"SuperEntrepreneurs" are the Cinderellas of the business world. They're the most entrepreneurial of entrepreneurs, the extreme rags to riches stories: they are self-made billionaires.

The London-based Centre for Policy Studies identified nearly 1,000 SuperEntrepreneurs from 53 countries by analyzing Forbes' list of the world’s richest people from 1996 to 2010.

To qualify as a SuperEntrepreneur, a business person had to have earned at least $1 billion. The report did not include those who had inherited their billions, or inherited a smaller fortune and had grown it into a billion-dollar sum.

The goal of the report was to identify the government and policy infrastructures that best support these superstars of entrepreneurship. After all, these SuperEntrepreneurs are good for the countries where they run their businesses, often creating millions of jobs.

Related: Hottest of the Hot: The Most Exciting Trends in Innovation Right Now

Hong Kong and Israel have more self-made billionaires than any other place, when considered as a percentage of total population. The United States, Switzerland and Singapore rounded out the top five.

Low taxes and low regulation are correlated with higher percentages of SuperEntrepreneurs, according to the report. Government programs to support entrepreneurship did not correlate with the percentage of SuperEntrepreneurs, the report found.

The results indicate the American Dream — the notion that it is possible for individuals to rise to the top through effort, luck and genius — is not yet dead. Self-made billionaire entrepreneurs have created millions of jobs, billions of dollars in private wealth and probably trillions of dollars of value for society,” the report says. “Moreover, the American Dream is increasingly the Global Dream.”

Related: What Motivates Entrepreneurs to Do What They Do? (Infographic)

Take a look at the infographic below to peruse further findings from the report, including examples of SuperEntreprenuers, their geographic distribution and descriptions of what supports SuperEntreprenuerial nations.

SEE ALSO: Why Every 20-Something Should Live In A Big City

Join the conversation about this story »

"SuperEntrepreneurs" are the Cinderellas of the business world. They're the most entrepreneurial of entrepreneurs, the extreme rags to riches stories: they are self-made billionaires.

The London-based Centre for Policy Studies identified nearly 1,000 SuperEntrepreneurs from 53 countries by analyzing Forbes' list of the world’s richest people from 1996 to 2010.

To qualify as a SuperEntrepreneur, a business person had to have earned at least $1 billion. The report did not include those who had inherited their billions, or inherited a smaller fortune and had grown it into a billion-dollar sum.

The goal of the report was to identify the government and policy infrastructures that best support these superstars of entrepreneurship. After all, these SuperEntrepreneurs are good for the countries where they run their businesses, often creating millions of jobs.

Related: Hottest of the Hot: The Most Exciting Trends in Innovation Right Now

Hong Kong and Israel have more self-made billionaires than any other place, when considered as a percentage of total population. The United States, Switzerland and Singapore rounded out the top five.

Low taxes and low regulation are correlated with higher percentages of SuperEntrepreneurs, according to the report. Government programs to support entrepreneurship did not correlate with the percentage of SuperEntrepreneurs, the report found.

The results indicate the American Dream — the notion that it is possible for individuals to rise to the top through effort, luck and genius — is not yet dead. Self-made billionaire entrepreneurs have created millions of jobs, billions of dollars in private wealth and probably trillions of dollars of value for society,” the report says. “Moreover, the American Dream is increasingly the Global Dream.”

Related: What Motivates Entrepreneurs to Do What They Do? (Infographic)

Take a look at the infographic below to peruse further findings from the report, including examples of SuperEntreprenuers, their geographic distribution and descriptions of what supports SuperEntreprenuerial nations.

SEE ALSO: Why Every 20-Something Should Live In A Big City

Join the conversation about this story »

One year after its launch, the Emirati royal family's Azzam retains its crown as the world largest superyacht.

At 590 feet in length, the German-built Azzam is actually twenty three feet longer than a U.S. Navy missile cruiser. 

How does Azzam stack up against the competition? Here are the 22 largest yachts in the world, according to Superyacht Times.

