Billionaires connect with the masses

Stuck in traffic jam in Istanbul in his bulletproof BMW, the richest man in Turkey lets loose with a satisfied grin. Since 2000 Husnu Ozyegin has spent more than $US50 million ($58 billion) of his money, building 36 primary schools and girls' dormitories in poor parts of Turkey. Next to the Turkish Government, Ozyegin is the country's biggest individual supporter of schools - and an official from the education ministry has told him his market share is increasing."Not bad," the founder of the corporate bank Finansbank says in his gruff, cigarette-scarred voice. "If I can have an impact on 1 million Turkish people in the next 10 years, I will be happy." The global wealth boom has created a new breed of billionaire in once-destitute countries like Turkey, India, Mexico and Russia. Propelled by their rising economies, robust currencies and globally competitive companies, they have ridden a surge in local stockmarkets that have reached previously untouchable heights in the past five years. Now a number of them are using their wealth to bolster their standing and push for social changes in their homelands... The Age