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Neighbor Claims Mark Zuckerberg Hired People To Save Parking Spots Overnight Near His San Francisco House

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zuckerberg house

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is doing some pretty extensive renovations on his house in San Francisco, and it's really annoying his neighbors

Round-the-clock construction work has led to disruptive noise, and no-parking signs have blocked off portions of the street, nearby residents have complained. Parking in this part of the city, near hip Dolores Park, is already notoriously difficult. 

And now, according to CBS San Francisco, neighbors say they've noticed something else going on near Zuckerberg's house. 

According to one neighbor, pairs of people have been spotted sitting in parked cars near Zuckerberg's house late at night. When one neighbor went to ask what they were doing, several of the people said that they had been hired by the Facebook billionaire to save parking spots for construction workers who would be arriving in the morning. 

Most of the people neighbors have seen are young, and one even had what looked like a college textbook for late-night studying, CBS said. 

We reached out to the neighbor who spotted the parking-spot-savers, but he declined to comment further.

A quick look at Google Street View shows that there are no other cars parked anywhere near the construction zone.zuckerberg streetzuckerberg streetzuckerberg street "It’s ear-splitting construction," one neighbor told CBS. "Just lots of cutting into concrete."

City records show that contractors for Zuckerberg's house have applied for at least 10 construction permits, adding up to millions of dollars of work. 

Permits include allocations for $65,000 worth of renovation work on the kitchen and bathrooms, $750,000 for an addition to the rear and side of the house, and $25,000 to make the fourth floor "habitable." There's an additional $720,000 for an office, media room, half bathroom, mudroom, laundry room, wine room, and wet bar, in addition to a new second-floor half-bathroom and remodel of the second, third, and fourth floors.

There's also going to be a new garage in the basement that will include a turntable so that cars can get in and out more easily.

SEE ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg Is Annoying His Neighbors With The Fortress-Like Home He's Building In San Francisco

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Go Behind The Scenes At The Luxury Resort Hosting The Ryder Cup In Scotland This Year

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Ryder Cup Gleneagles

The Ryder Cup kicked off today and action is already exciting, both on and off the golf course.

This year, the biennial golf tournament takes place at Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland. It's the first time since 1973 that the Cup is taking place in Scotland, and only the second time in history. 

Europe enters the tournament the favorites, with the United States a large underdog in terms of betting odds. But anything could happen.

No place could be more suited for high pressure golf than the courses at Gleneagles. The grounds, as well as the other hotel facilities, are held to the highest standards of perfection. Directors at the hotel have been planning for the Ryder Cup for years, preparing for the festivities and the influx of people.

Gleneagles will mark its 90th anniversary by hosting the eagerly awaited biennial Ryder Cup, which kicks off today and runs through Sunday.



Gleneagles was named the best golf resort in the world for the third year running at the 2014 ULTRA awards.



Linkman Duncan Hunter, who greets guests on arrival, poses for a photograph outside the hotel, which sits on 850 acres of beautiful land in Perthshire, Scotland.



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Publishing Tycoon Sues His Upper East Side Neighbors After Failing To Sell His $25 Million Townhouse

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Meredith and Bryan Verona vs Dick Snyder lawsuit

Drama is brewing on the Upper East Side. 

Retired publishing tycoon Dick Snyder is suing his neighbors Meredith and Bryan Verona for $60 million after he was unable to sell his mansion, according to a New York Post report.

The problem reportedly started when the Veronas began a gut renovation of their $17 million mansion on East 78th Street, transforming it from a building with multiple units into a five-story, 36-foot-wide home.

Meanwhile, Snyder — a former chairman of Simon & Schuster — has been stewing next door in his own Upper East Side mansion, which he has had on the market for $25 million for the past three years. According to his lawsuit, he’s been unable to find a buyer because potential owners see the scaffolding and trash outside the Veronas' home, they balk.

One broker even refused to try and sell the home because of the construction next door, Snyder claims.

Despite the fact that the residential market has been and continues to experience tremendous demand for residential real property, and although Snyder had several parties view the residence, astonishingly…not a single offer has been made to purchase the residence,” reads a section of his lawsuit, according to The New York Post.

dick snyder home 122 east 78th streetSnyder’s 8-story home, which is currently listed with Brown Harris Stevens, has some awesome features. It’s 11,000 square feet, has 14 rooms, a private garden, massage room, and roof deck. The real estate agent John Burger really sells it on the listing page.

dick snyder home 122 east 78th streetBut 81-year-old Snyder claims in his lawsuit that he can’t enjoy any of these amenities because of all that noise next door, even with construction workers honoring “times of silence” when the home is being shown. 

