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Three victims of convicted fraudster Bernie Madoff are seeking damages in the millions claiming they were cheated and strong-armed into accepting less compensation than they say they're owed and also accuses the SIPC (provides fraud insurance for investors), of cheating some victims. Madoff trustee Irving Picard is accused of breach of fiduciary duty for failing to make payments under SIPC rules. Picard sought to claw back money withdrawn then revealed SIPC should payout based upon original investments rather than account balances at the time the fraud was uncovered. SIPC is bound by law to payout up to a maximum of...

GOP Briefing Room Exclusive Content Why the Rich Will Get Richer Under Obama By Victor J. Massad Victor J, Massad, Ph.D. is a semi-retired professor of marketing & business at a Pennsylvania college. The Google search “spread the wealth around” yields 221 thousand results, nearly all of which discuss then-candidate Barack Obama’s most candid moment in the 2009 presidential election campaign. What Obama said was this: "It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success, too. When you spread the wealth...

Per Fox News...

... Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. And because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%. Governor Martin O'Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were "willing and able to pay their fair share." The Baltimore Sun predicted the rich would "grin and bear it." One year later, nobody's grinning. One-third of the...

A female millionaire's public announcement to seek a life partner is becoming the talk of the town. It is rare in Korea for rich female singles to publicly seek a future husband through a match-making agency. The businesswoman has asked matchmaking company Sunwoo to find her future husband. The agency posted an open proposal on its website on May 21. According the agency, the businesswoman is 49 years old and is worth 20 billion won (about $16 million). The proposal starts with the headline "success in business, now looking to succeed in love! We are looking for a special man...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's personal finances appear to be on sound footing even as the nation's economy struggles, a financial report he released Friday shows. Obama and his wife Michelle have $1.4 million to $5.9 million in assets, not counting their Chicago home. Their holdings include up to $265,000 in checking accounts. The president's new financial disclosure report mirrors one he filed a few months ago. Much of the Obamas' wealth comes from the president's best-sellers. The books, "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope," brought in about $2.5 million in royalties last year, according to tax...

Here’s a sobering fact to ponder: Rush Limbaugh earns more per year than Jay Leno. Put another way, we as a nation have placed a higher value on fear than laughter. Regardless of the relative merits of either performer, Leno is paid less to crack jokes than Rush is to instill fear. One is positive, the other negative. What does this say about the state of our nation? An entire cottage industry has formed solely to track the utterances of Limbaugh, and there is little use in recanting his vile litany once again. Limbaugh has created a career out of...

Barack Obama's rich supporters fear his tax plans show he's a class warrior Some of Barack Obama's richest supporters fear they have elected a "class warrior" to the White House, who will turn America's freewheeling capitalism into a more regulated European system. By Leonard Doyle in Washington 09 May 2009 Barack Obama: some of his rich supporters fear he is becoming a class warrior Wealthy Wall Street financiers and other business figures provided crucial support for Mr Obama during the election, backing him over the Republican candidate John McCain as the right leader to rescue the collapsing US economy. But...

Obama bites rich hands that fed him By: Jeanne Cummings May 5, 2009 08:01 PM EST For a politician who sometimes got accused of playing class warfare, candidate Barack Obama sure made a lot of well-to-do friends during the 2008 campaign. The big question now is whether President Barack Obama can keep them. One striking, if little-noted, trend of the past presidential election was that Obama won the affluent vote — those making more than $200,000 annually — with 52 percent. Moving down the income scale a bit, he and John McCain essentially tied among those making between $100,000 and...

Michelle Obama has taken casual to a haute new level. While volunteering Wednesday at a D.C. food bank, the First Lady sported her usual J.Crew cardigan, a pair of utilitarian capri pants and, on her feet, a sneaky splurge: trainers that go for $540. That's right: These sneakers - suede, with grosgrain ribbon laces and metallic pink toe caps - are made by French design house Lanvin, one of fashion's hottest labels. They come in denim and satin versions, and have been a brisk seller all spring. They're out of stock at posh Meatpacking District boutique Jeffrey, and Barneys...

NEW YORK: Michelle Obama left many admiring her 540-dollar fancy footwear as she recently stepped out to volunteer at a Washington D.C. food bank. The US First Lady was spotted sporting renowned French design house Lanvin's trendy trainers, suede, with grosgrain ribbon laces and metallic pink toe caps. The mum-of-two, who has top labels in the line desperate to dress her in their wraps, completed the remaining look with her J.Crew cardigan and a pair of utilitarian capri pants, reports the New York Daily News. Michelle has sparked many shopping frenzies amongst women looking to ape her sense of clothing.

