Surprise! Top of Forbes 400 Are Job Creators
- Posted on September 23, 2011 at 1:27pm by
Becket Adams
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Chief executive of Koch Industries, America's second largest private company with more than $100 billion in sales.
Here is an interesting fact that members of the Obama administration should consider: although there may be a few financiers and hedge fund managers at the top of the Forbes 400 list (the list of the wealthiest people), most of the individuals on it have founded or run companies that have created and maintained tens of millions of jobs.
However, according to the Obama administration, they are neither “paying their fair share” nor did they earn their money on their own.
Bill Gates of Microsoft, Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway and Larry Ellison of Oracle top the list. They are followed by two members of the Koch family, who own one of the largest private companies in America. Three of Sam Walton’s children are among the top 10. The eighth richest person on the list, Sheldon Adelson, runs casinos.
The only financier among the top 10 people on the Forbes list is George Soros.
Relative newcomers to the list also have started companies with large employee bases. This includes Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google, Micheal Dell of Dell and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft. These tech companies are part of the services sector that has created jobs and continues to do so as the U.S. manufacturing base keeps eroding.
These facts are particularly interesting when one considers the claim made by members of the administration that the wealthy are simply hoarding all the money and not “paying their fair share.”
The late, great economist Milton Friedman postulated that the wealthy do not simply sit on their assets. Many of them invest in ventures that produce goods or services, which creates the need for more labor (human capital) and so on.
According to several economists, successful private sector entrepreneurs are more likely to achieve profitable job-creating conclusions with their investments than government entities because they have a genuine concern for the success of the venture.
Through prudent money management and gambling on winning investments, the wealthy are able to create a significant number of jobs. Perhaps it would then be in the country’s best interest to allow them to keep the money they earned so that they may continue to reinvest it in job-creating solutions:
1. Bill Gates, Microsoft: 90,000 Employees
2 Warren Buffet, Nebraska Berkshire Hathaway: 260,519 Employees
3. Larry Ellison, California Oracle: 108,429 Employees
4. Charles Koch, Kansas diversified: 70,000 Employees
5. David Koch, New York diversified: 70,000 Employees
6. Christy Walton, Wal-Mart: 2,100,000 Employees
7. George Soros, New York hedge funds
8. Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas Sands Corp: 12,230 Employees
9. Jim Walton, Wal-Mart: 2,100,000 Employees (this is the same number as entered for number 6 on this list; it is not to be confused as being an additional 2.1 million jobs)
10. Alice Walton, Wal-Mart: 2,100,000 Employees (this is the same number as entered for number 6 on this list; it is not to be confused as being an additional 2.1 million jobs)
(Douglas A. McIntyre/Becket Adams –24/7 Wall St./The Blaze)



















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Comments (59)
lightswitch
Posted on September 24, 2011 at 12:43pmThis list is B.S. How the hell are you going to count the 2.1 million employees of Wal-Mart three separate times, when in fact even if none of those people remained active in Wal-Mart the company would still employ 2.1 million people? Trying to imply those people each created 2.1 million jobs isn’t just wrong, or misleading; it’s LYING. Some of the worst “journalism” I’ve ever seen.
You all need to wake up to the fact that the rich are getting richer, and wages of the working class are being driven down through slow, steady inflation. Furthermore, we‘re being driven into a strange modern ’serfdom’ via debt. Class warfare is real. READ SOME HISTORY PEOPLE.
Furthermore, aren’t the conservatives supposed to be all about cutting deficit spending? Well, if you don’t want to cut defense spending, and the Dems won’t cut social services, then you have basically one option: raise taxes. Just do it. It’s not going to hamstring the economy as bad as you are all claiming. Most of the money the wealthy possess just sits in bank accounts anyhow. Let’s get some of that cash circulating.
Report Post »Bluzie
Posted on September 24, 2011 at 1:57pmYes Light I can see how one would take umbrage with the 3 listings of Wal-Marts 2.1 mill employees, but since the list isn’t totaling those amounts as 6.3 million there is no lie to printing it.
While the gap between rich and poor is growing like you state, you are trying to make the assertion that a person entering the work force at age 16 taking a part time job washing dishes for min. wage is making the same min. wage 10 years down the road when that same person has completed high school, went to college, earned a degree and has moved on to a professional career. What you try to state is a pure LIE. Where someone starts out in the economic ladder is not where they end up.