22. Roman Abramovich's "Luna"— 377.3 feet long (2010)

21. Roman Abramovich's "Pelorus"— 377.3 feet long (2003)

20. Saudi Royal Family's "Issham Al Baher"— 379.79 feet long (1973)

Despite most hedge fund managers fell short on  the market's returns last year, the top 25 highest-earning hedge fund managers in the U.S. pocketed a combined $21.15 billion, according to an annual ranking by Institutional Investor’s Alpha magazine.

In fact, their multibillion-dollar payday is the highest since 2010, according to the report. 

In the last five years, David Tepper, 56, founder of Appaloosa Management, has made the 'Alpha's Rich List' and in the last two years he has topped it.

Known as a distressed investor who got his start investing in junk bonds, Tepper brought home $3.5 billion in 2013.

The 30 Most Successful Hedge Funds On Wall Street In 2013

Steven Cohen of SAC Capital Advisors and John Paulson of Paulson & Company came in 2nd with $2.4 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively.

The $2.7 trillion hedge fund industry has sought billions of dollars from the wealthy as well as from pension funds and endowments. Last year, investors poured $63.7 billion into hedge funds alone, according to DealBook.

Head over the Institutional Investor for the rest of the list>

Join the conversation about this story »

A new report by the London-based Centre for Policy Studies has found that the United States has produced the third most self-made billionaires currently in the world, putting it behind only Hong Kong and Israel, when considered as a percentage of the total population.

To determine the number of these "super entrepreneurs," the Center analyzed billionaires that have appeared on Forbes' list of richest people between 1996 and 2012. 

With the help of Ernst & Young's Entrepreneurship Barometer, an annual survey that ranks the best countries to start a business, as well as other sources, we examine what has made the U.S. so successful at producing billionaire entrepreneurs and profitable new businesses.

Low Tax Rates

With the corporate tax rate sitting around 40% (35% federal rate plus an additional 5% at the state and local level), it may come as a surprise that the United States' tax structure is cited by the report as one of its entrepreneurial strengths. That seeming discrepancy lies in the fact that the U.S.'s tax rate, when measured as a share of GDP, is incredibly low. According to the OECD, the U.S.'s corporate taxes accounted for 2.6% of GDP in 2012. As recently as 2011, corporate taxes accounted for 1.3%. For reference, in the 1950s, corporate taxes accounted for around 5%.

Canada (26%), Norway (28%), and New Zealand (28%) all have a nominally lower corporate tax rate than the United States. Yet all three have higher corporate taxes as a share of GDP: 2.9%, 10.4%, and 4.4%, respectively. That means those three countries actually raise more revenue from corporate taxes than the United States proportionally, and U.S. companies pay a smaller share of their profits in income tax than corporations in those countries. While tax policy is a constant left/right argument, many believe that high tax rates discourage entrepreneurship.

Many in the U.S. love to harp on the country's high statutory tax rate, but corporate taxes are actually lower than they've ever been. Add in the multitude of loopholes, tax shelters, and exemptions that corporations take advantage of, and you can understand why Warren Buffet has called the notion that corporate taxes are high "a myth."

A Loose Regulatory Environment

While many entrepreneurs complain that the U.S.'s regulatory environment is complex, the country is actually an easy place to start a business when compared to the rest of the world. The 2013 "Ease Of Doing Business Index"ranks the United States as fourth, behind only Singapore, Hong Kong, and New Zealand.

The index measures regulations that affect the formation and running of businesses, such as the time and minimum capital to start a business and the procedures for purchasing property, obtaining permits, and managing bankruptcy. Similarly, the OECD index of regulations ranks the U.S. as half as burdened by regulations as Western European countries.

Here's some hard numbers on how much easier running a business is in the U.S.: On nearly every statistical measure for taxes and regulations, the U.S. scores better than the average across all G20 countries.

Access To Liquid Money

As the financial center of the world, it's not surprising that the United States' biggest advantage may be its financial markets. According to Ernst & Young, markets in the U.S. are not only large, but "efficient and highly liquid." In addition, the U.S. benefits from a deep network of angel investors, venture capital firms, specialty banks, and crowdfunding solutions to provide capital to new, innovative businesses.

The United States also benefits from an established innovation system that supports research and development. Only Japan and South Korea currently spend more money on R&D as a percentage of GDP.

