Slumdog, which cost only 8.7 million pounds to make, last night scooped eight Oscars, including Best Picture.

According to The Times, studio executives at Warner Bros had decided to sell the distribution rights to Slumdog Millionaire last August - three months before the film’s release.

The movie’s earnings are likely to go on raking in millions of dollars a year for decades, thanks to DVD sales, TV licensing, and revenues from Internet streaming.

Last year, because of crisis of confidence Warner Bros had decided to circumvent its relatively small bet on Slumdog by handing over 50 per cent of the US distribution rights to Fox Searchlight, part of News Corporation, parent company of The Times.

Simultaneously, Warner Bros decided to pack up its Warner Independent Pictures division, which had co-produced Slumdog along with Pathé, Celador Films, and Film4.

The move was made to focus on more mass-appeal movies such as The Dark Knight.

Of all the movies that were on Warner Independent Pictures’ 2008 plate, it was believed that Danny Boyle’s film was the only one that had its distribution rights sold to a third party.

Boyle - who was told that the film was going to go straight to DVD in the US - made sure to reference Warner Bros in his acceptance speech for the Best Director award.

“I’ve got to thank everybody at Warner Bros for having the great grace to pass the film on to the extraordinary guy at Fox Searchlight, Peter Rice, and all his team,” he said.

Peter Carlton, the senior commissioning executive at Film 4, remembered showing a director’s cut of the film to Warner Bros last June.

“It was like showing it to a brick wall. They told us afterwards they were thinking of sticking it out on DVD,” he added.

Carlton, however, added that Slumdog’s eventual distribution deal with Fox Searchlight remained heavily biased in favour of the studio.

He accused big American studios like Fox and Warner Bros of “damaging British film” by imposing distribution deals that gave little or nothing back to independent film financiers.

“They make sure they’re the first in line for the profits. And the second and third in line as well. It’s damaging to the whole British film industry,” he said. (ANI)

Today we face a new era: the information age. And just like the industrial age which brought many “statesmen” in the business arena, we are finding today that what was achieved by these great people may not be all that impossible and unreachable after all, when we consider the new statistics and studies, which show the amount of millionaires produced in the world today through the overwhelming power of the Internet.

Surprisingly enough, we find out that today’s youth lead the way. Taking a look at the last fifty years when considering the wealth one ventured to acquire, research now shows that what took 20 years to achieve financial abundance is now being accomplished at an astonishing rate, and in most cases it is being accomplished within 2-3 years. And what is more astonishing is that most of these individuals are in their 20s and 30s. You can ask yourself then: are the youth leading the way to achieving wealth today because they are less likely to be skeptical and are more open to new ideas than our predecessors were?

Let’s just take a look at the two young men that created YouTube, they were two young men in their 20s who sold their company to Google for 2.4 Billion and became billionaires in less than 5 years.

However, we also know that not many of us are going to come up with an excellent idea and sell it to Google, so what shall we do then? Research has come across a large number of youth from the UK, United States and Australia who are becoming wealthy at a rapid and astonishing rate through the power of the Internet simply by standing close to those who are already achieving success.

How is it if experts say that the Internet is still only in at its beginning, that astounding results like in many well known inspiring stories of young successes can be made so quickly? What do the next 5 to 10 years prepare for those who are using this powerful medium to make the once vague dream of being a millionaire such a common event? Or what’s more, how long is it going to be before the online money market will be tied up and monopolized? Maybe it is time for the rest of us to jump on that train now?

Source: http://www.pcdistrict.com

According to The Sunday Times Rich List 2008, the cash boost means they now sit on a fortune of £412.8 billion - an annual increase of nearly 15 per cent.

The UK is now home to some 75 billionaires - up from 68 in 2007 - 40 of whom arrived from overseas to settle in the country.

Topping the list for the fourth year running is steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal with a personal wealth of £27.7 billion, up more than £8 billion.

He is followed by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. The Russian oil and industry tycoon saw his fortune increase from £10.8 billion to £11.7 billion this year.

Among the fallers is Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson. The value of his transport, Internet and mobile phone empire fell by £400 million to £2.7 billion.

It saw him slump from 11th in 2007 to 20th in the latest report.

The owner of the strike-hit Grangemouth refinery, Ineos chemicals billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, experienced an even greater dive down the list.

Higher energy costs and more competition from the Middle East resulted in Mr Ratcliffe falling from 10th last year to 25th.

New entrants in this year’s top ten include steel and mines magnate Alisher Usmanov comes in at five with £5.726 billion.