Now to your lie about the rich just having their money sit in a bank……even if there was one iota of truth to that, the money is on paper there is no vault of $54 Billion of Bill Gates money sitting in a bank. The banks use those deposits for investment in bonds…..you know the things that cities, states and the country sells to raise funds for road construction and the like. So those bonds bought with a “rich guy’s” money is directly putting people to work.
Report Post »Right_on_the_Left_Coast
Posted on September 25, 2011 at 12:50amBluzie is exactly right. Dollars “sitting” in the bank are actually more productive economically than dollars given to the government, because the dollars don’t actually “sit there.” The banks use those dollars to invest and make loans to… you guessed it… BUSINESSES! You know, those organizations that give us jobs.
And here’s the best part — Banks want to make money, so they won‘t give out loans to businesses unless they’re REALLY convinced that they’ll get their money with interest. So banks have gotten REALLY good at determining which businesses will succeed… and those businesses provide lasting employment opportunities!
But the GOVERNMENT wastes millions of your tax dollars on creating 15 green jobs that don’t last, and gives half a billion dollars to companies like Solyndra, that go bankrupt immediately afterward. The government isn‘t investing it’s own money, and it has nothing to lose if these initiatives fail. They are HORRIBLE investors that WASTE money on STUPID ideas that create exactly ZERO real, lasting jobs.
Leave growing the economy to the real job creators and keep the greedy hands of government otu of the pockets of people who actually create new businesses and new jobs!!!
Report Post »airforcec-130
Posted on September 24, 2011 at 9:45amGood Morning Everybody…”WAKE UP AMERICA’!!! I think Mr. Forbes made a mistake with this list. Weren‘t we told in the not to distant past that it’s the WELFARE recipients that make the jobs. I believe it was that brainwave from california that made that statement. The problem with that statement is that you would be hard pressed to find ten(10) welfare recipients that could explain what a job is…While I’m not knocking these “400”, my “400” also includes the ranchers, produce growers, the mom and pop’s and anyone who gets up everyday and goes to work to help these “400” keep these businesses going. Don’t let the left convince you that making money is bad. It‘s bad because they don’t have more of it to WASTE…
Report Post »NC-Roy
Posted on September 25, 2011 at 7:26amOne also has to look at Microsoft with a little magnifying glass. They are moving jobs overseas (to India and China) as rapidly as they can. (Most of their support is in India if you call.. if you use the web to open a support problem, you get China…) — where there are more English speaking PHDs than we have PHDs. So a significant portion of that 90,000 total jobs is not *in* the US.. it is elsewhere where prices are lower. (And where income to the company tends to sit to avoid US taxes that hit like a ton of bricks.
Report Post »jim
Posted on September 24, 2011 at 8:50amFunny how socialists, Marxists and Democrats throw around the term, “workers,” like they own it. Everyone is a “worker.” Especially these job creators, who are despised by the left.
Everyone should take a moment to appreciate the economic system we live in, and the endless opportunities it provides for every “worker” to become a job creator, like those on this list, and create their own wealth. This is the American Dream. If it has lost its luster, it is only because socialist envy and ignorance has replaced free market diligence, hard work and creativity.
The Obama administration has tried like no other to destroy our unique system, but has failed. Just think how powerful, successful and satisfied each American would be if the negative socialist forces in our lives were actually motivated to embrace the free market and work creatively toward improving life for each citizen, rather than destroying it? There would be no end to the prosperity of this country.
Report Post »JRook
Posted on September 24, 2011 at 12:48pmWhen Henry Ford decided to pay his workers in the early 1900′s $5 a day he was chastised by the Robber Barons at the time of undermining capitalism. His response is insightful in its simplicity. I figure if I pay the workers enough to buy my cars, I will sell more cars. Yes the wealthy take risks and invest in the factors of production. However, it is the workers who actually do the work and produce the products. It is their ability to purchase products that creates demand, which creates the opportunity for the wealthy to obtain returns on their investment. To view the process in reverse is willful ignorance.
Report Post »Tanner Smith
Posted on September 24, 2011 at 1:06amFor this list you should separate Corporate and Wall Street as far as Job creating and what they actually produce. Hedge Fund runners don’t give a damn how they make their money. And Mr Gates could you get your ompu lumpas do build a platform that keeps the screen icon from jumping from one place to the next or disconnecting from the pcu. Bill your company is becoming Zenith Electronics.
