Who are the key players :

Chocolate King Anthony Ward.

Called « Chocolate Finger »  through his firm Armajaro, has been trying to buy a large percentage of the world’s cocoa bean supply. the 50-year-old Ward is the only man in the commodities futures market capable of taking delivery of that much cocoa. Ward is supposed to trade between 400.000 and 500.000 tons of cocoa per year .

ECOM Cocoa’s global presence enables them  to continuously expand, allowing for total involvement throughout the trade. Whether it is financing the local cocoa farmers, trading the commodities, or the processing and shipping of a variety of beans, ECOM Cocoa seems  committed to delivering quality cocoa products, with excellent service, anywhere in the world.

Walter  Matter

Through a marketing agreement among producers in Honduras, cocoa is exported jointly to the Swiss Company, Chocolats Halba.

The advantage of this contract seems  that Halba Chocolates gave them  the green light to make the transition from conventional chocolate-which is what Honduras produces, to organic chocolate, which is the variety that they  want to achieve in the next 36 months.

ADM Products & Services

The 29,000 people of ADM are hard at work transforming crops into renewable products that meet the world’s vital needs. At more than 240 processing plants, they  convert  cocoa, wheat  into Chocolate

Global market : $ 9 billion

Biggest producers :

Ivory coast 35%

Ghana :18%

Far east : 14%

Nigeria 7%

Cameroon 6%

Last year the production was short of 50.000 tons, and the stock was only of 35% of a year consumption.

French:

Le chocolat nous en mangeons 4 kg par an, quand les Anglais en consomment eux près de 12 kg .

Qui sont les acteurs de  ce  marché de 9 milliards de dollars ?

Le roi du Chocolat, l’anglais surnommé « Chocolate Finger « 

Anthony Ward, créateur de hedge funds,   négociant et transformateur, dont la Société Armajaro brasse entre  400.000 et 500.000 tonnes de cacao par an .

Ensuite nous retiendrons ECOM , Walter Matter et  ADM, tous semble t il localisé en Suisse, le cacao un produit purement spéculatif, car la production est inférieur à la demande (déficit de plus de 50.000 tonnes lors de la dernière récolte)

Qui sont les pays producteurs de Chocolat ?

Cote d’Ivoire: 35%

Ghana :18%

Extreme Orient  : 14%

Nigeria 7%

Une erreur, any mistake, please contact:

bj@abusinesstabloid.com

After investigating a wave of recent fire incidents involving the 458 Italia, Ferrari has issued an official recall of the sports car.

About 1,248 units will be recalled for a adaptation to the car’s wheel arch and heat shield assembly which have been found to be defective and the likely cause of the fires.

An adhesive used in the wheel arch assembly has been found to be liable to melt at high temperatures.

When the car is being driven in hot climate,  the adhesive itself can catch fire. .

A Ferrari spokesman confirms that the company’s dealers are calling all 458 owners to offer the fix, which affects only a handful of cars. As far as we know Ferrari will replace any 458 that burned because of the problem, the official said

Après que la célèbre marque au  Cheval Cabré ai eu chaud sur tout les continents, un certain nombre des premières  mille deux cent quarante huit, « 458 Italia » livrées aux clients a été victimes d’incendie . Ferrari vient de précéder au rappel de ces véhicules.

French :

 Ferrari  dont l’asset le plus important est  l’ image se devait de régir rapidement après que quelques  propriétaires de « 458 Italia » aient   été victimes d’accidents et de sorties de route .Un nombre restreint de « 458 Italia »  déjà livrées ont fait montre d’une fâcheuse tendance à l’auto-combustion. D’après Ferrari,  un isolant thermique sur l’intérieur des passages de roue arrière, fixé avec une colle qui n’est pas aussi résistante à la chaleur qu’escompté.

Une erreur, any mistake, please contact:

bj@abusinesstabloid.com

The French -based supermarket giant was astonished when they found out that they were already 160 Carrefour stores in Fuyang (East China’s Anhui province).

