Bio of Alice Walton

25 June 2011

The daughter of Wal-Mart founder the late Samuel Walton and his wife the late Helen Walton, Alice Walton is the third-richest woman in the world, and the second richest in the US, according to the Forbes list of female billionaires of 2011. Heir to the world’s largest retailing enterprise; Alice Walton’s worth is estimated to be $21.2 billion.

Born in Newport, Arkansas, on the 7th of October 1949, Alice Walton is the youngest of her siblings, and is also the only sister to her three older brothers: Samuel, Jim and John (deceased). Despite her father’s business legacy, Alice Walton chose not to be directly involved or work in the family business, and pursued a career in a different industry. She is, however, deeply involved in the Walton Family Foundation’s philanthropic activities.

After completing her B.A. (Economics & Finance) from the Trinity College in San Antonio Texas, Alice Walton pursued a career in investment banking and finance, starting as an Equity Analyst at First Commerce Corporation at the time the largest multibank holding company in Louisiana and eventually went on to join the Arvest Bank Group as Vice Chairman (Investments). For a time, she also worked as a broker with E. F. Hutton’s at New Orleans. However, a controversy with SEC later, she was suspended for 6 months, after which she returned to Arkansas.

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Bio of Liliane Bettencourt

12 June 2011

Heiress to L’Oreal, the largest cosmetic and Beauty Company in the world, Liliane Bettencourt stands the second richest woman in the world in 2011, according to Forbes. The octogenarian is estimated to be worth $23.5 billion.

The only child of Eugene Schueller, the founder of L’Oreal, Liliane lost her mother in 1927, at the age of 5, and inherited her father’s empire upon his death in 1957. By then, she had married Andre Bettencourt, then a French politician with pro-Nazi views and deputy chairman of L’Oreal. They lived in a mansion on Rue de Delabordère in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Liliane and Andre remained married until Andre’s death in November 2007. They have one daughter, Francoise Bettencourt and two grandsons: Jean-Victor and Nicolas.

While Liliane worked in her father’s company as an apprentice at 15, little is said or known about her involvement in the business or her professional life thereafter. She is currently a non-executive director of the company as well as the majority stakeholder.

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From Humble Beginnings to Building an Empire the story of Michele Ferrero

27 May 2011

Born in 1925 Michele Ferrero grew up in Dogliani in Piedmont (Piemonte) a north western region of Italy. After the war his father Pietro Ferrero opened a laboratory with his brother Giovanni who was a master confectioner. It was in this laboratory that the two brothers first developed the now world famous Nutella paste mixture. From the very beginning the chocolate and hazelnut paste became a popular in Italy. Before the paste was on the market Italians considered chocolate to be a luxury only to be enjoyed on rare occasions, Nutella however could be eaten at any time.

Michele Ferrero took over the business in the mid-fifties when it had already become a massive industrial production factory which produced fine chocolates and the famous mixture. It had become so popular worldwide that it was outselling brands of peanut. Michele Ferrero increased the range of products by introducing Kinder Chocolates and the Tic-Tac mint and these two products were a hit all over the world during the following 20 years.

In the seventies the Tic-Tac was introduced to the United States and very quickly Ferrero opened up state of the art factories in the US. This product has remained one of the most popular selling breath freshener mints used around the world today.

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Company Overview - Private Aircraft Manufacturers Mooney

04 August 2010

Personal aircraft manufacturing companies have been around longer than jumbo jet liner companies. When man first took to the skies, it wasn’t in 747s; it was in small, personal aircraft. That style of flight, while certainly not as trendy, has always been around and has been going strong throughout the years, as evidenced by the Mooney Airplane Company (MAC).

MAC’s headquarters is located in Kerrville, Texas, USA, and this American company has been producing airplanes for private use on an impressive scale since the mid 1900s. Mooney was founded in 1929 and, although falling on hard times in 2008, the company sold off its back stock of aircraft in 2010 and plans on resuming business as usual going forward.

