Forbes Report: There are 540 billionaires in the US, more than any other country in the world

Here Are The States With The Most Billionaires

Katie Sola ,

Forbes Staff

There are 540 billionaires in the United States, with a combined net worth of $2.399 trillion, according to our 2016 list of the world’s richest people. That’s more billionaires and more combined net worth than any other nation in the world.
This is a snapshot of billionaire net worth in every state in America where they live, taken on Feb. 12. Who are the billionaires in your state? How many are there, and what are they worth? What industries do they gravitate towards?

Technology generated the majority of California’s billionaire wealth, New York billionaires earned their fortunes on Wall Street, and energy minted the billionaires of Texas. In terms of combined billionaire net worth, California and New York still lead the U.S., but Washington state usurps Texas, thanks to a certain famous tech giant-turned-philanthropist.
Seven states don’t have billionaires, but you can find their richest residents here. Sixteen American billionaires live overseas, and have a combined net worth of $46.4 billion, about as much as the billionaires of Connecticut or Illinois.

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Arizona

Billionaire population: 9
Billionaire net worth: $22.3B
Industry with most billionaires: Automotive
The three richest men in the state of Arizona all made their money on automobiles. Bruce Halle ($5.4B), Mark Shoen ($4.6B) and E. Joe Shoen ($1.1B) have a combined net worth of $11.1 billion, but built their fortunes from different two very different components of vehicles. Halle opened the first Discount Tire Store in 1960, and has grown the business to more than 900 stores in 28 states. Shoen is the largest individual shareholder of U-Haul. His parents created the company in 1945 and Shoen served as president for 16 years starting in 1990. His brother Joe is the second-largest stakeholder and has been chairman and CEO since 1986.
Arkansas

About 84% of the $71.8 billion net worth of Arkansas’ billionaires is derived from Wal-Mart (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images).

Billionaire population: 5
Billionaire net worth:$71.8B
Industry with most billionaires: Fashion and retail
About 84% of the $71.8 billion net worth of Arkansas’ billionaires is derived from Wal-Mart. The state has five billionaires, but $65.5 billion belongs to two men. S. Robson Walton and Jim Walton are both chairmen for Wal-Mart, but Jim is also the CEO of the company his father created.  But Arkansas isn’t just about Wal-Mart: three people with significant fortunes live in the state. Warren Stephens ($2.4B), Johnelle Hunt ($2.1B) and John Tyson ($1.8B) together have a combined net worth of $6.3 billion.
California 

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Billionaire population: 124
Billionaire net worth: $532.4B
Industry with most billionaires: Technology
California has the highest population of billionaires in the United States. A whopping 124 live in the state and have a total net worth of $532.4 billion. The state’s technology industry a major source of many of those fortunes, including those of the created the five richest people in California. Mark Zuckerberg is the wealthiest among them, with a net worth of $44.6 billion, followed by Larry Ellison ($43.6B), Larry Page ($35.2B), Sergey Brin ($34.4B) and Laurene Powell Jobs ($16.7B). In all, 52 billionaires derive their wealth from the tech sector, more than any other industry in the state. Finance and investments (21 billionaires), media and entertainment (18 billionaires), and real estate (12 billionaires) also produced some of California’s wealthiest people.
Colorado 

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Billionaire population: 10
Billionaire net worth: $38.8B
Industry with most billionaires: Media and entertainment, Food and beverage
Colorado may be known for recreation — traditionally for mountain sports, and more recently for the legal sale of marijuana — but that’s not necessarily reflected in its billionaire population. Of the state’s 10 billionaires, three derive their wealth from the food and beverage industry, and another three got rich in the satellite and cable television business. The richest man of the state is Charles Ergen, a self-made mogul who is worth $12.2 billion. He got his start selling satellite dishes from the back of his truck in Denver with his wife in 1980. Now he’s the CEO of DISH Network, but still finds time for mountain climbing.
Connecticut

This Greenwich, Connecticut home was listed at $33 million in 2015. The median home price in the area was $3.31 million at that time. (Realtor.com)