Carrefour SA has filed a lawsuit against Anhui Jiale Supermarket Chain Co Ltd and its subsidiaries in Fuyang, claiming they had violated the rule of fair competition and infringed upon the Carrefour trademark.

The local supermarket network Jiale company is accused of illegally using the logo « Jialefu, » the Chinese version of « Carrefour » in their company name and business activities.

Carrefour claims that the supermarkets under Jiale Company’s use of a blue logo similar to that of Carrefour, on their shop signs, price tags, receipts, and shopping bags, is very likely to cause consumer confusion as to the source of the supermarkets.

The court hearing, which was started on Aug 18, is still under way.

Carrefour’s lawyer  are asking the court  to order Jiale Company to change its logo andto compensate   Carrefour by paying them  6 million yuan Approx 882,000 dollars  in compensation.

Jiale, established in 2002, was  registered as « Anhui Fuyang Jialefu Business and Commerce Co, Ltd » initially. The company changed its name from « Jialefu » to « Jiale » in August 2009.

Jiale claims that  it had not infringed on Carrefour’s trademark since the company had already changed its name from « Jialefu » to « Jiale » before the lawsuit was filed.

Jiale also says that Carrefour’s Chinese logo « Jialefu » literally means « happy family » in Chinese.

French :

Carrefour a entamé une action en justice contre  le réseau  de supermarchés Chinois  “Jiale” pour utilisation frauduleuse de ses  logo et Trade mark.

Le groupe Français a eu la surprise lors d’une etude de marché , de découvrir qu’il existait 160 supermarchés Carrefour à Fuyang à l’Est de la province de Anhui.

Les audiences à la court ont débuté le 18 aout, Les avocats de Carrefour demandent à ce que la court impose à Jiale de changer de logo, enfin ils réclament une compensation de 882.000 dollars ( 6 millions de yuans)

Dans sa défense Jiale réplique qu’il n’a pas imité la marque Carrefour  et qu’il a déjà change son nom de   »Jialefu » à   »Jiale ».

Jiale enfin nous explique que le logo( caractère)  de Carrefour « Jialefu »  veut dire   »happy family- famille heureuse  » en  Chinois.

Any mistake , une erreur, please contact :

bj@abusinesstabloid.com

English:

Hard time for Ferrari, The Maranello company is going to downsize the number of employees to adapt the production capacity to the sales of its luxurious cars, in the same time the engines manufacturing plant which is producing engines for the sister company Maserati is going to downsize too.

We learned that 120 senior staff and 150 workers will be made redundant. This month, 600 workers will work part time only.

Launching of the California V8 and of the 458 Italia may help in the  near future, Ferrari sold only 6.300 cars in 2009, turnover was down of 7% and gross profit down of 30% it reached Euro 238 million. First quarter of 2010 was worst profit plummets of 28%, regarding Maserati engines produced by Ferrari, it went down from 9.000 in 2008, to 4.500 units In 2009.

French:

Temps difficiles pour Ferrari, La compagnie de  Maranello  va réduire ses effectifs afin de les adapter aux ventes de ses voitures de luxe. D’autre part  Ferrari qui produit les moteurs  de la société sœur Maserati , va aussi devoir réduire les effectifs de cette usine

Nous avons appris que 120 agents de maitrise et 150 ouvriers devraient être licenciés, enfin ce mois ci 600 ouvriers seront mis au chômage partiel.

Les Lancements de la California V8 et de la  458 Italia pourraient amener une bouffer d’oxygène   , Ferrari  a vendu seulement  6.300 voitures en 2009, le chiffre d’affaires à baisser de  7% et le résultat d’exploitation de 30% celui-ci se situait à 238 millions d’Euros . Le premier trimestre  2010 fut encore pire avec un résultat d’exploitation en baisse  28%, en ce qui concerne les moteurs Maserati  produits par Ferrari, le nombre est passé de 9.000 en  2008, à  4.500 en 2009.

English:

Former Richest man of China sentenced to 14 years in Prison .

A Beijing court sentenced Huang Guangyu, former chairman of GOME Electrical Appliances Holdings, to 14 years in prison for illegal business dealings, insider trading and corporate bribery.