Who are the richest senators of the 110th congress? Names like Rockefeller and Clinton weren’t surprising but a few others were. What was a little surprising is the fact that the top 4 wealthiest senators are Democrats. And I thought the Republicans were the “rich, white guys”. We took the top 15 and listed their minimum and maximum net worth. We listed the Minimum Net Worth and a Maximum Net Worth because the disclosure forms that they are required to file don’t require exact amounts. 1 Herb Kohl (D-Wis) $219,098,029 $234,549,004 2 John Kerry (D-Mass) $165,741,511 $235,262,100 3 Jay Rockefeller...

Sunday, April 26, 2009 It Pays to Go Green! Al Gore's Net Worth Jumps From $2 Million in 2000 to $100 Million in 2008 Evidently, it pays to tell people that the Arctic is melting into slush. Al Gore told a German audience in December that the North Pole will disappear in 5 years: Chief climate change pimp Al Gore is making millions off of his fear-mongering. Pro Patria discovered that while Al Gore is scaring the daylights out of young children he is making millions from his green investments. So what has Al Gore gained from his Big Green...

Retailing wonder-woman Karen Katz was featured as a "magical thinker" in the Sept. 21, 2007, edition of Time magazine. The Neiman Marcus president and CEO said that the number of U.S. households worth more than $5 million was greater than ever before, and consumers had an increased appetite for all things luxe. "Many other retailers have jumped on the luxury bandwagon, wanting to get their piece of the action. It's forced us to say, 'Where do we go?' And we're kind of moving up," Katz told Time. "We've decided there's this category we've named 'high luxury.' It's even more luxurious,...

NEW YORK – Trustees of real estate baroness Leona Helmsley's estate say they're giving $136 million to charity — with just $1 million going to the dogs. Helmsley's estate announced 53 charitable grants Tuesday, the bulk of which went to New York City hospitals and medical research. The largest grant, $40 million, went to a digestive diseases center at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, while $35 million went to start two research facilities in Helmsley's name at Mount Sinai Medical Center. The estate for Helmsley — who died in 2007 at age 87 — divided $1 million equally to 10...

First couple paid $855,323 in federal taxes or 32 percent of their income: WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, millionaires from his best-selling books, made $2.7 million last year and paid just under one-third of their adjusted income in federal taxes. While the income, mostly his, was far more than the U.S. median household income of about $50,000, it was quite a decrease from the $4.2 million the Obamas made in 2007.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama is one taxpayer who filed his returns on time. Tax returns released by the White House show Obama and his wife, Michelle, together made $2.7 million last year. While that's far more than the U.S. median household income of about $50,000, it's also far less than the Obamas made the previous year. In 2007, they made $4.2 million.

Obamas pay more than $900,000 in taxes By Sam Youngman Posted: 04/15/09 05:18 PM [ET] The new first family paid more than $900,000 in federal and state taxes this year after President Obama's book sales last year earned him more than $2.6 million. In addition to paying more than $855,000 in federal taxes, the Obamas also paid more than $77,000 in state taxes in Illinois, according to the White House. Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill, reported paying $46,952 in federal taxes on "an adjusted gross income" of close to $270,000. The Bidens paid a little more than $11,000...

Recently released financial records paint a contrasting picture of the Obama administration: a cabinet composed largely of politicians and government employees who have been on the public payroll for years, and a White House staffed with numerous aides who received substantial compensation over the past year from firms that could have a big stake in administration policies... Well-paid White House staff include chief economic adviser Lawrence Summers. He earned about $5.2 million from hedge-fund firm D.E. Shaw & Co. in the past year, and received more than $2.7 million in speaking fees... Other White House staff members received generous payments...

CHICAGO, April 4 (UPI) -- U.S. presidential adviser David Axelrod received $2 million late last year when he sold his consulting firm, documents indicate. Axelrod pioneered many of the Internet organizing techniques that played a crucial role in propelling President Barack Obama to the White House. His firm, AKP&D Message & Media, which specialized in corporate public relations, was sold to two of his partners -- John Kupper and John Del Cecato -- and Los Angeles Obama campaign strategist Larry Grisolano, the Washington publication Politico reported Saturday. The disclosure form filed by Axelrod showed he earned $152,000 from his work...