Billionaire population: 12
Billionaire net worth: $50.3B
Industry with most billionaires: Finance and investments
Greenwich, Connecticut, is one of the most expensive places to live in America, with a median home price of $2.95 million. It’s not surprising that eight of Connecticut’s 12 billionaires live there, including the richest men in the state, Ray Dalio ($15.6B net worth) and Steve Cohen ($12.7B). Ten of the dozen richest people in the state are self-made, and most of them earned their fortunes in finance and investments. The combined net worth of Connecticut’s billionaires $50.3 billion.
Florida

Russ Weiner, one of Florida’s billionaires, founded Rockstar Energy Drink in 2002. (Photograph by Ethan Pines/The Forbes Collection)

Billionaire population: 44
Billionaire net worth: $126.6B

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Industry with most billionaires: Food and beverage
The 44 billionaires living in Florida have a collective net worth of $126.6 billion, and 27 made their own fortunes. The group of self-starters has a total net worth of $82.7 billion and includes the richest man in the state, Thomas Peterffy ($11.1B). He arrived in the U.S. in 1965 as a penniless descendant of Hungarian aristocrats who lost their fortune to the Soviets. He is now the chairman and CEO of Interactive Brokers Group. Another self-made billionaire of Florida is Shahid Khan ($5.9B). He came to the U.S. from Pakistan when he was 16 and created autoparts maker Flex-N-Gate. The privately-held company has nearly $4.9 billion in sales.
Georgia

Georgia is home to the billionaire whose wealth derives from Chick-Fil-A. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)

Billionaire population: 9
Billionaire net worth: $30.5B
Industry with most billionaires: Media and entertainment, Food and beverage,  Fashion and retail, Service
Like Wyoming, Georgia is home to two pairs of billionaire siblings who inherited wealth. Pest-control billionaires Gary (net worth $2.5B) and Randall Rollins ($2.5B) live here, along with Dan ($3.3B) and Bubba Cathy ($3.3B), whose wealth derives from Chick-Fil-A. Self-made individuals like the co-founders of Home Depot ($3.3B) and Spanx billionaire Sara Blakely ($1.1B) complete the state’s nine billionaires.
Hawaii

Billionaire population: 1
Billionaire net worth: $7.2B
Industry with most billionaires: Technology
With its idyllic setting and tropical weather, it’s surprising only one billionaire calls Hawaii his home. Pierre Omidyar, who is worth $7.2 billion, lives in Honolulu. The eBay founder remains on the board of the auction website and PayPal, but has been slowly giving his shares in the companies to his philanthropic investment firm Omidyar Network. Despite making his fortune from technology, Omidyar has big real estate plans for the state, with plans to develop resorts and homes on the islands.
Idaho 

Billionaire population: 3
Billionaire net worth: $5.5B
Industry with most billionaires: Manufacturing
The three billionaires in the state of Idaho are all members of one family and work in the same business. Scott, Don and Gay Simplot have a combined net worth of $5.5 billion that derives from Simplot, a supplier of potatoes, vegetables and fruit products for the food service industry. Scott serves as the chairman and CEO, while his sister Gay is a director. Don no longer has an active role in the company. In 2008, Simplot supplied  a third of America’s French fries. The company has also expanded into phosphate mining and the manufacturing of fertilizer.
Illinois

Billionaire population: 17
Billionaire net worth: $43.9B
Industry with most billionaires: Finance and investments
Thirteen of Illinois’ 17 wealthiest people live in Chicago. The richest person in Illinois is Ken Griffin (net worth $7.5B) who, like 11 other billionaires in the state, made his own fortune. Griffin, the founder of the hedge fund firm Citadel, topped the 2016 Forbes list of highest-earning hedge fund managers and traders, personally making $1.7 billion. But he’s not the only Illinoisan who is making big moves. Real estate investor Sam Zell (net worth $4.8B) closed a massive deal in January 2016 in which he sold 20% of his Equity Residential portfolio — about 23,000 apartments — to Starwood Capital.
Indiana

Billionaire population: 4
Billionaire net worth: $12.3B
Industry with most billionaires: Sports
There are four billionaires in the state of Indiana, and two own local sports teams. Herbert Simon (net worth $2.8B), is the surviving brother of an entrepreneurial duo that founded the Simon Property Group and grew it to be one of the world’s largest REITs. The Simon brothers later bought the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, a team which has doubled in value in the past year. James Irsay (net worth $2.3B) is the CEO of the Indianapolis Colts, the football team he inherited from his father. The combined net worth of Indiana billionaires is $12.3 billion.
Iowa  

