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The Billionaire Bloggers

This article is more than 10 years old.

© AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac

Forbes.com found 13 billionaires out of the 1,125 on our list who are true bloggers. We didn't count occasional "guest bloggers," such as George Soros' onetime contribution to The Huffington Post but looked at those who blog regularly, for work or for pleasure.

© AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac

Sergey Brin

Net Worth: $15.9 billion as of September 2008

too.blogspot.com

Google co-founder launched his personal blog in September. His first entry was about his mother's struggle with Parkinson's Disease and his recent discovery, thanks to his wife Anne Wojcicki's genetic testing company, that he has a genetic predisposition to the degenerative condition. The name of his blog "too" is a play on the word "two" just like Google originated from the number googol. "It's much smaller," says Brin, "and reflects my life outside work."

© AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Mark Cuban

Net Worth: $2.6 billion as of September 2008

blogmaverick.com

Brash Internet billionaire has been airing his colorful opinions on politics, NBA referees, the makings of success and Donald Trump for a while now. Owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Cuban was charged $200,000 by the NBA after he wrote a critical blog post about league officials during the 2006 playoffs. Traffic to his blog spiked in recent days in the aftermath of his being charged with insider trading by the SEC, a charge he vehemently denies (on his blog and elsewhere).

© AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

Carl Icahn

Net Worth: $12 billion as of September 2008

theicahnreport.com

Reputed financier and perennial thorn in the side of corporate management boards, Icahn has also found success and influence as a blogger. His Icahn Report, which he updates daily, is packed full of news and diatribes, mostly aimed at the scourge of inept business executives. Recent guest contributors include Dylan Ratigan of CNBC and corporate watchdog experts. Visitors to the blog are greeted with Icahn's fearsome head shot and a quote from a 1988 Texaco annual meeting, "A lot of people die fighting tyranny. The least I can do is vote against it."

© HAITHAM MUSSAWI/AFP/Getty Images

Khalaf Al Habtoor

Net Worth: $2.5 billion as of March 2008

alshindagah.com

When not overseeing his business interests in hotels, construction and autos, Dubai magnate plays elder statesmen with his online journal, Al Shindagah, named for an historic Dubai neighborhood. His regular Chairman's Messages pontificate on regional issues ("Aggressive Iranian Statement Needs Clear Response"), religion "King Abdullah's Noble Interfaith Mission") and politics ("Countries in Crisis Need Strong Government.") Also writes frequent op-eds for local newspapers.

© Stephen Chernin/Stringer/Getty Images

John Willard "Bill" Marriott

Net Worth: $1.5 billion as of September 2008

blogs.marriott.com

Marriott hotel chain heir and the current group's 76-year-old chairman posts daily musings on leadership, service and the environment on his blog. Heavy on company news and corporate cheerleading, he also tackles controversial topics, like California's recent vote on Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage. Tone is frank and folksy with posts including recipes for barbecue sauce and summer reading suggestions. Doesn't know how to type: Staffers transcribe his spoken or handwritten entries.

© JB REED/Bloomberg News /Landov

Pierre Omidyar

Net Worth: $6.3 billion as of September 2008

pmo.vox.com

EBay-founder and micro-financier blogs sporadically, favoring intellectual, meandering explorations of hot political issues like evolution and wiretapping. Prefers posting using micro-blogging service Twitter, so entries are packed with short, stream-of-consciousness quips. While traveling in India: "Just saw an ox pulling a gas tank in the middle of busy street. Sustainable mobile refueling?" While working from home: "OMG, I just said 'I make the rules in this house, young lady' to my 6-year-old."

© AP Photo/Jason DeCrow

T. Boone Pickens

Net Worth: $3.1 billion as of September 2008

pickensplan.com/news

Oilman-turned-wind power revolutionary seized on the powers of blogging to disseminate his pro-wind Pickens Plan to all corners of America. Addressing his followers as "the Army," Pickens rallies his troops with news of their impact ("Sen. Byron Dorgan has announced he will be introducing some of the Pickens Plan in the U.S. Senate ...") and videos of his appearances on Meet the Press, Jay Leno and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Also has his own video blog (the "Boone Cam") that travels with Pickens as he recruits for his army.

© AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel

Mikhail Prokhorov

Net Worth: $19.5 billion as of March 2008

md-prohkorov.livejournal.com

Russian metals magnate's personal blog is an homage to the billionaire bachelor lifestyle replete with videos of him performing stunts on his Jet Ski set to a swelling rock ballad and a gallery of glamour shots. Other highlights: a video of him hosting a book fair in Siberia, a Q&A section where he answers queries such as "Are you a big risk-taker in business?" and a thorough news archive. One recent addition: a Sept. 2 article from The Moscow Times, "Prokhorov Tells Students How to Get Rich," about his visit to the government's Financial Academy, where he reportedly advised students that the private--not public--sector was the route to big bucks. "See you in big business in five years. And five years after that, see you on the Forbes list."

© AP Photo/Bill Haber, file

J.K. Rowling

Net Worth: $1 billion as of March 2008

jkrowling.com/textonly/en/

Celebrated author behind world's most famous boy wizard feeds her fans' rabid appetite for all things Harry with newsy blog that includes sections for Frequently Asked Questions ("What is your advice on getting published?") and rumor-quashing, where untruths are ranked according to their accuracy from "starting to smell" to "toxic." Latest posts revolve around her new series, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard."

© AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Donald Trump

Net Worth: $3 billion as of September 2008

trumpuniversity.com/blog

Unofficial king of self-promotion presides over three blogs affiliated with his eponymous brand: a blog devoted to his TV show The Apprentice, a "marketing maestro blog" out of his Trump University outfit and a straight-up "Trump blog" authored largely by The Donald himself. Posts are frequently self-referential: "Since I often emphasize the importance of being aware on a global level, I was reminded by a chapter in my book with Robert Kiyosaki, Why We Want You to be Rich, which came out in 2006."

© AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Oprah Winfrey

Net Worth: $2.7 billion as of September 2008

oprah.com

Queen of all media has made a fortune connecting with millions of women through her daytime talk show, magazines, book club and Web site. The dialog got a lot more intimate this past summer when Oprah blogged for 21 straight days about the experience of going without animal products, caffeine, sugar, gluten and alcohol as a way "to jump-start an inner makeover." She confesses to readers the travails of the diet, such as black bean burger-induced bloating and her hankerings for a glass of vino ("yes, I want wine. Bordeaux '82.) As always in the world of Oprah, fan participation is encouraged.

© AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

Jerry Yang

Net Worth: $1.7 billion as of September 2008

ycorpblog.com

Yahoo! co-founder and soon-to-be former chief of beleaguered Web outfit recently announced his decision to step down from the company's top spot via its corporate blog, the Yodal Anecdotal. "I believe the time is right for us to bring in a new leader," he wrote, ending the post, "I will always bleed purple," in reference to the shade of Yahoo's bright logo.

© AP Photo/Craig Ruttle

Mark Zuckerberg

Net Worth: $1.5 billion as of September 2008

blog.facebook.com

The 24-year-old wunderkind is a regular contributor to the corporate blog on Facebook.com, the social networking site he founded as a Harvard sophomore. Zuckerberg blogs about once a month, mainly about Facebook's "evolution" and growth in foreign markets, like Spain. Posted apology last December after outraged Facebook users complained en masse about Beacon, an information-sharing feature that many felt to be a violation of privacy. "We've made a lot of mistakes building this feature, but we've made even more with how we've handled them," wrote Zuckerberg.