Mooney produces single-engine general aviation airplanes. If the company name sounds familiar to aircraft enthusiasts, that’s because Mooney’s most famous for their achievement of the first pressurized piston-powered single-engine aircraft, called the M22 Mustang. They’re also credited with the M20TN Acclaim Type S, the fastest airplane at the time.

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World's Most Historic Companies - Harrods, London

14 July 2010

Founded in 1934 by Charles Henry Harrod, Harrods is one of the world’s foremost luxury department stores. After nearly 200 years in business, Harrods is now owned by the Qatar Investment Authority and employs over 5,000 people around the globe. The famous store is located in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea in London.

Harrods is the biggest shop of its sort in the UK. It covers an impressive 4.5 acres of land and has over a million square feet of shopping space. This is the only department store they have, but Harrods also has its brand all over the globe, with ventures like Harrods Aviation, Air Harrods, Harrods Estates, Harrods Bank, and more.

One of the things the original owner Charles Henry tried to convey was a sense of pride in everything Harrods sold. Since the store first opened up its doors to the public, it earned a reputation for excellent quality of goods and services, and their customers-first mentality helped not only the store to grow in fame, but also the entire Harrods brand.

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Overview of Personal Aircraft Manufacturers Icon

07 January 2010

Since the Wright Brothers first took flight in 1903, the world of aircraft has changed tremendously. While most of today’s aircraft manufacturers are tried-and-true mainstays in the market, some of the more popular are actually brand new companies, doing things a little bit differently by breaking from the status quo.

Founded in 2005, Icon Aircraft Company is a privately owned and operated business aiming to make aircraft and aviation more accessible to the general public. Only a little more than four years in the business, Icon is already considered to be among the top in their respective field - and, ironically, they haven’t released a plane yet.

Icon deals in aircraft differently by focusing on the fun more than flying. Instead of designing and developing aircraft that are suitable for merely transportation, Icon develops a line of sleek, stylish planes that are both attractive and fun to fly.

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Overview of Cessna Aircraft Company - a giant in small aircraft manufacturing

10 December 2009

Located in Wichita, Kansas, USA, the Cessna Aircraft Company is one of the country’s most renowned airplane manufacturing companies. Cessna is most famous for their smaller aircrafts, driven by pistons, but in recent years, the company has taken the plunge into the upscale market, developing and releasing business-class jets, including the luxury CitationJet.

This is due to the large base that Textron, Cessna’s parent company, has. Cessna was first founded by Clyde Vernon Cessna, born in Iowa in 1879. After other business ventures in related fields, Clyde formed his own company, the Cessna Aircraft Company, in 1927.

Always interested in monoplanes, Clyde began building the type of planes he wanted - a vision of his ideal aircraft. His first major plane was the full-cantilever-winged monoplane called the Phantom. The Phantom, along with other Cessna originals like the Model AW and DC-6, were experiencing moderate success until the Great Depression hit. Instead of focusing on building and selling planes, Clyde and his son Eldon had refocused, putting emphasis on building racing planes.

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World's Most Exclusive Auction Houses - Phillips

20 November 2009

In the auction world, Sotheby’s and Christie’s have a commanding lead, but coming in at the third-largest, Phillips, de Pury & Company is nipping at their heels. Although Phillips has been working out of New York since 2001, the company got its start in England more than 200 years ago.

Phillips still has offices in London, and many other major cities across the globe, like their salesroom in Geneva and gallery in Zurich, but their primary operations are handled out of the Big Apple.

Phillips, de Pury & Company have been trying to gain a head of steam in the auction world. After Sotheby’s and Christie’s were both found to be guilty of price-fixing, Phillips used their solid reputation to climb the ladder. However, they’re still behind the two powerhouses.

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Lancair International Inc - Pioneers of the homebuilt kitplane

09 November 2009

Founded in 1981, Lancair International Inc. is a manufacturer of aviation aircraft kits based out of Redmond, Oregon in the United States. Overall, the brand offers a relatively wide selection of kitplanes to choose from, but they’re most well-known for their high-performance single-engine airplane.