Huang, once China’s richest person, was also fined 600 million Yuan ($88 million), with another 200 million Yuan worth of property being confiscated, the Xinhua News Agency said.

Huang, 41, is in custody since November 2008 for stock market manipulation. He made his fortune by founding and building up GOME, now China’s second largest home appliance retailer behind HAIER,  by market value.

He was ranked as mainland’s richest person by HURUN’s China Rich List from 2005 to 2008, with assets reached 43 billion Yuan ($6.3 billion).

His two firms, GOME and “Beijing Pengrun Real Estate Development “Company, were fined 5 million Yuan and 1.2 million Yuan respectively for giving bribes, the statement of Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court said.

Huang was found to be liable for the bribes given by the two companies as he was personally involved or directed others to do so, said the statement.

Huang was also convicted of illegally trading 822 million Hong Kong dollars from September to November 2007.

French:

L’ex plus grande fortune de la Chine Condamnée à 14 ans de Prison . Des Hauts et des bas !

Le fondateur  de la seconde  entreprise  chinoise d’électroménager, la société GOME a été condamné hier à quatorze années de prison.

La court de Pekin (Beijing) a condamné Mr Huang Guangyu, ex président de GOME  Electrical Appliances Holdings, pour  illégal business dealings, insider trading et corruption .

Huang, qui fut  durant quelques années l’homme le plus riche de Chine, a été personnellement condamné à une amende de  600 millions Yuan  de surcroit  200 millions Yuan  de ces biens ont été confisqués d’après  Xinhua News Agency .

Huang, 41ans, est en détention depuis  Novembre  2008 pour manipulation de cours de bourse  , il avait fait sa fortune en créant et développant  GOME ,entreprise en deuxième position sur le marché Chinois de l’Electroménager derrière HAIER .  

L’organisation HURUN, l’avais classé comme l’homme le plus riche de Chine “Hurun’s China Rich List » de 2005 a 2008,  avec une fortune évaluée à 43 milliards de  Yuan ($6.3 billion).

Ses deux entreprise,  GOME  and « Beijing Pengrun Real Estate Development Company »,  ont été condamnée à des amendes de 5 millions de  Yuan et  1.2 million  de Yuan  pour corruption, d’après le compte rendu de « Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court «.

Huang  a été reconnu coupable d’avoir  corrompu au travers de ses  deux entreprises  et cela d’une manière direct ou indirecte

Huang a été aussi reconnu coupable d’illégal trading pour un montant de  822 millions de  Hong Kong dollars  (approximativement  100 millions US $) de  Septembre  à  Novembre  2007.

Une erruer, any mistake , please contact :

bj@abusinesstabloid.com

Chinese President Hu Jintao enthusiastically received Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov this week, thanking him for supplying gas to his increasingly prosperous energy-hungry country and giving him a $10.million gift for support of social services in this   Central Asian nation. For his part, the Turkmen leader cheerfully declared that his country’s positions on various world issues were “close or similar” to China and noted frankly that this friendship was expressed in the granting to China of Turkmenistan’s only drilling permit on land for a foreign company. Ashgabat’s trade with China has increased dramatically to $1.5 billion today, with 37 Chinese enterprises and 60 Turkmen-Chinese joint ventures, with investments of over $4 billion and 2.5 billion yen. Chinese engineers are coming to build pipelines; language instructors are coming to universities; Chinese software programmers are helping Turkmenistan to filter the Internet. Where the West could not succeed with its perceived disunity and human rights homilies; where Russia’s Gazprom could not succeed with its perceived unreliability (although other Russian companies like Itera enjoy special support), China has made inroads to the long-closed Central Asian nation by handing out large soft loans and refraining from comments on internal affairs. And for now, at least, both Turkmenistan and China seem unwilling to contemplate the long-term negative consequences for such a co-dependent approach for both sovereignty and democracy.