Take a look at how the U.S. compares to the G20 average:

The Entrepreneurial Culture

The entrepreneurial spirit is central to American culture. Billionaire founders of Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Facebook are just the latest wave in a long tradition that began with titans like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, and John D. Rockefeller. 

Entrepreneurs in the U.S. are able to take advantage of elite research universities and a close association between higher education and the business world, in the form of science parks, business incubators, and venture funds. While the connection between Stanford University and Silicon Valley is the most immediate example, Cornell's new high-tech campus is similarly trying to become a hub for the NYC startup scene.

In general, Americans are also more receptive to the risks associated with starting a business. The culture in the United States, unlike many countries, is one of support. Look at how U.S. entrepreneurs view business failure:President Obama is not the first president to publically support small businesses and entrepreneurship, but he has famously made them a centerpiece of his economic program. He has called small businesses "the engine of our economy," suggesting that they drive growth and create jobs.

According to Ernst & Young, 79% of U.S. entrepreneurs say that the country's culture encourages entrepreneurship. By comparison, the G20 average is around 57%. 

All in all, America remains a business powerhouse, with an infrastructure and culture that produces more self-made billionaires than most other nations. Here's an overview of how the U.S. ranks in five categories on Ernst & Young's Entrepreneurship Barometer:

SEE ALSO: The Countries Where It's Easiest To Become A Self-Made Billionaire

Join the conversation about this story »

Britain is the billionaire capital of the world, at least on a per capita basis.

A total of 104 billionaires call the UK home, according to The Sunday Times Rich List, which is due to be published on May 18.

That’s a rise of 16 from the 2013 survey and is more than triple the number from a decade ago. It's also the first time the figure has topped 100. 

That means Britain has one billionaire for every 607,692 residents, more than any other country on the planet. In the United States, which ranked second on the super rich list, there is one billionaire for every million or so people. The ratio in Russia is about one in every 2.5 million people.

Their combined wealth of GBP301 billion ($508 billion), versus GBP245 billion in 2013, is the equivalent of Norway’s gross domestic product and is more than twicethe value of the Irish economy.

It's also higher than pre-recession levels of 2008.

Only one of the top 10 richest billionaires — the Duke of Westminster, who ranked 10th with a personal fortune of GBP8.5 billion — is originally from Britain.

Indian-born brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja topped the list with a fortune of GBP11.9 billion, followed by Uzbek-born Alisher Usmanov (GBP10.65 billion) and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and his family (GBP10.25 billion).

Not surprisingly, most of the billionaires live in London. The city has 72 sterling billionaires, well ahead of Moscow and New York, which have 48 and 43 respectively. 

But if you have more money than you could possibly need in several lifetimes, why would youchoose to live in the UK, which, let's be honest, has some of the worst weather in the world? 

“London is the financial centre of the world, it straddles time zones so people can get the best financial advice trade, the tax regime is good and they feel safe here,” Phillip Beresford, the author of the rich list, was quoted as saying.

Aha, there it is: Britain’s lenient tax regime. Indeed, that is a major attraction for mega rich people loathe to part with their money.

Unlike the United States, UK residents registered for non-domiciled status don’t pay tax on their global wealth, only on their British income. So if you run a multi-national company, that’s a huge saving every year.

And while nearby France might have better weather than the UK, the government there has slapped a 75 percent take on the super wealthy.

Having a mere billion in the bank is no longer enough for inclusion among the top 50 ridiculously rich people. The entry point is now GBP1.7 billion, compared with GBP700 million a decade ago.

Join the conversation about this story »

A painting reportedly owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sold for an astounding $56.2 million during an auction at Phillips in New York City earlier this week, Bloomberg reports. 

The piece was "Untitled (Red, Blue, Orange)," completed by modern artist Mark Rothko in 1955. Rothko works are extremely valuable — a similar painting sold for $66.2 million at Christie's earlier this month.

Allen bought the work for $34.2 million in 2007, and he was guaranteed an undisclosed minimum amount regardless of how much it sold for this week. 

The $56.2 million Allen's painting fetched made up for 43% of total sales for the night's auction, which also featured pieces by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. The night's $132 million total was the auction house's highest tally since November 2010. 

According to Bloomberg, many stylish young people were in attendance, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Christie's contemporary art specialist Loic Gouzer. 

