Sunday

World's richest dinner party: Worth $ 1 trillion

The heads of Apple, Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter - oh, and the U.S. President, too. Has there ever been a more powerful power lunch? And who got the bill?


From left-to-right (clockwise): Eric Schmidt, Arthur D Levinson, John T Chambers, John Doerr, Larry Ellison, Reed Hastings, John L Hennessy, Carol Bartz, Dick Costolo, Mark Zuckerberg, Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, Steve Westly, Ann Doerr


Who would you invite to your fantasy dinner party?

It's difficult to imagine a wealthier set of guests than those invited to the home of Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr earlier this year, in the mega-wealthy enclave of Woodside, California. Together they represent companies worth nearly $1 trillion.

By all accounts, Obama didn't have an easy ride - many of the diners are generous political donors and the President was criticised for slow progress on policy promises. The dinner lasted two hours, and is expected to be the first in a series that Obama holds with Silicon Valley's leaders.

So what was on the menu? Chef Yigit Pura would only reveal that Obama said, 'Banana cream pie was solid,' as he kissed his fingers.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening was Mark Zuckerberg's decision to ditch his hoodie for more formal attire - normally, the only suits he's acquainted with are of the legal variety.


ERIC SCHMIDT
Title Chairman, Google

Worth $7 billion

Google market valuation $171.8 billion
In his ten-year tenure, Schmidt oversaw Google's transformation into the global internet giant that it is today. He stepped down as CEO last month and is now a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.


ARTHUR D LEVINSON

Title Chairman, Genentech
Worth Earned $850,000 in 2010

Genentech market valuation $46.8bn

Founded in 1976, Genentech (now owned by Roche) pioneered using human genetic information to develop medicines, including cancer treatments. Levinson stepped down as CEO in 2009, and now sits on Apple's board of directors.




JOHN T CHAMBERS

Title CEO, Cisco Systems

Worth $1 billion

Cisco market valuation $96 billion Chambers raises his glass extra-high to Obama, showing that there are no hard feelings on the part of this co-chair of John McCain's 2008 presidential bid. He earns his seat as chairman of Cisco, the dotcom boom's most valuable company.



JOHN DOERR

Title Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Worth $2.2 billion

The host for the evening, Doerr is a tech investor with a knack for backing a winning idea. Back in 1999, KPCB led a $25 million investment in upstart Google. KPCB has participated in over $2.3 billion of investments since May 2010.


LARRY ELLISON

Title CEO, Oracle

Worth $39.5 billion

Oracle market valuation $177.6 billion

Currently the fifth wealthiest human being on the planet, Ellison co-founded Oracle in 1977. In true billionaire fashion, he splashed out over $100 million to ensure that his BMW Oracle sailing team won the America's Cup last year.


REED HASTINGS

Title Co-founder and CEO, Netflix
Worth Earned $5.5 million in 2010

Netflix market valuation $12 billion
In 1997 Hastings co-founded Netflix, an online subscription service for movies and TV which now has over 20 million members across North America. He once taught maths in Swaziland during a two-year stint in the US Peace Corps.


JOHN L HENNESSY
Title President, Stanford University

Worth $31.4 million

Stanford endowment $15.9 billion

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford has a long association with the area's tech companies, many of whose founders - including those of Google, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Yahoo! - passed through the university.


CAROL BARTZ

Title CEO, Yahoo!

Worth Earned $47.2 million in 2009

Yahoo! market valuation $23.7 billion

Bartz, who joined Yahoo! in 2009, holds the honour of having topped a 2010 list of executives paid too much for running underperforming companies. Although Yahoo! remains a global internet brand, it's still considered to be in decline.

DICK COSTOLO

Title CEO, Twitter

Worth $120 million

Twitter market valuation $3.7 billion

A computer science graduate and former improvisational comedian, Costolo sold FeedBurner - a provider of management tools for website owners - to Google in 2007 for a rumoured $100 million. Last year he took over as CEO of Twitter.


MARK ZUCKERBERG

Title CEO, Facebook

Worth $13.5 billion

Facebook market valuation $50 billion

The Social Network's complex antihero, Zuckerberg is 'trying to make the world a more open place by helping people connect and share', according to his own Facebook profile. Luckily for him, he's becoming filthy rich in the process.


BARACK OBAMA

Title President, USA

Worth $10.5 million

USA $14.7 trillion (GDP)

Obama is noted for his love of technology: he embraced social media in his election campaign, and was reportedly gifted an iPad 2 a month before they went on sale. His aide Valerie Jarrett also attended the dinner (seated to Zuckerberg's right).


STEVE JOBS

Title Co-founder and CEO, Apple

Worth $8.3 billion
Apple market valuation $323.3 billion

Jobs has transformed the tech industry several times. After his pioneering early years at Apple, he left the firm to set up NeXT (which created the machine on which the Web was developed), before returning to spearhead the 'iRevolution'.


STEVE WESTLY
Title Managing partner and founder, The Westly Group

Worth $500 million

A Democratic Party supporter, venture capitalist Westly served as a California co-chair for Obama's 2008 presidential election campaign. The Westly Group has participated in over $178 million of investments since April 2010.


ANN DOERR

Title Philanthropist

The hostess, as the wife of John Doerr, is no stranger to technology herself, holding bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering. An environmental activist and trustee of the New York-based Environmental Defense Fund, she works alongside her husband in his philanthropic endeavours.

Source: dailymail

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