(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Imagine having enough money you didn’t need to collect a salary from work. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is taking a $1 salary this year and foregoing any bonuses. He is not alone in this business tactic. The Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, who like Zuckerberg is a billionaire, collects just $1 annually for leading New York City.

A majority of the other people who take the single-dollar salary are in the tech world. When billionaires accept a $1 salary it is not only symbolic. Workers must collect some money for law (unless they are volunteers).

According to  Quartz, Steve Jobs was paid $1 from the time he returned to Apple as CEO in 1998, and after 2003 he didn’t take any stock grants. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, as well as then-CEO Eric Schmidt, reduced their salaries to $1 in 2005. Even now, Page, currently CEO, and Brin still make $1. Schmidt, currently the executive chairman, however, collects  a multimillion  dollar salary. The list continues: Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Zynga’s Mark Pincus, and H-P’s Meg Whitman.

In other industries, Capital One’s Richard Fairbank, Urban Outfitters’s Richard Hayne, Fossil’s Kosta Kartsotis, Kinder Morgan’s Richard Kinder, and Duke Energy’s James Rogers all only took home a $1 paycheck.

The trend of collecting a $1 salary isn’t new. “When Lee Iacocca was brought in to save Chrysler from bankruptcy in 1978, he took a $1 salary as a publicity stunt,” reports Quartz.

It’s not like Zuckerberg has to worry about money. Last year when Facebook went public he exercised 60 million stock options, then worth nearly $2.3 billion, buying those shares for next to nothing, reports the story. In fact, he sold half of the stock to pay off his tax bill. Zuckerberg still has another 60 million stock options that, if he chooses, he can exercise on Nov. 7, 2015, for the same amazingly cheap price of six cents.

Last year, Zuckerberg’s received a $266,101 bonus in addition to his $500,000 base salary. And there are lots of perks to being the boss. He gets use of Facebook’s private planes. His personal trips on Air Facebook last year cost more than $1.2 million.

L’Oreal’s Liliane Bettencourt. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

The rich are definitely getting richer. The list of richest people in the world have grown to a record level of 1,426 billionaires with a total worth over $5.4 trillion up from $4.6 trillion last year based on the annual Forbes magazine study.

The United States’ own Bill Gates took second place with a worth of $67 billion, while Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim grabbed the top spot with a fortune of $73 billion.

Of Forbes’ top ten, eight were over the age of 70. However there were some youngsters on the list, like the original Facebook collaborators Mark Zuckerberg (28), Eduardo Saverin (30), and Dustin Moskovitz (28).

The list of billionaires is not just a boys club either. Women billionaires increased year-over-year from 104 to 138, with 90-year-old L’Oreal cosmetics guru Liliane Bettencourt topping the list of women and also claiming a top 10 spot at number nine of all billionaires worldwide.

It’s also interesting to note that many of those on the top 20 list come from a retail background, such as the heads of Zara, H&M, and Wal-Mart.

Although this may seem like a benefit for those who actually made the list, this appears to be a concern for the overall economy. The Trade Union Congress general secretary Frances O’Grady said in the UK’s Guardian, “These latest findings from Forbes make for very disturbing reading. Trickle-down economists may love having a growing super-elite, but seem to forget the fact that rising pay inequality was a major cause of the financial crash… Unless wealth is spread more broadly, we will be unable to build a sustainable recovery, as consumer spending will continue to flat-line.”

For the full list, click here.

Follow CAP on Twitter: @in_allcaps

AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, pool

If you took a look at stock news yesterday, you saw lots of financial reporters doing a major freak out about the steep decline in the markets. When we posted this story, the markets were tanking even as we got a little positive news about gas prices. The Dow Jones index closed down nearly 250 points.

But today, things are looking much brighter, thanks in part to Facebook. The social network announced its earnings after the closing bell, showing a 32 percent rise in revenue for the quarter ending in September to $1.26 billion and improved performance in the mobile arena. CNET quotes Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who says the company can introduce new products and increase engagement on mobile devices. This morning, media has been crowing about the spike in Facebook stock, up 24 percent.

