Month: October 2006

ELIF SHAFAK ACQUITTED BY COURT

Londra Gazete, UK
Turkish Community News of London
Sept 28 2006

BEST-selling novelist, Elif Shafak, has been cleared of ‘insulting
Turkishness’ on the first day of her trial.

The Istanbul court threw the case out on Thursday when the charges
against her were deemed groundless. The judge ruled there was a lack
of evidence after a thorough examination of her novel The Bastard
of Istanbul.

Shafak had been charged over a reference made by a character in the
book to the "genocide" of Armenians at the end of the Ottoman Empire
in 1915.

A nationalist lawyer had taken exception to the events being described
as genocide.

Turkish nationalists, who had initiated the proceedings, were involved
in a clash with opponents of the trial after the court’s decision
was made known.

Shafak was charged under a controversial Turkish law, which the
European Union has criticised for violating freedom of speech.

Under the law, insulting the state and its institutions could lead
to a prison sentence of between six months and three years.

The author, who was not in court as she gave birth to a daughter five
days ago, said that she was delighted at the decision.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyýp Erdoðan welcomed the verdict
this week and signalled that the government could consider amending
Article 301 of the penal code.

"The ruling party and the opposition can sit down together again
to discuss this issue, as laws are not eternal," the Anatolia News
Agency quoted Mr Erdoðan as saying.

–Boundary_(ID_E1Zp/Y9/chZA/d3iOQNFuQ)–

MIA ARRESTED TWO MORE EMPLOYEES OF RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

Prime News, Georgia
Sept 28 2006

The employees of MIA have arrested two more representatives of the
Russian Intelligence Service suspected of espionage on Wednesday night.

Prime-News was informed at the Ministry of Internal Affair that the
law inforcement bodies arrested Aziz Aslanian, the citizen of Georgia
in Batumi and Ruslan Skrilnikov in Tbilisi.

Zia Samnidze, suspected of espionage, the brother of Tamaz Samnidze and
the supporter of Igor Giorgadze detained on September 06, is wanted
by the Police. The search is also announced on Colonel Konstantin
Pugachin, who according to the preliminary information is hiding in
the headquarters of Russian military troops in the South Caucasus.

The Georgian special services are conducting piquet of the building
of the Headquarters of Russian troops, because this territory is
involiable from the diplomatic viewpoint.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested four high-ranking Russian
servicemen suspected of espionage on Wednesday. They are: Alexander
Sava, the Colonel of the above mentioned headquarters, Dimitry
Kazantsev, the Lieutenant Colonel, Alexander Alborov and Mayor Barnov
arrested in Batumi. Twelve Georgian Citizens are arrested with the
same accusations.

The group was led by Anatoly Sinitsin, the orginizer of the
Gori terror act, who is in Armenia now. They were conducting
intelligence activities in Tbilisi and Batumi, orginizing rather
serious provocations.

RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN SPY SCANDAL ‘IRRELEVANT TO ARMENIA’
By Emil Danielyan and Hovannes Shoghikian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Sept 28 2006

Armenia distanced itself Thursday from the latest upsurge in
Russian-Georgian tensions that has been triggered by the arrest of a
group of Russian military officers for alleged spying which Georgia
says was coordinated by Russian intelligence agents in Yerevan.

Georgian authorities said on Wednesday that they detained four GRU
(Russian military intelligence) officers as well as 11 Georgian
citizens suspected of involvement in an alleged Russian plot against
the pro-Western government in Tbilisi. Georgian Interior Minister
Vano Merabishvili said they "acted under the leadership from Yerevan"
of a top GRU officer whom he identified as Anatoly Sinitsyn.

Moscow angrily rejected the accusations, demanding an immediate release
of its citizens. Reuters reported that Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov
denounced as a "complete outrage" Georgia’s action which he said had
also included the beating of a Russian officer and six soldiers in
a separate incident in the Black Sea port of Batumi.

Officials in Yerevan insisted that Armenia, Russia’s main regional
ally, bears no responsibility for the acrimonious scandal. "We have
nothing to do with that," the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman,
Vladimir Karapetian, told RFE/RL.

Colonel-General Mikael, the Armenian chief of staff, echoed the
statement, urging journalists not to "jump into conclusions." He also
dismissed as irrelevant the fact that four of the arrested Georgian
nationals are reportedly ethnic Armenians.