SEE ALSO: Take A Look At Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen's Incredible Collection Of Landscape Art

WE'RE ON PINTEREST: Click Here To Follow Us

Join the conversation about this story »

For Berkshire Hathaway, succession is a huge issue. Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett is 83-years-old. He appears sharp, energetic, healthy, and dedicated to a few more decades of success at Berkshire. But eventually, his time leading the company will end.

Given that he's such a uniquely talented investor and businessman, it's natural for investors to worry. During the annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Warren Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger addressed the issue of succession for Buffett, Munger, and Ajit Jain, head of the company's reinsurance division. 

Below are my notes on succession-related questions, along with responses from Warren and Charlie.

Question: Has the board discussion turned to replacing your friend and vice chairman Charlie Munger?

Warren Buffett: Charlie is my canary in the coal mine. Charlie turned 90, and I find it encouraging how well he is handling middle age. I hope to do the same thing myself. They always talk about replacing me, but they never talk about replacing Charlie. 

Whoever replaces me will probably find someone they work closely with. We saw it with Don Keough and Roberto Goizueta at Coca-Cola, and Tom Murphy and Dan Burke at Capital Cities. They worked better together, and I think partnership enhances things. But frankly, I have a lot of trouble thinking of anyone that could replace Charlie.

Charlie Munger: I don't think the world has much to worry about. Most 90-year-old men are gone soon enough.

In short, Munger is irreplaceable. He's a master of worldly wisdom, and he's been an invaluable counselor to Buffett. 

Question: Matt Rose recently shifted from CEO of BNSF to executive chairman. Does that change anything at Berkshire? What about succession for Ajit Jain?

Buffett: The only succession for Ajit will be reincarnation. We won't get another Ajit, but fortunately, we won't have to anytime soon.

The situation with Matt doesn't have any implication for Berkshire. I have letters from every one of our managers telling me what I should do if something happens to them. I have their ideas. I wouldn't try to discern anything about parent-company succession based on subsidiary succession.

Munger: I don't worry over the fears of succession problems. Folks have worse problems in life. We're doing very well.

Jain is also irreplaceable. Fortunately, he's only 62, so hopefully he won't retire anytime soon. Matt Rose, though Buffett didn't confirm anything, is certainly a leading candidate for the next CEO. During the meeting, Buffett asked Rose to help answer questions several times. 

Question: Todd Combs and Ted Weschler have gone from managing $3 billion to $7 billion, but still less than 10% of your total investment portfolio. Given both men have seemingly been involved in more than just investing, will Todd and Ted join you and Charlie on stage here at some point?

Buffett: I got through college answering fewer questions than that. It's under $7 billion now. We will adjust that upward over time. They, as well as I, are seeing that it gets more difficult as the sums get larger. And it's still far better to move more money to them and away from me. And they are tremendous additions to Berkshire -- they know a lot of business.

Ted and Todd have both been very helpful in doing things beyond their investment management duties that added value. That will continue as they like it, and they don't ask for extra comp for it. They know how I think, so they can get deals done.

Obviously, this is a strong vote of confidence for both Weschler and Combs, whom shareholders should expect to shoulder the company's investment decisions when Buffett eventually steps down. 

Rose, Weschler, and Combs aren't the company's only prominent leaders. Greg Abel, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy (formerly MidAmerican Energy) is also a leading candidate for the next CEO. During the meeting, Buffett called on Abel several times to help answer questions about the energy business.

Clearly, Buffett trusts him. Tracy Britt Cool, though fairly young, works closely with Buffett, and she's gained his trust and respect. It's encouraging to see Berkshire developing another generation of leaders, though I'm in no hurry for a transition.

Join the conversation about this story »

Some of the most successful execs on Wall Street — including billionaires Daniel Loeb, Paul Tudor Jones, and Ray Dalio — start their days sitting on a meditation cushion. 

"Meditation, more than any other factor, has been the reason for what success I've had," says Dalio, who's been a practitioner for 42 years.

He says it makes him feel like a "ninja in a fight." 

Meditation trains their minds in the same way that hitting the gym trains their bodies.

