Trading volume was disappointing as it only increased slightly in this last week when the market rallies after the rebound. The average daily trading volume last week was 750 million shares and the previous week’s average was 662 million. Average daily trading volume below 1billion shares are considered weak. The market was slightly bullish because of positive leads locally and internationally. Locally, industrial production and export numbers were growing on-month and jobless rate fell. World Bank confidence about having a positive GDP in year 2010 and increasing foreign participation in the local equity market boost confidence further.

Internationally, governments in developed nations are confident that the global economy is improving and Australia is the first G-20 nation to raise key interest rates since the start of the global financial crisis more than a year ago as the government believes that the emergency low rates are no longer needed. In the world’s largest economy, manufacturing increases and jobless claim declines.

Daily FBMKLCI Chart

The US Dollar continues to slide against major currencies, continuing its down trend. This again has pressured prices of commodities to increase. Price of Gold in COMEX continues to make historical highs and is currently at US$1,050 an ounce, increasing 5% in a month. Crude Oil in NYMEX continues to stay around US$70 a barrel. Rubber futures in TOCOM slightly rose month-to­-month but it jumps about 6% last week to JPY$214.80 a kg. However, Crude Palm Oil futures in Europe Store Exchange declined from EUR 2,200 per metric ton a month ago to EUR 2,030.

The FBMKLCI is well supported by the short term trend. The benchmark index continues to stay above the short to long term 30 to 90-day moving averages despite several pullbacks from the uptrend that started in April. A major correction is yet to be seen in this 6 months bullish trend. Momentum indicators are about to turn bullish again after mixed signals in the past few weeks.

The RSI and Momentum indicators are starting to move away from the middle level and the MACD indicator is about to cross above its trigger line or 9-day moving average. ADX indicator has just started to increase again, showing good strength in momentum last week.

The Bollinger Bands started to expand again with the FBMKLCI penetrating the top bands after testing the middle band two weeks ago. The same situation (the expansion) happened exactly a month ago and the FBMKLCI made new highs for the year. Therefore, we may expect the same to happen again and this time the projection is 1,280 points before it finds the next resistance. The average daily trading range is the same as the previous week.

Price Map - Direction Forecast

The immediate support and resistance levels are still at 1,196 points and 1,230 points respectively. The FBMKLCI is currently testing this resistance level for the second time in a month. The market is set to test newer highs because of the strong bullish reversal and breakout. The next resistance level is between 1,280 and 1,300 points. However, if the market fails to make new highs and the FBMKLI falls below the 1,196 points support level, then the next support level it is going to test is at 1,150 points.

Looking ahead, the leading Ichimoku Cloud indicator continues to contract last week and this indicates that the support for the uptrend is getting thinner. Being a leading technical indicator, a major trend reversal is not expected until the cloud bands cross. Therefore, there is still a chance for the market to maintain its uptrend at least for another month.

The market sentiment is still bullish and the FBMKLCI is expected to rise in the short term to the next resistance level between 1,280 and 1,300 points. This is only valid if the benchmark index stays above the immediate 1,196 points support level. In the longer term, a major correction is expected to take place once the index moves into the next resistance level. My price map/direction forecast chart for FBMKLCI remains the same as last month.

Therefore, current opportunity is only good for short term traders who trades short term profits because the market is expected to test new highs but with a limited upside. However, accumulating shares for the long term (3 to 5 years) may be too risky at current levels as prices are way above the long term average. Opportunity for long term accumulation only exists when the market pulls back to its long term average or below it (a 200-day moving average can be used as a benchmark).

So, longer term investors have to patiently wait for a major correction to happen. My longer term

forecast (1 year) for the FBMKLCI when it goes into a major correction is still at 900 points and therefore accumulating shares when the index moves to this level or slightly above provide a better low risk opportunity for longer term investors.

Malaysia Export and Imports Chart

We previously warned that whilst there will be some sporadic spurts of stronger exports, they may not signal a meaningful recovery yet. Our view is that exports may not recover to levels seen in mid-2008 for another 2-3 years. For example, there are several good company like FOONG LI TRADING – premier supplier of good quality sawn timber, timber products, plywood products, doors & window frame, beadings, moulding.

