529 college-savings plans have a bright future.

Several years ago, many were high-cost messes. Since then, some have been spruced up and others have been shut down. The important thing is that more people using these vehicles to save for college are getting a good deal.

Morningstar has been particularly pleased to see some regulars on their worst-plans list cleaned up their acts. It still isn’t perfect, but North Dakota’s College SAVE Plan, a worst constituent in 2006, changed for the better when it dropped its growth-leaning Morgan Stanley lineup for an assortment of stellar Vanguard index funds. And although it still has a few pricier funds in the mix, one of 2007’s worst, Missouri’s MOST 529 Advisor Plan, made its way off the list by adding better funds and cutting its formerly excessive expenses to a more reasonable level.

Morningstar complied their best and worst lists byfocusing on diversification, fees, flexibility, and the underlying funds when deciding which 529 plans to highlight. We like to see plans that aren’t heavily reliant on any one area of the market, because that can mean a more volatile ride and lower returns than what investors face at better-diversified 529 programs. Costs are key because they come directly out of investors’ returns, meaning the higher the price tag, the lower the returns.

The Best

• Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program OppenheimerFunds Inc.
• Maryland College Inv Plan T. Rowe Price
• Virginia CollegeAmerica* Virginia (American Funds)
• Virginia Education Savings Trust Virginia
• Colorado Scholars Choice College Savings Program* Legg Mason, Inc

The Worst

• Ohio Putnam CollegeAdvantage* Putnam Investment Management
• Mississippi Affordable College Savings Program TIAA-CREF
• Mississippi Affordable College Savings Program* TIAA-CREF
• New York 529 College Savings Program Upromise
• Nebraska AIM College Savings Plan* Union Bank (AIM)

Bosses who never need to work any more, but go to the office anyway

While many billionaires do enjoy a blessedly unhurried existence, some embrace a very different approach: They hit the office every day. The most prominent working rich? The world’s wealthiest chief executives. These are people who don’t have to work another day in their lives. And yet they choose to devote untold amounts of time and energy to the arduous task of running a company and answering to shareholders.

Who are they? By perusing the ranks of the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans from September and our annual billionaires’ list from last March, Forbes found the 10 richest CEOs around, some of whom founded their own companies, others who benefited from large inheritances and still others who built their fortunes through other means.

1. Warren Buffett Net worth: $52 billion

   Chairman and chief executive, Berkshire Hathaway

2. Lakshmi Mittal Net worth: $32 billion

   Chairman and chief executive, ArcelorMittal

3. Sheldon Adelson Net worth: $28 billion

   Chairman and chief executive, Las Vegas Sands

4. Bernard Arnault Net worth: $26 billion

   Chairman and chief executive of LVMH Group

5. Lawrence Ellison Net worth: $26 billion

   Chief executive of Oracle

6. Mukesh Ambani Net worth: $20.1 billion

   Chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries

7. Anil Ambani Net worth: $18.2 billion

   Chairman of Reliance ADA

8. Michael Dell Net worth: $17.2 billion

   Chairman and chief executive, Dell

9. Azim Premji Net worth: $17.1 billion

   Chairman, Wipro

10. Charles Koch Net worth: $17 billion

    Chairman and chief executive, Koch Industries

Bring Your Own Everything

Atlanta set up secret cameras inside 5 different hotel chains from the Holiday Inn to the Ritz Carlton and caught every single one of them failing to properly wash the room’s glasses. At every single hotel, regardless of price, the glasses were simply rinsed out and left for the next guest. Some hotels used dirty bath towels to wipe the glasses. One hotel employee rinsed the glasses after cleaning the toilet—using the same gloves. Another one sprayed the glasses with blue cleaning fluid that was marked “Do not drink.” Herpes, staph, hepatitus are all at risk.  Take a look.

  $25,000 Dessert Anyone? … Anyone?

Stephen Bruce, owner of Serendipity 3, partnered with luxury jeweler Euphoria New York to create the “Frrozen Haute Chocolate,” a blend of 28 cocoas, including 14 of the most expensive and exotic from around the globe. The dessert, spelled with two Rs, is infused with 5 grams (0.2 ounces) of edible 23-karat gold and served in a goblet lined with edible gold. At the base of the goblet is an 18-karat gold bracelet with 1 carat of white diamonds.