By contrast, months of Western wishful thinking and Turkmenistan’s constant evasiveness about its true intentions finally came to blows this week. Germany’s RWE, the only Western company given an offshore drilling permit in Turkmenistan, has been making statements for weeks to the press that they expected Turkmenistan to sign on to supply gas to Nabucco –

French :

Le président Chinois Hu Jintao à reçu cette semaine  avec enthousiasme le Président Turkmen Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov , en le remerciant avec un chèque de 10 millions de dollars à remettre aux services sociaux du pays .

Le président Turkmène a réaffirmé qu’il partageait avec son collègue Chinois beaucoup de point de vue sur l’avenir du monde.

Le Turkménistan a cédé  à la Chine un permis d’exploration gazier, les échanges entre les deux pays ont fortement progressés, pour atteindre1.5 milliard de dollars en 2009.

37 Sociétés Chinois sont maintenant installées au Turkménistan, and 67 joint-ventures bi nationales ont été crées.

La chine envoie des ingénieurs pour construire des pipelines, et des professeurs de chinois ont fait leur apparition dans les universités.

Les spécialistes Chinois du filtrage internet  ont aussi été dépêché.

Les Russes  avec Gazprom  et les Occidentaux avec RWE et  Nabucco

Semblent accumuler un retard considérable, qu’il sera difficile de rattraper !

Ferrari World  to open in Abu Dhabi on  Oct 28 Th

The world’s first Ferrari theme park will open its doors to the public in Abu Dhabi on October 28^th , the Italian car manufacturer  and local developers Aldar Properties said on may the 6^th .

The park, which includes a rollercoaster ride that should reach speeds of up to 240kph, is located next to the Yas Marina circuit that hosts the season-ending Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix on Nov. 14.

Yas Marina hosts the Abu Dhabi Yacht show too.

Abu Dhabi’s government-owned investment fund Mubadala has a five percent stake in Ferrari, whose Formula One team have won more championships and races than any rivals.

French:

Le parc d’attractions “Ferrari World” ouvrira ses portes  à Abu Dhabi le 28 octobre.

Le premier parc Ferrari ,  en fait est une joint venture entre le constructeur  Ferrari, et la société immobilière  locale Aldar Properties.

L’annonce a té faite par les deux  corporations le 6 mai.

Ce park possédera un « roller coaster » montagnes russes pouvant atteindre 240 Km/h , il est situé à coté du circuit de Formule I, Yas Marina, lui-même situé près de Yas Marina, hôte du Yachts show d’Abu Dhabi.

Le fond souverain d’Abu Dhabi Mubadala possède cinq pour cent de Ferrari, Constructeur  qui collectionne les titres en Formule I .

China will enforce  a moratorium on domestic share issues by real estate firms as part of a large  campaign to restraint  surging property prices,  blocking €12.3 billion  in capital raising.

The move could delay plans by 45 Chinese companies to raise a total of about € 11 billion through share sales, unidentified sources close to the China Securities Regulatory Commission told media.

CSRC official denied that a formal freeze was in place, but confirmed that the securities regulator and the land resources ministry were examining whether property firms had illegally manipulated land prices.

Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday April 28^th, said he wished to expand economic ties with China in nuclear power, aviation, environmental protection and other fields. Sarkozy discussed bilateral and international issues with Chinese President Hu Jintao, in discussion that both sides signaled a rapprochement after diplomatic grumbles last year.

France and China pledged to draw a line under past tensions over the violent demonstrations during the trip of the Olympic flame in Paris , the Tibet issue  and breathe new life into their relationship by working together on issues from global monetary policy to Iran.

Meeting top Chinese officials before opening France’s pavilion in Shanghai Sarkozy said that currently no major issue can be resolved without China The French president, is  making his second state visit to China with his wife Carla Bruni Sarkozy who is very popular  in China.

French

La Chine va mettre en place un  moratorium  sur la mise sur le marché,  d’actions locales de société de promoteurs immobiliers  afin de limiter la surchauffe de ce secteur. cela va potentiellement bloquer  environ €12. milliards d’augmentation de capital.  

Ce moratorium va avoir un impact sur les projets de 45 promoteurs Chinois.

