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  • Moveon Chooses Winning Entry in Obama Ad Competition

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  • Make a Muckety David Rockefeller and Family

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  • Beyond the Grave Sinatra Still Has Muckety

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  • Thomas Barrack buys loan on Michael Jackson’s estate, Neverland

    Colony Capital chief Thomas Barrack has bailed out Michael Jackson.

    Jackson’s California estate, Neverland, was close to foreclosure when Barrack’s real estate company bought the $23.9 million loan on the property. The previous holder of the loan, Fortress Investment Group, had been prepared to auction it off.

    Neverland, boasting a roller coaster, ferris wheel, and zoo of exotic animals, garnered all sorts of negative publicity over the years as the site of alleged indiscretions. Jackson bought the ranch 20 years ago, for $28 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.

    In 2005, after his acquittal on child molestation charges, Jackson left Neverland behind and moved to the Mideast.

    Barrack’s ranch borders Jackson’s estate. However, as Portfolio notes, neighbor is a relative term among the very rich. The two homes are 11 miles apart.

    Barrack is a director and owner of Station Casinos, Inc., which owns casinos and hotels in Las Vegas. He formerly handled investments for Texas billionaire Robert M. Bass. Barrack also served as deputy undersecretary of the Interior Department under Ronald Reagan.

    He’s a former director of Continental Airlines.

  • Jimmy Fallon taking Conan O’Brien’s chair (Muckety)

    Jimmy Fallon is coming to late-night television.

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    In a press conference yesterday, NBC announced that the Saturday Night Live alum would be taking over for Conan O’Brien on Late Night after O’Brien moves to The Tonight Show, where he’ll replace Jay Leno.

    Fallon was recruited by Late Night producer Lorne Michaels, who worked with Fallon on Saturday Night Live.

    Michaels was also responsible for signing a completely unknown O’Brien for his first hosting gig on Late Night in 1993. Previously, O’Brien hadn’t had any experience in front of the camera, but he worked as a writer for SNL and The Simpsons.

    Michaels says of Fallon: “I think he’s just built for it. He’s really funny and he’s smart, and he has a really, really good work ethic. You can’t do this kind of show if there is any confusion about what you really want to be doing. You have to what this more than everything else, and he does.”

    At yesterday’s press conference at 30 Rockefeller Center, Fallon told the press: “I hope to make it the best show and a great show to fall asleep during.”

    Fallon will compete with Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson, whose shows on ABC and CBS, respectively, currently air opposite The Tonight Show.

    Jay Leno’s contract with NBC ends in January 2010. NBC’s co-chairman Ben Silverman told the New York Times today that keeping Leno on NBC would be “a reach.”

    ([Muckety](https://createpositivechange.org/2008/05/13/jimmy-fallon-taking-conan-obriens-chair/2782)

  • Raikes moves from Microsoft to top spot at Gates Foundation

    Microsoft’s employee No. 105 will soon become the No. 1 employee at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest foundation in the world.

    The foundation announced Monday that Jeffrey S. Raikes, 49, will take over as CEO of the foundation on Sept. 2, the date of his retirement from Microsoft.

    Raikes, 49, who joined Microsoft in 1981 as its 105th employee, had been the head of the Microsoft Business Division until January. He has stayed with the company during a transition period before his retirement.

    A millionaire, he will assume leadership of a foundation now worth $37.3 billion.

    He replaces Patricia Q. Stonesifer, who is retiring.

    Another former Microsoft executive, she has been with the foundation since its creation 11 years ago by Bill Gates, Microsoft’s chairman and co-founder, and his wife, Melinda.

    Raikes announced his intent to retire from Microsoft in January. At that time, his plans for the future were not definite, he said Monday.

    “I thought about teaching; I thought about agribusiness,” the Nebraska native told The New York Times. “But when I had the opportunity to sit down with Bill and Melinda and saw all the talent and experience (at the foundation), I became very excited.”

    Raikes assumes leadership of a philanthropic powerhouse, one that has focused its giving on organizations worldwide that work to improve heath and alleviate poverty.

    In addition, it has donated to efforts on behalf education in the United States.

    According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the foundation now gives away more than $3 billion per year, and that amount is expected to grow as the foundation grows.

    In 2006, investor Warren Buffett pledged $31 billion to the foundation, adding significantly to its reach.

    A Stanford University graduate, Raikes came to Microsoft from Apple Computer Inc. Steve Ballmer, now the company’s CEO, recruited him. Raikes’ wife, Tricia, was the 75th employee hired by Microsoft.

    Raikes rose to become part of Microsoft’s leadership team, third in power behind Gates and Ballmer.

    Microsoft Business, which Raikes headed, produces the fabulously successful Microsoft Office software suite and other business applications. It generated $16 billion in revenue for the company last year.

    One of Raikes’ many contributions to Microsoft’s bottom line came in 1987, when he convinced the company to buy what would become PowerPoint.

    Raikes got rich with the company. He has over 5 million shares of Microsoft and is a part-owner of the Seattle Mariners baseball team.

    He and his wife are the founders of the Raikes Foundation, which had a book value of $126 million according to its federal filing for 2006.

    Jeffrey and Tricia Raikes were the co-chairs of the 2006-07 United Way campaign in the Seattle area. It raised $122 million, reportedly the largest United Way campaign in the country.

    Stephen Elop, a native of Canada and the former chief operating officer of Juniper Networks, has replaced Raikes as the head of Microsoft Business.

    Before Juniper, a Microsoft partner, Elop was at Adobe Systems Inc.

  • Thomas Barrack Buys Loan on Michael Jacksons Estate Neverland

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  • Jimmy Fallon Taking Conan Obriens Chair

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  • Raikes Jumps From Microsoft to Top Spot at Gates Foundation

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  • Hollywood Writers Swapping Talent Agencies

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