"They are citizens of Georgia, and I think authorities in Georgia
will clear things up," said Harutiunian. "I think we will be able to
say something concrete about this issue after finally understanding
what the matter is. It is too premature to comment now."

Asked about the Georgian claims that the alleged Russian espionage
was guided from Armenian territory, Harutiunian replied: "They can
say anything. What they say is their business. But there has to
be evidence."

Other Armenian officials argued that Yerevan has no control over the
happenings inside Russia’s diplomatic missions and military base in
Armenia. None of the diplomats at Russian embassy in Yerevan that
bears the name Anatoly Sinitsyn, an embassy spokeswoman told RFE/RL.

Merabishvili would not say if Tbilisi will raise the issue with
Yerevan, and the Georgian embassy in Armenia declined a comment.

According to Karapetian, the Armenian government has received no
diplomatic notes or other messages from the Georgian side in connection
with the affair.

CHIRAC VOWS TO PROMOTE DEMOCRATIC CHANGE IN ARMENIA
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Sept 28 2006

French President Jacques Chirac has indicated that he will urge
Armenia’s leaders to implement democratic reforms and respect human
rights during his upcoming landmark visit to Yerevan. He also warned
that Armenia and Azerbaijan risk missing a rare opportunity to resolve
their conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Since France is a friend of Armenia, she wants to assist in the
process of its political modernization, she wants to help it build a
rule-of-law state that guarantees public liberties," Chirac told the
French-Armenian magazine "Nouvelles d’Armenie" in an interview. "It is
a message of confidence in Armenia’s ability to complete the process
of ongoing political, economic and social reforms that I want to
carry on the occasion of my trip to Yerevan."

Chirac is scheduled to arrive in the Armenian capital Friday on
a three-day state visit that will highlight a long-standing warm
rapport between the governments of the two nations. He will become
the first leader of a major Western power to set foot in the South
Caucasus nation since the Soviet collapse.

Chirac and other French officials have until now refrained from
publicly faulting the administration of President Robert Kocharian
for its controversial conduct of elections and poor human rights
record. The 73-year-old French leader was again careful not do that
in the interview.

Chirac also stressed the importance of a resolution of the Karabakh
conflict, endorsing the most recent peace proposals of the OSCE Minsk
Group, which France heads jointly with the United States and Russia.

"Today the G8 states, the international community are ready to
guarantee a peace accord. What will happen tomorrow? Let us not lose
this chance," he warned.

Chirac argued that Karabakh peace would pave the way for the
normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia. "I have
repeatedly pleaded with the Turkish authorities to open the border
[with Armenia,]" he said. "It is clear, however, that there is a strong
link between this issue and the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and that progress towards its settlement would have a decisive
impact on this issue … I believe that it is possible today."

International Periscope

Newsweek

Oct. 9, 2006 issue – Georgia: Russian Rumble
Could Russia and Georgia soon be at war? After Georgian authorities
arrested four Russian military officers last week and charged them
with spying and terrorism, both sides have been doing a very good
imitation of preparing for full-scale conflict. Georgian Interior
Minister Vano Merabishvili claimed that the Russian Army was
mobilizing in North Ossetia, and was preparing troops for action at a
Russian base in Akhalkalaki, inside Georgia. Calls for "decisive
action" came from Moscow parliamentarians as hundreds of nationals
were evacuated from Tbilisi.
How did relations get so bad? The two neighbors have been at
loggerheads ever since the pro-U.S. Mikhail Saakashvili took power in
Tbilisi in 2003.The Georgian president has moved his country rapidly
toward NATO membership, and in apparent retaliation, Russia banned
Georgian imports. And in recent months, Russian-backed separatists
inside Georgia have stepped up operations, further heightening
tensions.
Still, for all of last week’s saber rattling, it’s unlikely that war
will break out. Instead, Russia has chosen to protest to the United
Nations… where Saakashvili recently accused the Kremlin of a
"gangster occupation" of two breakaway Georgian provinces, Abkhazia
and South Ossetia. That could play into Georgia’s hands. If the United
Nations becomes involved in resolving Georgia’s territorial conflicts,
Moscow’s jealously guarded role as chief peacekeeper in the former
Soviet Union will be eroded. Also, Tbilisi reckons it standsa better
chance of ultimately recovering its wayward regions with the United
Nations in charge. Still, provoking Russia is a dangerous
tactic. There are powerful war parties in both Moscow and Tbilisi who
are spoiling for a fight. If it comes, there’s little doubt that
Georgia will come off worse against a Russian Army flush with oil
money and confidence.
-Owen Matthews