Billionaire population: 1
Billionaire net worth: $3.6B
Industry with most billionaires: Food and beverage 
It’s no wonder that the only billionaire from Iowa made his fortune from the state’s biggest commodity. Harry Stine, who is worth $3.6 billion, earned his wealth from the corn and agriculture business. He licenses his corn and soybean seed genetics to multinational firms like Monsanto. Stine is also working to revolutionize the corn industry by creating seeds that are bred to thrive in densely planted areas, increasing harvests. State farmers were expected to grow 2.5 billion bushels of corn in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Kansas

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Billionaire population: 2
Billionaire net worth: $41.8B
Industry with most billionaires: Diversified, Technology
The ninth richest person in the world and one of the most politically influential men in the U.S. has made his home in Kansas. Charles Koch, the CEO of multinational corporation Koch Industries, is worth $39.6 billion. The firm he manages is valued at $100 billion and is the second-largest private company in America. Koch is one of two billionaires in the state. Min Kao is the other and has a net worth of $2.2 billion. Kao is chairman and CEO of GPS-maker Garmin, which sold more than 141 million products but continues to face difficult competition from smartphones.
Kentucky 

Billionaire population: 1
Billionaire net worth: $2.2B

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Industry with most billionaires: Service
B. Wayne Hughes is one of 27 billionaires in the United States to have made a fortune in the service industry. He founded the world’s largest self-storage chain in 1972, and serves as Public Storage’s chairman emeritus. He saw room to grow during the financial crisis, and bought up single-family homes to renovate and rent as the market improved.
Louisiana 

Billionaire population: 1
Billionaire net worth: $2.2B
Industry with most billionaires: Sports
Louisiana billionaire Tom Benson started off as a bookkeeper at a Chevrolet dealership in New Orleans, gradually funneling his earnings into his own string of dealerships, then local banks, and eventually, sports teams. Benson bought the New Orleans Saints in 1985 and later acquired the New Orleans Pelican basketball team in 2012. He also owns a 26-story office building and Champions Square, an outdoor entertainment venue near the Superdome arena.
Maine

(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Billionaire population: 1
Billionaire net worth: $1.1B
Industry with most billionaires: Fashion and retail
The state best known for lobsters and summer vacations has one billionaire, Bill Alfond, who is worth $1.1 billion. Alfond’s father founded the Dexter Shoe Company in 1958, and after selling millions of boots and shoes per year, sold the firm for a chunk of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in 1993. Bill Alfond and his siblings made their fortunes by increasing the value of those shares, while their father turned to philanthropy in his later years, donating millions to state universities and hospitals.
Maryland

Billionaire Dan Snyder is the owner of the Washington Redskins and lives in Maryland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Billionaire population: 8
Billionaire net worth: $23.4B
Industry with most billionaires: Finance and investments, Sports
The richest man in Maryland is on the short list of developers striving to build a new headquarters for the FBI. Ted Lerner, who is worth $5.5 billion, borrowed $250 from his wife to start his real estate company in 1952. After selling 22,000 homes, he became a builder and now owns 20 million square feet of retail and commercial space, hotels and 7,000 apartments. While Lerner’s success in real estate is remarkable, there are other industries in the state that have more billionaires: sports, for example. Dan Snyder (net worth $2.1B), the owner of the Washington Redskins, and Stephen Bisciotti ($3B), the owner of the Baltimore Ravens, both live in the state.
Massachusetts

Abigail Johnson of Massachusetts is the richest person in her state. (Daniel Barry/Bloomberg News)

Billionaire population: 10
Billionaire net worth: $39.2B
Industry with most billionaires: Finance and investments
Abigail Johnson of Massachusetts the richest person in her state, a rare title for an American woman. Just eight U.S. women are richest individual in their state. Johnson, who is worth $13.1 billion, began working for Fidelity when she was in college. She became a full-time employee in 1988 and took over as CEO in 2014. She replaced her father Edward Johnson, who is the second richest person in the state with a fortune of $7.2 billion. The Johnsons’ combined net worths make up more than half of Massachusetts’ $39.2 billion total billionaire net worth.
Michigan

Brothers Hank and Doug Meijer are the co-chairmen of Meijer and the richest people in Michigan. (Photo via Newscom)