The YoY fall in Aug-09 exports computed continued to be led by a collapse of manufactured goods exports, weakness in commodity prices and a lower volume of commodity exports.

US workers facing record periods of unemployment, negative personal income growth in 4 of the last 6 quarters, and a sharp fall in wealth, will cut spending on the so many discretionary spending items that have formed the core of Asian exports, cannot anchor a global recovery. Restocking by businesses and

public sector spending can only provide a temporary bounce in output that must be rejoined by a consumer spending revival. A revival with conviction of investment spending by businesses is also out of the picture at this juncture with low capacity utilization globally at this juncture.

Weakening of exports accelerated in major markets. ASEAN exports accounting for 25.7% of total, fell a steeper 24.4%YoY (Jul-09: -20.1%YoY) on lower exports of electronics products, refined petroleum products and transport equipment.

Asia Export Growth League Table

Exports to China rose +0.9% YoY (Jul-09: -16.9% MoM), the first increase YoY in 10 months on gains in exports of electronics and crude oil. Exports to China were also 10.3% higher MoM. The positive YoY growth was due to a lower statistical base in Aug-08, the month when severe drops in exports to China began to be recorded in 2008. Exports to the US dropped (-26.7% YoY vs -29.0%YoY in Jul-09), also falling 7.8%MoM on lower electronics exports. The pace of drop in exports to Japan slowed (-25.0% YoY in Aug-09 vs -32.7% YoY in Jul-09) on gains in LNG and crude oil exports. The pace of drop for exports to the EU at -25.9% YoY was however, steeper compared to Jul-09′s -23.9%YoY due to palm oil as well as chemicals and chemical products exports letting up as the recession in major Euro zone economies particularly Germany.

Exports of Electronics were a shade lower MoM at RM20.57b in Aug-09 after rising for the 6th month in a row to RM20.63b in Jul-09 from RM18.6b in Jun-09 and constituted 43% (Jul-09: 42.2%) of exports although still down -13.1%YoY vs -15.6% YoY in Jul-09. Palm Oil exports making up 6.2% of exports (Jul-09: 8.1%) were down a sharper -35.3%YoY (Jun-09: -33.5% YoY) after a major MoM drop. Oil and Gas exports making up 12.5% of exports (Jun-1 09: 12.0%) fell 50% YoY, still amongst the most affected of export categories.

Chemicals and Chemical Products which contributed 6.1% of exports (Jul-09: 6.2%) fell -19.0%YoY (Jul-09: -26.3% YoY). Machinery and Appliances which made up 3.1% of exports (Jul-09: 3.6%) fell at a faster clip of -12.3%YoY (Jul-09: 10.2%YoY) and Timber Products adding up to 2.6% of exports(Jul-09:2.6%) fell

15.1%YoY(Jun-09:-16.0% YoY).

Imports at RM38.26b (Ju-09: RM40.98b) dropped by 6.6%MoM and were sharply off by 18.6%YoY (Jul-09: -16.0%YoY). Jan-09′s -30.4%YoY remains the fastest pace of annual contractions ever on record. Imports of intermediate goods made up 69.4% (Jul-09: 68.7%) of imports, and its fall on a percentage change YoY basis dampens somewhat hopes of a strong recovery, thus continuing the strong trend in preceding months that reflect the recovery in imports of raw material needs for goods to be processed for re-export. On the other hand, capital goods imported amounted to 14.3% (Jun-09: 14.8%) of imports, reflecting weaker capacity-boosting investment plans by domestic corporations that support future growth. Consumption goods made up 7.1% of imports (Jul-09: 7.2%), reflecting lower consumer spending. Consumption accounted for 65.3% of Malaysia’s real GDP in 2Q-09.

The Trade Surplus expanded again to RM9.58b (Jul-09: RM7.8b), a 22.2% jump MoM despite the MoM drop in exports. The widening of the trade gap left Aug-09′s surplus at exactly the mean YTD monthly surplus of RM9.58b. whilst it is still sharply off a peak at RM15.5b achieved in Jun-08 it is a healthy level. Whilst the trade balance dropped in Jul-09, it was read as a sign of some strength rather than weakness.