Azad-Hye, Dubai, 2 October 2006: The Embassy is located in a beautiful and
spacious villa endowed with private garden in the Zamalek district, an
affluent area were most embassies are located, relatively close to downtown
Cairo. The site, originally belonged to Janik and Satenig Chaker and was
bestowed in 1976 to the local AGBU by Satenig Chaker. It was eventually
forwarded to the Armenian Foreign Ministry to serve as premises for the
Embassy at a nominal rent. The Embassy of Armenia first was in an apartment
in Dokki.

Artak Hovhannisian, a graduate of oriental studies from Yerevan, the Second
Secretary of the Embassy welcomed us in the Embassy and gave a briefing
about the location. Hovhannisian used to work in the Abu Dhabi Armenian
Embassy (2001-2003).  

Araxy Khatcherian-Deronian, a friend from the Egyptian Armenian community
accompanied us in this visit.  

The Embassy of Armenia in Egypt is the most important Armenian Embassy in
the Arab World due to the weight that Egypt enjoys as a leading Arab
country. The historical presence of the Armenians in Egypt, dating back to
the Middle Ages, gives additional significance to the role of the Armenian
diplomacy in this country.  

Ambassador Dr. Rouben Karapetian welcomed us with a very sincere touch in
his voice.

During our meeting he said that the Embassy is engaged nowadays in an active
campaign to publicize to the Egyptian and general Arab public everything
related to Armenia.

The Ambassador had the initiative to issue a tri-monthly bulletin called
`Akhbar Armenia’ (News of Armenia) since January 2006. The bulletin is now
distributed to hundreds of important addresses all around Egypt and the Arab
World. See the first two issues of the bulletin at the end of this report.

He stressed that the Armenian diplomats should consider the Arab World and
particularly Egypt as a vital sphere for Armenian interests. Do not forget,
he added, that we have historical presence here, which we need to highlight.
This is why we organized the presentation of Sona Zeitlian’s most valuable
book `Armenians in Egypt’ and we are preparing now our own website, which
will be in Arabic and English languages.  

Karapetian underlined the fact that the Egyptians highly appreciate the
Armenian community. `There are few capitals worldwide, outside Armenia,
where the Armenians have thrived and left their marks. One of these is
Cairo. We have always taken on ourselves the role of bridging and
communicating between the East and West. This has been our mission. Why we
should ignore this mission?’, he commented.

We have not recognized our potential yet in the region, the Ambassador
acknowledged. We have to highlight our role in the region as the only
Eastern Christian independent state that has so deep and comprehensive
understanding of the Arabs and Muslims, without being a colonial power in
the past.   
 
On the other hand Ambassador Karapetian recognizes the need to educate our
own citizens on issues such as the Armenian-Arab relations.

On Armenian-Egyptian bilateral level, Karapetian refers to the visit of
Prime Minister Antranik Markarian to Egypt, which marked the beginning of a
new phase in the relations of the two friendly countries. `We are working on
a friendship agreement with Egypt, which will translate the visit into a
long-lasting commitment for both sides. Egypt is trying to achieve progress
and has done remarkable efforts and needs to find partners in economic
development, especially in our region’, he explained.  

About other activities in the horizon, Karapetian mentioned the plan of
erecting a friendship statue in a main square in Cairo (and a similar one in
Yerevan).

With the most sincere manners, Karapetian acknowledged the need to clarify
relations with Diaspora, especially in light of the Armenia-Diaspora
conference. `We need to clarify our mutual concerns. We need to talk
transparently about our issues. We have to point out clearly what we should
do and take lessons from the past. We should not pacify ourselves by saying
everything is brilliant. This is not the way to progress. Nothing comes
easily. The system should develop gradually. After 15 years of independence
we can now talk about Armenian diplomacy. All the previous years were years
of formation. The coming presidential elections in Armenia (2008) should
have great meaning for us as a factor of stability and progress. We need the
input of our politically matured population. We have to develop further
democracy. Overall progress is needed in the economic and educational
spheres, without which nothing could be achieved. Rural areas should be
developed. Armenia cannot be concentrated only around the capital Yerevan’.
These were some of the challenges the Ambassador mentioned at the end of the
conversation.   

