Archive for August, 2009
Sunday, August 16th, 2009
Consider:
(i) In 2006, Taiwanese authorities seized a 3-tonne shipment of ivory from Tanzania worth RM25mil that had transited Penang port.
(ii) In 2007, an Indian citizen was caught with an illegal consignment of Indian star tortoises at KL International Airport. Questioned, he said he was merely a courier for a Malaysian buyer. Suitcases have been found packed with 2,000 of these creatures! Until recently, these palm-sized animals with star-like markings on their backs were easily available at local pet shops, costing RM100 – RM150 each.
(iii) In 2008, 167 pangolins were seized during enforcement raids in Johor. They came from Indonesia and destined for Malaysian and Chinese markets.
(iv) A conservative estimate : at least RM5 million worth of wildlife was seized in Malaysia in 2008.
(v) Example: the pangolin’s scales and meat are sought after for its purported properties to alleviate rheumatic pains and as an aphrodisiac. Pangolins can fetch as much as RM150 per kg or RM500 per animal in the black market! Illegal trade in pangolins is probably already out of control: large shipments smuggled across borders, often by the lorry load, to the inevitable final destination: China.
Malaysia is a world hub for this trade: not only a transit point and a source country but also a consumer hub!
Interpol estimated that globally, this trade is worth between USD10 billion (RM35 billion) and USD20 billion (RM70 billion) A YEAR.
The WWF said that this trade is the second biggest direct threat to species survival, second only after habitat destruction.
This trade is so lucrative that it ranks second only after drug trafficking.
And it’s safer: unlike drug trafficking, there is no mandatory death penalty in most countries. In Malaysia in 2006, a mere RM7,000 fine was slapped on a poacher from Kelantan for discovery of a dead tiger in his fridge. Compare that to the black market value of a tiger: USD50,000 (RM180,000).
At this rate, the poachers could be emboldened to such an extent that they could consider purchasing business insurance policies for their activities.
Source
The Star, 10th Aug 2009
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Friday, August 14th, 2009
Taiwan plastics magnate Wang Yung-ching (YC Wang) was 91 when he died 15th October 2008 in New Jersey, USA. He was the 178th richest person in the world, with USD5.5 billion in assets and the 2nd richest in Taiwan.
Even more impressively, he achieved this despite only completing elementary education, and having been born to a poor tea farming family when Taiwan was a Japanese colony.
He was chairman of the board of Formosa Plastics Corporation, one of the largest plastic manufacturers in the world.
The 9 half-siblings fathered by him are still battling over his billions because he left no will!
His wife of 70 years is still alive, but none of the children were born of her.
I wonder if the lack of a will would affect life insurance quotes for the ultra rich…
Source
The Star, 14 Aug 2009
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Monday, August 3rd, 2009
Dr. Norbert Bischofberger, 55, invented Tamiflu, the only medication on the market used to treat the swine flu A(H1N1) virus.
Unquestionably he has made a fortune from his invention.
Colleagues were quick to his defence, saying his motivation was science, not money.
He graduated from Innsbruck, Zurich and Harvard universities, and headed the research team that created Tamiflu, the first “orally active commercially developed anti-influenza medication” more than 10 years ago.
He is now a director of research and VP of Gilead, which owns the intellectual rights to Tamiflu. In turn, Gilead outsources it to Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche to mass produce and distribute.
His official salary is more than RM2 million a year but has stock options and bonuses worth much more, plus handsome percentages of Tamiflu profits.
Whoa, that will buy a lot of walk in tubs!
His fortune will only increase in the months ahead as governments around the world increase their stockpile in anticipation of the virus’ further spread.
On suggestions that the virus had made him rich, he had this to say:
No person ever said on his death bed: I only wish I had earned more money in my life. When it gets to the end one wants to look back and have the feeling that one was important in the lives of others, perhaps to have changed them positively.
Source
The Telegraph (UK), 27 July 2009
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