It's becoming so popular among the finance crowd that meditation classes at Goldman Sachs have waiting lists that are hundreds of names long, according to Bloomberg, since no one wants to get left behind on a possible competitive advantage. 

Here's some of the research on those advantages:  

• A 2005 study from Harvard Medical School found that meditation increases the thickness of your prefrontal cortex, a center of your brain associated with attention and self-awareness.
• A 2009 study from Aarhus University of Denmark study found that long-term meditators have thicker brain stems. 
• A 2010 study from the University of California, Davis, found that meditation increases your attention span.
• A 2010 study from Harvard Medical School that meditation increases the density of your gray matter in regions associated with learning and memory processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking.
• A 2014 study from the International College in Thailand found that meditators have lower rates of burnout and cope better with job-related stress. 
• A 2014 study from the University of Amsterdam correlated meditation practice with attention to detail and creative performance. 

And that's only a sampling of the staggering amount of research being done on the benefits of meditation. 

To start, meditation instructor and "Real Happiness at Work" author Sharon Salzberg tells usmindfulness meditation is really just about paying attention to the sensations in your body and mind.

Here are her instructions:

"Use the body and breathe. You don't even have to close your eyes. Tune into the actual sensations of the breath so you can feel it come in and go out. Notice the thoughts and emotions that come, and try your best to have an interest in them as experiences in the moment. Mindfulness is all about relationships. It's not about stopping the thoughts and blanking out; it's relating to them and watching them, rather than being taken over by them. Then we have a choice: I'm going to let that thought go, or I'm going to act on it." 

Start doing that every morning, and you'll be a ninja in no time.  

SEE ALSO:  14 Executives Who Swear By Meditation

Join the conversation about this story »

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has reportedly won a bidding war to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers from ousted owner Donald Sterling. If the deal goes through, he will pay $2 billion for the team.

But that hefty sum is just a small fraction of his fortune. According to Forbes, Ballmer has a net worth of $20 billion, which makes him the 34th richest man in the world.

Ballmer is known in the tech community for being eccentric and high-energy. He also spends his billions in some pretty interesting ways.

Ballmer has a degree in math and economics from Harvard, where he worked for the university's football team.

While at Harvard, Ballmer spent much of his time working as a manager for the football team. He has said the experience taught him lessons that have been important in his business life.

"I'm not a very good athlete, actually. But I love sports,"he told PC Mag. "I learned the most important thing I've ever learned—the most important business learning exercise was as manager of the Harvard football team. I had to come in, memorize the names of 100 people basically in a day, and I had to get up in front of 100 football players—which is not exactly—they're a kind of rowdy lot."

He's best friends with Bill Gates.

Ballmer and Gates lived down the hall from each other at Harvard. Though Gates left before finishing his degree, the two remained close friends. 

In 1980, Ballmer dropped out of an MBA program at Stanford to join Gates at Microsoft. 

"Partners, spouses, whatever, we participated together in giving birth to this amazing thing called Microsoft. We always work well together, we do not always agree, we always work through our disagreements," Ballmer said to the Telegraph. "That is why I say there is a certain husband-wife, brothers thing, where you have an ability to agree, resolve issues, a fundamental respect, admiration, good feeling."

The pair have a sense of humor, too — they once filmed a "Night at the Roxbury" spoof for a Microsoft conference.

He owns a $10 million home in Hunts Point, Washington.

With a population of roughly 400 people, Hunts Point is a small but wealthy town located just across Lake Washington from Seattle. It's about a fifteen minute drive to Microsoft's campus in Redmond.

Ballmer's waterfront home is nice, but it pales in comparison to the 12,200-square-foot English manor next door. The estate used to belong to Kenny G, but tech entrepreneur Craig McCaw purchased the property in 1999. The selling price was rumored to be close to $26 million.

Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen lives a pretty fabulous life. With a net worth of more than $16 billion, he's the 57th wealthiest man in the world, and he has the fancy yachts, planes, and lifestyle to prove it.

Allen also collects a ridiculous amount of properties across the globe. 

From a hilltop mansion on the French Riviera to an entire island off the coast of Washington, Allen has made his fair share of blockbuster purchases over the years.

