This weeks Barron's (subscription required) talks about The Next Warren Buffett. Of course nobody believes that's going to happen. The headline is cast to grab attention and sell papers, just like mine, but it's not happening: no way, no how!

Barron's discusses in it's story the strong possibilty that David Sokol, 51, the curent chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company is the most likely to succeed Buffett. MidAmerican has $39 billion in assets and is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A). The headline should really have read "succeed" not be the "next".

CNN.com reports that today marks the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death...and still he pulled in some $40 million in 2006. That's second only to that other dead rocker, Nirvana's late, great Kurt Cobain.

There's only one little wrinkle to today's anniversary -- CKX Inc. (NASDAQ: CKXE) -- which owns the rights to Elvis and American Idol -- announced a $1.3 billion leveraged buyout in June. But DealBook reported yesterday that thanks to the seized-up credit markets, the CKX LBO may be just as dead as Elvis.

That's because CKX is trading 25% below the takeout price of $13.75 a share. Evidently, the market believes that come September, CKX will not be able to finance its deal. Regardless of the outcome, CKX will still enjoy the revenue stream from Elvis -- even though he left the building 30 years ago.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in CKX.

The gleam of the American Idol brand is brighter than ever after CNNMoney.com reported that billionaire and media magnate Robert F.X. Sillerman made a successful bid to take the AI franchise owner, CKX Inc (NASDAQ: CKXE) private. CKX announced Friday it accepted the offer from a group led by its current CEO, Sillerman, for $1.3 billion. Since Sillerman and other board members already owned 46% of outstanding capital stock, sale approval was a slam dunk.

The offer of $13.75 per share carried a 29% premium. However, according to the Wall Street Journal's MarketBeat, this fell well short of the $20-25 value investors placed on the stock.

Other CKX holdings include the rights to Elvis Presley, his music and his Graceland estate, as well as the rights to the name, image, and likeness of Muhammad Ali.

The company is attempting to grow its Presley line by enlisting the help of Cirque du Soleil in creating Presley-themed shows. It already has a deal with MGM Mirage to stage a permanent, live Presley show on the Strip in Las Vegas beginning in 2009. CKX also operates the Heartbreak Hotel, near Graceland, which might be a good place for the stockholders who feel the sale price was low to commiserate.

The company also plans to extend its Idol franchise worldwide. Since Simon (who needs a last name?) is contracted to the company, as well as holding a seat on the board of directors, we can safely assume his involvement won't be affected by the transition.

This post is written as part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst 2006. If you feel Oprah Winfrey makes too much money, cast your vote.

Multiple Emmy Award-winning host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest-rated talk show in television history, Oprah Winfrey is also an Academy Award-nominated actress and a magazine publisher. Winfrey co-founded the women's cable television network, Oxygen, and is also the president of Harpo Productions.

Forbes recently estimated Winfrey's wealth at $1.5 billion, and has referred to her as the world's only black billionaire. She currently lives on a 42-acre ocean and mountain view estate in Montecito, California, and also has an apartment in Chicago, an estate on Fisher Island off the coast of Miami, a ski house in Telluride, Colorado, and property on Maui, Hawaii. Winfrey was called "arguably the world's most powerful woman" by CNN, and in 2003 she edged out both Superman and Elvis Presley to be named the greatest pop-culture icon of all time by VH1.