So Snyder — who, it should be noted, is no stranger to lawsuits— is now suing Meredith and Bryan Verona for $60 million in damages. Apparently not being able to enjoy your private garden really takes its toll. 

dick snyder home 122 east 78th streetOnly time will tell if this lawsuit proves to be the publicity Snyder’s mansion so desperately needs or only another deterrent for potential buyers.

SEE ALSO: 15 Obnoxious Homes That Were Built Just To Annoy The Neighbors

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THE BILLIONAIRES' SOCIAL CALENDAR

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Want to rub shoulders with a billionaire? Your best bet is to attend one of the cultural, sporting, or business events where the super-rich flock each year.

Wealth-X and UBS included a "billionaires' social calendar" in their recent Billionaire Census. We added a bit more information and created a handy version that you can print and hang on your refrigerator.

Grab your derby hat, ball gown, and checkbook, and mark down these dates.

BI_graphics_billionairesCalendar (1)

SEE ALSO: The World's Most Expensive Yachts (And The Billionaires Who Own Them)

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Larry Ellison Has Secured $10 Billion Worth Of Credit For His Personal Spending (ORCL)

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larry ellison musashi yacht

Larry Ellison just increased his personal credit line to nearly $10 billion, according to documents filed with the SEC, as spotted by Bloomberg's Caleb Melby and Laura Marcinek.

That's like having a $10 billion credit card. With a "b."

Ellison pledged 250 million shares of Oracle's stock as collateral for his personal line of credit. Shares are trading at about $39 a share as of Friday, making that credit line worth about $9.7 billion. That compares to 215 million shares he pledged last year and 139 million in 2012, reports Bloomberg. Oracle's share price has grown since 2012, so he's not just trying to maintain a credit limit, he's increasing it.

And why not? As the fifth-richest man in the world, his own net worth has risen since 2012, too, from about $37 billion to more than $48 billion.

Ellison is not shy about spending his money. He collects mansions, yachts, aircraft, race cars, art. He bought most of the Hawaiian island of Lanai for a reported $300 million, and not just one, but two airlines to serve it. He could spend up to $100 million this year on his America's Cup sailing team alone.

The credit line represents only a fraction of his Oracle stake, too. He owns 1.16 billion shares of Oracle, about 26% of the company, according to forms filed to the SEC. The shares pledged as collateral are less than 20% of that.

So between Oracle, his vast real estate holdings, and his other business interests (NetSuite, for example), the banks know he's good for the $10 billion, even if they want collateral.

A bigger question is why borrow money when you're swimming in it? There are a couple of possibilities. First, interest rates are low and Oracle's stock has been on the rise. It could be cheaper for him to borrow money than to sell stock and lose out on that growth.

If he wants to buy something that costs a lot, a loan could be a faster way to get his hands on the money. As a major officer at Oracle, he has to be careful about how quickly he sells a lot of stock. He can't flood the market with shares.

Plus, most execs need to avoid accusations of insider trading. He learned that the hard way. In 2005, Ellison paid $100 million to charity to settle an insider trading lawsuit, Infoworld reported at the time. Today most execs schedule their trades in advance to avoid any perception of insider trading.

Third, he actually prefers to hold onto his Oracle stock. Although he's granted millions of shares every year in stock options, he rarely sells them, according to insider trading forms filed with the SEC.

So there's a lot of reasons for Ellison to keep a humongous credit line available.

But sometimes we still have to stop and marvel at how much money the world's richest people could spend in an instant, on a whim.

SEE ALSO: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Look What Happened To The Cofounders Of Oracle

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7 Crazy Facts That Sound Fake But Are Actually True

How To Go Jogging With The iPhone 6 Plus

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iphone stroller

At 5.5 inches, the iPhone 6 Plus is significantly larger than any phone Apple has ever created. Its size has made people question how they'll continue doing basic things with the device, such as: 

  • Talk on the phone without looking absurd
  • Type (the 5.5 inch display requires 2-hand typing rather than one)
  • Jog without dropping the device

The Reddit community came up with a few solutions for the issue of jogging with a massive device in hand. Some of the solutions are ridiculous and include:

  • "A cart, and/or running stroller"
  • "Quadrocopter carrying my 6+ will follow the signal of my apple watch everywhere."
  • "Tethered helium balloon."
  • "Kangaroo pouch."