The Aug-09 data thankfully continues to hint at a V-shaped rebound after the exports slump hit a trough (see charts below). The current scenario does not yet rule out an L-shaped recovery for Malaysia although the possibility of a W-shaped recovery or a double-dip recession in the West appears small. The anchor for Malaysia’s export recovery appears to be China, but the sustainability of this source of exports recovery is thought unreliable whilst it is rising under conditions of a massive stimulus. The global economic turmoil may continue to drive further deterioration in the domestic environment.

Domestic sources of demand remain the key and steady implementation of the Stimulus Spending package is key. Our chief worry is the possibility the economy will fail to respond in a sustained manner and dismal private sector growth is observed way past the phase of aggressive public sector stimulus spending at a time when US consumers appear to be veering towards permanent frugality and Asian consumers are not ready to fill the void.

What came as a surprise was the speed that the estate administration process kicked into motion. Here is the brief timeline: MJ passed away on 25 June and the first series of court hearings began four days later. On 1 July, MJ’s Will dated 7 July 2002 was filed with Los Angeles County Superior Court, which became a public document and almost instantly became of public interest. All these took place even before the memorial arrangements were finalized.

In summary, MJ, in his five-paged Will appointed three of his close aides to be his executors; his mother to be the first named guardian and failing which his close friend, singer Diana Ross, would be the substitute guardian. The Will also make mention of a living trust which he created prior to the Will which is known as Michael Jackson Family Trust (“MJFT”) whereby his mother, children and certain charities are the named beneficiaries. Pursuant to the Will, the executors will ultimately “shepherd” all the assets in the estate into. The MJFT, which details are of course, key private and confidential inheritance taxes are still in many countries and this often is the paramount reason why people consider creating trust(s) in addition to a Will.

For MJ’s case, his estate would be looking at Federal Inheritance Tax that could possibly be as high as 45% in addition to the probate fees (to be based on the gross value of the estate) which is value of the estate) which is also applicable in the state of California. Fortunately, neither of such taxes is applicable in Malaysia.

It seems that MJ was well advised in terms of his estate affairs. However many are skeptical of his actual net worth bearing in mind he has been entangled with numerous lawsuits in the past which was later settled out of court with massive sums being paid out as settlement. At the time of his death, it was reported that he has an existing USD300 million loan with Barclays Bank. No doubt, many observers belief that he may be heavily in debt but he certainly is not broke. It is estimated that his interests in Sony / ATV alone is worth approximately USD 1 billion on top of royalties which will be channeled into his estate or trust (which is yet to be determined) is also extremely significant.

The executors would now have to determine what are the assets belonging to the estate. There could be a possibility that the aforementioned valuable assets might have been settled into or assigned to the MJFT which means that there is a possibility that the estate’s assets are significantly less as compared to the existing debts in such circumstance. If the estate has insufficient assets to settle all the debts, the estate would be technically insolvent. In all likelihood when this happens, the creditors would embark on a hunting spree to claw back as many assets as possible. This would possibly include tracing the assets that was previously settled or assigned into the MJFT and if this materializes, the assets held by the MJFT may be vulnerable.

Translating the above into Malaysian context, the fundamental principles of estate planning are very much similar. Generally, a Will is where a testator bequeaths his/her assets to the selected beneficiaries, appoints guardian(s) for his/her minor children and appoints person(s) whom he/she trusts to be the executor(s) of the estate. The testator may also make provisions for testamentary trust(s) if certain assets are to be held on trust for a period of time, in accordance to the testator’s instructions. However, one need to be mindful that all debts and liabilities would have to be settled by the estate before any bequeaths can be fulfilled. In addition, a Will also becomes a public document the moment it is filed in the court for the application of probate. Therefore, if there are certain assets, which are to, given to selected individuals who details are to remain private, living trusts would be the available option to establish such arrangements.