One place below are Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli. The former Miss UK winner and her husband sit on a fortune of £5.65 billion built on pharmaceuticals.

The top 1,000 wealth creators included 762 self-made millionaires.

Britain’s super rich needed a personal wealth of more than £80 million to feature in this year’s list, up £10 million on last year.

Source: http://www.itv.com

Brisbane-raised millionaire Daniel Tzvetkoff paid $28 million for the mansion which, when completed, will be the largest on the Gold Coast strip known as “millionaires row”, The Courier-Mail reports.

The mansion will have an estimated value of between $50 million and $70 million when it is completed.

Mr Tzvetkoff, who is of Bulgarian origin but was born in Ipswich, started the online payment business Intabill when he was 18 with his business partner Salvatore Sciacca, a cousin of former federal minister Con Sciacca.

The father of one, who is engaged to be married in the coming months, said the mansion would be his family home.

“We’re not out there to have the biggest place or anything like that,” he said.

“We bought it to live in and raise a family. The property to me, was about the right time and a good investment for me.”

Mr Tzvetkoff bought the property from former Sydney Swans ruckman and Breakfree founder Tony Smith, who has been hit by the collapse of tourism group MFS earlier this year.

Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au

London (ANI): Amy Winehouse has entered the Sunday Times” list of Britain’s Richest Young Millionaires with an estimated fortune of 10 million pounds. The 24-year-old star ranks 10th in the top 100 richest people in music in Britain aged 30 and under, reports The Telegraph. X Factor chart-topper Leona Lewis is also a new entry at 14th place with an estimated 6 million pounds fortune.

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, who has added 3 million pounds to his wealth in the past year and is now worth 20 million pounds, is the richest actor in the young millionaires list. Radcliffe’s co-star Emma Watson, is a new entry on the list with 10 million pounds, while fellow Harry Potter star Rupert Grint, has 7 million pounds. Atonement star Keira Knightley has been named the richest young actress with 18 million pounds.

Michael Owen, of Newcastle United and England, is the richest young footballer with an estimated 41 million pounds while another England footballer, Wayne Rooney, of Manchester United, and his fiancee, Coleen McLoughlin, have a joint wealth of 35 million pounds tying them in 13th place in the young millionaires list with Princes Harry and William.

Source: http://entertainment.oneindia.in

Now is a great time to be a millionaire. Despite the shaky economy of recent months, there’s more wealth and opportunities to make money than ever before. In fact, the number of millionaires in the world climbed 8.3% in 2006, and their numbers are growing.

Today there are about 10 million individuals globally worth more than $1 million, according to a study by Merrill Lynch and Cap Gemini. And interestingly, more women are joining the ranks of the millionaires’ club, as they increasingly climb the corporate ladder and launch their own businesses.

While the achievement can sound daunting, experts say becoming a millionaire doesn’t have to be a fantasy. In fact, the same characteristics that enable some people to become successful in business can also help them to acquire millions. Millionaires share many common attitudes and approaches in their businesses and their lives, and here are a few of them.

Secret #1: Be clear about your life goals

You have to have goals if you want to achieve anything, and it’s important to be specific. Instead of having a vague desire to “be rich,” state a specific goal of acquiring a $1 million in net worth within five years, for example. Being specific not only holds you accountable, but gives you some focus.

What’s important isn’t necessarily accomplishing that particular goal to the letter, but having some framework for what you want. For instance, when comedian Jim Carrey was a poor struggling comic in the 1990s, he wrote himself a $10 million check, put in the notation line “for acting services rendered,” and post-dated it for Thanksgiving 1995. At the time, Carrey barely had $10 to his name, but he carried the check around in his wallet for years.

By 1995, Carrey had become hugely successful through hit films such as The Mask and Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, and his per-film fee had skyrocketed to $20 million. So as hokey as it sounds, visualization and goal-setting has worked for many people, and it can work for you.

Secret #2: Be flexible and adapt.

The road to success and riches is never smooth; if it were, everyone would be a millionaire. Just as it took Thomas Edison nearly 10,000 failed experiments to invent the light bulb, so the path to riches is littered with setbacks and failures. Millionaires understand this, learn from their mistakes, make adjustments and move on.

Secret #3: Cultivate a good support team.

No one makes millions all by himself. Behind every successful person is a support system of family, friends or colleagues who encourage her during disappointments. Therefore, try to surround yourself with positive, like-minded people. Sharing a common vision is powerful, and nothing works like the positive reinforcement of others who believe in you and your goals.

Along the same vein, build bridges in your business and throughout your career. The people you meet on your way up can become lifelong friends and professional contacts long after you clear your first million-dollar milestone.

