SuperRich_intermediate.pdf

Super-rich get richer

Level 2 Intermediate

Key words

Fill the gaps in the sentences below using the following key words from the text.

founder fortune

inherit

compile commodities

tycoon bachelor

heiress

entrepreneur

retail

1. If you ____________ money, you get it from someone who has died.

2. The verb to ____________ means to make something such as a list, report or book by bringing together

information from many different places.

3. An ____________ is someone who uses money to start businesses and make business deals.

4. A ____________ is a rich and powerful person in business or industry.

5. A ____________ is a very large amount of money.

6. A ____________ is a man who has never been married.

7. A ____________ is someone who starts an organization or business.

8. ____________ is the process of selling goods directly to the public.

9. ____________ are things that can be bought or sold, especially basic food products or fuel.

10. An ____________ is a woman who will receive money or property when another person dies.

Find the information

Look in the text and ind this information as quickly as possible.

1. Who is the world’s richest man?

2. Where does the world’s third richest man come from?

3. What is the total wealth of all the people on the rich list?

4. How much is Harry Potter author JK Rowling worth?

5. How many dollar billionaires are there in Russia?

6. Who is the world’s richest woman?

NEWS LESSONS / Super-rich get richer / Intermediate

Super-rich get richer

Level 2 Intermediate

Super-rich get richer

David Teather

March 9, 2007

Rothermere, Jonathan Harmsworth, is number

618 with $1.6bn and James Dyson also has

$1.6bn. Harry Potter author JK Rowling is right

at the bottom of the list with a fortune valued at

$1bn. There are two others who have made their

money from a very different type of publishing;

Richard Desmond the former soft porn publisher

who now owns the Daily Express is 754th

on the list with $1.3bn in the bank and Paul

Raymond, who owns Escort, Mayfair and Razzle

magazines, is also worth $1bn.

The rich keep getting richer. According to the

latest Forbes ranking of the world’s richest

people, there are now a record 946 dollar

billionaires around the world. They have made

their money from everything from telecoms to

steel to Chinese food.

For the 13th year in a row, Microsoft co-founder

Bill Gates was the richest person in the world.

His personal fortune rose $6bn last year to

$56bn (£29bn). His friend, the investment expert

Warren Buffett, was the second richest. His

fortune increased by $10bn during the year to

reach $52bn. Both Mr Gates and Mr Buffett give

a percentage of their fortunes to charity. Third

richest is the Mexican telecoms entrepreneur

Carlos Slim Helu, who added $19bn to his

wealth, and now has $49bn.

The list shows growing wealth in both China and

India, the two dynamic economies driving global

economic growth. Another 14 people from India

joined the list. With a total of 36 billionaires, India

has now overtaken Japan, which has 24, as

home to the most billionaires in Asia. There are

three Indians in the top 20, led by Lakshmi Mittal,

an Indian citizen who lives in London and who is

number ive on the list with $32bn.

There were 13 Chinese newcomers including Li

Wei, the founder of Synear Food Holding. Her

company is one of China’s largest producers

of frozen food and is an oficial supplier to the

Beijing Olympics in 2008.

The total wealth of all the people on the list grew

by 35% during the year to $3.5 trillion as a result

of rising property prices, commodities and stock

markets. Luisa Kroll who helped to compile

the list at Forbes said it was “an extraordinary

year”. On the previous list there were just 793

billionaires.

The US still has 44% of the world billionaires but

its share is getting smaller. Russia is also rising

fast and has 53 billionaires according to Forbes.

The Wal-Mart family dropped from the top 20,

after a dificult year for the world’s largest retailer.

The richest Briton on the list is the Duke of

Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor,

at number 55. Grosvenor inherited much of

his wealth and is one of the UK’s wealthiest

landowners. He is said to be worth $11bn. Sir

Philip Green, the retail entrepreneur who controls

British Home Stores and Topshop owner Arcadia

is the second richest Briton at number 104 on

the list. Sir Philip, 55, has $7bn. Next are the

property tycoons David and Simon Rueben, who

are worth $4.5bn between them and are number

177 on the list.