Notwithstanding his modest means, Gwen is a compulsive shopper and spendthrift. Alex has many times tried to advise his daughter-in-law to curb her spending habits but it only ended up in arguments between them. Many times she has told him to mind his own business. This went on until the relationship between them deteriorated so much that both avoided each other in the house.

Alex had savings of his own and he is the sole owner of the house he stayed in and as such, he did not need any monthly allowance from Donvin. As time passed, Alex’s health deteriorated and he began to think of how to pass his assets to Donvin. He wanted a hassle-free transfer of the house to Donvin. He figured that although his relationship with Gwen was not good, she would still take care of him out of her duty as a daughter-in-law and Donvin would be around to ensure that. After considering for some time, Alex decided to transfer the house to Donvin’s name believing that he would be taken care of. He also wanted to take advantage of the 50% reduction of the stamp duty to transfer the property to Donvin.

Unfortunately for him, shortly after the transfer, Donvin passed away in an accident. Though Donvin did not have much, he wrote a Will anyway to give away his assets. In his Will, he gave all his assets to his wife, Gwen. Alex’s name was not mentioned in his Will since the son had felt that he could take care of his father and that he had his savings. The first thing, Gwen did when she obtained the Grant of Probate was to chase Alex out of the house. Since Alex was no longer the owner of the house, he had no choice but to leave. Luckily for Alex, he still had his own savings. He managed to check into a nursing home. Though he had a place to stay in, he was filled with regret over what had occurred.

The above scenario highlights the common mistakes many make by assuming that the older always dies before the younger and transferring of assets is the only way to solve their inheritance problems. What has been described here is similar to many cases previously reported in the papers.

Had he been properly advised, Alex could have written a Will or set up a Declaration of Trust.

For Alex to get his Will done, all he needs to think about is:

A)    Who will he appoint to be his executor to carry out his instructions stated in his Will? He can appoint an individual or a trust company as his executor. Since Donvin would probably be his sole beneficiary, he can appoint him to the executor, failing which a trust company to be the substitute executor. It is important to have a substitute executor in the event Donvin cannot act for whatsoever reason.

B)    What assets will be inherited by Donvin and whether Alex would like to impose any conditions before Donvin inherits?

C)    Who will the beneficiary in the event Donvin predeceases Alex and whether any conditions to be imposed before the substitute beneficiary inherits?

Alternatively, if Alex would like certain assets (not his whole estate) to be received by Alex without having to wait for Probate, a Declaration of Trust can be created. This is where he declares himself as the main trustee of the assets and a trustee company. In this arrangement, he would have control and enjoyment of the assets during his lifetime and upon his demise, the trustee company would then step in and the trust assets to his son Donvin or any other beneficiaries as directed by Alex. The documents needed for setting up a declaration of trust are a trust agreement and an irrevocable power of attorney between him and the trustee company.

The inclusion of a power of attorney would allow the substitute trustee to take over the role as trustee form Alex, without having to wait for Probate.

Alex is able to enjoy the trust assets as he will the substantial beneficiaries and Donvin would be a minority beneficiary. Only upon Alex’s death, would Donvin be the absolute beneficiary. At the same time, as the ownership and control of the trust assets still belongs to Alex, no assets are being transferred away from Alex.

For total peace of mind and ensuring the instructions of the declaration of trust are carried out, rather than relying on an individual to be the substitute trustee, it is better to appoint a trustee company for the simple reason that an individual will die, fall ill or meet with an accident and be incapacitated or become bankrupt. When the individual substitute trustee passes away, his assets including the assets he holds on trust will be frozen until the necessary estate administration processes are completed. There will be a long delay before the trust is able to continue to benefit Donvin and this defeats the purpose of creating the declaration of trust.

What would be the difference if Alex writes a Will and declaration of trust? The Will is subject to Probate and payment of debts and liabilities. There are also hosts of procedures that a prudent executor would need to go through before distribution to Donvin. Donvin would have to wait until the all procedures are completed and this would typically take between 12 months to 18 months.

However, with the declaration of trust, the assets are part of the trust which effectively would mean that these assets no longer form part of the estate of Alex. As a result, Alex’s Will will exclude these assets and the distribution to Donovan need- to go through the complicated and long procedures when one applies for Probate.

