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Welcome to Penn’s Billionaire Greek scene. What are the rankings? Who is on top? Read this week’s edition to find out:
Net worth: $1 billion
Forbes Ranking: Top 400 US
Major: Art History
Graduated: 1988
Sorority: Kappa Alpha Theta
Frattiness: 6/10
Tory Burch was born in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in 1966. Her mother dated Marlon Brando and Steve McQueen, and her father inherited a stock exchange seat and a paper cup company (we’d give her a frattiness score 7/10 if it were a red solo cup company).
As of January 2013, she officially became a billionaire. She’s the only female in Penn’s Greek Billionaire Club, so mad props to her.
Net worth: $2.5 billion in 2007 (this is his wife’s estimated net worth in 2007 since he passed away in 2002)
Forbes Ranking: 165th in 2007 in US
Major: Wharton
Graduated: Would have graduated in 1931
Fraternity: Zeta Beta Tau
Frattiness: 7/10 since he didn’t graduate
Walter Annenberg was a publisher, philanthropist and diplomat who ran the Philadelphia Inquirer, built the Annenberg School for Communication, and tried to rebuild public education in America.
He also founded Seventeen magazine, and was knighted under the British Empire and Catholic Church, despite being Jewish.
Net worth: $2.8 billion
Forbes Ranking: 179th in US, 491st in the world
Major: Anthropology and English
Graduated: 1963
Fraternity: Sigma Alpha Mu
Frattiness: 9/10
Steve Wynn built Vegas–the Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, the Beau Rivage, and many others. He married in 1963, divorced in 1986, remarried in 1991, then divorced in 2010.
He once bought a casino as a birthday gift for that wife.
In 2011, he married his second wife. He called Obama a “wet blanket,” was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the JFK Center for the Performing Arts by George Bush, and Forbes named him the “Captain of Capitalism” in 2007. If you’re a republican, Wynn wins.
Net worth: $8.3 billion
Forbes Ranking: 35th in US, 106th in world
Major: Wharton
Graduated: 1978
Fraternity: Zeta Beta Tau
Frattiness: 8/10
Steven Cohen opened his first brokerage account using his tuition money. In 2005, his compensation was $1 billion, up from $450 million the year before. However, in 2012, he was reported for insider trading.
He’s also been married twice. His ex-wife sued him for racketeering in 2011, ouch.
Lastly, he has a thing for ridiculously expensive art–he’s bought $700 million dollars worth of Pollocks, Hirsts, Warhols, and Picassos.
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Just weeks before graduating, Pitt left college without finishing his degree in journalism. Well before becoming famous, Pitt drove strippers in limousines, moved refrigerators, and dressed as a giant chicken for El Pollo Loco.
Fun Fact: Pitt has been banned from entering China because of his role in the controversial movie Seven Years in Tibet.
As a student majoring in biochemistry at the University of Iowa, Kutcher joined Delta Chi. Kutcher seems to have been quite the party animal, ”I was smoking a lot of weed and partying and I woke up many mornings not knowing what I had done the night before. I played way too hard. I am amazed I am not dead.”
Fun Fact 1: He says the reason he pursued a science degree is because of his twin brother who has cerebral palsy.
Fun Fact 2: Kutcher costarred in “The Guardian” (2006) with Kevin Costner who was also a brother of Delta Chi.
After transferring from NYU to Michigan, Liu found herself being initiated in Chi Omega. While at Michigan, she starred in Alice and Wonderland as the lead role her senior year. She then graduated with BSe in Asian Languages and Cultures and went on to Hollywood.
Fun Facts: She plays the accordion, is fluent in Mandarin, and was the first Asian-American female to host Saturday Night Live.
Despite its popularity, few know that this poster remained unseen until 60 years after its initial release in 1939. It was originally designed by the UK’s Ministry of Information in hopes of alleviating the anxieties of a German invasion. However, earlier posters, e.g. one titled “Your Courage,” were more popular so the UK’s propaganda efforts were focused there.
The only two original posters were found in the 1970s in a police storage facility. One is owned by WarTimePosters, and the other by a private collector. Many companies today have published spinoffs of the iconic slogan like Chanel’s “Keep Calm & Stay Classy.”
#5. Casque & Gauntlet - Dartmouth
Founded in 1886, Casque & Gauntlet is extremely exclusive and while membership is not secretive, their practices remain a mystery.
Admission Difficulty: 6/10 - A Dartmouth reporter detailed that they tap juniors after a 12 hour forum in which they decide who is worthy. They admit roughly 30 members every year.
Notable Alumni: Nelson Rockefeller, Dr. Seuss
#4. Quill & Dagger - Cornell
Arguably Cornell’s most exclusive senior society, Quill & Dagger remains largely secretive in their exclusive Lyon tower. Although there are only about 25 members each year, roughly 12 are listed in Cornell’s annual “Top 25 Most Influential Undergraduates.”
Admission Difficulty: 8/10 - Past alumni speaks for itself: 11 Rhodes Scholars, 7 Congressmen, 2 World Bank Presidents, 10 Olympic Medalists, 7 US Congressmen, 6 Pulitzer Prize winners.
Notable Alumni: Roald Hoffman (Noble prize chemist), and from 1913-1984, Quill & Dagger had at least one member in the US Congress every single year. Five members served on George W. Bush’s administration and from 1930-1950, the chairmen of Standard Oil, Sunoco, and ConocoPhilips were also all members.
#3. Porcellian Club - Harvard
Porcellian is arguably Harvard’s most exclusive Final Club. Also known as the “Porc” or “PC,” the Porcellian Club was founded in 1791. Rumor has it that ”if members of the Porcellian do not earn their first million before they turn 40, the club will give it to them.” The club includes roughly 8 men from the sophomore, junior and senior classes.
Admission Difficulty: 9/10 - As Harvard’s most exclusive final club, you need to be the best of the best to become a member there. Considering President John F. Kennedy’s father was not offered membership should also attest to the difficulty.
Notable Alumni: President Theodore Roosevelt, Winklevoss Twins, and Oliver Holmes (Associate Justice of the Supreme Court)
#2. Seven Society - University of Virginia
Arguably the most secretive society in existence, membership is revealed by the black magnolias in the shape of a “7” on the grave of the deceased. The founding year of the society is unknown, but legend has it that 8 influential individuals were once invited to a card game, and only 7 showed up. To contact these elusive members, you must place a letter on the Thomas Jefferson statue’s right arm.
Admission Difficulty: 10/10 - The Seven Society is comprised of only 7 living members at any given time, so good luck.
Notable Alumni: Edward Stettinus (Secretary of State under Roosevelt and Truman), Frank Wisner (Head of CIA during the 1950s).
#1. Skull & Bones - Yale
Of all these secret societies, Skull and Bones is the most notorious. In 2004, both Presidential Candidates were members, John Kerry and George Bush. Even recently in 2009, a prominent US lawyer named Ramsey Clark filed a lawsuit against Skull & Bones requesting that the remains of Geromino (a prominent Native American who fought against Mexico in the late 1800s) be returned. Skull and Bones is also rumored to own Martin Van Buren’s remains, the 8th President of the United States.
Admission Difficulty: 10/10 – Good luck. Tapping day was April 20 in 2009, and April 15 in 2010. Aside from that, little is known about what goes on there.
Notable Alumni: To name but a few: George W. Bush, John Kerry, William Taft, Henry Stimson (US Secretary of War and Secretary of State)
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