# Ever met a billionaire? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 20, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785 "2011-12-20T00:08:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/1 "2011-12-20T00:08:06Z")
I met one yesterday. He’s worth about $3 bil. I went to a party at his house. He co-founded the software company where I work. He is in his 60s and still works but spends a lot of time on charity work, mostly related to environmentalism. His house was big but not super big, he had 4 kids. His house looks like a very nice farm house. Most interesting thing I saw there was a picture of him and his daughter with Mr. and Mrs. Obama so I guess he’s a big donor to Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/2 "2011-12-20T00:11:07Z")
I worked for a billionaire back in the '80s–Les Wexner. I was his office manager. Very nice guy, and a good boss. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/3 "2011-12-20T00:15:30Z")
Yes, I think. He may not have quite a billion dollars, but well over $500 million. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/4 "2011-12-20T00:19:43Z")
I don’t know the net worth of Fred Smith (of FedEx), but I’d not be surprised to learn he’s a billionaire. I’ve met him several times. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/5 "2011-12-20T00:30:17Z")
Nope. Billionaires and I do not, shall we say,\* travel in the same circles\*. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/6 "2011-12-20T00:34:32Z")
Does a wife count? I was at Melinda Gates birthday party, before she was married to Bill. They were engaged at the time. He was there, I didn’t meet him, just her. She liked what I was wearing, so came over to speak with me. I was with the band. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/7 "2011-12-20T00:38:12Z")
Yep, met the inspiration for the [Buy More](http://images.wikia.com/chuck/images//7/72/Buymore.jpg) Richard Schulze a few times. Pretty agreeable guy. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/8 "2011-12-20T00:38:21Z")
I sat on a Chamber of Commerce board with one of Sam Walton’s grandson’s. He was about 22 years old, and a very nice kid. Steve Jobs passed me on the freeway once about 20 years ago. Mercedes with NEXT license plate. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/9 "2011-12-20T00:39:06Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Nope. Billionaires and I do not, shall we say,\* travel in the same circles\*. Same here. They are _UP THERE_ and \* I’m down here.\* ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/10 "2011-12-20T00:47:22Z")
Two, many years ago - Dick DeVos and Jay VanAndel when I worked at Amway world headquarters in Ada, MI. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/11 "2011-12-20T00:48:18Z")
I once nearly set fire to Chao Sze-tsung. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/12 "2011-12-20T00:50:25Z")
I work for a 1/4 billionaire, and he hangs with the upper class. Met Mr. Walton a while back, Pres. Bush 1 & 2, and spent the afternoon with Bernie Marcus last month. They hardly acknowledge underlings, oddly enough… ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/13 "2011-12-20T00:51:15Z")
I presented an analysis for a sales proposal to a guy whose current net worth is roughly $7 billion. I think it was $9 billion at the time (mid to late 2003). He liked it enough that he signed on with us. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/14 "2011-12-20T01:20:26Z")
Been to Sadam Hussein’s palace. He wasn’t home, though. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/15 "2011-12-20T01:38:31Z")
Yes. He bought me a book on Wales when I was eight, because i chose to do a speech on the country for grade three public speaking. It was signed EDIT: fixed the quote. It read, “To Antonio, from your ‘Welsh Uncle’!” [Yet sadly, he is not my uncle.] ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/16 "2011-12-20T01:43:46Z")
I once gave Steven Spielberg a private videogame demo. Apparently he’s worth several billion. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/17 "2011-12-20T01:49:56Z")
Forgot, when I was at school in the 1980s I used to work in a full-service gas station. There was a charming, unassuming old gent who used to come in driving a beat-up Mercedes. I used to fill his car and charge it to the Weston account. He was always friendly and gave me a reasonable tip at Christmas. It was only when I saw the Sunday Times Rich List a few years later that I realised he was [Garfield Weston CBE](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Weston), chairman of Associated British Foods - and at the time I was filling his car, the richest person in the UK. That is, richer than the Duke of Westminster or the Queen. The man _invented the fucking [Wagon Wheel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagon_Wheels)_ and I did not fall and worship at his feet. Nor did I get the inside scoop on the key question of our times: “they _have_ shrunk, haven’t they?” ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/18 "2011-12-20T02:02:31Z")
My dad knows Warren Buffet. That doesn’t quite count for me, though. I know lots of millionaires. No billionaires. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/19 "2011-12-20T02:16:01Z")
I’ve met Dick DeVos, but didn’t know he was a billionaire. I thought just a millionaire. I’m more of a thousandaire so millions, billions - all the same to me. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785/20 "2011-12-20T02:18:42Z")
I haven’t, but the spouse met Steve Jobs. In fact, SJ gave him an iPhone (they all got one as a bonus, handed out by the execs, and he got Steve.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-met-a-billionaire/606785.md?page=2)