BECAUSE LATINOS ARE BILLIONAIRES TOO!

During these days of financial turmoil, when banks are getting bailed out left and right, unemployment rates have reached record highs and some of us are turning to the dollar menu for our evening dining options, we thought it would be FUN to remind everyone that latinos are billionaires too!  This year, 43 latinos out of a total 793 in the world made it onto Forbes's coveted list of billionaires.  Behold the top 5:

#65 - Carlos Slim Helu: When the New York Times was in major financial trouble they turned to billionaire Carlos Slim Helu who agreed to lend the company a whopping $250MM dollars!!

- Age:  69

- Country:  Mexico!

- Net Worth:  $35 Billion

- Industry:  Telecom

#66 - Armancio Ortega Goana:  Armancio is the founder and president of Inditex Group which owns and operates the well known retail store ZARA around the world.

- Age:  73

- Country:  Spain

- Net Worth:  $18.3 Billion

- Industry:  Retail/Textile

#67 - Eike Batista:  This man built his fortune from searching for gold and other precious metals in the Amazon river.  I'll grab the canoe and you the get the gold pan ready!

- Age:  52

- Country:  Brazil

- Net Worth:  $7.5 Billion

- Industry:  Mining/Lumber

#68 - Joseph Safra:  Joseph is the owner of The Safra Group which is an international network of privately held companies controlled by the Safra family, comprising a banking and financial institutions conglomerate, industrial operations and telecommunications.

- Age:  70

- Country:  Brazil

- Net Worth:  $7.0 Billion

- Industry:  Finance

#69 - Iris Fontbona and Family:  Second wife, and now widow, of billionaire Andronico Luksic, who died of cancer in 2005. Family controls copper giant Antofagasta, currently running feasibility study for potential 72,000-tons-per-day mine in Pakistan. Also holds big position in Quinenco, a consumer packaging and beverage maker. 

- Age:  76

- Country:  Chile

- Net Worth:  $6.0 Billion

- Industry:  Mining/Lumber

On the bright side, these billionaires will never know the pleasure of ordering something off the dollar menu!