Modern ingenuity allows Lancair’s single-engine to easily cruise at speeds faster than most twin-engine designs. What sets Lancair apart from other aviation manufacturers is that their composite materials used in their line of kitplanes makes their craft lightweight, very strong, fast and, most importantly, affordable. For these reasons, Lancair is one of the biggest names in the world in terms of aircraft kits.

Lance Neibauer founded Lancair in 1981. It started with a clear, streamlined purpose: to produce composite aircraft kits for the homebuilder to enjoy. Although kitplanes are legitimate airplanes that require licensed pilots and all the training you’d expect for other planes, their small, compact design make them a favorite of solo flyers and hobbyists all over the globe.

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World's Most Exclusive Auction Houses - Skinner of Massachusetts

27 October 2009

With so much competition from auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s, it’s hard for other names to even be recognized, much less stay in business long enough to build up a solid reputation. However, the American auction house Skinner has managed to stand toe-to-toe with other giants of the industry and not only hold their own, but even out duel the heavy-hitters in many areas.

Skinner is on a relatively small scale, only dealing primarily in one state and in two locations, but their reach is expansive in terms of sales power. A lot of their business and reputation comes from the appraisals they perform of fine art and other items to be auctioned.

Skinner has reputable galleries in Boston and Marlborough, Massachusetts. The company is a full-service auctioneer, dealing in both antiques and fine art. Their auctions are held year round in both of their locations.

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The Story of Top Fashion Brand Versace

13 October 2009

In the entire world, no fashion brand is better known than Versace. Only around for three decades, this Italian high-fashion brand has become a mainstay, pulling in huge money per year and constantly releasing new, cutting-edge items. Born in Reggio, Calabria, Italy in 1946, Gianni Versace was destined to be a fashion designer.

His mother owned a dressmaking business, and from a child, Gianni watched his mother’s work closely, always wanting to follow in her footsteps. Finally, he was given a chance to work alongside his mother during an apprenticeship. Soon after, Gianni began work as a freelance designer, and at age 25, he began designing collections for top fashion houses including Callaghan and Genny.

Throughout the late 1960s and early 70s, Gianni’s name was on the tip of every fashion designers tongue. A young man with extraordinary talent, Gianni finally decided to form his own line, merging with his brother Santo and creating the Gianni Versace Company in 1978.

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Overview of Christie's - the leading auction house on the planet

08 October 2009

Currently the largest and leading auction house on the planet, Christie’s deals primarily in fine arts and has an extremely impressive resume, boasting world records for sale prices and revenue. There is also a shroud of mystery surrounding Christie’s. Many have speculated that the auction house is full of corruption, and various investigations have been conducted in attempts to prove these allegations true.

Today, Christie’s locations can be found all over the world. The company’s main salesroom is headquartered in London on King Street in the St. James’s quarter of the city, and has been in the same location since 1823. There’s also a London salesroom in South Kensington, opened in 1975.

Christie’s currently has 85 offices around the world. Not all offices are official salesrooms, but all are pertinent to the auction business. These offices can be found in New York City, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Paris, Moscow, Geneva, Berlin, Spain, Milan, Rome, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv, Dubai, Mexico City, and many other locations. Christie’s was also the first auction house to exhibit works in Beijing, China, breaking the international barrier.

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Yves Saint Laurent - the man and the brand he created

09 September 2009

Yves Saint Laurent has become one of the most popular fashion brands in the modern world. Taking inspiration from turn-of-the-century attire and constantly modernizing it with a "today" look, YSL is a consistent contender for every major fashion award in the land.

The company’s namesake, Yves Saint Laurent, was born in Oran, Algeria in 1936. He intended on becoming a fashion designer from a young age, showing his drawings to the famous director of Vogue, Michel de Brunhoff, at only 17 years of age. Laurent was immediately published and introduced to a hotshot designer named Christian Dior. Laurent and Dior worked closely until Christian’s death in 1957.

Laurent turned tragedy into triumph by taking over as lead art director for Dior, and subsequently launching his first collection for the Ligne Trapeze Company that year. Surprisingly, the success of the line rivaled Dior’s, and Laurent won a Neiman Marcus Oscar.