Bulletin of the Embassy in Arabic language:
Issue no. 1 of `Akhbar Armenia’ (News of Armenia)
Issue no. 2 of `Akhbar Armenia’ (News of Armenia)
Download bulletins from the following page:
wsId=621sff41

Photos:
1- Ambassador Dr. Rouben Karapetian in front of the Embassy building.
2- Artak Hovhannisian, Second Secretary of the Embassy.
3- The Building of the Embassy (historically Chakrian family’s property).
4- The Egyptian guard in front of the Embassy.

See photos at the following link:
wsId=621sff41

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Li thuanian climbing team makes Mount Ararat history
Sep 27, 2006
>From wire reports

VILNIUS – A group of Lithuanians, led by world traveller Seda
Bukauskiene, have become the first foreigners to climb the northern
route of Turkey’s Mount Ararat. Vytautas Bukauskas told the Baltic
News Service that he and his compatriots were the first non Turks to
summit the 5,165 meter mountain. The Lithuanian group climbed Mount
Ararat, the tallest peak in Turkey, in late August.

The first permits to climb the mountain from its northern side were
distributed in 2005 to Lithuanian and Spanish groups. Unfortunately,
neither of the teams managed to reach the top due to unfavorable
weather conditions.

The northern side of Ararat has been inaccessible to climbers since
after World War I, when the Soviet government closed the
mountain. When the U.S.S.R. collapsed in 1991, the mountain remained
closed on account of the Kurdish rebellion in Turkey.

Turkish authorities still refuse permits to climb Mount Ararat from
the eastern side, as well as its adjacent 3,925-meter peak, `Small
Ararat,’ since possible minefields remain at the base of both routes.

Ex-oil company chief charged in alleged Azerbaijan coup plot; lawyer cries
foul
The Associated Press

Published: September 29, 2006

BAKU, Azerbaijan A former oil executive has been charged in connection
with an alleged coup plot in Azerbaijan last year, his lawyer said
Friday.

Separately, an American lawyer for Rafiq Aliev said authorities had
violated Azerbaijani law and international human rights norms in the
case.

Aliev was charged Thursday with involvement in what Azerbaijani
officials say was a plot to overthrow President Ilham Aliev, said his
lawyer, Rafiq Quliyev.

Rafiq Aliev is former chief of the private oil company Azpetrol and
brother of former Economic Development Minister Farhad Aliev, one of a
dozen people arrested before parliamentary elections last November in
connection with the alleged plot.

The opposition says the arrests were part of an effort by the
government to manipulate the vote, which Western observers criticized
as flawed.

The Aliev brothers, who are not related to the president, were both
arrested last October, but Rafiq Aliev had not been charged with
participation in the plot. He had previously been charged on three
unrelated counts, including smuggling, Quliyev said.

Meanwhile, Farhad Aliev denounced accusations against him as unfounded
in a statement from prison released by his lawyers Friday, and said
that he had been subjected to blackmail and "psychological pressure"
while in custody.

Authorities accuse an opposition leader living in exile, Rasul
Guliyev, of masterminding the alleged coup plot.

The government of Ilham Aliev – like that of his late father, Geidar
Aliev, before him – has persecuted the opposition, breaking up
demonstrations, jailing its activists and directing state-run
television to smear its leaders.

Charles Both, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer for Farhad and Rafiq
Aliev, said the authorities have violated both Azerbaijani law and
international human rights norms.

"My clients’ right to have a fair and free and effective remedy
… has been violated. My clients’ right to freedom from
discrimination on political grounds has clearly been violated," Both
told a news conference.

He said authorities had violated the presumption of innocence by
referring to the accused as criminals even though they have not been
tried.

Both said he arrived in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, on Monday and
appealed to the prosecutor general’s office the same day with a
request tomeet with his clients, but received no response.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

29.09.2006 / 16:00
Next CIS ministerial sitting to take place in Baku

ASTANA. September 29, 2006. KAZINFORM. /Zauresh Balkenova/ The next
sitting of the council of internal affairs ministers of CIS member
states will take place next September in Baku, the Russian Interior
Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev told a briefing following its 32nd session
in Astana.

At the session were discussed issues on struggle with organized crime,
extremism and terrorism, illicit migration, etc.

