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#1 2013-12-03 15:27:16
- Tom Kalbfus
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- Registered: 2006-08-16
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Mars Inc: The Billionare's Club by Ben Bova
I saw this book in the bookstore today. Has anyone read it?
http://www.amazon.com/Mars-Inc-The-Bill … 1451639341
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#2 2013-12-08 09:52:26
- Tom Kalbfus
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Re: Mars Inc: The Billionare's Club by Ben Bova
I've read some of the book. A basic plot synopsis, is protagonist Arthur Thrasher recruits 20 billionaires to each contribute 1 billion dollars over five years to fund a private mission to Mars, with seven astronauts. How realistic is this? Could it happen for real? What do you think? Can you name any billionaires that you think might possibly be persuaded to do this? Just wondering.
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#3 2013-12-08 11:33:08
- Terraformer
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- Registered: 2007-08-27
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Re: Mars Inc: The Billionare's Club by Ben Bova
Other than the ones that are already involved in space (Musk, Bezos, Branson...)? Not off the top of my head. But there are over 1500 billionaires on Terra. The money is there, but a lot of them already have projects to spend it on (space colonisation, eradicating diseases, destroying the state...).
Use what is abundant and build to last
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#4 2013-12-08 18:05:47
- Tom Kalbfus
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Re: Mars Inc: The Billionare's Club by Ben Bova
There is still a bit of a sales job to do, but each one of these billionaires is a billionaire for a reason. One is how they got rich, the other is why they wanted to get rich in the first place, the two aren't always the same. Of particular interest are Forrest, Jacqueline and John Mars, he already has a company called Mars Inc, combined net worth is $51 billion guess what they sell? Candy! They are certainly rich enough to put up a billion dollars each, I wonder if that would help them sell Mars bars. 
2. Bill Gates
Net Worth: $67 billion
Source of wealth: Microsoft
4. Warren Buffett
Net worth: $53.5 billion
Source of wealth: Berkshire Hathaway
5. Larry Ellison
Net worth: $43 billion
Source of wealth: Oracle
6. Charles Koch
Net worth: $34 billion
Source of wealth: diversified
6. David Koch
Net worth: $34 billion
Source of wealth: diversified
11. Christy Walton & family
Net worth: $28.2 billion
Source of wealth: Wal-Mart
13. Michael Bloomberg
Net worth: $27 billion
Source of wealth: Bloomberg LP
14. Jim Walton
Net worth: $26.7 billion
Source of wealth: Wal-Mart
15. Sheldon Adelson
Net worth: $26.5 billion
Source of wealth: casinos
16. Alice Walton
Net worth: $26.3 billion
Source of wealth: Wal-Mart
17. S. Robson Walton
Net worth: $26.1 billion
Source of wealth: Wal-Mart
19. Jeff Bezos
Net worth: $25.2 billion
Source of wealth: Amazon.com
21. Sergey Brin
Net worth: $22.8 billion
Source of wealth: Google
26. Carl Icahn
Net worth: $20 billion
Source of wealth: leveraged buyouts
30. George Soros
Net worth: $19.2 billion
Source of wealth: hedge funds
36. Forrest Mars Jr
Net worth: $17 billion
Source of wealth: candy
36. Jacqueline Mars
Net worth: $17 billion
Source of wealth: candy
36. John Mars
Net worth: $17 billion
Source of wealth: candy
44. Len Blavatnik
Net worth: $16 billion
Source of wealth:diversified
49. Michael Dell
Net worth: $15.2 billion
Source of wealth: Dell
51. Steve Ballmer
Net worth: $15.2 billion
Source of wealth: Microsoft
53. Paul Allen
Net worth: $15 billion
Source of wealth: Microsoft, investments
56. Phil Knight
Net worth: $14.4 billion
Source of wealth: Nike
66. Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $13.3 billion
Source of wealth: Facebook
69. Donald Bren
Net worth: $13 billion
Source of wealth: real estate
74. Abigail Johnson
Net worth: $12.7 billion
Source of wealth: money management
76. Ray Dalio
Net worth: $12.5 billion
Source of wealth: hedge funds
79. Ronald Perelman
Net worth: $12.2 billion
Source of wealth: leveraged buyouts
80. Anne Cox Chambers
Net worth: $12 billion
Source of wealth: media
82. James Simons
Net worth: $11.7 billion
Source of wealth: hedge funds
90. Harold Hamm
Net worth: $11.3 billion
Source of wealth: oil & gas
91. Rupert Murdoch
Net worth: $11.2 billion
Source of wealth: News Corp
91. John Paulson
Net worth: $11.2 billion
Source of wealth: hedge funds
94. Jack Taylor & family
Net worth: $11 billion
Source of wealth: Enterprise Rent-A-Car
98. Laurene Powell Jobs & family
Net worth: $10.7 billion
Source of wealth: Apple, Disney
100. Charles Ergen
Net worth: $10.6 billion
Source of wealth: EchoStar
100. Philip Anschutz
Net worth: $10 billion
Source of wealth: investments
Last edited by Tom Kalbfus (2013-12-08 18:12:57)
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#5 2022-08-16 07:23:05
- Mars_B4_Moon
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- Registered: 2006-03-23
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Re: Mars Inc: The Billionare's Club by Ben Bova
Just How Rich Are Elon Musk, Donald Trump and These Other Big Names?
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/just-r … 50356.html
Still nothing compared to the old money elite with undisclosed hidden wealth, the Royals, the Vatican, the Bankers the old Kings and Queen family.
NASA revises requirements for ISS private astronaut missions. Now a former NASA astronaut must accompany the private citizens.
https://twitter.com/wapodavenport/statu … 4763108354
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