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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Britney Spears performs special show in Las Vegas Palms, Rain nightclub

06 May 2011

Wherever Britney Spears performs anywhere in the world there is always a frenzied audience that greets her and when she appeared on stage in Las Vegas at the Rain nightclub this was no exception. Wearing one of her usual stunningly sexy outfits she sang her first song ‘Hold it Against Me’ as she was surrounded by her sexy male dancers and the audience simply went wild. The whole set was geared up with a wind machine that had her long blonde locks floating away with the lyrics of her song as she pumped up the energy around her.

Britney’s usual lively and energetic performance with her dancers had her fans rocking with her throughout her rendition and the music kept upbeat the whole time as she lunged into her second song ‘Big Fat Bass’. Britney really knows how to grab her fans with her antics and as she danced around the stage, climbing on speakers and literally she sent the crowd into a real frenzy. This track had been remixed to include past hits such as ‘3’, ‘Slave 4 U’ and ‘Gimme More’ which her fans really appreciated as they got louder as Britney strode around the stage.

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Does Phil Mickelson Have What It Takes to Win the 2011 Masters?

10 April 2011

Phil Mickelson was the winner of the 2010 Masters Tournament in August, Georgia in the United States. Can he do it again at this year’s tournament?

Phil Mickelson was born in June 1970, making him 41 on his birthday in June this year. He turned professional in 1992 when he graduated from his golf scholarship at Arizona State University. And in his 19 years of professional golfing, he has achieved no less than 46 professional wins.

Before he turned professional however, he even managed to rack up 7 wins at amateur level. In 1981 at the age of 10, he won his first championship - the Junior World Golf Championships for boys aged 9-10. Eight years later he won the NCAA I Championship and he also won this the following year, when he also won the US Amateur and the Porter Cup. In 1991 he won the Western Amateur and he also entered into the Northern Telecom Open as an amateur. He then returned to win the NCAA Division I Championship in 1992 for the third time in his amateur golfing career.

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Will the Fortunes of Tiger Woods Change at the 2011 Masters Tournament?

03 April 2011

Tiger Woods is one of the most renowned professional golfers of today, but what are his chances for the 2011 Masters Tournament?

Tiger Woods was born on 30th December 1975, and he grew up in Orange County, California. His father urged him into golf, and by the age of two Tiger Woods already knew his way around a golf club. When he was only 3 years old, he was featured in the ‘Golf Digest’ and on ABC. At age 6, Tiger entered the Drive, Pitch and Putt Competition and won the under 10s in Cypress, California. At age 8 he won the Junior World Golf Championships.

Later, he won the championships  another 6 times. His father (Earl), who was an amateur golfer, wrote in his memoirs that Tiger at the age of just 11 beat him, even though Earl was trying his hardest at the time. It was clear from very early on that Tiger had a special talent for golf and that he would become a very famous golfer.

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Who Should You Bet On for the 2011 Masters and Why?

02 April 2011

The 2011 Masters Tournament is almost upon us with just over a month left to go. This article aims to explore the contenders to help you choose who to bet on for this year’s tournament. Essentially, the two to bet on are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson after last year’s play off at the Masters.

First of all, as you might have guessed, Tiger Woods is still the bookie’s favourite, and is still ranked the number 1 player in the golf Official World Rankings in spite of a career break in recent years due to issues in his personal life. It’s clear that he’s working his way back up to fill his rather large boots again, as he made it to the finals at last year’s Masters Tournament, but took place as runner up to Phil Mickelson. The odds for Tiger Woods to win this year are 5-1.

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A Short Biography of S Robson Walton

21 February 2011

This short biography of S Robson Walton, chairman of the world’s largest retail chain, has been written to give you an insight into the USA’s 4th wealthiest citizen. He is also the world’s 18th richest man as of October 2010.

S Robson Walton was born in 1945, and was the first son of Sam Walton, who was the founder of Walmart. As a young man Walton attended the College of Wooster in Ohio. He then went on to the University of Arkansas.