World’s Top 50 Richest: How They Made it
September-29-2006

Forbes is out with its list of The 400 Richest Americans.

Have you ever wondered how Forbes knows who to put on the list (and
where)? Here, in the magazine’s own words, is Forbes’ methodology:

Our estimates of people’s net worth are deliberately conservative and
should be considered `at least’ figures. We do our best to value
everything, from stakes in publicly traded or privately held
companies, real estate and investments in natural resources to art,
yachts and mansions. We dig through SEC documents and court records;
call analysts, employees, competitors and ex-wives; and look at
newspaper and magazine articles. We also take a hard look at
debt. However, we do not pretend to know everything on a private
balance sheet.

All numbers have been rounded to the nearest $100 million. All
publicly traded shares were priced Aug. 31. Privately held companies
are valued by coupling estimates (or, in some cases, company-provided
numbers) of revenues or profits to prevailing price/revenues or
price/earnings ratios for similar public companies.

I’m simply going to go through the list (in order) picking out those
names that might be of interest to readers of this article and saying
a few words about them (and their companies).

(I only selected billionaires who made the top 50.)
1 – William Henry Gates III ($53.0 billion)
Bill Gates, chairman of software giant Microsoft (MSFT), once again
takes the top spot. Today, more than half of Gates’ net worth is
invested outside of Microsoft. Despite a recent resurgence in its
share price, Microsoft is as cheap as it’s been in many years. The
stock has even started to catch the attention of some value
investors. Microsoft has been buying back shares and has plans to buy
back even more.

In June, Gates announced he will give up his day-to-day role at Microsoft;
however, he will remain the company’s chairman. This transition will be
completed in mid 2008.

2 – Warren Edward Buffett ($46.0 billion)
_Warren Buffett_
( ruName=3DWarren+Buffett) ,
chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), finds himself in a familiar
spot – right behind his good friend Bill Gates. Unlike Gates, Buffett
still keeps the vast majority of his net worth in a single
stock. Shares of Berkshire are up over the past twelve months.

As a result, Buffett’s net worth increased, despite the beginning of
the process that will ultimately lead to Buffett giving tens of
billions of dollars to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (and four
other charities started by members of his family). The secret to
Buffett’s success: since 1965, Berkshire’s value has compounded at an
annual rate of 21.5%.

6 – Jim C. Walton ($15.7 billion)
Jim Walton is the first of several Waltons on the list. Forbes has
been incredibly lucky with their top two richest Americans, Gates and
Buffett. It’s hard to imagine two more memorable men. It’s also hard
to imagine two more similar men who appear to be so different. Gates
is high-tech; Buffet is low-tech. Gates is young (actually, he’s 50
now); Buffett is old (at 76, he’s nowhere near the oldest on the
list). Gates made his money through innovation and
entrepreneurship. Buffett (unlike most self-made billionaires) made
his fortune by steering clear of both innovation and entrepreneurship,
seeking out investments in businesses that don’t change.

I recently saw a headline refer to _Warren Buffett_
( ruName=3DWarren+Buffett) as
an "entrepreneur". Buffett is many things – but, an entrepreneur isn’t
one of them. Like many on the list, he’s an investor and a
businessman. Unlike many on the list, he has no appetite for direct
entrepreneurship. He has bought many businesses from entrepreneurs –
and those entrepreneurs continue to work for him at Berkshire. But,
the man at the top is no entrepreneur.

What does all this have to do with the Waltons? The only man that
would be as interesting a headliner for Forbes as Gates or Buffett is
Sam Walton. Of course, the founder of Wal-Mart (_WMT_
( ol=3DWMT) ) has been dead
for more than a decade now. Still, if the Walton family’s wealth is
aggregated it easily tops the list. In fact, it would now be close to
$80 billion.

9 – Michael Dell ($15.5 billion)
The eponymous founder of computer maker Dell (DELL) saw his net worth
decline over the last year as the market cut his company’s share price
in half.

Apparently, Michael Dell only has about a third of his net worth in
sharesof Dell. Part of that outside wealth is invested in _Eddie
Lampert_
( .php?GuruName=3DEdward+Lampert) ‘s
ESL investments.

Like Microsoft, Dell has started to attract the attention of some
value investors, as its price-to-earnings multiple has contracted in
the face of growing pessimism. The long-term growth outlook for Dell
certainly isn’t what it used to be; but, then again, the stock’s P/E
ratio isn’t what it used to be either.

