Billionaires Could Buy These Cities

The Redfin Research Center has compared the median home prices in major US cities to the estimated wealth of well-known billionaires.

Just how rich is Bill Gates? According to Forbes, he’s the world’s richest person and is worth $77.5 billion. But that kind of wealth is hard to wrap your head around, so let’s put it another way: Gates could buy every single home in the entire city of Boston. That’s 114,212 single-family homes, condos and townhouses, at a total purchase price of $76.6 billion. Given that the average American struggles to afford a home, we wanted to illustrate just how many homes the wealthiest among us could buy. In this fictional real estate investment, the 30 billionaires on our list, with a combined fortune of $582 billion, could afford to own a staggering 6 percent of the total U.S. home equity.”

VANCOUVER: Foreskin "Intactivists" To Protest TED Talk By Bill Gates

Via Vancouver 24:

Bill Gates is the most highly anticipated speaker at the TED Talks in Vancouver on Tuesday – but the Microsoft founder's philanthropic work is being protested by “pro-foreskin” activists. The Canadian Foreskin Awareness Project has criticized a program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which it said granted more than $160 million for 14 African countries' HIV/AIDS prevention programs encouraging male circumcision. “Circumcision does not prevent HIV,” said group founder Glen Callender. “Bill Gates means well, there certainly are things he's doing that I fully support, but I do not agree that circumcision is a valid or reasonable approach for 21st-century AIDS prevention.” He argued circumcision can create scar tissue and remove many sensory nerves in the penis. For University of B.C. Medicine's Dr. Richard Lester, the evidence linking HIV and circumcision is nearly unanimous – “as clear as you really can get in medical research,” the division of infectious diseases researcher said.

The group's website is here.

RELATED: Circumcision for HIV prevention has been praised by Hillary Clinton. Bill Gates has donated more than $25M to the Clinton Foundation, which works on HIV/AIDS causes in Africa, among other projects. In 2012 the American Academy of Pediatrics shifted its position on circumcision, saying that "the medical benefits outweigh the small risk for baby boys." Also in 2012, a study by Johns Hopkins University declared that the declining US rate of circumcision would ultimately result in a higher incidence of STDs. That study was denounced by intactivists.

Forbes Issues Updated Billionaires List

Forbes writes:

The combined wealth of the Forbes’ 2013 ranking of the richest people in America is $2 trillion, up from $1.7 trillion in 2012 and the highest ever, due in part to the strength of both the U.S. stock and real estate markets. The average net worth of a Forbes 400 member is a staggering $5 billion, the highest to date, up from $4.2 billion last year. Bill Gates retains the top spot on the Forbes 400 for the twentieth straight year, at $72 billion. Up $6 billion from 2012, Mr. Gates is once again the world’s richest person, having passed Mexico’s Carlos Slim in May. Warren Buffett, #2, is the biggest dollar gainer this year at $58.5 billion, up $12.5 billion from last year. Larry Ellison (#3), worth $41 billion, is the same as last year; he is the only one in the Top 10 who did not add to his fortune. Mark Zuckerberg was the second biggest gainer at $9.6 billion. He returns to the Top 20 (#20) at $19 billion after dropping to #36 last year, while Carl Icahn is back in the Top 20 (#18) for the first time since 2008.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's wealth increased by $6B just this year. Another interesting note: "There are 48 women on the list, including retired Army lieutenant colonel and heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune Jennifer Pritzker (#327), formerly known as James Pritzker and the first transgender billionaire." Homocon PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel ranks at #314 with $1.6B.

Bill Gates Will Pay For A Better Condom

Bill Gates has issued a "grand challenge" for a better condom and is offering a $100,000 prize to the start-up that comes up with a "next-generation" version. From the challenge site:

We are looking for a Next Generation Condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use. Additional concepts that might increase uptake include attributes that increase ease-of-use for male and female condoms, for example better packaging or designs that are easier to properly apply. In addition, attributes that address and overcome cultural barriers are also desired. Proposals must (i) have a testable hypothesis, (ii) include an associated plan for how the idea would be tested or validated, and (iii) yield interpretable and unambiguous data in Phase I, in order to be considered for Phase II funding.

Several years ago a German company introduced a spray-on condom, but the product was withdrawn because men did not want to wait the full minute for the product to dry.  That, and you couldn't really travel with the applicator in your wallet.

Bill Gates: Boy Scout Should Lift Gay Ban

(Via Towleroad)

Forbes Issues 2013 Billionaires List

According to Forbes Magazine, there are presently 1342 billionaires in the world. Other notables on the list: Michael Bloomberg (#13, $27B), Jeff Bezos (#19, $25B), Sergey Brin (#21, $23B), George Soros (#30, $19B), Mark Zuckerberg (#66, $13B), Rupert Murdoch (#91, $11B), Giorgio Armani (#131, $8B),  Donald Trump (#423, $3B),  Oprah Winfrey (#503, $3B), and Peter Thiel (#931, $1.6B).

The Gates Give $500K To WA Marriage

Bill and Melinda Gates have donated $500,000 to Washington state's campaign to uphold same-sex marriage.