At university he studied business administration and subsequently graduated with a bachelor of science in the subject in 1966, and later in 1969 he received a jurisprudence doctorate from New York’s Colombia University School of Law.

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A Short Biography of Michael Bloomberg

04 February 2011

Want to expand your knowledge of some of the world’s most successful people? This short biography of Michael Bloomberg may well be of interest if you’re curious about how he came to be where he is today.

Born on 14th February 1942, Michael Rubens Bloomberg as he was named by his parents started out life in the Boston neighbourhood of Brighton. His father, a man with roots from Russia was a real estate agent. His mother was also the daughter of a Russian family and has lived past 100 years of age.

Until Michael was 2, the Bloombergs continued to live in their home in Boston before relocating to Brookline in the state of Massachusetts, and finally settling back in Boston, in the town of Medford. Michael Bloomberg lived here until after he completed college.

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Class Acts On and Off the Court: Heineken Live Stage at Australian Open 2011

31 January 2011

The fans at the Australian Open will be not only entertained by the nail biting and exciting tennis matches, but they will also be able to enjoy live music from a range of popular Australian artists at the Heineken Live Stage.

The stage will be at the Grand Slam Oval, located between the Rod Laver Arena and the Hisense Arena, where fans will be treated to music and fun in the evenings and afternoons after the matches have taken place. Acts include talents such as Under the Apple Tree, Jason Singh, TimRogers and Operator Please.

There is a beer garden where the fans can enjoy a nice cold beverage while listening to the cool sounds of the Aussie music, as well as several bars and live DJs for later sets. All of this exciting activity will go on throughout the entire two week event.

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Seeded No1 Caroline Wozniacki: Will She Crack the 2011 Australian Open?

31 January 2011

Ranked the world’s top player in women’s tennis, Caroline Wozniacki is obviously keen to keep her title but can she do it?

In the first match of the Australian Open, Wozniacki was thrilled at her triumph over Gisela Dulko after a shaky start to the match. But what about the other players that she will have to face later in the tournament?

Wozniacki critics claim that her No.1 title is false and believe that she won’t last long in the open, but she is showing determination and with Serena Williams out due to injury, perhaps she has a chance to make it through and prevail.

She has been plagued with nasty comments and doubt about her abilities, but she says that she does not care about any of that and will do her best. She recently said “I’ve won six tournaments, and my friends and family are the ones who mean the most to me”.

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Venus Williams Talks About Sexier Outfits For Australian Open

24 January 2011

Venus Williams caused a bit of a stir at the 2010 Australian Open, and she has promised that there is more to come. Last year she shocked spectators when she wore a skimpy outfit and appeared to have no underwear on. She commented on Twitter that she designed the outfit herself, and wanted to create an illusion by wearing shorts that were the same colour as her skin.

Venus has worn many risqué outfits in her time, including a saucy black and red number that looked like something out of an underwear catalogue. She wore the black lace costume at the French Open early in 2010. Something that is for certain is that her outfits never fail to turn heads and it is something Venus will always be remembered by.

She did it again at the US Open in 2010, when she wore a short tennis dress with sequins and flesh coloured shorts underneath. She told her fans that she wanted to wear outfits that represented the cities that she plays in, and this one was for New York.

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Bio of Christy Walton

13 January 2011

Christy Walton is the widow of John Walton the Wal-Mart billionaire, When John died on the 27th June 2005 Christy inherited $15.7 billion.  In March of 2009 she was proclaimed the 12th richest person in the Forbes World’s Billionaires with a net worth of 17.6 billion.  Christy and her son, Lukas, currently live in Jackson, Wyoming.

The death of John Walton was unexpected as he flew and experimental ultra light aircraft from Jackson Hole Airport in Grand Teton National Park.  The aircraft experienced complications soon after takeoff and John crashed to his death at the age of 58 years.  Flying was a huge passion of Johns’ and he spent many hours in the air trying out different aircraft designs.