Les officiels de CSRC  n’ont pas voulu confirmé qu’un gel des projets était mis en place formellement,  mais ils ont confirmé que leurs services de contrôle, étaient entrain d’examiner si certains sociétés immobilières avaient volontairement manipulé les cours .

Le président Nicolas Sarkozy en visite officielle en Chine   a annoncé mercredi qu’il souhaitait amélioré les relations commerciales avec la Chine dans les domaines du nucléaire, de l’industrie aéronautique, de l’environnement et d’autres domaines . Nicolas Sarkozy a aussi abordé les relations bilatérales et internationales avec le président  Hu Jintao,ces discussions sont semble t il les prémices d’un réchauffement des relations.

La France et la Chine ont connu au cours de la dernière année des relations exécrables, après les incidents violents lors du passage de la flamme olympique à Paris, et suite aux déclarations Françaises sur le Tibet,

Les discussions sur la crise financière et sur le sujet Iranien, ont néanmoins pu se tenir dans un climat confiant. 

Le président Sarkozy pour sa dernière visite était accompagné par son épouse Carla Bruni Sarkozy , célèbre en Chine .

English.

Donations from China’s wealthiest are on the rise, with the country’s top 100 philanthropists giving away 22.9 billion yuan ($3.3 billion) to charity since 2005.

The top 100 philanthropists donated an average of 229 million yuan each over the last five years, or six percent of their wealth, up from four percent last year, said the 2010 Hurun Philanthropy List released on Thursday.

The 50 most generous last year donated 8.2 billion yuan, eight times the average of the first philanthropy list in 2004, said the report.

Large donations have also been on the rise with three philanthropists donating more than $100 million last year and 13 donated more than $10 million.

Education, disaster relief and health care are the main beneficiaries. China’s first generation of entrepreneurs has been building schools in rural areas and donating to disaster relief, most recently to the Qinghai earthquake, the report said.

The list, in its seventh year, ranks the top 100 most generous Chinese individuals measured by the value of their donations over the past five years.

Yu Pengnian, an 88-year-old hotel and real estate entrepreneur in Shenzhen, was ranked the most generous donor for the fifth consecutive year.

He became China’s first billion-dollar philanthropist by announcing on Thursday the donation of his remaining fortune – $470 million in cash and property – to the Yu Pengnian Foundation, bringing the value of the HK-registered fund to $1.2 billion. The fund donates to health, education and disaster relief.

Huang Rulun, chairman of the Jinyuan Hotel Group, came in second by giving away $425 million since 2005. Zhu Mengyi, also known as Chu Mang Yee, chairman of property developer Hopson Development Holdings Ltd, ranked third with donations reaching $170 million.

During a national broadcast on China Central Television on April 20, three entrepreneurs, Cao Dewang, Lu Zhiqiang and Wang Jianling, donated more than $10 million to the Yushu earthquake. .

Chinese entrepreneurs now consider charitable donations to be the third most important way to demonstrate corporate social responsibility, behind payment of taxes and environmental protection, according to a survey released by the Hurun Report in January this year.

Fan Lizhu, a sociologist from Shanghai-based Fudan University, said lists such as the Hurun Report have created a favorable social environment for the development of the country’s philanthropy sector.

« By making names of those philanthropists known to the public, it could encourage more entrepreneurs and even the common folk to follow suit. Through that we’ll come to know what wealth is for, » she said.

Rich Americans Donate too !

Meeting of America’s Richest About ‘Need,’ Attendee Says

Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett Discuss Coming Together ‘to Do More’

Under a cloak of secrecy, some of the world’s  wealthiest people, gathered in an unprecedented meeting recently   in New York City « to see how they can join together to do more, » according to one attendee.

Invited by the world’s two richest men Bill  Gates and Warren   Buffet , along with David Rockefeller, a Who’s Who of American wealth and influence gathered around a long table in a window-lined private room overlooking the East River .

