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Welcome to AmericaRichest.com Warren Buffett : Learning The Stock Trade From The Greats By: Tom Simmons In any practice of life, be it boxing or painting, those who want to be the greatest look to learn from those who’ve already become the greatest. By watching legends in action, you can also study what they do and determine why they do it and apply it to your own practices. Investing is no different. If someone wants to be a great investor, they must study the moves of those who have been most successful. And one of those greats is Warren Buffett. Buffett, who was just recently named the world’s richest man by Forbes magazine with a net worth of $62 billion, is regarded as one of the greatest American investors. Born August 30, 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska, Buffett’s father was a stock broker, giving him early exposure to investing and business. He attended Columbia Business School to study under the famous economist and investor Benjamin Graham. By 24, Buffett was working under Graham on Wall Street. By 32, Buffett had combined seven existing partnerships into one. By 35, he took control of manufacturing firm Berkshire Hathaway. This was all less than halfway into his career. Aside from being what could be the world’s most frugal billionaire, living off an annual salary of less than $200,000, watching Warren Buffett’s actions can help teach up-and-coming investors some serious lessons. While the grand majority of investors would be happier with stocks that got them quick money, Buffett’s strategy runs more along the lines of the maxim “Slow and steady wins the race.” He only invests in businesses that have proven to be sure things by researching their histories. Rather than looking to make quick cash in an economic bubble that will inevitably pop, Buffett chooses investments with less volatility. Another lesson to be learned from Buffett’s strategy is compounding. Compounding looks at how the value of an investment can increase immensely in the long run, rather than how quickly it will pay off in the short run. Using the rule of 72 (dividing 72 by an investment’s annual rate of return), Buffett came up with an accurate formula which determined how long it would take an investment’s value to double. Buffett’s annual return in the first half of his career was 29%, which meant according to the rule of 72, that he was doubling his value every two and a half years. Now pause a moment and extrapolate that. In ten years, with that kind of return rate, $5,000 becomes $40,000, or $20,000 becomes $160,000! Compounding’s subtle method in making an investor a lot of money over an extended period of time is something Warren Buffett mastered. And, naturally, like any other great legend, Warren Buffett can teach you the value of a strong work ethic. Buffett’s name would not be so easily remembered had he not worked hard to get what he has now. Through his ambition and diligence he managed to exercise his practices to their greatest potential. This is the one universal characteristic known in all of history’s greatest heroes.
What Does Madonna Really Want These Days? By: Jon Caldwell A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That's why they don't get what they want. - Madonna Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another. Madonna Madonna isn't happy with the "boring" movie roles she's lately been offered. Casting, she complains, sees her as the mother of a "truculent teenage daughter." "Mom" (real life mother of two) sees herself as the truculent one. She's that and more - this always cutting-edge artist is "frighteningly" good at being anything she wants to be. Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16, 1958), better known as Madonna, is an American pop singer-songwriter, dancer, record, film producer, actress and a fashion icon. She is a multiple Grammy and Golden Globe-award winner, known for her ambitious music videos, stage performances and use of political, sexual, and religious themes in her work. Madonna is sometimes referred to as "the Material Girl" or "Queen of Pop" in the media. Since her debut in 1982, Madonna has released many chart-topping albums and singles, and has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide. Billboard reported that her 2006 Confessions Tour holds the record for the top-grossing concert tour by a female artist. According to both the 2007 Guinness Book of Records, and Billboard, she is the top earning female singer. Madonna is the richest female singer in the world, and one of the richest self-made women in the world, with an estimated net worth of over $850 million. On September 27, 2007, she was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2001, the Guinness Book of World Records listed Madonna as the "World's Most-successful Female Musician". Madonna was introduced to the gay community while still a teenager. It was her ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn, a gay man, who first told Madonna that she was beautiful. He also introduced her to the local gay community of Detroit, Michigan, often taking her to local gay bars. It is Flynn who encouraged Madonna to walk away from her full scholarship to the University of Michigan and move to Manhattan to pursue a career as a professional dancer. Upon her arrival, some of the first people she befriended were drag queens and gay rentboys. After the launch of her music career and her entry into public consciousness, Madonna began to solidify her reputation as a gay icon. In the 1980s, Madonna was one of the first major celebrities to lend her support to AIDS causes. Many of her friends and inspirations, such as her ballet teacher Christopher Flynn, artist Keith Haring, and photographer Herb Ritts - as well as her brother Christopher - are gay males, and some of them have died of AIDS. The song "In This Life" from her fith studio album, Erotica, is about the loss of Madonna's (gay) friends to AIDS, containing the line, "Have you ever watched your best friend die?" One of Madonna's biggest hits, 1990's "Vogue", is a song in tribute to the underground dance form known as vogueing which first found popularity in gay bars and discos of New York City. "Deeper and Deeper," a 1992 hit about a young man's coming out, featured a small reprise of "Vogue". In 2003 Madonna kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards. According to Out Madonna shrugs off the attention the act garnered and her daughter Lourdes' reaction to it (Lourdes told her mother people call the pop star gay and the girl has gained more consciousness of the gay community). "I kind of assume everything I do is going to appeal to the gay audience. I'm just a big queen... it just means I kissed Britney Spears. I am the mommy pop star and she is the baby pop star. And I am kissing her and passing my energy onto her. Like, kind of a mythological fairy tale", Madonna stated of the incident. Madonna has been named by The Advocate as the biggest gay icon of all time over such icons as Judy Garland and Cher. To this day, Madonna's gay following is one of the most loyal segments of her audience. While her popularity among certain other communities (like the African American and Hispanic communities, for example) has fluctuated over the years, her gay following seems to stay strongly intact. |
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