News In Brief

I SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT

His lawyer said the case against him was weak. And, besides, it was all so long ago - 23 years - that Tung Kam-hon probably could have continued the model life he had embraced since becoming a fugitive from justice. Still, the Hong Kong restaurateur gave himself up last week and will serve three years in jail for conspiring to traffic in drugs. Why surrender now? To set an example for his son. Tung failed to show up for his 1978 trial, he said, because he worried about the boy's welfare.

MAYBE BRAZIL COULD USE YOU

Add Carlos Sanchez to the ranks of the unemployed. And after 32 successful years on the job, too. It's sad, he said philosophically, "but that's how life is." So, who is Carlos Sanchez? The actor who plays Juan Valdez, the smiling, sombrero-wearing promoter of Colombian coffee, along with his trusty donkey. Despite their spot in the Advertising Hall of Fame, the national growers association is retiring them because of record low prices for Colombian beans.

Move over, Bill, someone else is now richer than you

Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates has been knocked from his place as the wealthiest person in the world by Wal-Mart head S. Robson Walton, The Times (London) reported. Walton, the eldest son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, has an estimated worth of $65 billion. Gates's fortune, valued at $54 billion, now ranks No. 2. In its rankings of the world's richest, The Times said the Duke of Westminster, who owns London real estate, is the richest Briton with $6.3 billion. The world's wealthiest people and their worth (in billions), according to The Times:

1. S. Robson Walton, Wal-Mart $65.0

2. Bill Gates, Microsoft, 54.0

3. Larry Ellison, Oracle 42.5

4. King Fahd, Saudi Arabia 28.8

5. Warren Buffet, investor 24.9

6. Paul Allen, Microsoft 24.5

7. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, emir of Abu Dhabi 22.0

- Associated Press

(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Monitor