Allen's primary residence is a 10,000-square-foot waterfront home on Mercer Island, a ritzy enclave of Seattle. He owns a total of nine mansions on the island, including one that's just for his mother and another that houses a full-size basketball court, swimming pool, and fitness center.

Source: Curbed Seattle, The Real Estalker

He bought Allan Island, off the coast of Washington, in 1992. Though he initially had plans to build a dream home on the island, its secluded nature and lack of electricity made construction difficult. He sold the island last year for a discounted $8 million.

Source: Curbed Seattle

In 1993, Allen purchased a former sheep ranch in Tetonia, Idaho. For years, the property operated as the Teton Ridge Ranch, a five-suite luxury mountain lodge. It closed for business in 2009.

Source: The Real Estalker

The geniuses at national real estate brokerage Redfin recently conducted an analysis of some of the wealthiest people in the U.S. to see just how many homes they could afford to buy. 

In many cases, these billionaires could buy all of the homes in an entire city. Bill Gates, for example, has a net worth of more than $77.5 billion and could theoretically afford to buy all 114,212 homes in Boston. The city's homes are valued at a total of $76.6 billion. 

Redfin's economists determined the total value by looking at all home sales between April 1, 2013 and April 1, 2014. Those sales were used as a representative sample of all homes in a city. 

Several other tech billionaires could afford to buy entire cities, including Google CEO Larry Page, who could buy all 99,964 homes in Boca Raton, Florida, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who could buy all 139,124 homes in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Redfin created this map of the cities that these billionaires could theoretically buy with their wealth. For super-rich families like the Waltons and the Koch brothers, the study assumed they would pool their wealth together to purchase a city. The values depicted represent the total value of all homes in a particular city. 

The study was conducted on a total of 30 billionaires drawn from Forbes' 400 Wealthiest list.

"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," Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson said in a blog post.

You can see all 30 in the table below, along with the U.S. cities they could afford to buy if they so desired. 

SEE ALSO: The Incredible Real Estate Portfolio Of Microsoft Billionaire Paul Allen

WE'RE ON PINTEREST:  Click Here To Follow Us

Join the conversation about this story »

Nassef Sawiris, the richest man in Egypt, has broken the record for the priciest co-op sale in New York City after purchasing the penthouse at 960 Fifth Avenue for $70 million, according to The New York Daily News.

The co-op belonged to Edgar Bronfman Sr., chairman of the Seagram Co., until he passed away in December 2013. The property was listed with Brown Harris Stevens for $65 million in February 2014, and the buyer has been a mystery since it went into contract for $70 million a little over two months ago.

Before this, the record for the priciest co-op sale belonged to David Geffen who paid $54 million for a Fifth Avenue penthouse in 2012. 

Sawiris' new home features 16 rooms, five fireplaces, a built-in safe, and a wraparound terrace with views of Central Park, among many other luxurious perks. One real estate source told The New York Post back in April that the new owner will likely gut the place.

See photos of the co-op as it currently stands below.

This living room in Sawiris' penthouse features one of five fireplaces.

The decor in the home is somewhat outdated.

The color palette in the 16-room apartment is reminiscent of the 1970s.

But the penthouse still maintains the architectural details common in a prewar building.

The formal dining room has a classical layout.

The apartment offers sprawling views of Central Park.

The wrap-around terrace got a lot of praise when the floor plan was released ahead of the interior photos.

Paige Cooperstein also contributed to this story.

SEE ALSO: Seagram Billionaire Charles Bronfman Sells His Fifth Avenue Flat For $19.9 Million

FOLLOW US! Check Out BI's Lifestyle Section On Facebook

Join the conversation about this story »

Owning a big apartment in New York City is great, but having a mansion in the Hamptons is a privilege only the 1% of the 1% can enjoy.

Last year, then-Forbes reporter Morgan Brennan broke down the who's who of one of the most exclusive streets in the Hamptons — Southampton's Meadow Lane.

Not only does it have access to a long stretch of private beach, but the median sale price of a home here was just under $18 million in 2012, according to PropertyShark, making it the most expensive street on the East End.

The five-mile road even has a helipad to whisk its famous residents off to Manhattan.

Meadow Lane is one of the most expensive addresses in the country, and no wonder — it runs along a coveted beachfront strip in one of the most exclusive towns in the Hamptons.

