Two tech tycoons hold centibillionaire status
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, once the world’s richest person, has again eclipsed the $100 billion threshold, joining Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos in the exclusive centibillionaires club, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Gates’ fortune, now $100 billion on the nose, hasn’t reached such heights since the dot-com boom. Bezos is now worth $145.6 billion.
These two fortunes underscore a widening wealth gap in the U.S., where those with the most capital are accumulating riches the fastest. It’s also a worldwide trend. France’s Bernard Arnault has an $86.2 billion fortune, equal to about 3 percent of his country’s economy. And then there’s Bidzina Ivanishvili, who’s worth about a third of Georgia’s GDP.
The Gates and Bezos mega-fortunes may not last long. Gates has donated more than $35 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and said he intends to give away at least half his wealth. Bezos, meanwhile, may be about to cede some of his fortune for a different reason: he and his wife Mackenzie are divorcing.
New Comcast package bundles streaming services
Comcast is launching an aggregated bundle of existing streaming-tv apps for $5 a month.
The new service, “Flex,” available March 26, brings together apps that customers already pay for, like Netflix, Amazon’s video or HBO, and free services like Youtube, Pluto and Tubi, and lets users search for TV shows and movies across the different services.
All these apps are already available through a Roku and several other gadgets and platforms. Comcast hopes customers will pay for its version, which comes with a 4K HDR box and a voice remote.
It’s only for people who live in Comcast’s markets and subscribe to its internet service.
T-mobile plans home broadband service
T-mobile US Inc. plans to offer 50,000 select mobile customers a $50-a-month home broadband service, in its latest effort to show how its pending $26.5 billion Sprint Corp. acquisition would bring more competition to the industry.
The pilot program will be available by invitation only, in areas where T-mobile’s LTE 4G network has capacity to deliver high-speed internet access, according to a statement. T-mobile has said it will cover more than half the nation’s households with advanced 5G broadband service by 2024 if it adds Sprint’s capacity.
Critics of the Sprint deal say combining the two smallest national wireless carriers will lead to fewer choices and higher prices, but the company says the merger would allow them to better compete with giants Verizon and AT&T.
Adecco hiring 150 people in Dublin
Staffing company Adecco is accepting applications for about 150 customer-service positions in Dublin.
Pay starts at $13 per hour. Interested candidates can apply online or text at 614-515-4135. The local Adecco team can be reached at 614-456-3275 for more information.