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Overview of The Leading Auction House Sotheby's

03 September 2009

As the third largest auction house in the world, Sotheby’s enjoys the type of name recognition that only few companies in world history have had. Today, Sotheby’s has a few locations open.

Their New York location is one of the premier auction houses in the world. Sotheby’s headquarters is in London, England, and they have additional auction houses set up in Moscow and Hong Kong. There’s also a Sotheby’s International Realty, a subsidiary of the auction houses.

Sotheby’s was founded in London in March of 1744 by Samuel Baker. At the time, the house was known as Baker’s, and it gained recognition after Samuel procured a slue of rare books from the library of Sir John Stanley. These items were not auctioned off, and Baker’s wasn’t well known for selling much of anything in its early years.

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World's Most Exclusive Department Stores: Harrods

12 August 2009

No matter where you go in the world, if there’s a city, there’s bound to be a historic shopping location that pulls in the posh and precise customers alike. Located on the famed Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, Harrods is one of England’s most popular department stores.

Of course, in this day and age, businesses and brands expand rapidly, hoping to share in various aspects of the marketplace. Harrods, once a lonely - yet thriving - department store is now a bank, real estate service, aircraft manufacturer and air travel provider.

The extensions of Harrods name turn the store into a legitimate conglomerate, but on its own, the London store takes up over 4 acres of prime real estate and the store has a robust size of over 1,000,000 square-feet of space with well over 300 separate departments.

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Top Fashion Brand Overview Of Fendi

22 July 2009

The luxury line Fendi develops some of the most in-demand fashions of the day, including expensive handbags adorned by some of the world’s most famous celebrities. Like most reputable fashion lines, however, Fendi didn’t automatically start out with their merchandise flying off the shelves. It took hard work, dedication, and a little bit of luck before this brand stood out above the competitors.

A lot of the fashion moguls in 2009 have been around for a long time, and while Fendi doesn’t set any records for being the oldest around, they are pushing close to a century in age, starting out in 1925 when Edoardo and Adele Fendi married in del Plebiscito, Italy, and decided to start up a leather goods store.

The tiny shop produced very trendy and expensive bags for the time, working with high-quality material and professional craftsmen. The workmanship made them an instant success in their respective territory, but the rest of the rest of the world wasn’t so eager to buy the bags.

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Top Fashion Brand Overview of Burberry

08 July 2009

It’s not always a bad thing to be considered a one-trick pony. Just ask Burberry. Although their style has contrasted some over the years, the basic appearance for all their clothing and accessories is the same: the check pattern.

This distinctive pattern has gone against the grain of conventional wisdom; the plaid-laden knit is among the most in-demand in the world of fashion.

Burberry has a string of accessories such as bikinis, sunglasses, perfume, and more, but it’s their handbags and coats that made them famous in a fashion sense. Many of today’s most wealthy and famous individuals religiously carry their Burberry bags.

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World's Top Watchmakers - IWC

01 July 2009

There are only a few watchmakers in the world who have endured over one hundred years of fluctuating marketplaces and ever-changing public tastes and opinions. Although they’ve had their share of hot and cold runs, IWC has always been able to stand out as a creator of fine watches.

IWC, which stands for the International Watch Company, was founded in 1869 when Florentine Ariosto Jones, an engineer from America, decided to make the big move to the hub of watch-making, Switzerland. At first, the company only produced high-quality parts for watches and shipped them mostly overseas.

A few years after IWC proved to be a successful venture, Jones met a fellow watchmaker, Johann Heinrich Moser, and the duo began to produce a line of pocket watches.

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Top Fashion Brand Overview of Dolce & Gabbana

25 June 2009

Dolce & Gabbana is another in a long line of famous fashion houses by way of Italy. For a country barely larger than the state of California, an overwhelmingly large percentage of the world’s high-end fashion is a result of the boot-shaped land mass. The fashion conglomerate takes its name from the owners: Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The brand is relatively new in comparison to other fashion lines out there, getting their start in the 1980s and experiencing the height of their success only a few short years later.

