Dikshit Among Forbes Biggest Billionaire Blowups
March net worth: $1.6 billion Current net worth: $1 billion. PartyGaming co-founder, Anurag Dikshit could lose his billionaire status in 2009, according to Forbes Magazine.
Dikshit designed the software for PartyGaming's successful PartyPoker game, which allowed live gambling over the Web. He left the company and sold a chunk of shares in 2006, the year the U.S. government drafted the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, forcing Party out of the US market where the firm lost 80 percent of its customer base.
Dikshit recently pleaded guilty to violating U.S. gaming laws and agreed to forfeit $300 million. He could face up to two years in jail but apparently won't be sentenced until 2010. He has already paid $100 million of his fine and will pay the rest in two installments next year.
Dikshit was ranked 3nd among the top billionaire blowups of 2008, behind only Anil Ambani and Oleg Deripaska.
The biggest billionaire gainer last March is now the year's biggest loser. Ambani lost $30 billion in the past nine months, more than anyone in the world. Stock of his telecom company dropped after his estranged brother helped scuttle a deal with African telecom MTN. It's quite an achievement in a year in which three of his fellow countrymen--estranged brother Mukesh, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Indian KP Singh, all of whom ranked earlier among the world's 10 richest--lost more than $20 billion apiece.
Oleg Deripaska, the former metals trader survived Russia's gangster wars but may not withstand collapsing markets and heavy debts of at least $14 billion. Russia's one-time richest man recently received a $4.5 billion loan from a state-controlled bank in order to keep his 25% stake in Norilsk Nickel, which faced a margin call by Western banks from which he had borrowed.
West Ham football team owner, Bjorgflur Gudmundsson, ranked just below Dikshit among the billionaire blowups. The October collapse and government seizure of Iceland's second largest bank wiped out the $1.1 billion fortune of Gudmundsson, the bank's chairman and biggest shareholder, along with his son Thor. His holding company, Hansa, has since gone into voluntary liquidation and is looking for a buyer for West Ham.
Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