Report Post »Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on September 24, 2011 at 12:06amIf you have a job,thank the poor person that hired you.If you do Not ,Thank a Union or a Mexican.
Report Post »PzV
Posted on September 25, 2011 at 2:54amClose but not cigar, even if we were playing with hand grenades.
“If you have a job,thank the “rich” person that hired you.If you do Not ,Thank a Union or a Mexican.
Poor people do not create anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Report Post »Lycus
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:06pmObama is hoping to get re-elected by brown-nosing his idiotic base. The fact is he is the worse thing for our country and is actually taking jobs away from America. Yet thousands of these mindless drones suopprt him and show up at his rallys. They’re nothing but a bunch of economic-illiterate dopes.
Report Post »inferno
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:03pmAll these people except Buffet and Soros have targets on their backs . They are the types of people Obama and his crew have in their cross hairs. Since this list has been published, watch the EEOC, the Department of Labor and the EPA pull ou all the stops to turn them inside out in a search for any violations, if they are unable to find any they will no doubt invent them. The least that will happen is the Department of Justice will tie them up in the courts. Obama will not tolerate those whom he thinks is getting in the way of his destroying the middle class, while at the same in his numeerous bull sessions, you will notice I said “bull sessions”, not speeches when he claims he is protecting the middle class. That’s why Buffet and Soros is kissing up to him. Buffet has seen the hand writing on the wall. Either you pay tribute to Obama , or you don’t play. In the language of those from Chicago, you either pay PROTECTION, or lose your business.
Report Post »truthseekerusa
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 9:04pmThe real job creators are in China, India and Mexico. That is where all the American manufacturing companies have gone due to the unions and US government regulations imposed on them.
Report Post »johnj1952
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 8:50pmSo what let Odumbo tax them till thier bloodless.
Report Post »roadhog
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 8:26pm4 Rino’s
Report Post »sap1409
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 7:51pmCan someone send a copy of this to Matt Damon?
Report Post »darasen
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 7:34pmAdd to this that many of the worlds wealthiest are self made.
Report Post »jzs
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 7:56pmThe top two people on the list, Gates and Buffet, are in favor of raising taxes on the rich.
Second, the Koch brothers, while making record profits, are not hiring people, they are laying off people. The number of people working for them shrinks, while their profits soar.
The fact is that many corporations are making record profits and they are not hiring. Why not? Well, why would they? If they have enough people to make the products they sell or the services the provide, it would be irrational to hire more people just because you get a tax break. You hire more people when you need more people, that is, when demand for your product increases to the point where you can’t meet demand without hiring, or buying more equipment. In other words, you hire more people when other people have extra money to spend, not when you do.
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on September 24, 2011 at 9:26am@ jzs
Well said.
Report Post »As my grandpa (depression era storeowner) once told me: “If you can only sell 10, it would be stupid to make 100″
mlcblog
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 7:23pmThe wealthy “capitalists” (that word was coined by Marx himself!) (I like words like free enterprise, entrepreneurs, free market economy) are the engine for our economic system. Period.
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on September 24, 2011 at 9:47amAnd many of the so called “evil rich” invest their money (income, profits etc) in programs that provide seed money in the form of grants or low-interest loans for new small business start-ups. They also help fund job training / re-training programs. The Libs always forget to mention those little details.
Report Post »angelcat
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 6:33pmNo, no! We can’t think of them as job creator. We must think of them as the evil rich who are not paying their fair share and must be taxed more.
Report Post »Russman
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 6:31pmI’m begining to tire of the propaganda on BOTH sides, Cut the BULL
Bill Gates doesn’t work for Microsoft anymore.. He runs a charitable foundation, which I applaud however, it isn‘t like he’s hiring thousands of people….
I agree that the rich are taxed enough and raising taxes won’t solve any long term problem. But why won’t the GOP stop trying to confuse wealthy individuals with corporations? Warren Buffet’s personal tax return has absolutly nothing to do with the financial situation of his company, they are separate. His income is based on dividends and salaries and isn’t tied to some string of Taco Bells. If you tax him, it isn’t going to affect the company he works for. Both sides need to cut the bull,,,,
No New Taxes! Cut spending, hire about 10,000 out of work law school graduates to hunt down and indict people defrauding the fedral government, hire 1000 special prosecutor/accountant/a$$kickers to shake up EVERY federal agency. Revise the taxcode to eliminate rediculous subsities then do WHATEVER IS NEEDED, NO HOLDS BARRED, to get manufacturers to move their operations HERE and get people back to work MAKING THINGS. Somebody needs to put up a giant OPEN FOR BUSINESS sign on each coast.