The best, most realistic solution, however, may be a band called the FlipBelt, which retails for about $28. It's a colorful, elastic waist band that can be worn over shorts or pants. It has cubbies plus headphone holes so you can stuff anything from money to keys to a very large iPhone in it securely while you jog, hands free.

Here's what it looks like and how it works.

Flip BeltBelt Close Up fitbeltfitbelt

Flip Belt 

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25 Colleges Where Students Are Both Hot And Smart

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Brigham Young University Students Fans Cheering BYU

The largest religious university in the country is also the best place to find students with beauty and brains.

Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah is the top school for students who are both hot and smart, according to data put together by Niche. The other schools that make the cut span from small liberal arts colleges to giant state universities, and everything in between.

To compile this ranking, we used data from Niche's lists on the colleges with the hottest guys, hottest girls, smartest guys, and smartest girls. Niche's college section — College Prowler— features close to 1 million in-depth student reviews on more than 8,000 schools

We've included a few quotes from each school's Niche profile in our ranking to help illustrate what the student body is like. 

#25 University of Wisconsin — Madison

Madison, Wis.

"Everyone is really nice. Easy to strike up a conversation out in public or in class. Everyone likes to have fun but is ultimately there for an excellent degree and a good future."

"I love my dorm neighbor guys. I have a ton of guy friends and guys I can study with. Smart and cute is a great combination!"

Visit Niche for more on University of Wisconsin — Madison.



#24 Middlebury College

Middlebury, Vt.

"We can't keep our hands off each other! Most guys here have a sculpted body, and the girls here are fit with pretty faces."

"Not only are the people at Middlebury superficially beautiful and fit, but they're also hard working, brilliant, interesting and engaging individuals who are passionate about something."

Visit Niche for more on Middlebury College.



#23 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, N.C.

"Both the girls and guys are athletic and into looking good. People take pride in their appearances. The accent isn't hard to get used to but if you're not from here it'll take a little while to get used to."

"The people you meet is really up to you. If you're into Greek people, then you'll most-likely get upper class, preppy, and sometimes snooty people. If you try to meet others outside of the Greek scene, then you're most-likely to get a more diverse range of people, which could include people who are nice, geeky, etc."

Visit Niche for more on University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider







Millennials Are Thinking About Their Future — And It Might Be In Suburbia

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suburban neighborhood street

Millennials may be creating the "experience economy" and changing the traditional workplace, but on most measures, they aren't all that different from the generations before them.

Nonprofit think tank The Demand Institute surveyed 1,000 millennial households to find out what, exactly, they expect for their futures. The findings aren't revolutionary — in fact, the plans millennials hold fall right in line with their parents' and grandparents' perceptions of what it means to live the American Dream. 

Here, we've republished the Institute's findings with its permission, in nine slides that shed light on everything from how millennials are feeling about the next five years to how much they're spending on rent.

By 2018, the number of American households headed by millennials will increase by over 60%.



Despite coming of age during the recession, millennials are just as optimistic as any young people who came before them: 79% expect their financial situation to improve.



Five years from now, 64% of millennials expect to be married, and 55% expect to have kids — news that will probably be very welcome to grandparents everywhere.



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These Images Of John Malkovich Recreating Iconic Photos Will Blow Your Mind

Meet Ricky Dillon, A Charming 22-Year-Old Taking The YouTube World By Storm

The Infamous NSA Smiley Face Diagram Is Hanging In A New York Art Gallery

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It was a rare and unnerving look at how the NSA really felt about spying on Americans: a smiley face drawn next to a plan to circumvent encryption in Google's cloud.

Now this infamous leak from Edward Snowden has been memorialized with a painting by Jenny Holzer. It appears alongside works based on redacted documents from the War on Terror in an exhibition called "Dust Paintings" at Cheim & Read gallery in New York City through Oct. 25.

Holzer traced the original image and repainted a larger version, altering it by making the making the yellow background of the original brighter and adding a purple color.

The 64-year-old artist is known for conceptual works that push the boundaries of what art is. Her work often seems political, though she is cagey about its meaning.

"I picked the doodle because it is friendly looking and sinister. I've wondered if Snowden is a hero or traitor or both. I wonder what I should know and what to do with that information. I don't like to think that most everything about you and yours is out now," Holzer told Business Insider.

jenny holzer doodle smiley face

Holzer explained the artistic choices in this work:  "I used a bright Post-it yellow for the background of the painting to be faithful to the original. I put purple in the doodle so the colors would bounce between lively and painful."

She also noted how it relates to earlier work: "The doodle recalls my '70s diagrams. I re-drew hundreds of diagrams to see how image and text convey information. I favored text for years but I'm back with pictures sometimes."