« The overwhelming reason for the meeting was need — that was the issue that galvanized everyone to participate, » Patricia Stonesifer, senior advisor to the Gates foundation’s trustees, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, told  reporters . « This was a group very committed to philanthropy coming together to see how they can join together to do more. »

Gates and Buffett were joined by billionaire moguls Oprah Winfrey, Ted  Turner   and New York City  Michael  Bloomberg  along with heavyweight philanthropists George  Soros,  and others.

Together the attendees have donated more than $70 billion to charity since 1996, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

A clandestine meeting of the country’s rich and powerful, left off their public calendars and hidden from the press, is enough to spark the imaginations of conspiracy  theorists  everywhere, but attendees told us  the meeting was « 100 percent about philanthropy » and it was not meant to be a secret.

« It was meant to be a private exchange but it wasn’t a secret really, just a private meeting, » Stonesifer said.

It lasted about five hours, beginning in mid-afternoon and continuing through dinner, Stonesifer said.

« This particular group had never come together as a group before but many of the attendees had met in the past either individually or in smaller groups — but never all at once, » she said. « This was a great discussion and they agreed to continue the dialogue and meet again in the future. There were a lot of good ideas. »

She said that the discussion « ranged from emergency relief efforts to scholarship efforts, to U.S. education efforts to global health. » Another attendee who asked to remain anonymous described the meeting as « a private gathering of friends and colleagues to share their history and excitement about their philanthropy. [It was] a group together discussing a range of things they are working on. »

When again asked about the meeting  Mayor Bloomberg said he sometimes holds private meetings that are « not going to be on the public schedules. There are meetings all over this city and there are some very powerful people in this city. »

Bloomberg who would not directly comment on the meeting or its outcome said: « You know I am very interested in private philanthropy, I think it has a unique place in our society in that with private dollars you can try new things, things that you can’t do with public dollars. »

There remain as many questions about the meeting’s details as there are about the logistics behind its organization. How did some of the world’s most public figures coordinate their schedules, travel, and security with no one in media knowing about it?

Charities Suffer in Recession

The meeting was reminiscent of the 1907 salons of America’s foremost financiers held in the study of J.P. Morgan to discuss how private citizens could stop the economic panic. Irish Central reported that each of the participants was given 15 minutes to propose how to best direct their charity given the global economic climate.

Charities are suffering during the crisis, and America’s top philanthropists likely met to chart a new course for global charity, said Stacy Palmer, editor-in-chief of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

A meeting of the country’s top philanthropists is « extraordinary » and « really unusual, » Palmer said.

« I can’t think of another time they’ve all been in the same room to talk about philanthropy, » she said. « It’s unprecedented. »

Gates and Buffet have publicly committed their vast fortunes to the same philanthropic efforts, and Rockefeller, the chairman of Rockefeller Financial Services, comes from a long line of philanthropists.

Gates, the founder and former CEO of Microsoft, who topped the Forbes’ Richest People list this year, has dedicated his foundation to eradicating infectious disease worldwide

According to Portfolio magazine, Gates, who is worth about $59 billion, donated $3.7 billion from 2002 to 2006 and $10 billion from 2007 to 2008.

Warren Buffett, CEO of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, was ranked the second-richest man by Forbes this year with a net worth is estimated at $52 billion. Though his giving in the past year is not disclosed, he donated some $46.1 billion between 2002 and 2006, according to Portfolio.

In 2006, Buffet pledged $31 billion, the bulk of his fortune, to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, doubling the organization’s endowment virtually overnight.

Though the charitable interests of the participants differ, they have some things in common, said Bob Ottenhoff, CEO of Guidestar, a service that tracks nonprofit organizations.

For the most part, the attendees are all self-made. Their donations come from money they made in their own lifetimes, rather than old family fortunes, and they have committed to giving away their fortunes while still alive rather than through bequests after their deaths.

One exception is Rockefeller, scion of the Rockefeller fortune. In 2008, Rockefeller gave $137 million to charity.

Philanthropic Groups Have Global Reach

Though the philanthropic focus of each of the participants differs, many of their foundations have a global dimension.

« Each has their specialty. Gates focuses on world health, [CNN founder Ted] Turner on the environment and the UN, Soros is involved in civic engagement, » Ottenhoff said.