I would recommend that if Alex feels he would like certain assets to be received by Donvin without having to go through Probate, then he should create a declaration of trust. The assets he should include as part of the declaration of trust should be moneys in his bank accounts, unit trust and mutual fund investments, shares of listed companies, whereas properties should be handled by his Will. By leaving the properties in his estate to be handled by his Will, the stamp duty involved for the transmission of the properties to Donovan. If these properties are included in the declaration o trust, the stamp duty that Donovan would have to pay will be very high based on the market value of the property i.e. for the first USD100,000, 1% shall be payable; for the next USD 100,000, 2% shall be payable and if it is above USD500,000, 3% shall be payable.

Therefore, if Cheong has a property valued today at USD500,000, the stamp duty payable would be USD9,000 (as USD1,000 is payable for the first USD 100,000 and USD4,000 is payable for the next USD 100,000 to USD500,000).

In addition, with a declaration of trust, Alex will be protected in the event he suffers from a serious illness or disability where he can no longer be mobile, the substitute trustee can use the assets in the trust for his maintenance and to pay for his medical expenses.

Both Will and declaration of trust would give Alex the flexibility to amend the terms during his lifetime and this will accommodate changing circumstances within the family unit.

Died    : July 17, 2001 (age 84) in Idaho

Education        : University of Chicago & Vassar College

Occupation      : Publisher

Spouse(s)         : Philip Graham (1940-1963)

Children          : Lally Weymouth, Donald E. Graham, William Welsh Graham, Stephen Meyer Graham

At Katherine Graham’s 70th birthday celebrations in 1987, the famous columnist Art Buchwald told a gathering of most powerful people in Washington:”There is one word that brings us all together here tonight; and that word is ‘fear’! The audience erupted in laughter, but everyone present there knew that the high and mighty feared this lady because she was fearless.

Katherine Graham was the head of The Washington Post newspaper for more than two decades during the paper’s most famous period, the sensational Watergate coverage that ultimately brought President Richard Nixon down, and the publication of Pentagon Papers. (The Pentagon Papers is a 7,000-page top-secret United States Department of Defense history of the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1971, and the Watergate scandal was an American political scandal and constitutional crisis that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.)

Even more important than the fact of her success was how she achieved it. She had courage. She took risks. Of course, many business people take risks. But they take risks for growth and profits. Katharine Graham’s greatest risks – the Pentagon Papers and Watergate – were taken for principle, putting in peril not just growth and profits but possibly the very existence of The Washington Post Co. Everyone knew that a prepublication phone call to Graham would be of no avail. No fear or favoritism would get in the way of her principle.

She wrote her autobiography at 79 and won the Pulitzer Prize for it. Pulitzer Prize is a United States award regarded as the highest honor in print journalism. So, when someone wins the Pulitzer Prize, it is common to greet them with, “Now you know how the first line in your obituary will read.” That is only for ordinary folk. For Graham, it hardly makes the first paragraph. Indeed, the Wall Street Journal front page news digest did not even mention it when she died in July, 2001 at age 84. Instead it said,” She helped guard the integrity of journalism in the Watergate era.” This honor she achieved in an era when women faced a lot of disabilities and prejudices in a male-dominated society.

Her mother, Agnes Meyer, was an educator and her father, Eugene Meyer, was a publisher. He purchased The Washington Post in 1933, and Katharine Meyer began working for the Post five years later. She married Philip Graham in 1940, and in 1945 left the Post to raise her family. In the next few years Philip Graham became publisher of the Post and bought out Eugene Meyer’s voting stock. During this time the Washington Post Company also acquired the Times-Herald and Newsweek magazine.

In 1963, Philip Graham committed suicide and Katharine Graham assumed control of the Washington Post Company. From 1969 to 1979 she was also publisher’ of the newspaper.From 1973-1991 Graham, known to many as “Kay,” was board chairman and chief executive officer of the Washington Post Company, and remained Chairman of the Executive Committee until her death.

In 1997, she published her memoirs as Personal History. The book was lauded for its honest portrayal of her husband’s mental illness. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for this autobiography.