Billionaire population: 11
Billionaire net worth: $36.2B
Industry with most billionaires: Healthcare
Out of the 11 billionaires living in Michigan, seven are self-made, with a combined net worth of $21.2 billion. That’s about 59% of the state’s total billionaire net worth ($36.2B). But despite that, the richest people in the state initially inherited their wealth and continue to grow it through their family business. Brothers Hank and Doug Meijer are the co-chairmen (Hank is also the CEO) of Meijer, a big-box store chain with more than 200 locations in six states. Meijer is the 19th-largest private company in America, with estimates sales of $15.75 billion. The brothers have been in charge since their father handed over the business in 1990.
Minnesota

The MacMillian family makes up three out of the five billionaires in Minnesota and derive their wealth from Cargill.

Billionaire population: 5
Billionaire net worth: $10.6B
Industry with most billionaires: Food and beverage
The MacMillian family makes up three out of the five billionaires in Minnesota. With a combined net worth of $6.7 billion, the clan members derive their wealth from Cargill, the international food conglomerate that was founded in Minnesota in 1865 and is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States. Whitney MacMillian (net worth $4.7B) was the last family member to serve as CEO, retiring in 1995. Martha and John MacMillian are also billionaires, each worth $1 billion. Read more here...

5 Things to Stop Doing if You Want to Live Longer

by Jumoke

There are a number of things you can resolve to do in order to turn back your biological clock and live longer, whether you’re in your 20s or 30s, all the way to your 60s, 70s, and beyond. In fact, research has shown it’s never too late to start healthy habits.
But what about the things you might stop doing — in the name of your longevity?
1. Stop eating mainly processed foods
One of the major dietary changes that’s taken place in many countries over the last 30 years has been a shift to consuming more processed foods. Along with processing comes an increase in added sodium, more saturated fat, more sugar, and less fiber. The result? More cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, and diabetes.
There are a number of things you can resolve to do in order to turn back your biological clock and live longer, whether you’re in your 20s or 30s, all the way to your 60s, 70s, and beyond. In fact, research has shown it’s never too late to start healthy habits.

2. Stop smoking
If you’re a smoker, you know how hard quitting can be. Some estimates suggest smoking can rob you of a decade of life.
3. Stop sitting still
If you don’t feel you have time to exercise, consider this: You may not need to hit the global minimum recommendations of 30 minutes a day, five or more times per week, to extend your life.
4. Stop holding a grudge
Anger can be a tough emotion to release, especially if you feel justified in your outrage. Maybe the best question to ask yourself is this -– is it worth the cortisol? Levels of this stress hormone go up when you’re stressed or angry, with negative effects on your heart, metabolism, and immune system. High cortisol has been associated with greater mortality in a number of studies.
Learning to forgive takes practice, but your body will thank you for it.
5. Stop keeping to yourself
Staying social can be a good longevity booster, mostly by helping you manage stress and by strengthening your immune system. Good relationships keep you strong, while bad relationships can leave you in a negative frame of mind, and put you at risk of depression and even heart attacks.

The Igbo Creation Story Compared with the Biblical

The Igbo of southern Nigeria have a common creation story comparable with the Biblical story of creation. In the mythical lore of the Igbo creation story, it is believed that the general God ‘Chukwu abia ama’ or ‘Eze enu’ floated in the air. In this regard, the biblical account has also made us believe that the almighty God floated in the air as well, in that there was nothing that existed before him. Hence, he created the heaven and the earth in the beginning. Inductively, for God to create the heaven and the earth in the beginning means that both the heaven and the earth were not and the almighty God existed. Existence means to be; for something to be is for such thing to exist, and for the almighty God existing without the heaven and the earth means he had only the air to exist upon.

The Igbo account also talks about ‘Chukwu’ having no beginning and end. The book of Genesis records that ‘In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth,’ the gospel of John also records that ‘In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.’ Invariably, the two quotes point to the fact that God, as the Igbo believe, had no beginning, and as such has no end. Something to note on this, the Igbo account, though as mythically complicated as it is, implies that when there was no earth ‘Chukwu’ swam in the air the and only had birds for food. And in the bible, it says ‘And the earth was without form and void.’ Let’s draw an analogy from the Igbo account that says ‘there was no earth’ and the biblical account that says ‘the earth was without form.’

