World's Wealthiest Grandparents

Not all of the world's 1,000 or so billionaires are grandparents, but we found ten who are. A casino mogul. A world-famous financier. A superstar's father-in-law. They've made their money in a wealth of ways, allowing them to live the best years of their lives in grand style.

Here are the grandparents who made the exclusive list.

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Warren Buffett, the CEO of investment house Berkshire Hathaway, was always something of a money guru, filing his first tax-return at the age of 13. His several grandchildren all benefitted from his wealth and generosity — until they became adults. When the grandchildren left college, Buffett gave them each $10,000 — the maximum tax-free gift allowed — and told them to find their way in the world, much as he did.

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A widower, Carlos Slim Helu is the father of six and a grandfather of several. Helu's businesses range from internet service provider to mining to cigarette manufacturing. But he concluded his biggest deal in 1990 when he purchased Telefonos de Mexico, Mexico's national telephone company. He famously noted several years ago that "The key is the internet. The United States is by far the most advanced country in this new digital culture, so we have to be there."

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In a distant, yet intimate way, you probably know Ingvar Kamprad. You’ve probably sat on one of his chairs, or eaten at one of his tables. He took the first initial of his first and last name, and the first initial of the family farm (Elmtaryd) and that of the Swedish village where he was born (Agunnaryd), and came up with a little furniture company called IKEA. A grandfather, he lives in Switzerland.

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K.P. Singh, a native of India saw his net worth triple in the last year after his real estate company, DLF Limited, went public. Singh's legacy is DLF City, a showpiece that includes homes, malls, and golf courses, outside India’s sixth-largest city, Gurgaon. Asked if his company would ever build another self-contained city such as DLF City, Singh replied: "In my lifetime, that is not possible, but I hope my son and grandchildren would." He has five grandchildren.

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Another "rags to riches" story, is that of Li Ka-shing. Li got his start selling plastic flowers in Hong Kong in the 1950s; Now he is the richest person of Chinese descent in the world. According to Forbes, Li’s fortune was built through ownership of two separate companies, Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa. In 2006, Forbes magazine and the Forbes family honored him with the first-ever Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award. Li has four grandchildren.

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Sheldon Adelson, casino mogul, is a dropout from The City College of New York. He made his first million — okay, his first $862 million — after he developed COMDEX, the premier computer trade show, and later sold it to Japan’s Softbank. He used that to get into the casino business, first buying the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and subsequently opening The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Vegas, The Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino in Vegas, Sands Macao Hotel, and The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel.

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Known as "Asia’s Warren Buffett," Forbes magazine wrote that Lee Shau Kee amassed part of his fortune by being prescient enough to see that rising oil prices, a weak U.S. dollar, and growing Chinese stocks were a ripe combination. When Lee’s first grandchild was born in July 2007 to Cathy Chui Chi-kay, one of his five children, a three-day celebration was planned at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong.

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Ever hear of such high-end fashion brands as Gucci, Stella McCartney, and Balenciaga? Francois Pinault owns them. All of ‘em. Those brands, and others, fall under the company he owns, PPR. Pinault also owns the famous auction house, Christie’s. But surpassing all of that might be his latest turn as a grandfather: His son and PPR CEO Francois-Henri Pinault, had a baby last September with actress, director, and Oscar nominee Salma Hayek.

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Kirk Kerkorian has his hand in a lot of ventures through his holding company, Tracinda Corp., but is probably best known as being one of the pioneers that helped shape the city of Las Vegas. Kerkorian, who now lives in Beverly Hills, has bought and sold several of the city's top hotel-casinos. Tracinda is a combination of the names of his two daughters, Tracy and Linda, who have given Kerkorian his three grandchildren.

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A car dealership sales manager, Jack Taylor created Enterprise Rent-A-Car in the 1950s after a good customer asked to borrow a car for a few days for his visiting mother-in-law. "I've got two granddaughters that work for the company and they are [such] unassuming, nice kids that I think the employees are happy they’re there, because they feel there’ll be a continuation of the Taylor name," he has said. "And the other granddaughters are all nice people."

There's one place you're sure to find rich grandparents: Hollywood. Curious who made Tinseltown's top ten? Read our roundup of 10 Celebrity Grandparents We Love.