Under Katharine Graham’s leadership, The Washington Post became known for its hard-hitting investigations, including the publication of the secret Pentagon Papers against the advice of lawyers and against government directives, followed by the Woodward and Bernstein investigation of the Watergate scandal. For these reasons, she and the newspaper are sometimes credited with bringing about the fall of Richard Nixon.

Her remarkable ability to assume the publisher-ship of a major national newspaper, The Washington Post, and control of a Fortune 500 company, the Washington Post Co., was an incredible accomplishment for anyone, particularly a woman in the 1960s. She was injured in a fall in Idaho in June, 2001 and died July 17. She certainly was, in the words of an ABC newscast, “one of the twentieth century’s most powerful and interesting women.”

Estate Planning will bring you super rich and famous!!!

Well I hope you don’t get the impression that only the super rich can use such instruments like Will and Trust in their estate planning.

The concept of trust may be new to many people in Asian but the Trustee Act had been in place since 1949!

Don’t Just Give the Fruit, Teach Them To Plant

In your estate plan, you should set up a private trust that you can place your assets in the trust and entrusts the appointed trustee to manage and invest your assets, either movable or even immovable and distribute the interest, dividend or even net rental income to your intended beneficiaries in the form of periodical streams of income.

Remember: Your Beneficiaries CANNOT Simply Sell Your Assets

Since the assets are in the name of the appointed trustee, the beneficiaries cannot simply sell your assets! As you instruct the trustee to pay regular income to them; they will be able to enjoy the fruits of the investments without being able to liquidate the assets.

Properties wrapped in Private Limited

I observe many people like to park their properties such as shop houses and lands in private limited companies. As a company is meant for business purpose, it is not suitable for estate planning purpose.

Though you can pass on the properties to your beneficiaries by bequeathing the shares of the company to them, the drawback is that there is nothing to stop them from selling the company or strip off the properties parked in the company when the time comes!

This is because your beneficiaries will the shareholders of the property- holding company and as long as they agree among themselves, they can do whatever they want!

Reason for Setting up a Private Trust:

A)    You run a thriving business but want to ensure that at least a part of your wealth you have built up is preserved for your loved ones. After the world economic crisis, you have learnt that huge and unexpected risks can hit your business.

B)    You want to ensure that should you die prematurely, your children / next generation are taken care of. You can put assets into a trust with specific instructions on how you want to provide for your children.

C)    You are unsure if your beneficiaries are able to manage their inheritance prudently.

D)    You have a successful career and your wife is a homemaker with no income of her own. You want to ensure that after you die, she will have income to reply on in case your children do not look after her well into her old age.

E)     You have a child who may be disabled or unlikely to be able to earn a decent living.

Moreover, you can set up a trust in support of your favorite religious or charity organizations. You can specify how much to give each year and for what purpose, it was for education for the poor students, disaster relief or supplies for the old folk’s home.

What Is The Advantages Of Setting Up Private Trust

The benefits are many. Some of the most important benefits of setting up Trust are as follows:

A)    Assets held on trust are not subject to probate or Letter of Administration and therefore not frozen upon demise. Your assets like your cash or your properties will not be frozen when you set up an inter vivo trust, unlike all your other assets in your Will.

B)    You can specify your own beneficiaries

You will have full discretion in deciding who you want to include as your beneficiaries who will benefit from your Trust. They can even be an organization, for e.g. an orphanage.

C) You can include your own specific instructions

You can “ time release ” your streams of income to your children over a period of time if you are worried that they may not be able to hold on to their inheritance.

Or providing maintenance and education expenses to minor children in the event of common disaster.

D) Protection of your assets from the reach of creditors

You can protect and preserve your hard earned assets from creditors provided it is not meant to deliberately defraud your creditors. However, it is subject to bankruptcy laws in Malaysia.

Conclusion

While you are busy accumulating your assets, do take time off to plan how you are going to preserve and perpetuate your estate.

Wealth accumulation is rarely an end in itself. Plan your wealth prudently so that your beneficiaries can truly cherish the wisdom of your estate plan.