The point in this analogy is to bring out the basic of formlessness that exists in the two creation stories. It is similarly comparable to note that there is a factor of formlessness in creation – a factor which is seen in both creation accounts. In creation, there exists a form that is amoebic in nature, a form that has no form, and to create is to transform this formlessness into something.

The two creation stories involve a set of complication about the entity of God. The Igbo account reveals that Chukwu had the appearance of a pair of Siamese giants one of which had a masculine figure and was called Mmuo, while the other figure had a feminine appearance and was called and was called Agwu. The bible reveals that God had and has ‘God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit.’ This trinity of God is believed to be the said God that said, ‘Let us make man in our own image.’ The complication in the two creation story is that, were these Mmuo and Agwu of the Igbo creation and the Father and son and Holy Spirit of the bible all existed from the beginning with Chukwu abia ama and God respectively?

This simply shows that creation stories present a situation that either can’t be unraveled or that requires one to go over ones head before one grasps the concept implied therein.

Iranian billionaire sentenced to death

Tehran (CNN)Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani has been sentenced to death for corruption, authorities said Sunday.

Zanjani and two others were convicted of embezzling billions of dollars from the national oil company, judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Ejei said.

One of the charges he faces is "corruption on earth," which carries the death penalty, according to Iranian state TV.

The oil mogul was sanctioned by the EU and the United States for helping Iran evade sanctions.

He was arrested in December 2013.

Babak Zanjani is seen, center, in court in a photo

Ndi ara: Nigerian Cristiano Ronaldo fan stabs Nigerian Lionel Messi fan to death in Mumbai

A Nigerian man named Chukwuba Nwabu pictured top left, who is a Christiano Ronaldo fan, killed his friend, Obinna Micheal Durumchukwu pictured top right, who is a Lionel Messi fan, after an argument over who is a better footballer between the two stars at a birthday party organized by a Nigerian student in Mumbai, India over the weekend.

The men were at a party thrown by a Nigerian at his house, when the argument ensued and they began fighting. One stabbed the other to death.

A senior Indian police officer who spoke on the incident said

"The friends entered into the debate as they were ardent football fans. The victim entered into the heated conversation and considered Lionel Messi to be the best football player but the accused were supporting Cristiano Ronaldo. When the accused started leaving, the victim threw a glass on the accused which hit his face and the glass broke. The accused picked up the piece of the broken glass and, in a fit of rage, slit the throat of the victim. The fight which started from football debate ended up with a murder. We have arrested the accused under sections 302(murder) and 34(common intent) of the Indian Penal Code. We will produce the duo at Vasai court on Monday" he said

'Alias' Star Actress, Jennifer Garner Looks to Have Become a Christian Actress

 

Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner is feeling thankful after her role as Christy Beam in Miracle from Heaven.

The film focuses on 10-year-old Anna Beam who lives with a chronic disorder, but is miraculously cured after she lives through an accident. As a mother of three, herself, Garner, 43, was touched by the movie.

"I think for most of us, it's playing pretend, but it's a pretty real story," she told PEOPLE. "I don't think you have to dig very deep when there's a child. The great thing for us at the end of the day is we can shake it off and go home and be surrounded by health, and that perspective was a real gift to the movie."

Garner stars alongside Kylie Rogers who formerly appeared in ABC's The Whispers, and Martin Henderson who plays Garner's husband, Kevin Beam.



Miracles from Heaven hits theaters on March 18.

I lost my virginity to a man I called my uncle

When I was fifteen, I lost my virginity to a man I called my uncle. The experience had been a blend of unfortunate circumstance, which started with a struggle of rape and culminated in a sensual pleasure and a serendipitous fulfilment of an erotic fantasy.

My birth name is Chimamanda, modernism changed it to Amanda, and Arthur turned it into Mandy. Arthur is my uncle’s name – the uncle to whom I lost my virginity.

As a teenager, I was fond of Arthur. My mother was fond of him too. He was the last child of my mother’s parents, young, dark, and attractively charming.

It was ten years ago and he was almost twenty-six.

Arthur would always buy me things and take me to places each time he visited our house. My mother knew he loved me, but she didn’t realise her brother’s love for her daughter had a deeper meaning. He would always remind me how beautiful I was and would make me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.

