As George Carlin once said,
"it is an infinitely more interesting news story for a team to repeatedly fail at the highest level than it is for them to finally win." After ten years and over 1,500 episodes, last night's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (the US version) featured its very first
Top Prize Loser.
Ken Basin, of Los Angeles, incorrectly guessed that LBJ prefered Yoo-Hoo over Fresca, and walked away with $25,000 instead of $1,000,000.
[more inside]
posted by Damn That Television
on Aug 24, 2009 -
81 comments
In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don't Feel Rich [NYTimes Link]
Mr. Kremen estimated his net worth at $10 million. That puts him firmly in the top half of 1 percent among Americans, according to wealth data from the Federal Reserve, but barely in the top echelons in affluent towns like Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Atherton. So he logs 60- to 80-hour workweeks because, he said, he does not think he has nearly enough money to ease up.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero
on Aug 5, 2007 -
142 comments
Revenge of the Third World Virgins! If you were worth $600 million by age 40, how would you spend the rest of your life? For Larry Hillblom, the "H" in
DHL, the plan wassimple: move to the
tax haven of Saipan, fly restored WWII seaplanes,
restore colonial-era resorts in Vietnam, and -- of course -- bed as many teenaged virgins as possible. When the apparently unmarried and childless Hillblom died in 1995, after the seaplane he was piloting crashed into the South Pacific, his will left nearly his entire fortune to establish a
foundation for medical research at UCLA (in gratitude for their treatment of him after an earlier plane crash). But
claims on his estate were almost immediately made by several of Larry's virgins, who claimed to have borne children by him. Thus began a bitter court battle for Larry's millions, which resulted in four
previously penniless children winning $90 million each after
DNA testing proved his paternity. The money may be a
mixed blessing for his
kids, but considering that Larry almost certainly knew that he could have disinherited them with a
few words, he probably wanted it that way.
posted by banishedimmortal
on Jul 5, 2006 -
33 comments
FoxTV has reached a new all-time low. I couldn't find an official site, but
here's the listing over at
tvgrid.com. "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire" is an upcoming special where a single guy will pick from one of 50 women, and get legally married by the end of the program. This one is pathetic all around; for the freak going on TV to pick his wife in a matter of 2 hours, the 50 women lining up to marry a man for his money, and for Fox pulling such a lame ratings stunt.
posted by mathowie
on Feb 6, 2000 -
5 comments
