Billionaire Bachelors
Previous-
AP
Richest Single Men in the U.S.
Thinking about snagging a billionaire to get you through the long nights of a sluggish economy? You're in luck. This year's Forbes' list of the 400 richest people in America is loaded with billionaire bachelors.
From that elite group of men, Forbes selected 10 of the most eligible men to profile. Click through our gallery as we highlight five of those top picks.
· Read the Article
First Up: Paul Allen -
Paul Allen
Age: 55
Net Worth: $16 billion
Source: Microsoft, Investments
The Washington State dropout founded Microsoft with school chum Bill Gates in 1975. In 1983, he left Microsoft after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. Allen dabbles in wacky tech projects -- he donated $25 million to researchers scanning outer space for signs of intelligent alien life. He's also a guitar fanatic and owns a Rock & Roll museum and Jimi Hendrix music rights.
· More on Paul Allen
Next: Ronald Burkle -
AP Photo
Ronald Burkle
Age: 55
Net Worth: $3.5 billion
Source: Supermarkets, Investments
This son of a grocer joined the local union as a box boy at age 13. He founded the investment company Yucaipa in 1986 and made a fortune buying and selling supermarket chains Fred Meyer, Jurgensen's and Ralph's. He's a friend of Bill Clinton.
· More on Ron Burkle
Next: Peter Thiel -
Forbes
Peter Thiel
Age: 40
Net Worth: $1.3 billion
Source: Investments
A chess prodigy who was ranked seventh in the U.S. at age 12, this Stanford law grad founded Thiel Capital in 1996. Renamed Clarium Capital in 2002, Thiel has returned more than 30% net of fees annually since. He cofounded PayPal in 1998 and sold it to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion, personally netting $60 million. He was Facebook's first outside investor in 2004, reportedly taking a 7% stake in the social networking site.
· More on Peter Thiel
Next: Ty Warner -
AP / Louis Lanzano
Ty Warner
Age: 64
Net Worth: $4.4 billion
Source: Beanie Babies
A salesman's son who dropped out of college, Warner took to the road selling plush toys. He sold his first line of stuffed animals in 1986. Beanie Babies hit the shelves in 1993 creating a collecting craze. He owns the Four Seasons hotel in New York, home of most expensive suite ever built in the U.S. Price: $30,000 a night. He's also building a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course in Montecito, Calif.
· More on Ty Warner
Next: Mark Zuckerberg -
Courtesy Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg
Age: 24
Net Worth: $1.5 billion
Source: Facebook
The youngest member of The Forbes 400 founded the addictive social networking site Facebook in 2004 from his Harvard dorm room. He left school for Silicon Valley later that year and scored the initial $500,000 investment from PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel. Venture firms swooned. Today Facebook boasts 100 million active users and estimated annual sales of $300 million.
· More on Mark Zuckerberg
· Full Gallery: See All 10 Bachelors
More: Top Hollywood Earners -
Eamonn McCormack, WireImage.com
Top Earning Hollywood Stars
Now that you've seen America's most eligible billionaire bachelors, check out who among Hollywood's biggest stars are dominating the payroll. From Johnny Depp to Keira Knightley, these folks have it made.
· Top-Earning Hollywood Actors
· Top-Earning Hollywood Acresses
Next: More on WalletPop -
More in Money & Finance:
Celebrity Chef Secrets
Celebrity chefs all have some secrets that they would like to keep from their fans. Unfortunately, they're not all about the cooking. See if you've been fooled.
10 Things Celebrity Chefs Won't Tell YouRelated Links:
PERSONAL FINANCE
- Bargains
- Banking
- Budget
- Calculators
- College Finance
- Community
- Credit
- Deals
- Debt
- Economizer
- Food
- Home
- Fraud
- Insurance
- Interest Rates
- Loans
- Mortgages
- Real Estate
- Recalls
- Recession
- Retirement
- Saving
- Simplification
- Specials
- Taxes
FROM THE BLOG
- Ask WalletPop
- Consumer Complaints
- Daily Deal
- Fantastic Freebies
- Kids and Money
- Mortgage Confidential
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
- Relationships
- Ripoffs and Scams
- Sex Sells
- The Dolans
INVESTING
- Stock Quotes
- Stock Charts
- Stock Ticker
- Portfolio
- Stock Screener
- Broker Center
- Mutual Fund Center
- ETF Center
- Money
- 24/7 Wall St.
SMALL BUSINESS
Our Most Popular Features
Recent Comments
Extramediamf 12:38:49 PM Sep 17 2008
So how do I meet Peter Thiel? I am sure that he would be interested in a single mom with lots of baggage! HA!
Dominicanspice2 12:33:41 PM Sep 17 2008
There's people out there that can have all the money in the world. but the are very poor in happinest.
baseballxgymnast 11:35:50 AM Sep 17 2008
Thank you, Skydrive65! I say the same thing all the time! Why are we always helping all these other countries when we still have so many poor in our own? A high percentage of our homeless are veterans. Makes me wanna run right out and join the Army!
Skydrive65 11:23:54 AM Sep 17 2008
Jarrell1e 10:21:54 AM Sep 17 2008Report This!I hope that their money is going to poor children in Africa and other countries! I would do that if I were really rich!.....Good thing you are not truly rich then. What about people in your own country?
Aralpharetta 10:47:34 AM Sep 17 2008
Poor RICH MAN who had The ONE - truly sad.GUESS WHO
Jarrell1e 10:21:54 AM Sep 17 2008
I hope that their money is going to poor children in Africa and other countries! I would do that if I were really rich!
Rabase1965 09:23:31 AM Sep 17 2008
It takes love first yes money is good money will slove all your problems .But when your alone and need somone to love you what can money do for you one more thing why would anyone of thease people put thear faces on here so that people can take advanatge of them ..guys please thear are other ways to find someone even with being richest person in the world this is not the way ...
Czyfaith77 08:54:47 AM Sep 17 2008
To Fairleababy. Two words Bill Gates. There are a host of others.
Fairleababy 08:34:29 AM Sep 17 2008
Of course they're single. There's no way to reach billionaire status if you're married.
Changing careers: Tips from someone who's been there
As layoffs, financial shakeups, and an uncertain future wreak havoc upon the economy, more and more people are contemplating major career changes. Personally, I went through this process last year,...
What's out: Bar hopping. What's in: Pre-gaming.
Even though alcohol is often considered recession proof, the current economic situation has led to a change in how many people including myself consume it. The change is actually a regression to an...
More Black Friday news: Kohl's is the lastest to promise steep discounts
The following may not be a shocker, but in the world of shopping, it's news.Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets are reporting that Kohl's has announced that it's offering steep...
On Sunday, Dr Pepper gives America a free soda...thanks to Axl Rose
I wasn't aware that execs at Dr Pepper were such fans of hard rock. Apparently, in March the company said that if Guns N' Roses finally released its interminably awaited album, Chinese Democracy, in...
Now's another good time to sell your gold
The price of gold has been surging this year, and it now looks like another good time to wade through your box of gold jewelry that doesn't have much sentimental value and sell it at a high price. In...