Secret #4: Do what you love.

This sounds simpler than it really is, since not all of us can make a living doing what we love. One peek at reality TV shows such as American Idol or America’s Next Top Model shows there are more people who want to be singers or models than possess the talent to succeed in these fields.

But generally speaking, it’s far more likely that you’ll make a million doing what you love than something you hate or aren’t good at. The more wealth a person has, the more likely that person will say, “My success is a direct result of loving my career or business,” according to Thomas J. Stanley, author of The Millionaire Mind.

Make sure you choose a career that allows you to fully use your aptitudes, talents and abilities. This way, you can enjoy the fruits of your labors, but also enjoy the journey.

Samantha Chang is the Executive Editor of TheImproper.com. Previously, Samantha was the associate editorial director at High Net Worth Inc. and assistant managing editor at Crain’s InvestmentNews. A business and lifestyle journalist for 12 years, Samantha has appeared on news broadcasts for Fox News, ABC News, NBC News, as well as on the CBC and the BBC. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University Law School, Samantha enjoys running, cycling and music.

Source: theimproper.wordpress.com

The world’s ultra-rich families have established these ‘Family Offices’ to ensure that their wealth is preserved for future generations. The annual cost to manage a Family Office can exceed $2 million. However, assets under management would normally exceed $500 million and well into the Billions.

Family Offices started to evolve in the late 1800s - early 1900s on the sale of major family businesses during the industrial revolution. Instead of dividing the proceeds to the family siblings at that time. European aristocratic families had similar set-ups, called Estate Offices; many are still in existence to this day. However at that time, as now, most European families were predominately major land owners.

Family Offices do not invest in the kind of retail financial products one finds on the High-Street. Like financial institutions, they invest in “High-Risk / High Return” investments and tend to retain a mixed portfolio of investments, primarily in alternative investments such as Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Bonds, Equities, Commodities (such as gold), Futures & Options and Currency Trading to justify a higher rate of return.

Since 1989, The Family Office Organisation has researched the world’s ultra-rich families in depth. Since 2005, this research has been more keenly focused on Family Offices for the benefit of financial institutions and fund managers across the globe.

source: www.hedgeco.net

Source: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_The-Worlds-Billionaires_Rank.html

Do a search from Yahoo! answer:

One of the best success story with Adsense is Markus Finch, who operates the immensely popular online dating website PlentyofFish.com.

PlentyofFish.com’s business model is different from the subscription based model used by the big online dating websites. Instead of subscriptions, Markus relies on advertising, specifically Google Adsense to derive income from his website. In a post at Webmasterworld.com, Markus reveals that he has earned $1 million from Adsense alone in 3 months, and the lessons he shares are:

1. Understand your traffic and how it could affect your keywords.
2. Create sites that will bring in repeat traffic.
3. Have your users create content and lots of it.
4. Do not enter markets with a lot of competition monitized via adsense.
5. Keep your site simple.
6. Learn from various forums and if people are not talking about your market, there is a good chance you will make money.

It is not easy to predict how much you will earn from Adsense. The only way you can learn about how your site will perform with Adsense is through trying it. The amount you can earn will depend on the:

1. Responsiveness of audience to the ads = Users looking to book a travel to Spain comes to your site about tourist destinations in Spain is a site that will do well with Adsense as users are more likely to click on an ad about hotels in Spain. However, if you are a gaming website where the main purpose of the user is to play games on your site, then Adsense will not perform as well.

2. Ad format = some types of ads do better than others depending on your content and layout. In our case, large rectangles in the middle of the content is the best, while leaderboards do not generate as much as income. Skys are the worst for us. Experiment and measure the results via channels and see which formats work best for you.

3. Ad placement - check Google’s heat map as they have tested where the best placements are

4. Ad colors - sometimes ads blended into the content works wonders, but sometimes ads that contrast your site colors work best

5. Number of ad units on a page = we are allowed maximum of 3 ads + 1 ad links + 1 search box on a page. Maximize the allowed number based on the resulting look of your page (you don’t want an overkill of ads). Users going to your page and reading your content may ignore the banner or rectangle at the top of the page, but may click on the ad at the bottom of the article

6. Smartpricing - the big unknown in Adsense. No one knows how this actually works.

Experiment with the factors above (except smartpricing, which you can’t control), and see which combination works best. Remember though that not all sites do well with Adsense - even if you get gazillions of traffic but your visitors are not interested in looking for ways to spend their money, they won’t be interested in your ads and won’t click.

from articleonlinedirectory.com