It's a no-brainer to predict that the Internet will change the lives of every citizen of planet earth! How the Internet will affect everyone is not so easy to predict.
It's a no-brainer to predict that the Internet will change the lives of every citizen of planet earth! How the Internet will affect everyone is not so easy to predict. Because the Internet is an American invention and Wall Street is perceived to be the economic engine that currently powers the world's economies, perhaps it's too easy to assume that both are under U.S. control.
Recent reports from Reuters and AP challenge that assumption. A billionaire nephew of Saudi King Fahd, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal used some of his "discretionary funds" to make some investments in the depressed U.S. market on May 16. The prince has a little more than the average individual has to invest-his new investments are worth $1 billion! They're spread over 15 U.S. companies, including six Internet firms.
His largest purchases were $200 million of WorldCom, Inc. stock and $150 million of AT&T Corp. stock, but he also picked up $50 million each of Priceline.com, InfoSpace, Inc., Doubleclick, Inc., Amazon.com, Internet Capital Group, Inc., and eBay.com.
This recent $1 billion investment is in addition to another $1 billion that Prince Alwaleed has made over the past six months in technology, media and telecommunications companies. In addition to these recent investments, the prince owns approximately $8.5 billion in Citibank stock.
In a prophecy focused across the ages, God forecast that the ancient nation of Israel could expect its wealth to be taken over and controlled by individuals from other nations. "The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower" (Deuteronomy 28:43). This obviously undesirable turn of financial fortunes would come as a consequence of failing to respect and live by the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 28:15).