Here are some other works from "Dust Paintings":jenny holzer X CONCLUSIONjenny holzer cold water

View more works from "Dust Paintings" »

SEE ALSO: How the NSA infiltrated the cloud

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Miuccia Prada Finally Admits She Is Under Investigation For Alleged Tax Avoidance

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model falling catwalk

The Italian tax authorities are investigating Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, joint chief executives at Prada, for tax avoidance.

That’s according to a company statement this morning. The company insists that it is not involved directly in the matter. The investigation relates to the “accuracy of certain past tax filings by them as individuals in respect of foreign owned companies”

 The release says the husband and wife executive team made a “voluntary disclosure” to the tax authority in December last year, even though they officially denied the existence of any investigation in January this year, as reported by Reuters, which cited three sources saying Milan prosecutors were looking into the Prada family.

Prada shares dropped 0.83% during the day – the company is listed in Hong Kong, so the announcement came after trading closed. But the combination of Hong Kong’s enormous democracy protests and worries over the company’s leadership might mean some ugly days ahead for the company.

Italy, like most other cash-strapped countries, has made more of an effort on tax avoidance since the 2008 financial crisis. In the past, that's included just stopping people in expensive cars to work out how much they earn. 

SEE ALSO: Prada's Sales Are Soaring Because It Adopted Apple's Strategy

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7 Apps That Every Coffee Lover Needs

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Coffee Apps

Coffee addicts, rejoice. In honor of National Coffee Day on Monday, Sept. 29, we're rounding up the best apps you can use to get your coffee fix. 

1. Starbucks, Free — The official app from the coffee giant has a wide variety of handy features. Find the store closest to you with the store locator, view nutrition information, and build your own drink.

You can even manage your Starbucks Card balance, track your Stars in the Starbucks Rewards program, and send an eGift to a friend. 

2. CoffeeGuru, $1.99  — If you love coffee but big chains aren't your thing, this app will make it easy to find independent coffee shops wherever you happen to be. CoffeeGuru lists more than 7,200 coffeehouses in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, so check this app before you travel to a new city.

Use the app's flavor wheel to impress your friends with your description of the coffee's taste. This app will also give you more info about Direct and Fair Trade roasting and which coffee shops roast their own beans. 

3. Spro, $1.99 Learn to make your favorite coffee drink at home with Spro, an app that provides step-by-step instructions for a ton of different caffeinated beverages. It also includes facts and proper pronunciation for coffee drinks.

4. Percolator, $2.99— Love the bubbles on top of your coffee? This app makes them appear on your photos. Adjust the size and color of circles to turn your photos into coffee-inspired mosaic masterpieces. This app is only superficially about coffee, but it's still fun. 

5. Art of Coffee, $2.99 If you ever wondered how your local barista makes those artful foam designs on top of your morning latte, look no further. Art of Coffee teaches users how to make 30 different patterns out of foam, from a rosette to a heart.

6. New York: Coffee Guide, Free — Find reviews, ratings, and photos of independent coffee shops around New York City. This app saves time by only showing coffee shops that are open near you at the time of your search, and you can easily see which stores have free WiFi right from the search results. 

7. CoffeeTalk, $0.99  Learn the lingo with CoffeeTalk, a dictionary of coffee terms like "affogato," "Americano," and "skinny moo."

SEE ALSO: The Best Coffee Shops In San Francisco

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The Best Coffee Shop In Every State

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Panther Coffee, Florida

For National Coffee Day, we're honoring some of the best coffee shops around the US.

Forget Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts. Every state has its beloved local haunt where you can grab a cup of joe or a foamy masterpiece of latte art and unwind.

We found the best coffee shop in every state by looking at expert reviews and local recommendations.

ALABAMA: O'Henry's Coffees is there to keep Birmingham hyper-caffeinated with its signature Gibraltar Quad Shot: four shots of espresso and a hint of milk.



ALASKA: Jitters is so good it can give you just that, if you drink too much. In a hurry? Grab a coffee from its coffee truck, right in the shop's Eagle River parking lot.



ARIZONA: Cartel Coffee Lab is a great, six-location local chain. Its single-origin coffee is roasted in-house and served with fresh pastries daily.

Cartel Coffee Lab



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OKCupid Founder Reveals The Best Questions To Ask On A First Date

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restaurant menu couple dateDating is annoying. But Christian Rudder, cofounder of the free online dating site OkCupid, knows the right questions to ask your prospective partner to cut through all the rigmarole.

