple has been rated No.1 in America’s most admired companies. Jobs management has been described as inspirational, although workers also state, that Jobs could be a hard taskmaster and was temperamental. NeXT Cofounder Dan Lewin was quoted in Fortune as saying, of that period, The highs were unbelievable … But the lows were unimaginable.

My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better. – All About Steve Jobs.

Under Jobs, Apple managed to overtake Microsoft regarding share capitalization. Apple also gained a pre-eminent reputation for the development and introduction of groundbreaking technology. Interview in 2007, Jobs said:

There’s an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.’ And we’ve always tried to do that at Apple. Since the very beginning. And we always will.

Despite, growing ill-health, Jobs continued working at Apple until August 2011, when he resigned.

I was worth over $1,000,000 when I was 23, and over $10,000,000 when I was 24, and over $100,000,000 when I was 25, and it wasn’t that important because I never did it for the money. Steve Jobs

Jobs earned only $1million as CEO of Apple. But, share options from Apple and Disney gave him an estimated fortune of $8.3billion.

In 1991, Steve Jobs married Laurene Powell, together they had three children and lived in Palo Alto, California.

In 2003, he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. Over the next few years, Jobs struggled with health issues and was often forced to delegate the running of Apple to Tim Cook. In 2009, he underwent a liver transplant, but two years later serious health problems returned. He worked intermittently at Apple until August 2011, where he finally retired to concentrate on his deteriorating health. He died as a result of complications from his pancreatic cancer, suffering cardiac arrest on 5 October 2011 in Palo Alto, California.

Steve Jobs is buried in an unmarked grave at Alta Mesa Memorial Park, a nonsectarian cemetery in Palo Alto

Abby Johnson

Abigail Pierrepont Johnson was born Dec. 19, 1961. At that time two generations of the Johnson family were already building the Fidelity Investments mutual fund empire: her grandfather Edward C. Johnson II and her father Edward C. Ned Johnson III. The oldest child of Ned and his wife, Lillie, Abigail, joined the family business in 1980 as an intern.

After earning a degree in art history from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York, and finishing a two-year stint at Booz Allen Hamilton, she again joined Fidelity. Today, she is chief executive officer and president of Fidelity investments, having been named CEO on October 13, 2014 by her father.

Johnson has held numerous positions at Fidelity, now the second largest fund manager in the U.S. In 1988, after earning a Harvard MBA, she began following machinery and automation stocks for Fidelity, frequently spending road trips to the Midwest at discount hotels.

In 1993, she was named head of a diversified stock fund, outperforming the overall market by almost 12 percentage points that year. Through 1997, she managed two other funds, also beating the S&P 500.In 1998 she was promoted to help oversee Fidelity specialized growth funds under Robert Pozen. When Pozen left in 2001, she took over his responsibilities, part of a series of leadership positions she held in the company.

A resident of the Boston suburb of Milton, Massachusetts, Johnson is married and has 2 children. She estimated to be the largest single shareholder of FMR, with 24.5 percent of the company.Johnson is the chief executive officer of FMR, the parent of Fidelity Investments, a mutual fund company. She has 24.5 percent of the Boston-based business, which has about $2.4 trillion in assets under management. FMR also holds family assets including a tomato farm in Maine and much of the Seaport section of South Boston. Johnson’s wealth is estimated at $14 billion.

Alain Wertheimer

Alain Ernest Wertheimer was born to racehorse owner Jacques Wertheimer and Eliane Fischer in Paris on Sept. 28, 1948. His younger brother Gerard was born three years later. His grandfather was Pierre Wertheimer, a French industrialist, who, with his brother Paul, founded Les Parfums Chanel, which began making and distributing fashion designer Coco Chanel’s No. 5 fragrance in 1924.

The Jewish family fled Paris in 1940 as German troops advanced on the city, returning after the war, according to The Secret of Chanel No. 5, a history of the fragrance by Tilar Mazzeo. In their absence Coco Chanel attempted to take control of the business from the Wertheimers in 1941. She wrote to the German occupiers, arguing that Les Parfums Chanel was Jewish property and so should be redistributed, namely to her. She was foiled by the Wertheimers, who before leaving Paris had passed their stake to industrialist Felix Amiot, who’d agreed to hold it for them during the occupation