The Super Bowl ad Clint Eastwood should have made

Posted February 15, 2012 at 12:59 am

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Generous rich people you’ve never heard of

Posted February 13, 2012 at 11:11 pm

by Robert Frank

The 50 top philanthropists last year gave away a total of $10.4 billion – up by more than three-fold from 2010. The Chronicle of Philanthropy says that 29 people gave away more than $50 million each in 2011.

The strange thing is, you’ve probably never heard of most of them.

Ranked first was Margaret Cargill. You might know the last name – she’s the “press shy agribusiness heiress” who inherited part of the Cargill fortune. But less known is that the Eden Prairie, Minn., resident, who died in 2006, left a bequest of around $6 billion to a charitable trust and foundation. (The bequest is credited to last year because the trust was finally able to convert its shares of the private company).

Or how about America’s second largest giver last year, William Dietrich II. Ever heard of him? Me neither. He once owned [continue]…

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[ Friday's Fun Video ] – Shit nobody says

Posted February 10, 2012 at 12:10 am

Joining in on the never-ending blitz of “Shit X Say” videos, Tripp Crosby and Tyler Stanton come up with a bunch of shit you’ll never hear.

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Sunken treasure includes platinum bars now worth more than $3 billion

Posted February 5, 2012 at 8:32 pm

by Eamon Murphy

Off the coast of Massachusetts, and in the Mediterranean waters surrounding the Tuscan island of Giglio, treasure hunters are seeking sunken loot.

Greg Brooks of Gorham, Maine — a founder of shipwreck recovery firm Sub Sea Research — says he has located the underwater remains of a British merchant ship that was sunk off Cape Cod by a German submarine during World War II. According to Brooks, the wreck contains a cargo of platinum bars now worth more than $3 billion.

In Italy, meanwhile, the stricken cruise liner Costa Concordia beckons to would-be scavengers. The ship holds everything from jewels and cash to “19th-century Bohemian crystal glassware” and “300-year-old woodblock prints by a Japanese master,” according to the Associated Press.

For now, the hoard of riches left behind by the hastily evacuated passengers and crew remains inaccessible. Robert F. Marx, a seasoned diver and the author of 64 books on maritime history and underwater archaeology, told the AP, “As long as there are bodies in there, it’s considered off base to everybody because it’s a grave.”

Once all the bodies have been removed, however, “there will be a mad dash for the valuables.”

Hans Reinhardt, a lawyer representing 19 German passengers seeking compensation for their losses, seems to agree: “It’s now a paradise for divers.” According to the AP, “some of [Reinhardt's] clients traveled with diamond-studded jewels and other heirlooms that had been in their families for generations.”

The Italian company that operated the Costa Concordia still owns the ship, and passengers of course own their sunken possessions. Anyone seeking treasure in the wreck would therefore be breaking the law. “The ship is being guarded 24 hours a day,” said Lt. Massimo Maccheroni, a Coast Guard official. “It’s not possible to even get close.”

But the prospect of arrest — and the seizure of any valuables retrieved — might not be enough to deter treasure hunters, who tend to be [continue]…

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The 6 least impressive ways anyone ever got rich

Posted January 24, 2012 at 12:05 am

by Pauli Poisuo

Admit it: Most of us don’t think of our ideal success story as “Work hard for 40 years and earn enough for a modest retirement.” We want to hit the home run and get rich while we’re still young enough to enjoy it.

And most of us aren’t exactly knocking ourselves out looking for our million-dollar idea — it’s more about hanging around and hoping a reality-TV producer will decide to turn our life into an even less eventful version of Jersey Shore.

Well, we have to admit that does sometimes happen.

Here’s your inspiration, slackers [continue]…

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[ Friday's Fun Video ] – Dr. Seuss recited at Burning Man

Posted January 13, 2012 at 12:36 am

Based on Dr. Seuss’s final book before his death, this is a story about life’s ups and downs, told by the people of Burning Man 2011.

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Happy Holidays… and… 2011 in Review

Posted December 26, 2011 at 12:23 pm

We’ll resume our normal daily hand-picked news digest — full of articles and posts to help you live a richer, fuller financial life — on January 2nd.

In the meantime, I just wanted to say “Happy Holidays” to you and yours.

Thanks for an amazing 2011 … and you are absolutely AWESOME for showing your kind interest in this daily content we put on our WW (Wealth Wire) blog.

Brad and I look forward to an amazing 2012 … and we will be sending you some really fun and exciting stuff, even if you’re not yet a full WV (Wealth Vault) member (yes, our cooler stuff is reserved for them)

Thanks again and enjoy your holiday season…

Also, when you get a chance, be sure to see how the world searched with Google’s 2011 Zeitgeist.

Your Partner in the Quest For
Living a Life Without Limits,

Barry Goss
LWL Media – Managing Publisher of The Wealth Wire / Vault

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[ Friday's Fun Video ] – Damon Claus

Posted December 16, 2011 at 12:12 am

Water.org co-founder Matt Damon took some major shots to his ego, and his velour santa costume, when he went undercover to promote water bottles to children.

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[ Friday's Fun Video ] – The mental health hotline

Posted December 9, 2011 at 1:01 am

by Harry Newton

Once upon a time I was in telecom. This is funny. I made a great deal of money from what we called automatic call distributors. Those are the things that let you punch in 1 for Sales, 2 for Service, etc.  

Sadly, the whole idea took off.  And we’re now stuck with today’s insanity. Which brings me to this delightful audio-video clip.

You’ll need a kleenex. It’s very funny.

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[ Friday's fun video ] – Funniest door-to-door salesman

Posted November 24, 2011 at 11:05 pm

Holy humor balls batman….. now just how the hell cud ya not buy from this door-to-door salesman

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