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Forbes

Uncle Sam Tops Forbes’ List of Fictional Rich

December 21, 2008 · 1 comment

I love the lists in Forbes magazine. You can find a list on almost everything – the best places to live, jobs that are in the most demand, and the most powerful folks in Hollywood. One of the oddest addition to the list is the Forbes Fictional 15, an annual listing of fiction’s richest.

Topping the list – just ahead of Scrooge McDuck – is Uncle Sam. Worth a reputed $29.1 billion, Uncle Sam was described as:

Crusty former frontiersman and U.S. Army recruitment officer experiencing second act on Wall Street. Contrarian strategy: Invests exclusively in companies on the brink of bankruptcy; bullish on insolvent insurers, overleveraged banks, Detroit automakers and “toxic securities.” High net worth attributed to crafty purchase of U.S. Mint in 1792; printed $6 billion in September alone. Large interests in aerospace and defense. With 2003 real estate play in Middle East widely viewed as failure, some hope new management will clean up mess.

Rounding out the Fictional 15:

  1. Uncle Sam

  2. Scrooge McDuck
  3. Richie Rich
  4. Gordon Gekko
  5. Jabba The Hutt
  6. Ebeneezer Scrooge
  7. Tony Stark
  8. Thurston Howell III
  9. Bruce Wayne
  10. Adrian Veidt
  11. Jed Clampett
  12. Artemis Fowl II
  13. C. Montgomery Burns
  14. Lara Croft
  15. Mr. Monopoly

You can read the entire article here.

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And in Russia…

September 25, 2007 · 0 comments

Not to be outdone by the Irish, the Russian tax authorities are making noise about a crackdown on taxes paid by the super-rich. However, as opposed to tax breaks, the Russian Federal Tax Service is concentrating on tax evasion as a source of wealth.

There’s no question that there is a giant disparity in the gap between rich and poor in Russia. While many citizens are struggling to find affordable housing and pay for food in an economy that is not exactly booming, Forbes reported that 52 of the billionaires on its rich list were Russian.

What is certain is that some sort of “interregional tax inspectorate” will be created to monitor the income and tax reporting of the super rich. What is not certain is when that might happen. Some agencies are reporting that the inspectorate will begin activities within the next few days. However, the Federal Tax Service is denying that time line, claiming that there are no plans in the “near future” (whatever that means).

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Tops

July 15, 2007 · 0 comments

Fortune 500 has released its list of America’s largest corporations. They are:

1. Wal-Mart Stores
2. Exxon Mobil
3. General Motors
4. Chevron
5. ConocoPhillips
6. General Electric
7. Ford Motor
8. Citigroup
9. Bank of America
10. American International Group

I thought it would be cool to compare this list with the top ten corporate taxpayers in the US. Unfortunately, that list was a little more difficult to come by. I did find this list from Forbes in 2004. It’s still a pretty good apples to apples. Check it out (the number in parethesis represents the effective tax rate):

1. Exxon Mobil (34.4%)
2. Citigroup (31.1%)
3. ChevronTexaco (41.8%)
4. Altria Group (34.9%)
5. Wal-Mart Stores (36.1%)
6. Bank of America (31.8%)
7. Microsoft (32.1%)
8. General Electric (21.7%)
9. American International Group (30.7%)
10.Berkshire Hathaway (31.7%)

Any surprises?

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