Information on US$ billionaires was extracted from the Forbes list (www.Forbes.com, 2008 list), including wealth, origin of wealth (self-made, inherited, and growing inheritance) residence and citizenship, and number of children (listed for 910 of 1046; 866 with at least one child; 71 female, 795 male).
The Department of Trade inquiry into the takeover of Harrods in 1987 found that Mr Al Fayed had persistently lied about his wealth and origins.
They may have been exaggerated: the portion of wealth of European origin managed in Singapore and Hong Kong has gone up by only one percentage point in the past three years, to 8-9% of the total, according to BCG.
The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality.
Fitzgerald's hero suffers from star-crossed love, his wealth has criminal origins, and he loves to give flamboyant parties.
His most recent book, The Great Escape: health, wealth and the origins of inequality, was well-received when it was published last year.
In his eloquently written and deeply researched new book The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality, Princeton University's Angus Deaton urges caution.
"Life is better now than at almost any time in history," he wrote in a 2013 book titled "The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality".
Much of the new wealth has shady origins, corruption is endemic, and the quality of Central Europe's politicians, civil servants and judges is poor to dire.
El Negro then prudently left the country, but the details of his wealth, and its origins, were revealed in a book by his former personal aide, José Gónzalez, which became a runaway bestseller.
"Life is better now than at almost any time in history," Angus Deaton, a Princeton economist, wrote in his 2013 book, "The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality".