That news, coupled with a positive financial report from aviation company Boeing and news that manufacturing in China has declined at a slower rate than months past is sending the stock market into a happier place. We’ve also got news that the sales of newly-built homes in the US in September was up 5.7 percent to 389,000. The media price for a new home was $242,400, down from $250,400 in August.

Image: TheClassist.com

-Another day, another crazy political gaffe. Rep. Todd Akin (MO), who is currently running for a seat in the Senate, went on a St. Louis news program and said these words when asked whether he would support abortion in cases of rape: “It seems to me first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” Akin said of a rape victim’s chances of becoming pregnant.” This man votes on things that become law!

After being flayed on Twitter and in the media, Rep. Akin, of course, issued a statement in which he says he “misspoke” and his statements didn’t reflect the “empathy” he really has rape victims. The GOP Presidential ticket isn’t taking any chances, however. The Romney/Paul campaign has already issued a statement of their own saying they don’t agree with Rep. Akin and “would not oppose abortion in instances of rape.” The Democrats weren’t wasting any time either. An email signed by the Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz hit inboxes early this morning, asserting that the “misstatement” is more evidence of the Republican assault on women’s health issues. His opponent, Sen. Claire McCaskill, said in a statement, “It is beyond comprehension that someone can be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape.”

-NBC announced about two dozen layoffs at The Tonight Show over the weekend. In addition, Jay Leno took a pay cut as NBC tries to bring down costs. He was making between $25 million and $30 million per year. Now he’s only making $20 million. Jay’s foremost concern is for the wonderful people who work with him at The Tonight Show. He did what was necessary to ensure their well-being.” said Leno’s spokesperson Bruce Bobbins. Gag.

-Wal-Mart’s layaway program was so successful last year, they’re bringing it back starting September 16. Small home appliances and sporting goods will be added to the list of toys and electronics that were available to the program last year. A down payment of $10 or 10 percent plus a $15 fee to open an account is required.

-With Facebook’s stock sinking like a stone, some are wondering aloud whether Mark Zuckerberg’s time as CEO of the now public company is running out. Many call the thought of that happening “absurd.” We agree.

-Sad Hollywood news this morning: Tony Scott, the director of films like Top Gun and a number of Denzel Washington movies like Man On Fire and Unstoppable jumped from a Los Angeles bridge to his death yesterday afternoon. The details from a suicide note found later that day have not been revealed. He just finished working on a Christian Bale movie called Out of the Furnace due out in March. His brother is also a famous filmmaker, Ridley Scott. He was 68 years old. *Update: Reports now say Scott had inoperable brain cancer. **Update: ABC News may have been wrong. Tony Scott’s family denies he had inoperable brain cancer. And the Los Angeles County coroner’s office says they won’t know anything until they complete their autopsy and other tests.

Image: PSFK.com

-The New York Times  reports on the supersized influence that Jay-Z has on the Brooklyn Nets. He invested a mere $1 million in the team nine years ago, meaning he owns one-fifteenth of a percent of the team (he owns one-fifth of the Barclays arena where they’ll be playing). But he has counseled on everything from the color scheme to the logo (he designed it) to the music and the ways in which visitors will be checked at the door. Moreover, the arena will be filled with businesses that he has invested in, such as a 40/40 club, a Rocawear store and Armand de Brignac champagne. And he’s capitalized on the connection elsewhere, like in those new Budweiser ads where he’s seen wearing Nets gear. He is doing it.

-Did you know that August is National Black Business Month? The Washington Informer encourages you to buy from a black-owned business. (August isn’t the only time you can do this, BTW.)

-President Obama is offering $470 million to states who promise to use the money to create jobs and improve roads and other infrastructure. The money had been allotted to the Department of Transportation between 2003 and 2006 through earmarks which has since been outlawed.

-Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has seen his company’s stock tank since the IPO in May, and his personal fortune has gone down with it. Facebook stock closed yesterday at an all-time low, $19.87. Zuckerberg, who is 28 years old, is now worth $10.2 billion. Facebook stock debuted on the market at $38 per share. The company has lost more than $40 billion in value since the spring. Yesterday, 271.1 million shares were freed up for sale.

-Instagram has launched its 3.0 version, which includes a couple of fixes and a new Photo Map feature that Forbes argues moves it into the “media company” realm.

ibtimes.com

Facebook stocks may not be doing as well as CEO Mark Zuckerberg would have hoped, but let’s face it, the man still has quite a bit of money. But if it’s one place Zuckerberg is choosing to not spend his cash, it’s on treating his new wife Priscilla Chan.

By now most of us have heard of his very small and low-key wedding to his longtime girlfriend. The two married in their backyard with less than 100 guests and served sushi and chocolate. Then, according to Forbes, Zuckerberg took his amour on a secret Italian honeymoon. Sounds romantic right? Except that the two were spotted at a restaurant that wasn’t the luxurious high-end sort with authentic Italian food that most of us dream of one day visiting. The two were sitting on the Mignanelli Steps by Piazza Spagna eating McDonalds. That’s right, they flew all the way to Italy to eat McDonalds.

Not only that, when they did visit an authentic Italian restaurant, Nonna Beta, which specializes in Roman Jewish food, they decided to order water and tea than wine or beer. And hey, while they may not have been in the mood for a drink, they also didn’t leave a tip on a bill of 32 euros–which is about a $40 meal. Even after telling the owners that they enjoyed their meal! But it’s just Zuckerberg’s style not to tip. The Telegraph reports he also didn’t tip when eating at the historic trattoria Pierluigi in the heart of Rome.

Who knows, maybe Zuckerberg is preparing for an end to Facebook soon or maybe, he’s just cheap. It kind’ve makes you think twice about how you view your thrifty boyfriend or the guy who made you pay on that last date. If even a multi-billionaire is tightening up his purse strings, we can’t blame the brothas who choose to do the same.

(Wall Street Journal) — Some of Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million gift to the Newark school system will be given directly to public schoolteachers, one year after the Facebook founder announced the donation, said three people familiar with the plans.  The foundation that manages the gift will announce Wednesday a two-year, $600,000 program that provides $10,000 grants to teachers or groups of teachers who come up with innovative classroom programs, these people said.  It’s one of the few programs so far to come out of the high-profile donation, which was announced on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” last year by Mr. Zuckerberg, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

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(New York Daily News)–Just one day after a judge ruled in his favor against the Winklevoss twins, Mark Zuckerberg may now face another challenge to his Facebook fortune. The young billionaire is under attack again from Paul Ceglia, who filed a lawsuit last year claiming he signed a contract with Zuckerberg that entitles him to 50% ownership of the social networking company. Ceglia, whose claim was initially met with skepticism due to his past as a convicted felon once charged with fraud, resurfaced on Tuesday to re-file his suit with a new, more prestigious law firm. In new documents filed, Ceglia drops a bombshell of many seemingly incriminating emails he says he exchanged with Zuckerberg between 2003 and 2004.

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(USA Today) — Six months after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg appeared on Oprahto give $100 million to improve Newark’s strapped and struggling schools, $99 million is still sitting in the bank.  Newark Mayor Cory Booker quickly raised $43 million in matching donations. But what’s followed has been less rosy:

•The superintendent left in February after being fired byRepublican Gov. Chris Christie; a new leader hasn’t been named. The state has controlled Newark’s schools since 1995.

•A plan to close some schools and to let charter schools share space with public schools infuriated parents — especially after it was revealed the plan was written by a consulting firm founded by New Jersey’s acting education commissioner.

• Booker has been criticized for not revealing enough about the sources of the $43 million and for spending $1 million on a survey of parents’ thoughts on school reform.

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Oh my, the year has gone by…we watched time fly and now we say bye-bye. You like that rhyme huh? Well, love it or hate it, we’re bringing you the most dramatic celebrity moments of 2010. Let us know which ones you’d add to the list!

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