Residence        :  London, England, UK

Nationality      :  British

Occupation      :  Chairman of Virgin Group

Net worth        :  above$2.5 billion

Spouse(s)         : Joan Templeman (1989–present), Kristen Tomassi (1972–1979), divorced

Children          : Holly Branson ,Sam Branson

Richard’s parents continually set him challenges, because they were determined to make him independent. When Richard was four years old, his mother would stop the car a few miles from their house and made him find his own way home across the fields. When he was 12 years of age, one early morning, his mom packed some sandwiches and an apple and told Richard to cycle to Bournemouth that was fifty miles away from his home. There was no water in the pack and his mother told him to find it along the way. Richard’s mother thought such exercises would teach her son the importance of stamina and a sense of direction. Richard says he had no idea how he passed the test, but he walked into the kitchen the next day like a conquering hero, feeling tremendously proud of his marathon bike ride and expecting a huge welcome.

‘Well done, Ricky,’ his mom greeted him in the kitchen, where she was chopping onions. ‘Was that fun? Now, could you run along to the vicar’s? He’s got some log to be chopped, and I told him that you’d be back any minute!’

When Richard was five, during a family holiday vacation, his Auntie Joyce, had bet him ten shillings that he couldn’t learn to swim by the end of the fortnight. He spent hours in the sea trying to swim against the freezing-cold waves, but by the last day he still couldn’t do it. He just splashed along with one foot hopping on the bottom. He’d lunge forward and crash beneath the waves before spluttering up to the surface trying not to swallow the sea water.

‘Never mind, Ricky,’ Auntie Joyce said. ‘There’s always next year.’ But he determined not to wait that long. He doubted if she would remember it the next year. On their last day, as they drove along he saw a river. ‘Daddy, can you stop the car, please?’ he said. This river was his last chance: he was sure that he could swim and win Auntie Joyce’s ten shillings.

He pulled off his clothes and ran down to the riverbank in his underpants. He didn’t dare to stop in case anyone changed their mind. He braced himself and jumped forward against the current, and came back above the surface taking a deep breath. He swam across the surface of the river successfully. After all, he had to win the ten shillings!

No wonder, Richard crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Arctic Canada in January 1991 in a hot-air balloon, the furthest distance of 4,767 miles and he broke all existing records, with speeds of up to 245 miles per hour.

In 1970 he founded Virgin as a mail order record retailer, and not long after he opened a record shop in Oxford Street, London. During 1972 a recording studio was built in Oxfordshire, and the first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield, recorded “Tubular Bells” which was released in 1973.This album went on to sell over 5 million copies! Since then many household names, including Belinda Carlisle, Genesis, Phil Collins, Janet Jackson and The Rolling Stones have helped to make Virgin Music one of the top six record companies in the world. The equity of Virgin Music Group – record labels, music publishing, and recording studios was sold to EMI in 1992 in a $1 billion deal.

The Virgin Group has now expanded into international music Mega stores, air travel, mobile, financial, retail, music, internet, drinks, rail, hotels and leisure, with around 200 companies in over 30 countries.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Airways, formed in 1984, is now the second largest British long haul international airline and operates a fleet of Boeing 747 and Airbus A340 aircraft to New York, Miami, Boston, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Delhi, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Shanghai and the Caribbean. The airline, which carries one million passengers annually, is based on the concept of offering a competitive and high quality Upper Class, Premium Economy and Economy service. The airline has won many major awards, including Airline of the Year Award several times.

In 1997 Virgin took over Britain’s two most run-down rail franchises, Cross-Country and the West Coast Main Line. In 2002, the combined sales of the different Virgin holding companies exceeded ELI-billion. In addition to his own business activity, Richard is a trustee of several charities including the Virgin Healthcare Foundation a leading healthcare charity which was responsible for the launch of a health education campaign relating to AIDS in 1987.

