Tag archives: billionaires

In a recent New York Times editorial, socialist economist Gabriel Zucman of Berkeley wrote “It’s Time to Tax the Billionaires.” Congresswoman Barbara Lee proposed a wealth tax, the Oligarch Act of 2023. Rep. Lee wants a yearly 8% tax on the “extreme wealth” (net worth) of the “aristocratic” rich. Our legislators in Sacramento have also […]

Forbes magazine has just released its 37th annual World’s Billionaires list, with 2,640 billionaires worth a total of $12.2 trillion ranked, down by $500 billion last year. At Number One is Frenchman Bernard Arnault, 74, the owner of Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Tiffany for the first time with $211 billion, while Tesla magnate Elon […]

There are 2,668 billionaires around the globe for the world’s latest rich list. Down from a record 2,755 last year, according to Forbes’ 36th annual billionaires rankings. They’re worth a collective $12.7 trillion – $400 billion more than 2021 – and, as usual, our rarefied enclave is well represented.  America leads the world with 735 […]

Forbes’ 35th annual “World’s Billionaire List” includes a record-breaking 2,755 billionaires, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos topping it for the fourth consecutive year. This year’s billionaires are worth a combined $13.1 trillion, up $8 trillion from last year. “The very, very rich got very, very richer,” says Forbes chief content officer Randall Lane. Needless to […]

Luz Reyes-Martin, executive director of public affairs and communications at Santa Barbara City College, and Barbara Ben-Horin, former CEO of Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara, are being honored by the local chapter of the Association for Women in Communications at the 13th annual awards presented by Women Connect4Good via Zoom later this month. Independent […]

Montecito Bank & Trust on Coast Village Road was the focal point when a parade including firefighters, law enforcement, and representatives of the community honored a Make-A-Wish Tri-Counties recipient, Carmelo Bisquera, 16, a student at Santa Barbara’s Olive Grove Charter School. Carmelo, whose hobbies are video games and reading, was born with an endocrine disorder […]

Despite the doldrums created by the pandemic, Los Angeles billionaire Rick Caruso is smiling after Conde Nast’s Traveler listed his Rosewood Miramar hotel on its 2020 Hot List, one of the hospitality industry’s most esteemed awards that honors the best newly opened and renovated properties around the world. Based on the firsthand experiences and reviews […]

On a personal note, I remember dashing Yale-graduate Peter Beard, the legendary wildlife photographer, who has died at the age of 82 after going missing from his Montauk, Long Island, home. Peter, heir to two great fortunes in tobacco and railroads, was a fixture on the New York social scene, where I first met him […]

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is once again the world’s richest man, despite his divorce last year which cost him a quarter of his stake in the shopping giant. Bezos, 56, is worth $113 billion, only a $18 billion drop from his $131 billion in 2019, despite giving $36 billion of stock to ex Mackenzie. He […]

Longtime Montecito resident Dick Wolf, the creator of Law & Order and the multi-TV show Chicago franchise for NBC, has become the network’s $1 billion man. Wolf, 73, has signed a new five-year deal to stay with NBCUniversal, his studio home for the past 36 years, which includes three-year renewals for Law & Order: Special […]

Sleepless in Seattle star Meg Ryan, 58, is the latest celebrity to call our rarefied enclave home, joining fellow actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Natalie Portman. Ryan, who also appeared in Top Gun, When Harry Met Sally, and Courage Under Fire, has purchased a 4,268 sq. ft. three-bedroom, three and a half bathroom home on one […]

The MOXI Museum, which has 150,000 guests annually, was socially gridlocked when 300 supporters attended the third annual fundraiser Colorosity, raising around $300,000 for the STEAM education, outreach, and accessibility initiatives. All three floors provided a feast for the eyes and palate, with bountiful food at each stop. The boffo bash, co-chaired by Kelly Bret […]

Santa Barbara charity ShelterBox USA celebrated the New Year with an anonymous $1.5 million donation. The hefty gift, from a California supporter, comes at a particularly auspicious time with disaster and conflict forcibly displacing a record 88 million people from their homes globally, says the nonprofit’s president Kerri Murray. “There is an urgent need for […]