John also inherited the business of Wal-Mart from his father Sam Walton who opened his first variety store at the age of 26 after leaving the armed forces.  The first store was a franchise of the Butler Brother Chain for which he loaned $20,000 from his father-in-law to buy.  Sam’s store soon became the leader in the franchise because of the methods he used to secure saving for the customers.  It only took 4 years for Sam to quadruple the turnover of this small store with a net of $250,000 a year in 1950; this was the beginning of his legacy and the Wal-Mart Supermarket chain.

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Bio of Jacqueline Mars

12 January 2011

Jacqueline Mars, born in the United States and one of three siblings of the late Forrest Mars is the heiress to her Grandfather’s confectionary company. Whenever you bite into a Mars Bar, Milky Way, Twix or Snickers you can think of Jacqueline Mars grandfather Frank Mars who founded the company in 1911. When the siblings inherited the Mars Corporation there was talk that the three would sell the company and live a wealthy life off the proceeds.

Jacqueline Mars, who is now twice divorced with three children, took the bull by the horns with her brothers and continued the growth and development of the company. Although she could have lived happily on the sale of her inheritance, today she is worth an estimated $14 billion dollars from her own driving efforts. She was profiled by Forbes as being in the top 50 on the world’s rich list and at 68 years old the 4th richest woman in the world.

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A Short Biography of Sergey Brin

11 January 2011

This short biography of Sergey Brin follows his career and business ventures and triumphs.

On 21st August 1973, in the Russian capital of Moscow, a boy was born. His name was Sergey Mikhaylovich Brin, and he would in his later life help to transform the world of technology. Sergey was born in a time when the Soviet Union was still in existence.

Both of his parents were extremely intelligent people, both of Jewish faith. His father is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Maryland just outside of Washington DC. His mother is a research scientist for NASA. It’s easy to see where his intelligence came from.

His family emigrated from Russia to the US in 1979 because at the time, communists did not allow Jewish people to enter into the universities in the Soviet Union, and it was therefore adamant for the wellbeing and education of the Brins’ son that they relocated.

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A Short Biography of Larry Page

10 January 2011

This is a short biography of Larry Page, co founder of Google Inc, now known as one of the world’s most powerful people due to his passionate technological endeavours.

Larry Page was born on 26th March 1973 to a Jewish family in Michigan, USA. He with the help of his class mate and friend would in later life help to transform the world of technology.

Both of his parents were professors of computer science at the Michigan State University in their home town. Because of their professions, Page recalls computer equipment and magazines cluttering their home when he was a boy.

Page has an older brother, who was apparently responsible for teaching the young Page how to disassemble things in their home and this further fuelled his interest in how everything works. He says that he had always had a strong interest in invention hence his later interest in technology.

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Amancio Ortega - Biography

25 December 2010

Amancio Ortega Gaona is the co-founder and chairman of Inditex Group; recently in the news for being listed as one of the richest men in the world by the Forbes magazine. He is also as a well-known Galician fashion designer and entrepreneur.

Amancio Ortega was born on March 28, 1936 in Leon, Spain. He was born in a family with limited means as his father worked on the railroad while his mother worked as a maid. During his adolescence, at the young age of thirteen, Ortega started work as a delivery boy for a tailor in La Coruna, Galicia.

He was a fast learner and quickly gained insight into the way products and costs changed as they exchanged hands from the manufacturer to the consumer. Consequently, he came up with the idea of getting the product directly to the consumer from the manufacturer with no middlemen dealings.

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Eike Batista The 8th Richest Person in the World

25 December 2010

Eike Batista is an entrepreneur, who established his business single handedly in Brazil and his total worth is now valued at US$ 27 billion. He can thus be named as the wealthiest man in Brazil.

Recently, the Forbes magazine listed him as the eighth richest person in the world. He is known for taking business risks that history shows eventually do pay off.

