The world's millionaire list hits a milestone

Michael Fowlkes — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:15:00 EST

Filed under: Good news, Consumer Experience, India, China, Brazil, Market Matters, Rich in America, Economic Data

For the first time ever, the number of millionaires in the world broke through the 10 million mark last year. All said and done, the total number of people who can claim to have $1 million in the bank grew to around 10.1 million people, and on average, these lucky few boast around $4 million in net worth.

While the number of people in the "millionaires club" is definitely impressive, they still do not have to worry about the clout of their $1 million claims being diluted just yet. Ten million people may sound like a lot, but when you consider the world's total population is currently running at around 6.7 billion, you find that the percentage of all people on the planet who can claim to have $1 million is less than 0.2%. So don't feel too bad if you are not part of the club just yet.

As in the past, the majority of millionaires have an American address, with one out of every three millionaires being American. But there are a few other areas of the world where growth is out-pacing the United States. Developing economies in India, China and Brazil resulted in huge growth in those countries, especially in India, where the number of millionaires rose by about 23% last year alone.

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The world's millionaire list hits a milestone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bear Stearns CEO sells entire holding. What would you do?

Aaron Katsman — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:07:00 EST

Filed under: Deals, Bad News, Management, Scandals, Bear Stearns Cos (BSC)

With news that Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) CEO James Cayne has sold all of his holdings in the stock for $61 million, I actually feel sorry for him. Usually when a senior member of management sells stock it's cause for worry, but in this case, what would you have done?

According to the AP report: " Cayne sold 5.66 million shares for exactly $10.84 a share on March 25, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. His stake was once valued at about $1 billion when the stock was trading at $171.50 per share."

With all due respect, the man has invested the last 15 years of his life in the company, and to go from being a billionaire, to someone with tens of millions of dollars overnight is a sad story. Now I know you are all going to comment that he still has $60 million, and it was his fault that the bank came crashing to the ground, but that kind of fall must be hard.

If I was in his position I would have sold everything as well. He needs to protect whatever he has, and if he can walk away with a small fortune, then all the more power to him.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 3/28/08

Bear Stearns CEO sells entire holding. What would you do? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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