12 – Sergey Brin ($14.1 billion)
Despite being only 41, Michael Dell isn’t even close to the youngest
name on the list. Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page (both
33), are the youngest on the list. Actually, there are eleven
billionaires on the list who are younger than Dell. But, of those
eleven, only Brin and Page are in the top twenty-five.

What’s the chance Brin and Page will eventually top the list? It’s
hard to say. But, there are a few factors going against them. The
biggest is that they’ve already sold a lot of stock. Gates, Buffett,
and the Waltons demonstrate the importance of keeping a very large
stake in a single company (at least during the period of fast growth),
thus allowing your wealth to compound atan annual rate far greater
than the advance in the general market. Selling this much stocks this
early (and planning to give away quite a bit) could keep Page and Brin
from topping the list, even if Google continues to grow at its
unfathomably fast pace.

Google isn’t cheap; so, the company will have to grow very fast just
to prevent a sharp decline in the price of its shares. Despite
Google’s youth,the company is already quite large – perhaps too large
to provide the growth needed to lift Brin and Page to the top spots.

With a market cap of $123 billion, Page and Brin’s Google is already
about half the size of Bill Gates’ Microsoft (which has a market cap
of $266 billion) and just a tad smaller than _Warren Buffett_
( ruName=3DWarren+Buffett) ‘s
Berkshire Hathaway (which has a market cap of $144 billion).

On the other hand, Gates and Buffett are both giving away their money
as well; so, that should keep them from pulling too far ahead of the
pack.

21 – Forrest Edward Mars Jr. ($10.5 billion)
Mars is one of the most valuable private companies in the United
States. It also happens to be a truly unique company. As a result, the
estimated net worth of the Mars family isn’t really comparable to the
estimated net worth of billionaires with stakes in public
companies. Remember how Forbes describedits methodology:

Privately held companies are valued by coupling estimates (or, in some
cases, company-provided numbers) of revenues or profits to prevailing
price/revenues or price/earnings ratios for similar public companies.

The problem with this approach is that there simply isn’t any public
company "similar" to Mars. Don’t believe me? Below is a list of Mars’
major brands.

Snackfood: M&M, Mars, Milky Way, Snickers, and Twix.
Petcare: Pedigree, Cesar, Whiskas, and Sheba
Main Meal Food: Uncle Ben’s
Let’s try to find some companies similar to Mars. There’s Hershey
(HSY).

That company has sales of $5 billion and a market cap of $12
billion. It also happens to average a double-digit return on assets
and a consistently highfree cash flow margin. Last year, Hershey had
a 46.89% return on equity.

Tootsie Roll (TR) has sales of just under $500 million and a market
cap of nearly $1.6 billion. That company generally averages a return
on assets inthe high single digits or low double digits along with a
consistent double-digit FCF margin.

Cadbury Schweppes (CSG) has sales of just under $12 billion and a
market cap of about $22 billion. However, Cadbury isn’t really all
that similar to Mars. Cadbury is actually an unusually capital
intensive business that even includes some bottling operations; Mars,
by all accounts, ties up very little capital in areas outside of the
company’s core competency.

Many of Cadbury’s brands were recently acquired rather than internally
developed long ago (as is the case at Mars). As a result, Cadbury
Schweppeshas some of the most bloated confectionary operations of any
confectioner with strong global brands.

This is evident in the company’s poor cost comparisons with the likes
of Hershey and Tootsie Roll in candies, Wrigley (WWY) in gum, and
Coca-Cola (KO) and Pepsi (PEP) in soft drinks. You’ll also notice that
Cadbury’s brands are generally in a weaker position than its
world-wide competitors in all of the areas in which it competes. Mars
is in exactly the opposite position.

Forbes estimates Mars has annual revenues of $19 billion. In the past,
Mars itself stated it had revenues of $18 billion (in 2005); so,
really the $19 billion number isn’t based on much actual guesswork by
Forbes – it’s essentially an acknowledged number.

As a public company, Mars would likely have a market cap of at least
$50 billion. Forbes doesn’t provide an explicit estimate for the value
of the company; however, based on the $10.5 billion net worth estimate
for the three members of the Mars family who made the list, it looks
like Forbes may be using an overly conservative estimate.