I had just finished from SS1 and had gone to spend the long vacation at Arthur’s. While with him he taught me how to be an irresistibly attractive girl. He told me there was only one thing on a guy’s mind when he walked up to me and eventually asked me to visit him – sex. He taught me the resistance theory. But I didn’t know he was working on my mind. He learnt I was fascinated with romance, chivalry, and fantasies. He knew romance films usually took me outside the real world for ninety minutes. He knew my weaknesses and he took advantage of them.

He was a rake, a Don Juan, as I read in the book he gave me. He had many girlfriends and sometimes he would invite one over and I could hear her moan in pleasure when they had sex. I admired his chivalrous and gallant treatment of women, and I realised maybe that was one of the reasons he had them many. On my birthday he had particularly made it an indoor celebration with a few of his female friends and had bought me the most beautiful dress I had worn at my age.

That night of virginity loss was different. I had been reading a novel – a Tracey Fobes’ ‘Heart of the Dove.’ I remember it was Arthur who gave me the book to read. I also remember he was always asking to know on which page I was. Until now I never understood why he always wanted to know the page I was on. A page in the novel described Lucinda Drakewych’s first sex experience with Richard Clairmont. Richard, a character in the novel, had made Lucinda feel like a woman when he went down on her centre with his tongue.

That particular page kept playing in my head and I felt horny. The book was lying on my chest and I was half asleep when my uncle came home that night.

For a moment I struggled with him. I can’t remember exactly the things he did to me but I remember his finger and tongue tickled my naked body, and I also remember I had wanted more.

Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris Celebrate Their 1-Year Anniversary in a Cute Way

Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris

What do you get the girl that has everything? A sentimental locket, of course.

Calvin Harris and Taylor Swift celebrated their one-year anniversary on Sunday in the most adorable fashion – first, there was a "one-year cake," as Harris put it in a Snapchat, and then there was a special locket for Swift.

"We got a one-year cake," Harris said in his Snapchat shared on Sunday, showing him and the singer getting excited about their apparently homemade anniversary sweet.

SOS: @CalvinHarris posted a video Snapchat with @taylorswift13 celebrating their one year anniversary together! pic.twitter.com/w3qgbsa5R1

— Taylor Swift Updates (@SimplySFans) March 6, 2016

"We got one year cake, it's one year," the DJ continued, adding a small, "Yay" at the end of his video.

Later, Swift shared a close-up of a gold locket, presumably gifted to her by her musician beau.

Champions League Does Not Need The Likes Of Leicester, Says US Sports Executive

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Closing off European football competitions to include only elite clubs could make them far richer, according to the American sports executive who has held talks with the leading English Premier League teams about a shake-up to long-established league structures.
The Relevant Sports chairman, Charlie Stillitano, held talks with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United on Tuesday in London about this year’s International Champions Cup (ICC), an annual pre-season friendly tournament organised by his company. Stillitano confirmed they also discussed “restructuring the Champions League” – an issue high on the European Club Association agenda amid a power vacuum at Uefa.
Stillitano revealed that the European governing body has been keen on working with the ICC, which already attracts some of the world’s wealthiest teams to compete in games across the globe for a lucrative but meaningless prize. “We have even talked to Uefa in the past because they had an interest in our summer tournament,” Stillitano told the US satellite radio station SiriusXM. “That is something they would like to integrate into their portfolio.”
Joining forces with Relevent’s ICC would currently be incompatible with Uefa’s existing sponsorships. There are no plans with Uefa presently on the table but discussions have not been closed off.
Arsenal are the only team from the talks to go on the record in denying they advocate a breakaway Super League for Europe’s leading clubs.
Discussions within the ECA about the merits of advocating guaranteed Champions League places for prestigious teams come at a time when Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are all in danger of missing out on qualifying for Europe’s top competition next season.
“What would Manchester United argue: did we create soccer or did Leicester create [it]?” said Stillitano, who met United’s executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, on Tuesday. “Let’s call it the money pot created by soccer and the fandom around the world. Who has had more of an integral role, Manchester United or Leicester? It’s a wonderful, wonderful story – but you could see it from Manchester United’s point of view, too.”
If the Premier League season ended now, Leicester and Tottenham would qualify for the Champions League alongside Arsenal and Manchester City.
“Maybe that is absolutely spectacular unless you are a Manchester United fan, Liverpool fan … or a Chelsea fan,” Stillitano said. “I guess they don’t have a birthright to be in it every year but it’s the age-old argument: US sports franchises versus what they have in Europe. There are wonderful, wonderful, wonderful elements to relegation and promotion and there are good arguments for a closed system.”
Stillitano believes Europe’s biggest clubs deserve to make more cash from the Champions League, given their contribution to making it such a financial success. He said fans are more likely to watch the Juventus v Bayern Munich and Arsenal v Barcelona games in the current round of 16 rather than matches involving PSV Eindhoven and Ghent.
“This is going to sound arrogant and it’s the furthest thing from it … but suddenly when you see the teams we have this summer in the ICC you are going to shake your head and say, ‘Isn’t that the Champions League?’” Stillitano said. “No, the Champions League is PSV and Ghent.”
Voicing the complaints he hears from clubs, Stillitano said: “I could make a lot more money, I can be a lot more visible, I can help my sponsors out but right now I am locked into doing certain things that are really historic.”