He was born on November 3, 1957; to Eliezer Batista da Silva who was a highly respected government worker in Brazil and also was heading one of the world’s largest mining companies Companhia Vale do Rio Doce at that time.

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A Short Biography of Shashi & Ravi Ruia

17 December 2010

This short biography of Shashi and Ravi Ruia, among India’s richest men, gives you an insight into who they are and how they got where they are today.

In a small town in India, Shashi and Ravi Ruia were born in 1944 and 1949 respectively to Nand Kishore Ruia. The family had been in business since the 1800s, and when their father passed away in 1969, the two sons took over the small family run business, Essar Group.

The family origins lay in Rajasthan, but the Ruia brothers’ ancestors relocated to Mumbai during the 19th century and began with their business ventures.

The Essar company growth had already begun when the Ruias inherited the business, with contracts previously negotiated for the construction of various ports and jetties.

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A Short Biography of Robert Kuok

10 December 2010

This short biography of Robert Kuok follows his life story and describes how he rose from rags to riches.

Deep in the heart of Johor Bahru, Malaysia’s capital city, on 6th December 1923 a woman gave birth to her third son. Little did she and her husband know at this time that their youngest son was to become the richest man in their part of the world.

The family, originally from Fujian in China, journeyed across Asia at the beginning of the 20th century and settled in Malaya.

Robert Kuok began his working life as an office junior, and after he graduated he worked at Mitsubishi for three years in their rice trading division. After his father died in 1948, the three siblings founded their first company, Kuok Bros Sdn Bhd.

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Review of Luxury Gift Frederick E. Hart Liberty & Sacrifice Sculpture

09 October 2010

American art might be a little less popular in the world art mainstream than art from other countries. This is undoubtedly due to American art being thought of as more modern. Even with the likes of Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock and Normal Rockwell, there’s still not a very big market for the art.

Another great American artist that probably doesn’t make everyone’s top list outside of the United States if Frederick E. Hart. Frederick was a famous and greatly talented sculptor, responsible for works of art that anyone who’s been to America’s war memorials has seen and admired.

Art is sought after by collectors for many reasons, none the least of which is often its rarity. Some paintings will sell for millions, and some are so rare and sought after that money simply isn’t enough for collectors to part with them. Sculptures, on the other hand, are usually in lesser demand due to the resizing and replication that goes on to scale them down for the private market.

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Bio of Lee Shau Kee

03 October 2010

Making it in the top 20 of the Forbes’ billionaires list is no small feat, and to be an actual businessperson to amass that wealth instead of simply inheriting it is just amazing. Lee Shau Kee, the second wealthiest man in Asia, is worth around $19 billion USD and holds many titles in Hong Kong, including a few nicknames like "Hong Kong’s Buffett."

The "Buffett" is in reference to the United States of America’s multi-billion-dollar investment guru Warren Buffett - currently the second-richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of around $47 billion USD. Kee’s wealth is still incredibly substantial, especially considering his humble beginnings.

Lee Shau Kee was born January 29, 1928 in Shunde, Guangdong, China. After World War Two, Kee was looking to start up a business like many other people in Asia at the time. This is when he met up with another famous billionaire, Kwok Tak-Seng, and began putting the pieces in place for what would eventually become Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited.

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Bio of Kwok Family

02 October 2010

The famous Kwok family has long been one of the richest families in the world. Although their fortune took a hit a few years ago, the Kwok’s are back up to over 17 billion (USD) in worth, even with inner turmoil, lawsuits and other problems with their real estate business. Still going strong, the Kwok’s continue to make big waves in today’s real estate market.

 The Kwok family now consists of Walter, Thomas, Raymond and their mother Kwong Siu-hing. The children inherited the family fortune with their father, Kwok Tak-Seng, died of a heart attack in 1990 at the age of 79.

Kwok was an entrepreneur in China and the mind behind developing Sun Hun Kai Properties (SHKP). This corporation eventually became the biggest property developer in Hong Kong, and to date is the among the largest real estate developers in all of Asia.

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