Mars is a private company (and not a very public one at that); so,
it’s nearly impossible to estimate the value of the company with any
accuracy.

However, based solely on the estimated sales number and the brands the
company owns, I would say it is considerably more likely that Mars
would have a public market value in the $45 – $60 billion range than
in the $30 – $35 billion range.

So, the members of the Mars family may actually be a lot closer to the
top five or ten names on the list than their twenty-first place
ranking suggests.

24 – Carl Icahn ($9.7 billion)
Today, Icahn is probably best known for his investment in Time Warner
(TWX).

But, during the past year, he’s actually been involved in several
major dust-ups that aren’t as high-profile as the Time Warner
saga. His investments in Korean cigarette maker KT&G and biotech
company ImClone (IMCL) have made headlines. Icahn also makes
investments (particularly in smaller companies) that get little or no
attention. For example, during the last year, Icahn purchased shares
of Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) and BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ) among
others.

Whether he’s called a "shareholder activist" or a "corporate raider",
the implication is clear. Carl Icahn is rarely friendly to the
existing management at the companies he invests in. In fact, he’s
often unabashedly hostile =80` as he was in his Sepetember 20 th
letter to ImClone Chairman David Kies. Thisis how Icahn concluded that
letter:

You should recognize that your leadership of ImClone should come to an
immediate end. The time has come for you to peacefully pass the baton
to a successor who will be able to bring strong leadership back to
ImClone. If you fail to do so, you will have thrown down the gauntlet
and we will have to react accordingly.

Not exactly poetry – but, it gets the point across.

26 – Kirk Kerkorian ($9.0 billion)
There’s been more than enough written about General Motors (GM) over
the past year; so, I won’t add anything here. I will, however, mention
that one point made by some blogs (and even some "mainstream" media
sources) is nonsensical. It’s been written (presumably with a straight
face) that Kerkorian can’t possibly be making a long-term investment
in GM, because (at 89) he simply doesn’t have enough time left to see
such an investment through.

The strongest argument against this line of reasoning is that making
investment decisions based on your anticipation of imminent death is
akin to making life choices based on the belief that you don’t have
free will and all future events are predestined. In both cases, if
your assumption is correct, you gain little or nothing. If your
assumption is incorrect, you lose a lot.

Besides, all of this assumes you have no interest in leaving greater
wealth behind (whether to charity or your family), which seems rather
absurd.

Kerkorian isn’t exactly forgoing his own enjoyment; he already has far
more money than he could ever spend on himself (that would be true
even if he were 29 instead of 89).

Also, it’s worth noting that Phil Carret lived to be 101. I don’t mean
to suggest Kerkorian may live just as long; rather, I mean to suggest
even at 89, you could be hanging up your cleats twelve years too
early. To put that in perspective, if the average American male
expected to die twelve years before he actually did, he would be
planning to die around the time he would start collecting Social
Security.

As a rule, investors who are as passionate as Kerkorian usually die
long before they retire.

30 – Philip H. Knight ($7.9 billion)
Phil Knight, chairman of athletic footwear and apparel giant Nike
(NKE), no longer serves as CEO of the company he founded; but, as the
departure of Bill Perez demonstrated, Knight still runs the show.

Former SC Johnson executive Bill Perez only lasted a little over a
year in the top job, before being replaced by long-time Nike employee
Mark Parker. Mr.

Parker has spent most of his career at Nike. The fifty year-old CEO
has been with Nike for more than a quarter century. He was given the
CEO job (and a directorship) in January of this year.

31 – Philip F. Anschutz ($7.8 billion)
Phil Anschutz keeps appearing in the strangest places. His Walden
Media production company produced the mega-hit movie The Lion, The
Witch, and The Wardrobe, an adaptation of the first of C.S. Lewis’
seven Chronicles of Narnia books.

Lately, most of what has been written about Anschutz has focused on
his politics – which is unfortunate, because the man is one of the
mostfascinating investors around. Anschutz has made several
interesting (and often contrarian) investments in his lifetime. His
past investments in publicly traded Union Pacific (UNP) and Qwest (Q)
are well-known (Anschutz is Qwest’s founder).

Through his private holding company, Anschutz has made investments in
energy, media, professional sports, and real estate. Lately, he has
been withdrawing from his role in these investments to focus on his
entertainment ventures (including Walden Media).

