Billionaire Books for Fall 2008
This fall is a glorious time for autobiographies written by billionaires. I count five books coming out soon:
First is billionaire T. Boone Pickens’ third autobiography (after “Boone” and “The Luckiest Guy in the World”). I anticipate it is designed to tie in with the energy plan he has been promoting across the country: increased usage of wind and natural gas while decreasing reliance on oil.
Next is Sam Wyly’s book. I had never heard of him before browsing through Amazon, but he is on the Forbes rich list. He founded several companies and bought a majority interest in the craft store Michael’s, which he sold to Bain Capital and Blackstone Group for $6 billion.
Richard Branson also has a new book coming out next month. Entitled “Business Stripped Bare,” it continues the trend of saucy titles (his previous books were “Losing My Virginity” released in 1998 and “Screw It, Let’s Do It” in 2006). The blurb says it contains information on the launches of Virgin Mobile USA, Virgin America, Virgin Galactic, and saving the world.
Ted Turner also has an autobiography scheduled for release in November. As far as I know, Turner has never written a story of his life, so this book will be an exciting opportunity to learn more about the founder of CNN.
Finally, next month holds the launch of a book about the richest man in the world. While Warren Buffett’s letters to shareholders are consistently excellent, he has never written a memoir. This won’t change, but the new book is based on extensive interviews with him.