Four years ago, Bruce unveiled a $1,000 ice cream sundae called Golden Opulence, a staple on his menu and a favorite with rock stars, socialites and other celebrities. Both desserts are sold only with advance orders. Bruce said he has received inquiries about his latest creation, mostly from Europeans planning to visit New York.

Roughly one-third of lottery winners find themselves in serious financial trouble or bankrupt within five years of turning in their lucky numbers

Many lottery winners end up worse off than they were before they won. “A lot of people who win are financially OK when they win,” says Susan Bradley, a certified financial planner who runs a practice specializing in helping people who come into sudden wealth. Roughly one-third of lottery winners find themselves in serious financial trouble or bankrupt within five years of turning in their lucky numbers. For many people who come into wealth suddenly — whether they win the lottery, receive an insurance settlement or an unexpected inheritance — if they have not acquired good money skills prior to this windfall, often they struggle and make poor choices.

Financial windfall coupled with reckless buying and no concept of money almost always leads to trouble. This is especially true for people who decide to use their winnings to create a new business. Sometimes people just don’t compute the numbers. The best thing to do is to hire someone with expertise handling money.

What typically happens after a lucky lottery winner are contacted by a company that actually takes money away from lottery winners. Soon after winning in April 2004, Lisa Arcand, winner of $1 million, said she was aggressively pursued by Stone Street Capital, a financial services company that offered her a lump sum of money up front in return for all or a portion of her $35,000-a-year lottery proceeds. “They call people who hit the lottery and offer to buy the ticket off you,” she said. “The offer was less than half the cash value. But I sold a piece of it — $15,000 a year, and I got $200,000 up front.” The company’s website makes it clear what the firm is all about. “Free Quote, call 1-800-LUMP-SUM,” the home page states. A link brings visitors to a page that offers a variety of options for turning 20 years of lottery payments into quick cash.

When lottery winners come in to collect their prizes, they are taken into a room called “The Winners’ Circle,” where lottery officials talk to them about how to manage their new-found money. “Sometimes the winners listen, and sometimes they don’t,” says Dan Rosenfeld, spokesman for the Massachusetts State Lottery.  “Our customer service people talk to them about the folks who are going to call them on the phone and will try to get them to sell their ticket.” The primary message from lottery employees to winners is this: Get a lawyer or a certified financial advisor.

Example of What Not To Do
When Arcand won, her enthusiasm got the best of her. One of the first things she did was throw a party for friends and family, and it rapidly spiraled out of control. “I spent $3,000 on a party at Mill City — there were 20 of us and people were ordering $200 bottles of wine,” she said. She didn’t hire a financial planner. “I talked to a few people, but determined that putting money away wasn’t worth it,” she said. She bought a house, went to Florida for vacation, got new furniture and bought a plasma TV, she said. Plus, she got her son into Central Catholic at a cost of $10,000 a year. Then she decided to open the restaurant. You can figure out the rest.

 Singapore Airlines better have a strong cleaner for those love stains.

Luxury cabins will return to the skies this month with the launch of a new ’super-first’ class on the Airbus A380 double decker. Singapore Airlines, which took delivery of the first of 19 A380s in Toulouse today, revealed that the planes will have 12 private suites for its top paying passengers.  

Each suite contains a leather seat and a full-sized bed with mattress. Unlike many airline ‘flat beds’ no part of the seat converts into the bed. The bed will be made up by cabin crew with Givenchy-designed duvets and cushions. The two middle suites can be converted into doubles for couples. Entertainment is provided through a 23-inch flat-screen TV, with a choice of 100 films and 180 TV programmes, and 700 CDs. Notice there’s no roof over this suite. People will be able to “peek” over the top. Mile high club and voyeurs galore.!

… and Airlines

Five airports with the worst on-time arrival performance:

• New York’s LaGuardia International Airport; 57.6%

• New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport; 58.7%

• Philadelphia International Airport; 61.3%

• New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport; 62%

• Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport; 62.3%

Five airports with the best on-time arrival performance:

• Houston Intercontinental Airport; 82%

• Salt Lake City International Airport; 80%

• Oakland International Airport; 77.8%

• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport; 77.5%

• San Diego International Airport; 77.4%

Five airlines with the lowest on-time arrival rates:

• Atlantic Southeast Airlines; 55%

• United Airlines; 66.2%

• Alaska Airlines; 67.1%

• Comair; 67.2%

• American Eagle Airlines; 67.5%