$1B-plus club: Martha’s out, Donald pouts | |||
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The domestic diva’s fortune took a dive, but The Donald isn’t gloating – at least not in public. The latest bad news for Martha Stewart was that Forbes has dropped her from its billionaires’ list because her net worth has slumped to $500 million since her release from prison last year. Stewart’s money never came up during Donald Trump’s appearance on “Larry King Live” last night, but the megadeveloper revealed some lingering bitterness over his feud with the celebrity homemaker. Trump had called Stewart a “moron” after she appeared to be holding him responsible for the failure of her prime-time “Apprentice” show, a spinoff of Trump’s TV venture. “I don’t like being blamed for her failure,” The Donald said firmly. “The show didn’t have the mood, the temperament or the energy it needed.” Asked if he has called Stewart since the blowup, Trump said, “I feel a little dopey about it, but I haven’t talked to her.” He added he also has no plans to – even though “she’s terrific and I love her and I wish her well.” That means Stewart will have to learn elsewhere that Trump’s fortune remained unchanged at a cool $2.6 billion, according to the list’s authors, who published their latest findings last night. But a bright spot for Martha was that her boyfriend, software king Charles Simonyi, made the list with $1 billion to his name. Microsoft giant Bill Gates was named the richest man in the world for a record 12th consecutive year with an estimated $50billion fortune, widening his lead on second-place tycoon Warren Buffett, who has $42 billion. Other movers and shakers include Denver cheese maker James Leprino, the world’s largest producer of mozzarella, who makes his debut with an estimated $1.3 billion fortune. Leprino Foods supplies Domino’s and Papa John’s and uses 5% of the total U.S. milk supply. Mayor Bloomberg’s fortune remains in the $5 billion bracket, while Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin gained $5.7 billion each this past year, bringing their combined worth to $25.7 billion.
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