Super-rich get richer - Intermediate

Super-rich get richer - Intermediate

 1. If you ____________ money, you get it from someone who has died.

2. The verb to ____________ means to make something such as a list, report or book by bringing together information from many different places.
3. An ____________ is someone who uses money to start businesses and make business deals. 
4. A ____________ is a rich and powerful person in business or industry.
5. A ____________ is a very large amount of money.
6. A ____________ is a man who has never been married.
7. A ____________ is someone who starts an organization or business.
8. ____________ is the process of selling goods directly to the public.
9. ____________ are things that can be bought or sold, especially basic food products or fuel. 10. An ____________ is a woman who will receive money or property when another person dies. 

Look in the text and and this information as quickly as possible.
1. Who is the world’s richest man?
2. Where does the world’s third richest man come from? 
3. What is the total wealth of all the people on the rich list? 
4. How much is Harry Potter author JK Rowling worth?
5. How many dollar billionaires are there in Russia?
6. Who is the world’s richest woman? 

    1. 1  The rich keep getting richer. According to the latest Forbes ranking of the world’s richest people, there are now a record 946 dollar billionaires around the world. They have made their money from everything from telecoms to steel to Chinese food.

    2. 2  For the 13th year in a row, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was the richest person in the world. His personal fortune rose $6bn last year to $56bn (£29bn). His friend, the investment expert Warren Buffett, was the second richest. His fortune increased by $10bn during the year to reach $52bn. Both Mr Gates and Mr Buffett give a percentage of their fortunes to charity. Third richest is the Mexican telecoms entrepreneur Carlos Slim Helu, who added $19bn to his wealth, and now has $49bn.

    3. 3  The total wealth of all the people on the list grew by 35% during the year to $3.5 trillion as a result of rising property prices, commodities and stock markets. Luisa Kroll who helped to compile
      the list at Forbes said it was “an extraordinary year”. On the previous list there were just 793 billionaires.

    5. 4  The richest Briton on the list is the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, at number 55. Grosvenor inherited much of his wealth and is one of the UK’s wealthiest landowners. He is said to be worth $11bn. Sir Philip Green, the retail entrepreneur who controls British Home Stores and Topshop owner Arcadia is the second richest Briton at number 104 on the list. Sir Philip, 55, has $7bn. Next are the property tycoons David and Simon Rueben, who are worth $4.5bn between them and are number 177 on the list.

    6. 5  There are 29 British citizens on the list. Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson is number 230 with $3.8bn; David Sainsbury of the grocery family is 432nd with $2.2bn; newspaper owner Viscount Rothermere, Jonathan Harmsworth, is number 618 with $1.6bn and James Dyson also has $1.6bn. Harry Potter author JK Rowling is right at the bottom of the list with a fortune valued at $1bn. There are two others who have made their money from a very different type of publishing; Richard Desmond the former soft porn publisher who now owns the Daily Express is 754th on the list with $1.3bn in the bank and Paul Raymond, who owns Escort, Mayfair and Razzle magazines, is also worth $1bn. 

      6 The list shows growing wealth in both China and India, the two dynamic economies driving global economic growth. Another 14 people from India joined the list. With a total of 36 billionaires, India has now overtaken Japan, which has 24, as home to the most billionaires in Asia. There are three Indians in the top 20, led by Lakshmi Mittal, an Indian citizen who lives in London and who is number ve on the list with $32bn. There were 13 Chinese newcomers including Li Wei, the founder of Synear Food Holding. Her company is one of China’s largest producers of frozen food and is an of cial supplier to the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

       8 The US still has 44% of the world billionaires but its share is getting smaller. Russia is also rising fast and has 53 billionaires according to Forbes. The Wal-Mart family dropped from the top 20, after a dif cult year for the world’s largest retailer.

      9 The average billionaire is 62 years old and 60% of the people on the list made their money from scratch. Around 100 unmarried men are included among the world’s wealthiest. At the top of the list of bachelors are Google founders Larry
      Page and Sergey Brin - unmarried at 33 and 34 respectively, they are both worth $16.6bn and are number 26 in the overall list. Other interesting bachelors are Russian metals tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov, in 38th place with an estimated fortune of $13.5bn; or divorced James Packer, who has a more modest $5.5bn media fortune.

      10 One of the more interesting rich people on the list is the accordion-playing, re-breathing founder of Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberte, at number 664 on the list. The 47-year-old Canadian founded his circus-based, animal-free acrobatic show in 1984 and still keeps 95% of the business. His fortune is estimated at $1.5bn. The richest woman, at number 12, is 84-year-old L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, with a fortune of $20.7bn. Chat show queen Oprah Winfrey is believed to be worth $1.5bn.

      Decide whether these statements are True or False according to the text. 
      1. China has more dollar billionaires than Russia.
      2. The percentage of US billionaires in the list is falling.
      3. More than half the people on the list started with nothing.
      4. Guy Laliberte has sold most of his Cirque du Soleil business.
      5. Sir Philip Green is a publisher.
      6. Carlos Slim Helu made his money from telecoms.
      7. Rising property prices were the only reason for the 35% increase in the total wealth of the people on the list. 
      8. The founders of Google are married. 

      Find these words and expressions in the text.
      1. A noun meaning a position on a list that shows how good someone is compared to others. (para 1) 2. A noun meaning someone who knows a lot about a particular subject. (para 2)
      3. A noun meaning       a group of organizations which help people who are poor or ill. (para 2)
      4. A verb meaning       to become better than another person. (para 6)
      5. A noun meaning someone who has recently started to be involved in something. (para 7) 6. A noun meaning a company that sells goods direct to the public. (para 8)
      7. An expression meaning       with nothing at all. (para 9)
      8. An adjective meaning       richest. (para 9) 

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