Born poor, now self-made billionaires-Ken Lewis

The high profile chairman of Bank of America, Ken Lewis worked his way through Georgia State University as an accountant and an airline ticket-agent, graduating with a finance degree in 1969. He worked as a credit analyst at North Carolina National Bank.

The bank was eventually taken over by Bank of America. He became Bank of America's chief operating officer in 1999 and chairman in 2005.

In April, the Bank of America shareholders voted to separate the positions of Chairman of the Board and CEO, effectively removing CEO 61-year old Lewis from his position as Chairman of the Board of BofA, though he remained both the bank's president and its CEO due to the shareholders' resentment over the takeover of Merril Lynch for $50 billion.

Lewis has announced his retirement from Bank of America effective as of December 31, 2009. The Securities and Exchange Commission and New York's Attorney General are investigating whether Lewis misled Bank of America shareholders before the Merrill Lynch acquisition.

Merrill has paid out billions in bonuses to its staff that were allegedly not fully disclosed. His annual compensation in 2008 fiscal year stood at $1,500,000.

Wind, rain, sea pound eastern India as Cyclone Phailin nears

BHUBANESWAR: Strong winds and heavy rains pounded India's eastern coastline on Saturday, as hundreds of thousands of people took shelter from a massive, powerful cyclone expected to reach land in a few hours. The skies were dark - almost black - at midmorning in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha and about 60 miles (about 100 kilometres) from the coast. Roaring winds made palm trees sway wildly, and to the south, seawater was pushing inland. By Friday evening, some six lakh people had been moved to higher ground or shelters in Odisha, which is expected to bear the brunt of the cyclone, said Surya Narayan Patro, the state's top disaster management official. About 12 hours before Cyclone Phailin's landfall, meteorologists held out hope that the storm might hit while in a temporary weakened state, but no matter what it will be large and deadly. Ryan Maue, a meteorologist at Weather Bell, a private US weather firm, said even in the best-case scenario there will be a st...

Refreshing Beauty "Sarah Jane Dias

Born poor, now self-made billionaires - Ed Liddy

Ed Liddy, former chief executive officer of American International Group (AIG ) had to face lot of hardships before he rose to great heights. Ed Liddy's father died when he was just 12 years old. According to a BusinessWeek report, he had a poverty-stricken childhood. Liddy graduated from Catholic University of America in 1968 and received a master's degree in business administration from George Washington University in 1972. He worked with Ford Motor before joining G D Searle & Co in 1981. The 63-year old Liddy earned about $130 million during his eight-year tenure at Allstate. In the wake of the financial crisis, Ed Liddy came to rescue the ailing AIG, worked for a salary of $1. But the act turned disastrous when the company handed out employee bonuses totally $165 million after it had accepted $170 billion in government bailout funds. This forced him to quit AIG.

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