I am Russ and I approve this message
Report Post »frellenwood
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 7:03pmActually your wrong, Bill Gates through the creation of his foundation has created another 957 jobs.
Report Post »Russman
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 7:30pmOK, But again I’m not in any way supporting jacking his taxes…… However, will he lay people off at his foundation if his personal taxes go up? I doubt it… he might lay off a gardner at home or something, his income is probably not tied to the money set aside for his foundation. My point is that the GOP needs to get on message and point out that the extra income will be a drop in the bucket and get out the word that spending is the problem. I keep watching for someone to articulate it in a way that people will get it…. The president has the pulpit and that‘s hard to fight but it just feels like they can’t (or for some reason wont) point out how obviously rediculous this is….The old guard still seems to think people are too stupid to get the truth. We have to entice manufacturing back to the USA. I think all (MOST) of us here get that. The GOP leadership needs to POUND on the Dems and the President for discouraging corporations from investing. You can tell that it frustrates me… Of course the media is not interested in helping conservatives but all I ever see are funny looking old white guys sounding rediculous (and I’m an old white guy!) If they had it together they’d have somebody like Paul Ryan out there every day articulating the argument, but it like they are trying to lose….. My $.02
Report Post »mlcblog
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 7:31pmBill Gates and his friends CREATED all the jobs that everyone who has anything to do with Microsoft have right now. That is how it works.
This is not taught in our schools any more if it ever was,only passed on from job creator to job creator and people who are fans of that system.
Report Post »Bernard
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 6:11pmSimple common sense would dictate that those who employ are richer than those who are employed. To tax those who employ would mean less employment and a greater intrusion of the Federal government.
Report Post »We need to go further to bring back those US companies who have left our shores. One way is to give them tax “holidays’ or incentives that make our market more attractive than foreign markets.
Another way is to deal with our biggest exporter; China. It is time that our government (one of the few roles that she should play) is to pass tariffs that would bring the value of Chinese goods to the true value of the Yuan. This act would level the playing field and make the Chinese market less attractive and our market more attractive for international companies.
Small Business, the backbone of our consumer based economy should get all the attention it needs to be successful again. Due to the Obama policies that has devastated our economy, many investors have put their money in gold. A good move for a short period of time, but in the long run Billions upon Billions are now tied up in gold which sits in bank vaults, not contributing a penny to the recovery of this economy. We need to create an atmosphere where other sectors are viable investment opportunities than gold. For example do away with the EPA and open up our energy sector. That would free Billions of dollars now locked up in Gold to the energy sector, which would also free the US dependence on foreign oil.
HoldenCaulfield
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 5:52pmSurprise! The Koch brothers have almost doubled their net worth while their workforce has dropped by almost 20%.
Job creators, right?
Report Post »mlcblog
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 7:32pmSo they run a tight ship. They have still created a lot more jobs that you have.
Report Post »truthseekerusa
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 8:48pmA friend who employs over 100 people did not replace those who left because of retirement, etc. and learned that they did not need to be replaced. That happened a couple of years ago and they have still not hired replacements because they found that the positions left did not have to be refilled. That is what happened to many companies as the recession took hold.
Report Post »cdavis411
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 5:34pmwhat is most amazing about that is that after Same Walton died three of is heirs are still in the top ten.
Report Post »mlcblog
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 7:34pmFor real, and if we work hard enough, etc., and create something like that then we can provide for our families or designated heirs in such a manner, too.
Report Post »The Third Archon
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 4:26pm“SURPRISE! TOP OF FORBES 400 ARE JOB CREATORS”
Yes, surprise–in the economy we have jobs come from somewhere.