Strange: Man Hangs Self After All-Night Vigil

The Lagos State Police Command on Saturday said it had begun investigation into the alleged suicide committed by one Taofik, who hung himself on a tree after an all-night prayer vigil in Iju-Isaga area of the state.
The Spokesperson of the command, SP Oladapo Badmos, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the surname of the deceased had yet to be ascertained.
Badmos said the Police Division at Iju got a report of the incident brought by Pastor Odunike Abiodun of King of Kings Church, No. 45, Taju Bello Street, Iju Isaga.
“The pastor brought the report on Saturday at 7.50 a.m. that the man was found dead at about 5.30 a.m.
“The deceased hung himself on a tree in a valley close to a river, near the King of Kings Church,” he said.
The police spokesman said that it was reported that the deceased had earlier participated in an all-night prayer at the Church.
She said that the scene of the suicide had been visited by detectives from the division.
“Investigation is ongoing to unravel the cause of the death and the corpse has been deposited at a morgue for autopsy,” Badmos said.(NAN)

Why PDP Members Exchanged Blows In Imo

Members of the public who didn’t know what was going on thought they were witnessing a Royal Rumble.
Such was the enormity of the free-for-all that ensued among some members of the Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Party Secretariat in Owerri, the state capital.
The fight occurred between two rival factions jostling for control in the state – one faction led by Chief Nnamdi Anyaehie and the other by Vitalis Okafor.
A Caretaker Committee headed by Okafor was on January 29 inaugurated to steer the ship of the party in the state, which did not sit down well with the Anyaehie-led group.
The rivalry came to a head on Saturday when the Anyaehie-led group invaded the secretariat with the aim of chasing everybody away, The Punch reports.
This was rebuffed by the other group, leading to the fracas.
It took the timely intervention of the security operatives attached to the party secretariat to break up the fight and restore normalcy.
The fight reportedly left several persons injured on both sides, while the police have condoned off the area to forestall any further breach of the peace.

