As we begin the trek to grandmother's house, it's worth reflecting on what we have to be thankful for. The answer? When it comes to money, most of us have a lot less than we did a year ago. But for those of you who have your health and your families to comfort you, it will cost much less to buy the gasoline to visit than it would have in July. And as you're driving to visit those families -- consider how much less you lost in the last year than the world's 10 biggest losers.

According to the web site, The Business Sheet, those unfortunate people suffered a mind-boggling $176 billion in lost stock market value in the last 12 months. It turns out that 52% of the losses were suffered by three executives based in India. Here they are:

• Anil Ambani - $32.5 billion. Ambani heads Reliance Communications that invested $500 million in Dreamworks earlier this year.
• Lakshmi Mittal - $30.5 billion. Mittal heads ArcelorMittal which has suffered from a decline in the price of steel.
• Mukesh Ambani -$28.2 billion is Anil's brother and controls Reliance Industries, a petrochemical manufacturer.

• Sheldon Adelson -$30 billion. I did consulting work for Adelson about 22 years ago and he is quite a character. His Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) casino is suffering from the economic slowdown and he's had some trouble with debt.
• Warren Buffett -$13.6 billion. As I posted, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) has had some problems this year.

Continue reading The world's 10 biggest losers

The world's 10 biggest losers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is one of several on business heirs apparent. Let us know in the comments whether you think Aditya Mittal should take up the reigns of Arcelor Mittal, and be sure to check out the other heir apparent posts.

The cliché for an heir apparent is typified by the movie Tommy Boy: a dim-witted, irresponsible child pissing away the business and money the parent spent a lifetime accumulating. That cliché couldn't be more wrong in the case of Aditya Mittal, heir to the Arcelor Mittal Steel (NYSE: MT) business.

Even the term apparent is a bit misleading, since London resident Aditya, at 31, is already more of a partner to his father Lakshmi Mittal. As CFO, the Wharton-trained Aditya was the guiding force behind Mittal's most audacious move, the purchase of European steel giant Acelor for $38 billion, and has continued to push for the promised production increases and operational savings that justified the deal.

Continue reading Heir apparent: Aditya Mittal, steel's next magnate

Heir apparent: Aditya Mittal, steel's next magnate originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.