Dolce & Gabbana are the quintessential power couple of the fashion world. Their partnership began while they were each working as assistants to fashion designers in Milan, Italy. The duo discovered that they shared a lot of interests in common, and after forming a partnership in love, they merged their names for fashion in 1985 after the organizers of the Milano Collezioni invited them both to participate in a new talent show launch. In 1986, the duo tirelessly worked to produce their line and subsequent "ready-to-wear" women’s fashion show. The show was a smash hit, and stars of the day like Madonna and Nicole Kidman flocked to the line.

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Overview of Fashion Company Chanel

05 March 2009

Chanel is one of the world’s most recognized fashion names. From the first Chanel shop to open in 1912, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel quickly rose to fame and became one of the premier fashion designers in France.

Her fashion themes ushered in a new era for women of Paris. Instead of the tight and restricting corsets of old, she introduced a comfortable and casual feel to women, yet her designs were still elegant and transcending. Her simple suits, women’s trousers, jewelry, and various textiles helped to cement her position in the fashion world before 1920.

Born in Auvergne in 1883, Chanel was primarily raised by her father after her mother died when Gabrielle was only six-years-old. She picked up the name Coco during a very brief career as a caf� singer in the early 1900s. She was a mistress to a wealthy industrialist, and later would design some simple hats that quickly became something of a legend.

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Ferrari, a car maker and formula one giant

21 October 2008

Ferrari is one of the most popular sports cars in the world. With its sleek style and ultimate performance capability, it’s often the most sought after car by connoisseurs and anyone with a particular need for speed.

Ferrari is based in Maranello, Italy, and was founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 as Scuderia Ferrari. Ferrari is also very well known in the Formula One racing world, where it has enjoyed phenomenal success on the track.

Today, Ferrari employs almost 3,000 people, and pulls in annual revenue of over €1,688. From the very beginning, something was different about Ferrari. No one ever expected the cars to be as popular as they are today, not even founder Enzo Ferrari.

Enzo Ferrari never intended to produce such a popular brand of sports cars. In fact, he formed Scuderia Ferrari in 1929 as a sponsor for amateur drivers headquartered in Modena. Enzo helped prepare and successfully raced various drivers in Alfa Romeo models until 1938, where he was then hired by Alfa Romeo to head their motor racing department.

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Tag Heuer, makers of world class chronography watches

20 October 2008

Tag Heuer is one of the most prestigious brands of luxury timepieces in the world. Second to only Rolex in popularity, Tag is another Swiss watch brand known for its sports watches and chronographs.

It is a division of LVMH, a leading luxury goods company. The company has a motto, "Swiss Avant-Garde Since 1860." Today, a Tag Heuer timepiece can be purchased from multiple locations. Their watch styles and models number in the hundreds, but it is a few particular types from which their popularity was born.

The watchmaking company was founded in 1860 by Edouard Heuer. He slowly built the company from the ground up, and was a very innovative watchmaker. Heuer patented the first crown-winding mechanism for his pocket watches in 1869. And then, during the Universal Exhibition in Paris, 1889, the Heuer Company won the silver medal for its collection of various pocket chronographs.

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James Bond's favourite car brand, Aston Martin

17 October 2008

Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British luxury performance car manufacturer. Their headquarters are based in Gaydon, England, and the company’s name is derived from one of the company’s founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb located near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire.

Aston Martin’s are most well known for being prestigious luxury cars owned by the rich and famous. Perhaps most famously, Aston Martin is a favorite automobile of none other than 007 himself, Mr. James Bond. Of course, Aston Martin didn’t start out so prestigiously. Similar to most other car brands, AM had to pay their dues.

Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin. The two had met the previous year while selling cars made by Singer. Martin frequently raced specials at Aston Hill, and the two eventually began to manufacture their own cars.

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A review of Rolls Royce, the prestige automobile company

09 October 2008

Rolls-Royce is undoubtedly the most luxurious car brand on the planet. For over a century, Rolls-Royce has been the marquee standard when it comes to the development of a luxury car, and other carmakers have copied, imitated, and stolen Rolls-Royce design concepts for decades.