32 – Keith Rupert Murdoch ($7.7 billion)
The past year has been an unusual one for News Corp (NWS) chairman
Rupert Murdoch in that much of what was written about him didn’t focus
on his politics (or his personal life). MySpace is now the favorite
subject for those writing about Murdoch.

News Corp’s $580 million acquisition of online social network MySpace
has been written about extensively. MySpace seems to come up in nearly
every discussion of large media companies. For example, the firing of
Tom Freston, CEO of Viacom (VIA), was perceived as being due in part
to his failure to acquire MySpace.

News Corp’s stock price has risen considerably over the past
year. Right now, the biggest story surrounding the stock is continued
speculation that Murdoch and Malone will work out a deal involving the
disposition of Liberty Media’s 16% stake in News Corp.

34 – Charles Ergen ($7.6 billion)
Charles Ergen, founder of satellite TV company EchoStar (_DISH_
( bol=3DDISH) ) is generally
well respected on Wall Street. However, the Street’s view of his
company has dimmed considerably over the last year.

The problem isn’t specific to his company. The outlook is simply a lot
more pessimistic for both of the big satellite TV operators, DirecTV
(_DTV_ ( V) ) and
EchoStar. The "triple play" threat from cable companies who can bundle
phone, internet, and television services at a reduced monthly rate has
slowed subscriber growth at EchoStar and DirectTV. There’s also some
fear that phone companies will be able to compete effectively with the
other television service providers.

Fairholme, a highly concentrated mutual fund, currently has about 10%
of its assets invested in EchoStar, making it one of the fund’s big
positions along with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) and Canadian Natural
Resources (CNQ).

Fairholme’s manager, _Bruce Berkowitz_
( GuruName=3DBruce+Berkowitz) ,
gave his opinion of Charles Ergen in an interview with Value Investor
Insight:

"We think Charlie Ergen is a great jockey who has done an unbelievable
job, who clearly has skin in the game=80¦"

35 – Sumner M. Redstone ($7.5 billion)
The 83 year-old Redstone now serves as chairman of two separate public
companies, CBS (CBS) and Viacom (VIA). Of the two, Viacom was supposed
tobe the fast grower; CBS was the stodgy old media stock. Since the
split: CBS is up, Viacom is down, and Freston is out. Sumner Redstone
fired Tom Freston, CEOof Viacom, earlier this month.

38 – Donald Edward Newhouse ($7.3 billion)
Donald Newhouse runs privately held media company Advance Publications
with his brother, Samuel Newhouse. Donald and Samuel’s father (also
named Samuel) began purchasing stakes in newspapers during the 1920s.

Many of those early investments were forgettable. For instance,
Samuel’s first purchase, The Fitchburg Daily News, went out of
business within a year of his investment. Two of Samuel’s purchases
proved to be critical to the company’s success. In 1934, Newhouse
purchased a majority stake in the Newark Ledger. Five years later, he
bought the Newark Star-Eagle and combined histwo Newark properties to
create The Star-Ledger.

Today, The Star-Ledger is New Jersey’s largest daily newspaper by
far. In fact, it has a daily circulation greater than that of its next
three New Jersey competitors combined. The Star-Ledger is one of the
top twelve American dailies by circulation, with a weekday circulation
of approximately 400,000 and a Sunday circulation of over 600,000. The
paper has one of America’s lowest staff to circulation ratios and
manages to generate more advertising revenue than some other papers
with slightly higher circulation numbers.

Advance Publications (named for the Staten Island Advance, a paper
acquired by Newhouse in 1922) probably has annual sales of over $6
billion. The company is the second largest magazine publisher in the
U.S. – onlyTime Warner (TWX) is larger. The company’s magazine
properties include such high-profile names as The New Yorker, Vanity
Fair, and Vogue. However, the company’s low-profile newspaper
properties are responsible for much of the value Forbes sees in the
media company.

Advance also has stakes in cable properties and has substantial online
operations.

49 – Steven Paul Jobs ($4.9 billion)
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer (AAPL), actually has most of his
wealth in Disney (DIS). As a result of the merger between Disney and
Pixar, Jobs has a 15% stake in Disney, making him that company’s
largest shareholder.

Approximately $4 billion of Jobs’ estimated $4.9 billion net worth is
attributable to his stake in Disney.His ego may be invested in Apple;
but, his wealth is invested in Disney