INTERNATIONAL

CONTENTS:

• Bilanz 100 and More
• France: Les Challenges Les Riches
• Australia: BRW Rich 200 and More

It's a bad year for stock markets all over the world, but it's a very good year to look at superlative lists. Who has managed to stay on the top lists you review? Who has tumbled off those lists? Which Now-More-Wealthy is replacing the Once-Most-Wealthy? Here are the latest versions of a few lists around the world. Even if you don't do international research, the articles about wealth that accompany these features are often a quick e-seminar for researchers.

BILANZ 100

With a translator in hand (I like http://www.freetranslation.com), stop by the top 100 Swiss companies list at Bilanz magazine. This is a bare-bones list but, if you have a Swiss prospect or two, you'll be interested in reviewing this list. You can download the list as a pdf, too. I understand that this magazine also reports on the wealthiest Swiss individuals each year.

http://www.bilanz.ch/magazin/detail.cfm?objectid=FB3BC1CA-A722-4BEC-A724BD3F0CA9A087

FRANCE: LES CHALLENGES LES RICHES

In France (in French, in fact), we learn that while the salaried tumble, "the corporations managed by the founding families continue to prosper." (Or "les sociétés gérées par les familles fondatrices prospèrent.") Be sure to bring your handy Web site translation tools with you when you visit this list. Very brief outlines enumerate the level of wealth and who has it. The entire list is not on the Web site, but you may find a few interesting things in the magazine's archives.

http://www.challenges-eco.com/articles/p182/a21915.html

http://www.challenges-eco.com/articles/p182/a21915.html

AUSTRALIA: BRW RICH 200 AND MORE

The Business Review Weekly has grand lists. The 2002 Rich 200 was just released at the end of May. I don't know if you'll find a sweeter list anywhere. The bios are perky and fresh. The list is sorted in several handy ways (by families, for example). And the overview is just plain ol' good writing. I admit that the list is a little Forbes-ish but better, if you ask me. It makes you wish you had a bunch of Aussies in your pool of constituents. Hey, you just might, you know.

But there's more. The Top 100 Accountancy Firms list for 2002 was released in mid-July. Look for the 2002 Top 500 Private Companies list to come out in early August. Now, that will keep you busy for the rest of the summer, won't it? This link gets you to all the lists. Just click on the list by name to get to the free access.

http://www.brw.com.au/businesslists/businesslists.asp

Cecilia Hogan