the rich

Want to Be a Billionaire? First, Get a Harvard Degree

Filed under: Wealth

Obviously you don't have to have a degree from Harvard in order to become a billionaire – but it certainly helps. According to Forbes' new ranking of universities with the highest number of billionaire alums, Harvard thrashes the competition with a record 62 billionaire grads to its credit – more than double the total of the #2 ranked school, Stanford. A whopping 62 Harvard grads are worth $1 billion or more this year, up from 54 last year. Yale clocks in at No. 5 on the list of the top 10 with 16 billionaire alums, while Princeton barely makes the cut at all, coming out tied for last place with Cornell with 9. Notable billionaire Harvard grads include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Citadel founder Kenneth Griffin, Meg Whitman of eBay and David Rockefeller Sr. Worth noting: an Ivy League degree isn't necessarily better, and Forbes points out that on last year's Forbes 400 list, at least 41 billionaires did not have a college degree at all. Check out the full list of the top 10 after the jump:

Tags: billionaire, billionaires, Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell, education, Harvard, Ivy League, Massachusetts, Meg Whitman, Michael Bloomberg, Princeton, Stanford, the rich, universities, University of Pennsylvania, wealth, Yale

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The Classicist: Rash of New World Records Says "The Rich Are Back"

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Timepieces / Watches, Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions, Art, The Classicist, Wealth

Following an incredible number of record-breaking sales of some of the world's most expensive items, from cars to art to watches, diamonds and estates, that have taken place just in the past two weeks, we are hereby making an official declaration: The Rich Are Back. While the economic recovery has been slow to materialize in some quarters, those with the money to make multimillion-dollar purchases are suddenly not shy about dropping the coin. The megabucks deals mean an optimistic outlook has finally taken a firm hold, and the wealthy no longer feel the need to pinch their pennies in the fear that more hard times could be lurking right around the corner. We say it's about time too.

In one hectic twelve-day period, from May 3 to May 14, we saw the record-breaking sales of a $106 million Picasso painting; a $50 million mansion in Bel-Air; a $46 million ranch in Colorado; a $40 million Bugatti; a $32 million Warhol self-portrait; a $26 million Jasper Johns painting; an $18 million Ferrari; an $8 million blue diamond; and a $5 million Patek Philippe chronograph – about $330 million worth of the world's most expensive possessions. The astonishing sales have given an immediate boost to the art, classic cars, real estate and collector's timepieces markets, many of which faltered in the wake of the economic downturn, losing billions of dollars in value. Here's a rundown of the nine history-making deals as they unfolded over the twelve-day whirlwind of wealth disbursement; see the gallery for images:

Gallery: The Return of the Rich