Sunday, November 4, 2007

Psst—want to be a billionaire?

From The Economist:

Two great opportunities—in broking and poking
A country estate may be something you’d hate—but if not, opportunity may be about to come knocking. On either side of America, there is a great job opportunity that is likely to make a multimillionaire or more of the lucky person picked to fill it.

The most loudly advertised of the two jobs is on Wall Street, where the thundering herd at Merrill Lynch needs a new chief bull—assuming there is any truth to reports that current boss Stan O’Neal is to be handed a couple of hundred million dollars in exchange for quitting on October 30th. Whoever fills his shoes is sure to be paid handsomely. After all, a board of directors willing to splash so much cash to get rid of its current boss could hardly have sent a clearer signal—that it is willing to pay its boss big bucks and that it is willing to fire him at the first sign of trouble....MORE

From The WSJ's WealthReport blog:

How to Spot a Rich Person
I was talking to a Jaguar salesman last week and asked him what the hardest part of his job was.

“You can’t tell who’s rich anymore,” he said. “It used to be if someone walked in with jeans and a T-shirt I could ignore them or ask them to leave. Now that guy could be a billionaire. You have to be nice to everybody these days.”

Tim Blixseth, the billionaire timber tycoon, once told me about the time he visited a men’s clothing store near Palm Springs to buy a suit for his son. When they walked in, wearing work boots and jeans, the salesman headed them off at the door and said “I think you’d be better off at the mall.” They eventually bought a suit, but Tim made sure to drive by the front door in his Rolls Royce and wave goodbye to the salesman....MORE

Facing jail, banker leaps to death
From the Rocky Mountain News

...The banker’s 2 p.m. hearing in U.S. District Court in Denver was canceled, and prosecutors eventually will dismiss the charges.

“Suicide is a terrible thing, whenever it happens,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Haried said....
Wanted: CEO of major corporation
From CNN Money