Source: Forbes

The famous millionaires and billionaires who live there all reside within throwing distance on the same stretch of road.

Source: Forbes

Daniel Och, CEO of Och-Zipp Capital Management Group, has a 4-acre estate valued at $20.4 million with a 7,000-square-foot mansion.

Source: Forbes

Moise Safra, the Brazilian billionaire who was part of the wealthy Safra banking family, died on Saturday from complications of Parkinson's disease, Bloomberg News reports. He was 79.

Safra had an estimated net worth of $2.2 billion, according to Forbes. He sold his half of Banco Safra to his brother Joseph in 2006. 

After selling his stake in the family banking business, Safra began investing in real estate. According to Forbes, Safra spent $810 million on an office building in London, and partnered with Chinese real estate billionaire Zhang Xin to buy a 40 percent stake in the General Motors building in Manhattan. Safra also has named after him a Manhattan community center, currently under construction, and an auditorium in the Albert Einstein Iraelite Hospital in Sao Paulo.

The Safra banking legacy started with Moise's great-great-grandfather in the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Moise's father Jacob opened the Jacob E. Safra Bank in Beirut, and the family's business grew to include Safra SA (now Banco Safra de Investimento), the Trade Development Bank in Geneva, and the Republic National Bank of New York.

Moise Safra's siblings are well-known for their banking experience and wealth. His brother Joseph Safra is the richest banker on the planet with an estimated $16.5 billion net worth today. Moise Safra's other brother, Edmond, entered the family banking business at age 16, helped build the Safra empire, and died mysteriously in 1999 from arson. Edmond's widow and wealthy Brazilian heiress, Lily Safra, is also on the Forbes billionaire list with a net worth of $1.3 billion.

Safra is survived by his wife, Chella Cohen Safra, and his five children.

SEE ALSO: Meet Joseph Safra, The Richest Banker On The Planet

Join the conversation about this story »

This ultra luxurious penthouse in Manhattan belongs to an extremely private billionaire.

The 18,000-square-foot apartment, located a whopping 90 stories high, was recently redesigned by ODA Architecture. It contains nearly every amenity you can think of, including a sculpture garden with a 30-foot water wall and reflection pool, a game room, a day spa, and a recording studio, according to ODA.

The penthouse's extensive renovations reportedly took ODA four years to complete.  

The foyer sets an elegant tone that continues throughout the house.

This seating area is one of many rooms in the penthouse with stunning views.

The high ceilings in the living room make the area feel extra spacious.

An eccentric Chinese billionaire has announced plans to invite 1,000 impoverished Americans for a slap-up meal in Central Park in a bid to show fellow tycoons there is more to life than “luxury goods, gambling and prostitution”.

Chen Guangbiao, a recycling magnate from the eastern province of Jiangsu, issued the invitation to his “charity luncheon for 1,000 poor and destitute Americans” through two prominent adverts placed in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal this week.

Guests will be given $300 (£177) to spend on “occupational training” as well as lunch at the Loeb Boathouse restaurant in Manhattan’s Central Park.

The restaurant, which featured in the 1989 comedy When Harry Met Sally, describes itself as “the ultimate urban oasis” and “a haven for romantics and nature lovers”.

Mr Chen said he hoped the lunch, which he expects to cost around $1 million (£590,000), would boost relations between China and the United States and change people’s perceptions of wealthy Chinese.

“I want to spread the message in the US that there are good philanthropists in China and not all are crazy spenders on luxury goods,” he told Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post on Wednesday.

The tycoon, whose past stunts include selling canned air to raise awareness of pollution and smashing a Mercedes Benz to draw attention to global warming, also hoped to serve as a role model for Chinese billionaires with a penchant for squandering their fortunes on “luxury goods, gambling and prostitution”.

“There are many wealthy Chinese billionaires but most of them gained their wealth from market speculation and colluding with government officials while destroying the environment,” he said.

“I can’t bear the sight of it, because all they do is splurge on luxury goods, gambling and prostitution and very few of them sincerely live up their social responsibility.”