The donation was announced Tuesday by Washington United for Marriage, which is working to approve Referendum 74. The donation was made on Oct. 15, but didn't publicly post online with the Public Disclosure Commission until Tuesday. Referendum 74 asks voters to either approve or reject the law allowing same-sex marriage that was passed by the Legislature earlier this year. Bill Gates had made a $100,000 contribution to the campaign earlier this year. About $11 million has been spent on the campaign so far, with a bulk of it spent by gay marriage supporters. Washington United for Marriage has far outraised its opponents, bringing in nearly $11 million compared to the more than $2 million raised so far by Preserve Marriage Washington, which opposes the law.

The most recent polling shows R-74 leading by almost 20 points.

Billionaires Are More Billionaire-y

Forbes has issued its annual list of the richest Americans and notes that things are going fantastically well for the nation's billionaires.

A big stock market rally, a rebound in the real estate market, and rising values in the art market helped pump up the net worth of these 400 billionaires by 13%, Forbes said. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is among those with more dough, jumping to tenth place from the No. 12 spot with a net worth of $25 billion. Gates alone was worth $7 billion more than he was last year. Berkshire Hathaway head and renown investor Warren Buffett again ranked No. 2 on the list, with his net worth climbing by the same amount to $46 billion. Larry Ellison, head of software maker Oracle, remained in the No. 3 spot, but posted the biggest gain in wealth on the list, with his net worth rising by $8 billion to $41 billion. Two-thirds of the list’s members saw their wealth grow over the past year to an average $4.2 billion, Forbes said.

WASHINGTON STATE: Microsoft Heads Ballmer & Gates Donate To Marriage

Microsoft founder Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer have each donated $100,000 to Washington state's marriage equality movement.

The AP cites Zach Silk, campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage, who says the checks were cut on Friday and are being reported to the state Public Disclosure Commission Monday afternoon. The Washington state Legislature passed the law allowing same-sex marriage earlier this year, and it was signed by Gov. Chris Gregoire in Feb. But an effort to put that law up to a vote was successful, meaning Referendum 74 -- seeking to overturn the law allowing same-sex marriage in Washington state -- is on the ballot in November.

In November last year, Microsoft joined in the filing of an amicus brief supporting the overturn of DOMA. (Tipped by JMG reader Alex)

Press Release Of The Day

From the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today renewed its commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Gates Foundation is giving $750 million through a promissory note—a new and innovative funding mechanism. "These are tough economic times, but that is no excuse for cutting aid to the world's poorest," said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation. "The Global Fund is one of the most effective ways we invest our money every year." Providing funding through a promissory note gives the Global Fund the flexibility and authority to distribute funds efficiently based on immediate needs, leading to greater impact. "By supporting the Global Fund, we can help to change the fortunes of the poorest countries in the world," said Gates. "I can't think of more important work."

Bolding is mine. Say what you will about the evil Microsoft empire, but Bill Gates is about to unseat Warren Buffet as the greatest philanthropist in the history of the human race.

Microsoft Bids For Yahoo

Microsoft has made a $44B bid for Yahoo!, which has been struggling of late and is set to lay off over 1000 employees.

Microsoft said the booming online advertising market "is increasingly dominated by one player" -- a reference to Google -- and suggested that with Yahoo under its wing it could better compete in the bonanza.

Online advertising sales will double from 40 billion dollars in 2007 "to nearly 80 billion in 2010," it forecast. Yahoo would offer Microsoft a search engine to compete with Google, a popular web portal for email, shopping and news, as well as one of the most recognized brands among online users. Microsoft said a combination of the companies would lead to cost savings of 1.0 billion dollars per year.

Garsh, I hope this helps Microsoft finally make some money. Seriously though, just about anything that further pushes the wealth of Bill Gates, the single greatest philanthropist in the history of mankind, is more than fine by me.

Bill Gates Buys Controlling Stake In PlanetOut

A holding company that invests the wealth of Bill Gates has bought a 56% controlling stake in failing PlanetOut Partners, owner of Advocate and Out magazines, Gay.com, and RSVP Cruises. Cascade Investments LLC joined with several other private equity firms in the rescue of PlanetOut stock, more than doubling its stock value from its 52-week low of $0.86. Shortly after PlanetOut's 2004 IPO, the stock had traded as high as $14.26.

Last week PlanetOut announced that it was selling its adult magazine division, SpecPub, a move now seen as likely made in deference to Gates' wishes not to be associated with sexual imagery. The disposition of Gay.com, mostly used for sexual hook-ups, in not yet known. PlanetOut has a long history with Gates - in 1995 they launched as a channel on then-fledgling MSN. The partnership failed when Microsoft's V-Chat was largely ignored by consumers, forcing PlanetOut to launch their own internet presence.

AIDS Vaccine News

Bill Gates, whom I increasingly believe may be remembered as the greatest man of my lifetime, will today announce a HIV vaccine trial in conjunction with the Canadian government. Gates said that he would be "very surprised" if there is no vaccine for AIDS in his lifetime. A glimmer of hope in the otherwise dim HIV vaccine outlook came a couple of days ago when a team at the NIH announced that they'd generated an atomic-level picture of a key portion of an HIV surface protein as it looks when bound to an infection-fighting antibody. This protein component to the virus appears vulnerable to attack from this antibody, called b12. The rather detailed science of the breakthrough is here.
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