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In case anyone in the Valley needed a reminder that you don’t make enough money and the recession put your retirement fund in the crapper, Forbes reminds us that five of the world’s 1,210 billionaires are Arizonans.
Forbes put out their annual list of worldwide billionaires Wednesday, and in case you forgot last year’s list, it’s the same five Arizonans that still have way more money than you.
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The richest is Discount Tire impetus Bruce Halle at $3 billion, up a mere billion bucks since the 2010 standings.
Who says there’s a recession?
Then there’s Bennett Dorrance, who inherited Campbell Soup, with $2 billion, making him more of a billionheir than a billionaire.
The creator of the University of Phoenix, John Sperling, and his son, Peter Sperling, each sit at $1.1 billion this year — which is down a combined $300 million from last year (if that makes you feel any better).
Rounding out the list is Arizona’s poorest billionaire, Arturo Moreno, with his meager $1 billion. Currently the owner of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 2011 is Moreno’s fifth appearance on Forbes‘ billionaire list.
For comparison’s sake, there are still folks on the Forbes list plenty times richer than any Arizonan.
Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim Helu is still the richest man on the planet, adding $20.5 billion to his fortune in the last year to claim a net worth of $74 billion.
Rounding out the top three are America’s staples of super-richness — Microsoft founder Bill Gates at $56 billion, and Berskshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffett with $50 billion.