Between 1997 and 2006 Turner has donated $1.6 billion, the bulk of which, $1 billion, went to the UN Foundation in 1997.

Soros, a fund manager worth $9 billion, gave $1.1 billion from 2002 to 2006 and $475 million from 2007 to 2008. Much of Soros giving goes to his family’s Open Society Institute.

« These sorts of meetings don’t happen very often. It is difficult for large philanthropic organizations to work together. The fact that these are all very engaged living donors means very interesting things can happen, » Ottenhoff said.

Both Ottenhoff and Palmer agreed that it was likely the financial crisis that brought everyone together.

Charitable giving has taken a serious hit in recent months, and the power players likely discussed how to keep some nonprofits afloat

Nonprofits are going through a difficult time. The endowments of many foundations have dropped significantly, » Palmer said. « Many people are not as able to give as much money as the used to.

« They are making a statement that donors should continue to give. They are likely planning on a sending a message that philanthropy needs to continue worldwide, » she said.

Few of the participants, Palmer said, gave money quietly and she anticipated that the secret meeting was the first step in a plan that would eventually be made public.

A number of other people attended the meeting including: Winfrey, worth $2.7 billion, who donated some $50 million in 2007; Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Mayor of New York City, who is worth $11.5 billion and donated $205 million from 2007 to 2008; financier Eli Broad who donated $100 million in 2008; and financier Peter Peterson, who committed $1 billion in 2008/

Wally Hermes Yacht

Hermes best known for it’s 5000 Euros Jackie Kennedy handbags, and silk scarves announced in September 2009, that they were  branching out into another luxury line , the super yachts.

The stylish French company was supposed to teamed up with the Monaco based ship builder Wally to create the WHY 58 X 38 a mega yachts that was supposed to cost around 100 million Euros .

Naval Architect Mauro Sculli was supposed to be in charge.

Luca Bassini, founder of design company Wally said at that time, “the best part of this project is the stern, it is not like an usual stern of boat, it’s more like the real beach of an Island, protected from the wind and from the waves.

The joint venture launched for this project in 2008, is sinking, as Hermes announced recently, that they are giving up with the project.

It seems that Wally will go  alone for a smaller Wally 37 meters by 24 meters instead of 58 X 38 .

With The revolution in technology , now owners can stay in touch with their businesses from anywhere in the world.

Ten years ago, if you were in Monaco or Saint Tropez, you would see a lot of yachts of 30 to 40 meters, and only a  handful of 50 , 60 meters.

Today a 50/60 meters yachts ( 160 feet) is unremarkable ,and if you yacht is 30 meters only, you look poor, it is unfair .

While the growth in global wealth had an influence on the number and the size of mega super yachts, but the biggest factor is the revolution in technology.

We cannot say that there was radical changes in design, but now yachts are considered as second home, so as most of those yachts owners have big houses, they now want big yachts with hammam, sauna, a 30 seats cinema, and a medical emergency suite.

Among the most advanced design, we can point out, the 119m A designed by Philippe Starck and Martin Francis , launched by Blohm & Voss in 2009

French :

Wally Hermes Yacht

Une initiative rare : deux marques de luxe qui s’étaient associés pour en créer une nouvelle : Why. La maison Hermès qu’on ne présente plus, s’ajoutait  à Wally, designer-constructeur de yacht italien basé à Monaco , pour mettre au monde un  méga yacht nouvelle génération donc écologique .

Ce yacht  devait  en effet  être  en bonne partie écologique, car équipé de  900 m2 de panneaux thermovoltaïc.

58m par 38m, sur 3 niveaux, pour 12 personnes et 20 d’équipages, 3400m2 de surface habitable, une piscine de 25m de long. Ce projet, aurait pu révolutionner notre conception de la  relation de l’homme avec la mer”. Bref du méga  luxe.

Alors qu’une joint-venture avait été crée mi 2008, on a appris récemment  qu’Hermès avait décidé de se retirer du projet, qu’il estimait trop couteux, Wally va certainement s’orienter seul vers un projet plus modeste de 37 mètres par 24 mètres