I have always been fascinated with wealth, and have enjoyed reading about the Forbes 400 for years.
"All The Money In The World: How The Forbes 400 Make - And Spend - Their Fortunes" by Peter W.
Bernstein and Annalyn Swan was an extremely fascinating and enjoyable read.
If you are interested in the superrich, this book paints a revealing portrait of the wealthiest of the rich and shows how they succeed, how fortunes are made in various industries, and how, once made, they are saved, enhanced, and sometimes squandered.
This thoroughly researched book provides abundant anecdotes and insights as well as compiled data in illuminating tables, sidebars, and factoids.
Did you know that Bill Gates comes in as the thirteenth richest American if you converted past riches into today's dollars? (Actually 2006 dollars when the book was being researched) John D.
Rockefeller's wealth would be 305.
3 billion dollars when converted to 2006 dollars.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett combined don't make a third of that.
Did you know that in 2006 the average net worth of 400 members without a college degree exceeded the average net worth of those with a degree by a considerable margin - $2.
8 billion? That's partly due, of course, to the Gates factor.
Did you know there were 97 immigrants from 34 different countries that made the Forbes list over the last twenty-five years? The book is filled with so many interesting stories and facts.
The book also shows that money is not everything.
The superrich have problems just like everyone else, and sometimes those problems are at a greater scale.
So while this book describes those that may seem unobtainable to most, you also realize that they are still people just like everyone else.
Well, maybe not like everyone else, but they are still people.
Chapters include: Part One: What It Takes 1.
Education, Intelligence, Drive 2.
Risk 3.
Luck - and Timing 4.
Winning Is Everything Part Two: Making It 5.
Blue - collar Billionaires 6.
West Coast Money 7.
Entertainment and Media 8.
Beyond Wall Street Part Three: Spending It 9.
Conspicuous Consumption 10.
Heirs 11.
Family Feuds 12.
Giving It Away 13.
Power and Politics Afterword: Money and Happiness Appendix: The Forbes 400, 1982-2006 This is a vastly entertaining behind the scenes look at the superrich.
I found it fascinating to read about those billionaires I was familiar with, but also those extremely wealthy that you never really hear about.
It made me feel good to read about the money these Forbes 400 members give away to help others, and then sometimes shake my head wondering when you see what some of these people spend money on.
Forget about the enormous cost of purchasing a yacht, but think about the upkeep running into tens of millions of dollars a year and you may wonder as I did why Paul Allen wants to own two of the top ten U.
S.
owned yachts.
Octopus at 414 feet is number two, and Tatoosh at 301 feet 8 inches is number four.
If you are wondering, Larry Ellison's Rising Sun at 452 feet 8 inches is number 1, and no one knows who owns number seven's Laurel at 240 feet and number nine's charter yacht Reverie at 229 feet, seven inches.
If you want to read an extremely interesting and fascinating book about wealth and those that have accumulated the most of it, read "All The Money In The World.
" Besides being entertained, you just might learn some insights to help you accumulate more wealth yourself.
After all, you will see that if these people can do, so can you or anyone else.