However, the thing is, is that while the fact that jobs happen to come from somewhere, and that that somewhere happens to be, by numerical majority, employment by corporations owned by a handful of people, isn’t normative argument for those handful of owning individuals being the single most qualified ones to own the same corporations and/or produce jobs. Nor does it make any argument, or offer any proof, that this particular historical permutation of the many ways in which we COULD produce and distribute goods and services to people (an economy and the dependent social superstructure–i.e. society has to be organized a certain way, like with capitalists and non-capitalists for a current and familiar example, for there to be a certain structure of economy) is necessarily the most efficient, just, and useful way of doing so for the majority of humanity. It’s is simply a statement about what currently IS in the status quo–there is a capitalist economy in much of the world in which some people (capitalists) own part/all/or the majority of organizations (corporations) through which the means of production are owned and task of production is carried out, necessarily involving the employment of some people who DON’T own part/all/the majority in one or more of these same organizations in the tasks required by the corporation.
Report Post »Justthefactsmam
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 4:35pmDude, put the crack pipe down.
Report Post »ValiantDefender
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 4:48pmTo add any weight to the argument, show numbers on how exactly other methods create or maintain wealth…oh, and not end up under dictatorship.
Socialism is impossible as a “state” institution. This is due to the nature of people. In order to enforce laws that support this method, you would have to strip people of almost every right they have.
Under a King, the peasants blame the king/kingdom for their woes. They revolt and start their own nation. When problems arise then, they can no longer blame a king. So now we’re going to blame Freedom and free trade? Now what? go back to the Monarch?
Problem is people. People are, when allowed to be, as lazy and selfish as possible, and still survive. This nature causes people under Capitalism to innovate and work hard. Yes, some selfish bastards cause problems, but we come together as a people and make laws. Monopoly laws, etc.
Competition drives down prices and pushes innovation. Reward for hard work pushes people to make incredible risks, and sometimes it pays off. I bet if you looked at all these individuals, they each hit bankruptcy a few times before the risk paid off. Most people just won’t take those risks.
I used to be a raving communist, comrad, but I now understand law and human nature a lot better.
Report Post »bryan69
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 4:55pmSir, I get your misguided point, however (Which always signifies that I don’t believe a word of what was said prior) You ramble on with incoherent sentances.
Report Post »Mike N
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 5:18pmTo counter, one need only point to the consistent penchant of our government to squander our tax dollars . . . regardless of the source of data considered, it seems a foregone conclusion that the free-market is far better qualified to produce sustainable jobs than is Washington DC.
The only reason capitalism doesn’t work for the “downtrodden” is because they don’t work for IT.
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 4:03pmI just read that Meg Whitman is now the CEO of HP. Eat THAT Madam Boxer shorts.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 4:02pmI didn‘t see any government officials listed that can’t be right somethings awry.
Report Post »Disnylv
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 3:59pmWow creating jobs, where is Matt Damon?
Report Post »mlcblog
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 7:35pmSome of our movie stars won’t even pay their household help correctly.
Report Post »Exrepublisheep
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 3:58pmSlave owners created jobs too! The pay sucked along with the working conditions but they had jobs! Lincoln must have been a communist. Owners of plantations worked hard for their money! Hold hands with the tea party so they can bring you all back home to massa.
Report Post »colascguy
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 4:05pmI would argue that Unions are the 21st century slave holders. When you are forced to join and pay fees into the union coffer just to work you are a slave.
Report Post »Exrepublisheep
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 4:12pm@colasguy Yes, the unions can be a problem too.
Report Post »Jaycen
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 4:20pmThat’s moronic. A job is something for which you are paid. You can quit a job. Slavery is obviously not the same thing as “employment”.
You can twist words and spew hatred all day long, but it just makes you petty and your arguments weak.
Thanks for participating.
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 5:02pmYes, you can quit a job but you can’t slavery. Also, most southern plantation owners were DEMOCRAT, so that should explain everything to you. And actually, high paid Democrats are still slave owners, only they do it with government handouts and aren’t picky about race. And if you know your history, there were a few land owners who were black and had slaves, I believe both black and white.
Report Post »eagle275
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 10:34pm@ Exrepublisheep – are those heavy chains holding you back?
Report Post »jim
Posted on September 24, 2011 at 8:26amThis has to be the most assinine posting I’ve ever seen on this site. And I’ve seen a lot…
Report Post »UBETHECHANGE
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 3:55pmBerkshire Hathaway owes $1 billion in back taxes dating back to 2002. Buffett Rule…no thanks.
Report Post »rfycom
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 3:40pmI’m going to have a drink to these job creators! Way to go guys on creating jobs over the last 12 years. Yoooooooo whoooooooooooooo
Report Post »Jaycen
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 4:21pmGood call. Me too.
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