Ways to Know If He is the Right One

What contributes most to the longevity of a relationship is the way two people love each other. Love has to be unabashed and real.
But it’s not just the love you feel; it’s the openness with which you share it, and in what ways you show up to express it.
Here are some of the ways you can tell that you have found someone who really knows how to love you.
1. They will love you without condition.
Real love comes without any expectations. You don’t have anything to prove, nothing to win. Yes, at the beginning of a love affair, you’re trying to entice and impress each other, but as time goes on there’s no need to perform in order to make love last.
2. They will listen — really listen.
This is a big one. Real listening means that you throw your own agenda out the window and really absorb what the person is saying, without judgment. It’s not always easy to do, but truly loving someone means being able to be there for them through thick and thin, and being a good, empathetic confidant.
3. They will love you for who you are, not an idealized version of what they want a partner to be.
You are who you are and absolutely nothing can change that.
4. They will give you space.
At the beginning of a relationship, it’s normal to be inseparable, to want to do every last thing together. But there comes a point where each partner needs some space. When and how this happens varies from person to person and one relationship to another.
But since real love means letting your partner be his or herself, you need to respect your partner’s need for independence and the autonomy to sometimes do things without you.
5. They will fight for you.
When you’re having a down-and-out day, your partner will be the first one to remind you how incredibly awesome you are. Your partner will be your biggest defender against conflicts with others. They will remind you of the strength you forgot you had, and give you the fighting words when you’re too upset to find them yourself.
6. They will hang on during the storms.
Conflicts in relationships are natural, but when left to fester they can destroy relationships. Fighting is normal, and healthy. Fights are opportunities to work through stuff. But someone who truly loves you will never stay angry. He or she will work through the anger to get to the other side — that other side being a deeper understanding and mutual respect.
7. They will make you feel safe.
It goes without saying that a partner who’s physically or verbally abusive needs to be kicked to the curb. But all partners should give you a sense of safety. Usually it’s a pretty intuitive thing. You just know when you can trust someone, and this is solidified when they demonstrate that trust to you throughout the relationship.
Finding someone who loves you doesn’t mean your relationship will be without bumps. There are no perfect people or relationships — knowing and accepting that is half the battle.
What you need is a partner is who willing to try, who wants to make the effort to understand you, whose love is generous, demonstrated in concrete actions, and not just words or ideals. Once you’ve found that person, you’ll know it in your bones. And you’ll never let them go.

Women Need More Sleep than Men – Study

According to a study, it turns out your wife should be the one sleeping in, not you.
The study examined 210 middle aged men and women, and found that women suffered greater health issues from lack of sleep than men.
“We found that for women, poor sleep is strongly associated with high levels of psychological distress and greater feelings of hostility, depression, and anger. In contrast, these feelings were not associated with the same degree of sleep disruption in men.”
“One of the major functions of sleep is to allow the brain to recover and repair itself,” says Professor Jim Horne, director of the Sleep Research Center at Loughborough University and author of Sleepfaring: A Journey Through The Science of Sleep.
He continues “During deep sleep, the cortex — the part of the brain responsible for thought memory, language, and so on — disengages from the senses and goes into recovery mode.
“The more of your brain you use during the day, the more of it that needs to recover and, consequently, the more sleep you need. Women tend to multi-task … and so, they use more of their actual brain than men do. Because of that, their sleep need is greater.”
But why do women need more sleep than men?
“This is because women’s brains are wired differently from men’s and are more complex, so their sleep need will be slightly greater. The average is 20 minutes more, but some women may need slightly more or less than this.”
So in every sense, yes, women’s brains are more complex, and need more time to relax and recover overnight.

Hmm: Kim Kardashian Beats Jesus Christ, Barack Obama To Most Monthly Views On Wikipedia

A curious study by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab is currently setting tongues wagging in different directions.
The study focused on creating a database of every person who has had their Wikipedia biography page translated into at least 25 different languages as of May 2013, and it came up with some expected names and quite a few shocking ones.
Top on the list by number of languages his biographical page has been translated into is Jesus Christ, with 214 languages in total.
He also attracts 281,000 views per month on average.
US President, Barack Obama comes in second with 200 languages.
However, the most shocking name comes in third position – Corbin Bleu, actor in High School Musical!
The revered Chinese philosopher Confucius comes in fourth place, and renowned British scientist Isaac Newton is fifth with 191 languages.
The top-ten ranked world figures, where they were born and number of languages their biographical pages have been translated into are:

1. Jesus Christ(Judea) 214
2. Barack Obama(Honolulu) 200
3. Corbin Bleu(New York) 193
4. Confucius(Qufu) 192
5. Isaac Newton(Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth) 191
6. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart(Salzburg) 177
7. Leonardo da Vinci(Vinci) 174
8. Adolf Hitler(Braunau am Inn) 169
9. Huang Xian Fan(Fusui County) 167
10. Albert Einstein(Ulm) 166

The study found that Italy and AS Roma legend, Francesco Totti leads the pack of footballers with 102 languages.
He is followed by Lionel Messi (95), Pele (88), Diego Maradona and Cristiano Ronaldo (both 87).
As per musicians, Pop legend Michael Jackson towers above the rest with 147 languages, and is followed by Lady Gaga, Avril Lavigne and John Lennon.
Perhaps the most astonishing discovery of the study is that KUWTK star and wife of Kanye West, Kim Kardashian has at least 1.5 million views monthly on the average, five times as many as Jesus Christ!