The average billionaire is 62 years old and 60%

of the people on the list made their money from

scratch. Around 100 unmarried men are included

among the world’s wealthiest. At the top of the

list of bachelors are Google founders Larry

Page and Sergey Brin - unmarried at 33 and 34

respectively, they are both worth $16.6bn and are

number 26 in the overall list. Other interesting

bachelors are Russian metals tycoon Mikhail

Prokhorov, in 38th place with an estimated

fortune of $13.5bn; or divorced James Packer,

who has a more modest $5.5bn media fortune.

There are 29 British citizens on the list. Virgin

founder Sir Richard Branson is number 230 with

$3.8bn; David Sainsbury of the grocery family is

432nd with $2.2bn; newspaper owner Viscount

One of the more interesting rich people on the list

is the accordion-playing, ire-breathing founder

NEWS LESSONS / Super-rich get richer / Intermediate

Super-rich get richer

Level 2 Intermediate

of Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberte, at number 664

on the list. The 47-year-old Canadian founded his

circus-based, animal-free acrobatic show in 1984

and still keeps 95% of the business. His fortune

is estimated at $1.5bn. The richest woman, at

number 12, is 84-year-old L’Oreal heiress Liliane

Bettencourt, with a fortune of $20.7bn. Chat

show queen Oprah Winfrey is believed to be

worth $1.5bn.

First published in The Guardian , 9/3/07

Comprehension check

Decide whether these statements are True or False according to the text.

1. China has more dollar billionaires than Russia.

2. The percentage of US billionaires in the list is falling.

3. More than half the people on the list started with nothing.

4. Guy Laliberte has sold most of his Cirque du Soleil business.

5. Sir Philip Green is a publisher.

6. Carlos Slim Helu made his money from telecoms.

7. Rising property prices were the only reason for the 35% increase in the total wealth of the people on the list.

8. The founders of Google are married.

Vocabulary 1: Find the word

Find these words and expressions in the text.

1. A noun meaning a position on a list that shows how good someone is compared to others. (para 1)

2. A noun meaning someone who knows a lot about a particular subject. (para 2)

3. A noun meaning a group of organizations which help people who are poor or ill. (para 2)

4. A verb meaning to become better than another person. (para 6)

5. A noun meaning someone who has recently started to be involved in something. (para 7)

6. A noun meaning a company that sells goods direct to the public. (para 8)

7. An expression meaning with nothing at all. (para 9)

8. An adjective meaning richest . (para 9)

NEWS LESSONS / Super-rich get richer / Intermediate

Super-rich get richer

Level 2 Intermediate

Vocabulary 2: Word formation

Complete the table.

verb

noun

1. invest

2. grow

3. marry

4. increase

5. inherit

6. own

7. produce

8. found

Vocabulary 3: Preixes

Match the preixes with their meanings.

1. co- a. new

2. re- b. against

3. anti- c. many

4. neo- d. joint, together

5. mal- e. below, less than

6. multi- f. across

7. trans- g. again

8. under- h. badly

Discussion

How much money does a normal person need? What can you do with more than $1 billion? Should the super-rich

pay more tax?

NEWS LESSONS / Super-rich get richer / Intermediate

Super-rich get richer

Level 2 Intermediate

KEY

1 Key words

4 Vocabulary 1: Find the word

1. inherit

2. compile

3. entrepreneur

4. tycoon

5. fortune

6. bachelor

7. founder

8. retail

9. commodities

10. heiress

1. ranking

2. expert

3. charity

4. overtake

5. newcomer

6. retailer

7. from scratch

8. wealthiest

5 Vocabulary 2: Word formation

2 Find the information

1. investment

2. growth

3. marriage

4. increase

5. inheritance

6. ownership/owner (person)

7. production/producer (person)

8. foundation/founder (person)

1. Bill Gates

2. Mexico

3. $3.5 trillion

4. $1 billion

5. 53

6. Liliane Bettencourt in the 1980s

3 Comprehension check

6 Vocabulary 3: Preixes

1. F

2. T

3. T

4. F

5. F

6. T

7. F

8. F

1. d

2. g

3. b

4. a

5. h

6. c

7. f

8. e

NEWS LESSONS / Super-rich get richer / Intermediate

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