Here's Rudder's suggestion for making first date chit chat, via The Guardian

People tend to run wild with those match questions, marking all kinds of stuff as “mandatory,” in essence putting a checklist to the world: I’m looking for a dog-loving, agnostic, nonsmoking liberal who’s never had kids – and who’s good in bed, of course. But very workaday questions like: “Do you like scary movies?” and: “Have you ever traveled alone to another country?” have amazing predictive power. If you’re ever stumped on what to ask someone on a first date, try those. In about three-quarters of the long-term couples OkCupid has brought together, both people have answered them the same way, either both “yes” or both “no.”

Read more tips from the dating guru at The Guardian >

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This Company Is Bringing Eye Exams (And Glasses) To People Who Can't Afford Healthcare

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This video is sponsored by Verizon.

 

250 million people around the world suffer from vision loss due to uncorrected refractive errors. Two years ago, Yaopeng Zhou and Marc Albanese of Smart Vision Labs set out to change that. They hope to solve a major global issue: lack of access to quality vision care.

Together, they developed a pocket-sized device that attaches to a smartphone, allowing doctors to test a patient's vision by taking photos of his or her retina. They're then able to generate a prescription and deliver eyeglasses on the spot. The eventual goal is for non-specialists like general practitioners and organizational volunteers — anyone trained to use the device — to be able to conduct eye exams for people in areas with limited access to vision care.

The groundbreaking technology caught the attention of Verizon, which awarded Smart Vision Labs $1 million in funding as the Health winner of Verizon's Powerful Answers Awards. Within six months of winning the award, the startup was able to send the device to Guatemala and Haiti and test it among local residents. "To actually see our device being used, it really made it all come home for me," says Albanese. "These last two years have really been worth it." Watch the video to learn more.

This BI Studios original video was produced in association with Game Changers.

Learn more about Verizon's Powerful Answers Award.

Find out more about Sponsor Posts.

 

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A High-Frequency Trader Is Selling The Most Expensive Home In Houston For $43 Million

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Chateau CarnarvonThis is the most expensive house ever listed for sale in Houston.

The Wall Street Journal's Candace Taylor reports that it is owned by Wilbur Bosarge Jr., cofounder of the high-frequency trading firm Quantlab Financial.

According to the realtor, Bosarge and his wife are selling the home because they're often outside Houston, in other homes they own around the world.

The château-style home is being listed by Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty. It boasts eight bedrooms with seven full baths, four fireplaces, and a garage that can hold up to five cars. There's also a billiards room, massage room, gym, and spa.

"Carnarvon Chateau" sits on 2 1/2 acres of land.

 



It is in a gated community completely surrounded by woods.



And it looks gloriously golden when lit up at night.



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The 10 Wealthiest People In America

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bill gates

The American Forbes 400 list is out today, and Bill Gates has retained his spot as the richest man in America for the 21st year in a row. 

The top 10 was dominated by familiar faces, as well as the Walton family. Christy Walton, Jim Walton, Alice Walton, and S. Robson Walton all made it into the top 10 with their Wal-Mart billions. 

In total, 27 newcomers made it onto the prestigious list this year. The combined net worth of the richest 400 Americans was $2.29 trillion, up $270 billion from last year.

The minimum net worth to break the Forbes 400 was $1.55 billion — $250 million more than in 2013.

Figures are current as of today. The Forbes 400 rankings are subject to change.

#10 S. Robson Walton is worth $34.8 billion

Change from last year: +$1.5 billion

Age: 70

S. (Samuel) Robson Walton is the eldest son of Wal-Mart's founder Sam Walton, and has been the chairman of the Wal-Mart board since 1992.

He attended New York's Columbia University School of Law and practiced at Oklahoma law firm Conners & Winters before re-joining the Wal-Mart fold.

Source: Forbes



#9 Alice Walton is worth $34.9 billion

Change from last year: +$1.4 billion

Age: 64

Alice is another daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and an heiress to the family fortune. 

She is a major art collector and currently heads the 200,000-square-foot Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Source: Forbes



#8 Michael Bloomberg is worth $35 billion

Change from last year: +$4 billion

Age: 72

Michael Bloomberg is the former mayor of New York and is now back as CEO of Bloomberg LP, with an 88% stake. 

Before becoming the mayor of NYC, Bloomberg was a self-made billionaire and Harvard Business School alum. You can read about his journey to success here.

Source: Forbes



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Why Everyone Is Going Crazy For Sweetgreen — The Healthy 'Slow Food' Chain Where People Wait 30 Minutes For Salad

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