BillionairesLife.com

Charles Simonyi, an American billionaire who made his money at Microsoft, just flew off into space on a Russian rocket. He paid about $30 million for the privilege and this is his second space flight.

Lots of Michael Jackson's stuff is being auctioned off by JuliensAuctions, so that he can raise cash to pay off his debts. This 'stuff' includes the gates to Neverland Ranch, mannequins, awards, autographs, and of course tube socks.

Linkenholt in Hampshire, southern England is up for sale for $31 to $35 million. The village includes a manor house, a rectory, a clock tower and a 2,000-acre estate.

Well, there is no recession for collectible comic books. An Action Comics No. 1 comic book sold for $317,200 in an Internet auction by Metropolis Collectibles. Supposedly, only about 100 of these comics exist. The previous owner, in Oakland, California, only paid 35 cents for it in 1951. This is an average annual return of 27.5%.

Japanese scientists have come up with a female humanoid robot that will appear on a catwalk as a fashion model. The robot, who's name is HRP-4C, is 5 feet 2.5 inches tall and weighs 95 pounds. She will appear in a Tokyo fashion show next week without any clothes on. Her programming technology will be open source so that the owner can come up with other movements for her body. She has 30 motors in her body and can move her arms and her face.

The Kamique Resort on the island of Anguilla in the Caribbean is offering 20% to 30% off for investors who can prove that they invested with Bernie Madoff and lost money with him. The Transracial blog discovered this discount for the eight person/four-bedroom villas which start at $2,450 per night, and the 12 person/six-bedrooms villas from $2,940 per night. They each come with their own private swimming pools and much, much more. Pictures of this luxury resort can be found at Transracial's website.

Mastering the Art of Public Speaking
by Larry Underwood
author of the book Life Under the Corporate Microscope: A Maverick's Irreverent Perspective
Underwood started out his career working behind the counter renting cars to people at Enterprise Rent-a-Car, and worked his way up the corporate ladder, eventually becoming a multimillionaire earning almost $4 million per year, and retiring before the age of 49

Mastering the Art of Public Speaking

Let’s face it; most people don’t like giving presentations in front of large audiences. In fact, that type of endeavor absolutely terrifies the vast majority of people, and those who aren’t completely frozen with fear generally still feel at least somewhat uncomfortable and ill at ease; probably because they lack confidence, and somehow feel that the audience won’t like them, for whatever reason, or that they’ll screw the presentation up, and not cover the necessary material in a smooth and cohesive way.

In other words, they let their anxieties …

The billionaire Stephen A. Schwarzman, who founded the Blackstone Group (BX), had his pay cut from $180 million in 2007 to $350,000 in 2008, a 99.8% drop. The chief executive, Hamilton E. James, had a pay cut of only 73%.

The Magnolia Mansion in New Orleans near the French Quarter was built in 1857. It is known for its ghosts. The house is now used as a bed and breakfast and has 13 guest rooms each with a private bath. The sales price is $5.5 million.