It was not immediately clear whether Mr Chen’s guests would be offered a set menu at the Central Park feast or be allowed to choose from the restaurant’s à la carte lunch menu which features dishes such as Lemon-Oregano Crusted Salmon and Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi with Tobiko Caviar and Jalapeno Wasabi Vinaigrette.

In a 2010 interview with The Telegraph Mr Chen said he hoped to build a “charity army” of wealthy Chinese business people who would pump large chunks of their profits back into society.

Join the conversation about this story »

Even tech billionaires love their pets.

From Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, who named his dog Kamala after an obscure "Star Wars" character, to Salesforce founder Marc Benioff, who's brought his dog Koa to so many meetings he's given him the title "chief love officer," it seems that many tech executive aren't afraid to show off their adorable animal friends. 

We've rounded up some of the cutest ones here.

Tumblr founder David Karp has an incredibly animated French-English bulldog mix named Clark. Clark is internet-famous thanks to all of the hilarious photos and GIFs Karp posts of him to his personal Tumblr.

Source: Davidslog.com

Instagram cofounder and CEO Kevin Systrom has a golden retriever named Dolly. This adorable pup has more than 11,700 followers on Instagram.

Source: Instagram, @dolly

Not to be outdone by his Instagram cofounder, Mike Krieger has his own puppy, a 5-month-old Bernese mountain dog named Juno.

Source: Instagram, @junopup

Summer is the time for relaxing, taking a vacation, and traveling with friends and family. 

But "vacation" means something a little different when you're a tech millionaire or billionaire. 

From massive island retreats to private superyachts, these tech executives have come a long way from summer camp. 

Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen will likely be cruising the Mediterranean on one of his superyachts. The 414-foot Octopus has recently been spotted in Syracuse, Sicily, and Corse, an island just north of Sardinia. When he needs a break from the sea, he can always dock at the Villa Maryland, his hilltop mansion on the Côte d'Azur.

Source: Instagram, Instagram 

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff loves all things Hawaii. He wears Hawaiian shirts to work and even named his dog "Koa," after a type of Hawaiian tree. He also owns a 5-acre estate on the Big Island, which he purchased for $12.5 million in 2000.

Source: Wall Street Journal, Honolulu Magazine

HP chief Meg Whitman owns a mountain home and dude ranch in Telluride, Colorado, where she reportedly keeps pet alpacas. In 2007, Whitman donated $1.15 million to preserve more than 500 acres of meadows and wetlands in the area.

Source: SF Gate, The Bay Citizen 

New York's top state court on Thursday reinstated Canadian oil company Norex Petroleum Ltd's $1 billion lawsuit claiming that two billionaires used armed soldiers and corrupted Russian court proceedings to gain control of a Siberian oilfield.

In a unanimous decision that reversed two lower courts, the Court of Appeals in Albany rejected claims by the billionaires, Leonard Blavatnik and Victor Vekselberg, and companies they control that the lawsuit against them was time-barred.

In 2011, Norex claimed that Blavatnik and Vekselberg, who live in New York, orchestrated a takeover of Russian oil company ZAO Yugraneft, in which Norex held a 60 percent stake, and an oilfield in Siberia it controlled worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Norex said Yugraneft's offices in 2001 were overrun by militia members wielding AK-47 assault rifles. It also claimed the billionaires bribed officials in order to win a Russian court ruling that diluted Norex's stake in the company.

On Thursday, the Court of Appeals rejected the billionaires' claim that Norex was forum-shopping because it had lost court proceedings in Russia and a 2002 suit in New York federal court, which was dismissed on procedural grounds.

The court said a state law that extends the statute of limitations for lawsuits that are initially dismissed for procedural reasons applied to Norex. Since the prior federal lawsuit was timely, the court said, the subsequent claims made in state court were not time-barred.

Barry Ostrager, who represents Norex, said the company was "pleased to have its day in court."

Blavatnik said in a statement that the claims in the lawsuit were "preposterous" and that he would raise other potential grounds for dismissing the case.

A representative for White & Case, the firm that represents Blavatnik and the other defendants, declined to comment.

The case is Norex Petroleum Ltd v. Leonard Blavatnik, New York State Court of Appeals, No. 121.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner; Editing by Ted Botha)

Join the conversation about this story »