Word: billion
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...also faces scrutiny because of her wealth, which is estimated to be more than $1 billion. "There's a history of wealthy Californians trying to start at the top, like Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, without having paid their dues," says Lew Uhler, president of the National Tax Limitation Committee, an antitax group, who is supporting one of Whitman's opponents. It takes a vast amount of money to be competitive in California, but the road to Sacramento is littered with the bodies of failed parvenus: Michael Huffington, the former Republican Congressman and ex-husband of Arianna, blew $28 million...
Poizner, founder of a company that produced the technology to put GPS in cell phones, which he sold for a reported $1 billion, is a confrontational spark plug who seems obsessed with Whitman. "Voters should choose her if they want someone to rebrand the state, and me if they want someone to rebuild it," he likes to say. He is offering his own plan to cut taxes and is presenting himself as the true conservative in the race (although he, like Whitman and Campbell, is socially moderate). If Whitman prevails in the June primary, she will probably face former Democratic...
...putting a lid on the $65 billion spent annually on holiday gifts, says Professor Joel Waldfogel of the Wharton School. Waldfogel, the author of Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays, insists his theory is solid economics, not bah, humbug. "As an institution for 'allocating resources' (getting stuff to the right people), holiday giving is a complete loser." If you spend $50 on yourself, he explains, you'll get something worth $50 to you. But if your Aunt Bernice buys you a $50 Christmas gift, she's likely to buy something that's worth nothing...
Your ticket accounts for more than 70% of revenue--Royal Caribbean had sales of $6.5 billion last year, with $574 million in earnings--and ancillary charges, easily paid with a swipe of your onboard ID, made up about a quarter of those revenues. In the past 10 years, the ships have added acupuncture, personal trainers, spinning classes and premium restaurants. One line even offers Botox treatments. The bigger the boat, the more opportunities, which is why Kochneff, for one, expects cruise companies to introduce more sea monsters like Oasis...
...packages for working Americans and aims to create five million new jobs. While everyone seems to be tightening their belts on spending this holiday, you won’t break the bank by similarly helping someone with their business. According to the World Bank, nearly one and a half billion people survive on less than $1.25 a day. Whether it be helping a basket-weaver in Ecuador or a sheep-herder in Kazakhstan, the organization Kiva.org allows you to play banker by investing small amounts of money in someone’s start-up business on the other side...