Biography of Michael Jackson

Singer, songwriter. Jackson was born August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, to an African-American working-class family. His father, Joseph Jackson, had been a guitarist but had put aside his musical aspirations to provide for his family as a crane operator. Believing his sons had talent, he molded them into a musical group in the early 1960s. At first, the Jackson Family performers consisted of Michael's older brothers Tito, Jermaine, and Jackie. Michael joined his siblings when he was five, and emerged as the group's lead vocalist. He showed remarkable range and depth for such a young performer, impressing audiences with his ability to convey complex emotions. Older brother Marlon also became a member of the group, which evolved into the Jackson 5.
Behind the scenes, Joseph Jackson pushed his sons to succeed. He was also reportedly known to become violent with them. Michael and his brothers spent endless hours rehearsing and polishing up their act. At first, the Jackson 5 played local gigs and built a strong following. They recorded one single on their own, "Big Boy" with the b-side "You've Changed," but it failed to generate much interest.
The Jackson 5 moved on to working an opening act for such R&B artists as Gladys Knight and the Pips, James Brown, and Sam and Dave. Many of these performers were signed to the legendary Motown record label, and it has been reported that Gladys Knight may have been the one to tell Motown founder Berry Gordy about the Jackson 5. Impressed by the group, Gordy signed them to his label in 1968.
Relocating to Los Angeles, Michael and his brothers started work on their music and dancing with their father as their manager. They lived with Gordy and also with Supremes singer Diana Ross when they first arrived there. In August 1969, the Jackson 5 was introduced to the music industry at a special event, and later served as the opening act for the Supremes. Their first album, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, hit the charts in December of that year. It's first single, "I Want You Back," hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1970.
More chart-topping singles quickly followed, such as "ABC," "The Love You Save," and "I'll Be There." At the age of 13, Jackson launched a solo career in addition to his work with the Jackson 5. He made the charts in 1971 with "Got to Be There" from the album of the same name. His 1972 album, Ben, featured the eponymous ballad about a rat. The song became Jackson's first solo No. 1 single.
For several years, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 maintained a busy tour and recording schedule, under the supervision of Berry Gordy and his Motown staff. Gordy wrote many of the songs recorded by the group and by Michael Jackson as a solo artist. The group became so popular that they even had their own self-titled cartoon show, which ran from 1971 to 1973.
Despite Jackson's individual achievements and the group's great success, there was trouble between the Jacksons and their record company. Tensions mounted between Gordy and Joseph Jackson over the management of his children's careers, and their level of participation in making their music. The Jacksons wanted more control over their recordings, which led to most of the Jacksons breaking ties with Motown in 1975. Jermaine Jackson remained with the label and continued to pursue a solo career, having previously released several albumsnone of which had matched the success of his younger brother Michael. Read more

Biography of US President Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. He grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British. Although reared among Muslims, Obama, Sr., became an atheist at some point.
Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he signed up for service in World War II and marched across Europe in Patton's army. Dunham's mother went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved to Hawaii.
Meantime, Barack's father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya pursue his dreams in Hawaii. At the time of his birth, Obama's parents were students at the East–West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama's father went to Harvard to pursue Ph.D. studies and then returned to Kenya.
His mother married Lolo Soetoro, another East–West Center student from Indonesia. In 1967, the family moved to Jakarta, where Obama's half-sister Maya Soetoro Ng was born. Obama attended schools in Jakarta, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language.
Four years later when Barack (commonly known throughout his early years as "Barry") was ten, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, and later his mother (who died of ovarian cancer in 1995).
He was enrolled in the fifth grade at the esteemed Punahou Academy, graduating with honors in 1979. He was only one of three black students at the school. This is where Obama first became conscious of racism and what it meant to be an African-American.
In his memoir, Obama described how he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He saw his biological father (who died in a 1982 car accident) only once (in 1971) after his parents divorced. And he admitted using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years.
After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science.
After working at Business International Corporation (a company that provided international business information to corporate clients) and NYPIRG, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked as a community organizer with low-income residents in Chicago's Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on the city's South Side.
It was during this time that Obama, who said he "was not raised in a religious household," joined the Trinity United Church of Christ. He also visited relatives in Kenya, which included an emotional visit to the graves of his father and paternal grandfather. Read more

World richest women

World's Richest Women5 Wealthiest Female Billionaires © Elizabeth Nelson
Jul 17, 2008 Liliane Bettencourt, Christy & Alice Walton, Abigail Johnson, and Jacqueline Mars inherited fortunes that put them high on Forbes' Billionaires List.
There's always a lot of buzz about the richest men in the world, but did you ever wonder about the wealthiest women? There are some females with serious economic clout out there.

Here are the current top 5:
Liliane Bettencourt
Liliane Bettencourt was in her mid-40s when she inherited the fortune of L’Oreal, the makeup company that her father, Eugene Schuller, founded. Now 85 years old, this Frenchwoman still owns a controlling interest in the company. Most of her time, however, is devoted to humanitarian and medical work with the Bettencourt Schuller Foundation. At approximately $22.9 billion, Liliane is the richest woman in the world.

Christy Walton
When John Walton tragically died in a 2005 plane crash, his wife, Christy, inherited a large portion of the family fortune. John’s father, Sam Walton, started Wall-Mart in 1962. Christy is now 53 years old and is worth $19.2 billion dollars. She lives in Jackson, Wyoming.
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Alice Walton
The Wall-Mart fortune created more than one billionaire female. Alice Walton, Christy’s 58 year old sister-in-law, also makes the list at $19 billion. Alice is divorced and lives in Fort Worth, Texas.

Abigail Johnson
Next on our list is Abigail Johnson, the 46-year-old owner of a controlling interest in Fidelity Investments. Abigail inherited her $15 billion from her father, who went from an analyst to president in 15 years. Abigail went to undergrad at Hobart and William Smith College and earned her MBA at Harvard. After her education, she worked at Fidelity as a diversified fund manager, president of the mutual fund division, and currently the head of employer services. She lives in Boston.

Jacqueline Mars
The 5th lady on our list is Jacqueline Mars, the 68 year old inheritor of the Mars candy and pet food fortune. Mars, begun by her grandfather, Frank Mars, as a 1911 chocolate company, became famous after her father, Forrest, began making chocolate and nut candy bars. She inherited the $14 billion family fortune nearly a decade ago and currently lives in New Jersey.
The Billionaire List and the Gender GapThe gender gap is overwhelmingly evident on the list of the world’s billionaires. Only 9% of the billionaires (99 women on the list total) are female. It is also interesting that, despite the fact that they have been accomplished professionals, all of the women on this top 5 list have inherited their fortunes. This stands in stark contrast to the quintessential ‘self-made’ billionaires like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates who top the list of the world's richest men. In an age where a woman can be a CEO, a billionaire, or even a serious contender for the nomination to US presidency, gender inequality is still painfully clear on the lists of Forbes magazine.