Due to a recent resurgence in popularity, Rolls-Royce has once again taken the top spot as kings of the automotive world. The company was officially formed in 1906 when Charles Stewart Rolls and Fredrick Henry Royce formed a partnership. The company’s six-cylinder Silver Ghost was debuted that same year. RR was unlike any other manufacturer of the era. Their attention to detail and dedication to quality was clear from the start.

During the 1920s, Rolls-Royce opened a second factory in Springfield, Massachusetts in order to keep up with the rising demand. This factory only stayed open for 10 years, but they launched the Phantom 1, which would ultimately become the defining Rolls-Royce model.

The car was powered by a pushrod-operated overhead valve engine with detachable cylinder heads. This was very cutting-edge technology for the time. And in 1931, with the acquisition of Bentley, Rolls-Royce had the market of luxury cars cornered.

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The world renowed Cartier, where it all came from

26 September 2008

Cartier SA is a French jeweler and watch manufacturer that is a subsidiary of Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA. The company carries the name of the Cartier family of jewelers whose control came to an end in the 1960s. The company has a very long and distinguished history of serving all manors of royalty, celebrities, and the well-to-do.

The Prince of Wales once hailed Cartier as "Jeweler to the Kings, King of Jewelers." Louis-Francois Cartier founded the company in Paris in 1847. He took over the workshop of his master and began making quality pieces of jewelry. Louis’ son, Alfred Cartier, took over administration of the company in 1874, but it was Alfred’s sons, Pierre, Jacques and Louis who were responsible for establishing the world-wide brand name of Cartier.

In 1904, a British aviator named Alberto Santos-Dumont complained of the unreliability of using pocket watches while flying. Dumont’s friend, Cartier, took it upon himself to answer the challenge and developed a flat wristwatch. This watch was a hit with many of Cartier’s clients, and thus the "Santos" design was born.

This was the first men’s wristwatch in history. Louis was responsible for a lot of Cartier’s designs, such as the mystery clocks, fashionable wristwatches, and Art Deco designs. Cartier signed a contract with Edmond Jaeger in 1907, and agreed to exclusively supply the movements for Cartier watches. Cartier had several branches by this time, including branches in London, St. Petersburg, and New York. Cartier was quickly becoming the most popular watch brand in the world.

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A little background on the MGM Grand Las Vegas

22 September 2008

The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel/casino located on the Las Vegas Strip. The MGM Grand is truly that, grand. It’s the second largest hotel in the world and the second largest in the U.S. behind The Venetian. MGM Grand is owned and operated by MGM Mirage, a publicly traded company.

The main building is 30 floors and 239 feet high and features five large outdoor pools, waterfalls and rivers, all covering 6.6 acres. It also has a 380,000 square foot convention center; the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Grand Spa, and CBS Television City are all housed on location. And if that’s not enough for you to take in, MGM also has 16 restaurants, two food courts, and one of the largest casinos in Vegas.

Kirk Kerkorian purchased the Marina Hotel in 1990 to obtain the site that would eventually become the home of MGM Grand. During that time, the Marina was commonly known as the MGM-Marina, and the site was closed on November 30, 1991, and the ground was broken on October 7 the same year.

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Behind the gears of Patek Philippe

18 August 2008

As one of the most sought after watches in the world, Patek Philippe SA has literally stood the test of time. This company’s luxurious, ultra-elegant timepieces have been dazzling some very lucky people for over 140 years.

Patek Philippe was founded by Count Antoine Norbert de Patek in 1845, and in the years to come, Patek would make crucial innovations to set his watches apart from the world’s competitors. The first years were the most crucial, as in any new venture, and it would be a time marred by mundane accomplishments.

After opening his own watch company to a relatively uninterested public, Patek feared that his passion wouldn’t be enough to lure in the customers. However, he had strong ties with Poland, and the Polish people took a liking to his watches, becoming some of the first owners.

These years predate the Patek-Philippe partnership. They speak more of meager beginnings - a start that almost thwarted one of the world’s finest watches before it had a chance. In 1844, after sporadic partnerships, Patek met Adrien Philippe, a young French inventor of keyless winding mechanisms. Patek’s previous partnerships and solo efforts were all but over, and the two formed a reluctant partnership.

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