In December 1999, Richard Branson was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Millennium New Year’s Honors List for “Services To Entrepreneurship”

Residence        : Chicago, Illinois, United States

Occupation      : Talk show host, media mogul

Salary              : $385 million (2008)

Net Worth       : Above US$2.7 billion (Sept. 2008)

Partner             : Stedman Graham

While living in a small farming community, the girl had a troubled adolescence. She was sexually abused by a number of male relatives, and even the friends of her mother, Vernita. The poor black American girl then moved to live with her father Vernon in Nashville. But, something inside kept telling her that things would somehow change for the better. She would later say, “I remember thinking, my life won’t be like this, it will be better. And it wasn’t from a place of arrogance; it was just a place of knowing that things could be different for me somehow.”

Yes, Oprah Winfrey’s intuition proved correct. And in 2003, Oprah became the first African-American woman to reach billionaire status, according to Forbes Magazine. She has broken through cultural, geographical and gender barriers, letting the world know it’s not your circumstances, but your heart that determines how far you go in this world. In fact, Oprah’s influence on the world has been nothing short of amazing! She has redefined how the world sees women. One of the reasons she is such a great personality is because she listens. And through her ‘Oprah Winfrey’ show, she has taught the world how to listen and face some of the most important issues of our time.

Oprah was born on January 29, 1954. She entered Tennessee State University in 1971 and began working in radio and television broadcasting in Nashville. In 1976, Winfrey moved to Baltimore, where she hosted the TV chat show – People Are Talking. The show became a hit and Winfrey stayed with it for eight years, after which she was recruited by a Chicago TV station to host her own morning show – AM Chicago. Her major competitor in the time slot was Phil Donahue. Within several months, Winfrey’s open warm-hearted personal style had won her 100,006 more viewers than Donahue and had taken her show from last place to first in the ratings. Her success led to nationwide fame and a role in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film – The Color Purple, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Winfrey launched the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986 as a nationally syndicated^, program. With its placement on 120 channels and an audience of 10 million people, the show grossed $125 million by the end of its first year, of which Winfrey received $30 million. She soon gained ownership of the program from ABC, drawing it under the control of her new production company, Harpo Productions (“Oprah” spelled backwards) and making more and more money from syndication. Riding on her wave of fame and publicity, her personal chef, Rosie Daley, and trainer, Bob Greene, both published best-selling books and became very rich.

Since she herself had a troubled childhood, the famed Oprah became a dedicated active to support the children’s rights. It is no exaggeration to say that her early trauma in life gave Oprah the tools and the strength to become great. She even calls herself an ‘abuse survivor’ and many a times she suffered because, “I didn’t want to say “No” because I also didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. I didn’t want to say “NO” because I didn’t want anybody angry with me.”

In 1991, this abuse survivor initiated a campaign to establish a national database of convicted child abusers. Then-President Clinton signed the “Oprah Bill” into law in 1993. In the aforementioned interview, Oprah stated:”A part of my mission in life now is to encourage every other child who has been abused to tell. You tell, and if they don’t believe you, you keep telling. You tell everybody until somebody listens to you. I don’t want another child to be afraid of saying, ‘This is what happened to me’.”

During the 2002 Christmas, her life changed when she traveled to South Africa to bring holiday cheer to the children. She calls those 21 days some of the most miraculous days of her life. “ I realized in those moments why I was born, why I am not married and do not have children of my own. These are my children. I made a decision to be a voice for those children, to empower them, to help educate them, so the spirit that burns alive inside each of them does not die,” she said. With the help of Nelson Mandela, Oprah launched Christmas-Kindness, giving the children of South Africa one day of pure joy, toys and hope, just as she received as a 12-year-old on welfare. According to the Chicago On Time , Oprah has donated more than $50 million to charity.

In 1999, she co-founded a company called Oxygen Media that is dedicated to producing cable and Internet programming for women. With this Oprah ensured her place in the forefront of the media industry and as one of the most powerful and wealthy people in show business.

In the words of Chicago Mayor Daley, “Oprah Winfrey is quite possibly the most successful woman we’ve seen in the last century. She is extremely disciplined and hardworking and has a natural ability to draw people to her.”

Perhaps the best compliment for her comes from Rev. Jesse Jackson who said, “She has handled success with grace and dignity. She has been mindful of people who represent the suffering that she has been through …She goes from the most humble people to the most celebrated without breaking her rhythm.”