Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Financial Hass Associates Accounting Blog - EU planlegger 11-nasjon finansielle trading skatt fra 2014

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/294991/economy/finance/eu-plans-11-nation-financial-trading-tax-from-2014 financial hass associates accounting blog LONDON - EUs utøvende formelt foreslått på torsdag en skatt på finansielle handel i 11 land å øke opp til 35 milliarder euro årlig, et skritt inv...
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YouTube Opens A Production Space In Tokyo To Help Creators Make Better Videos

Tokyo Featured Page (Hall Way)

Over the past few years, YouTube has been dramatically increasing the resources that it provides to the creative community that uploads videos on its platform. Starting with the acquisition of Next New Networks back in TK, the company has been investing in providing tools, equipment, funding, and guidance to its legion of creators, in an effort to help them improve the quality of their content.


Recently, that’s included the opening of production facilities in London ahead of the 2012 Olympics, and in Los Angeles last fall. Those spaces were meant to attract creators in Europe and North America. Now Asia, specifically Japan, is getting its own creator space, with the launch of a production facility in the Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo.


Like the other YouTube Spaces, the Tokyo facility will be open to select YouTube partners who will be able to use it free of charge to launch ambitious new projects, get their hands on advanced equipment, or just hone their skills while collaborating with other creators.



Typically, creators gain access to the spaces by applying at youtube.com/space. YouTube will begin taking applications on April 1, and will make its choices for those who will participate later in the spring.


Those who are accepted get three months to use the production facilities, including access to sound stages, as well as the use high-quality cameras, lights, production and editing equipment. The Space has three production studios, equipment rooms, screening rooms, and post-production facilities, including edit bays and a foley room.


In addition to providing support for on-demand content uploaded by YouTube creators, the space will host screenings of their content, and will also have live events. That includes live-streamed music sessions and Google Hangouts, including a concert by Japanese singer Juju later this week on February 15.


While YouTube continues to offer guidance and funding to independent creators through the launch of production spaces in places like L.A. and Tokyo, as well as other initiatives, it’s not alone. A number of multichannel networks like Machinima, Maker Studios, and others have emerged to provide marketing and production support to creators looking to increase their audiences.





Monday, January 28, 2013

BUILDING CULTURE LIKE PIXAR

A BROWSER MANIFESTO – PART 11

Historically most films have been live action shot by independent production teams, while most video games have been made by independent third-party developers under a similar kind of contract with a publisher. Pixar is radically different because they are a technology company that systematically leverages tools. We do something similar and like Pixar, have found that it is easier to implement under your own roof with your own staff. Just for starters this eliminates questions about direction, ownership and sharing. But there is much more to it.

To create a systematic competitive advantage a game developer needs to be building a system, not a game. The organization must become part of this system. It begins with corporate culture and values and you want people that have the desire and confidence to innovate and collaborate. Strategically you are going to be better off if your people believe they can make a great, new original game because you’ll get less market share in a clone war and less revenue share if you are always licensing other people’s brands. It will also make an enormous difference if you can convince everyone to use the same tools and to collaborate on a technology roadmap and the sharing of Best Practices. This way everyone can learn from internal experts about how to use tools and metrics to make games that drive traffic, retain customers and monetize better.

These kinds of things beg for a centralized organization with everyone in the same building to improve communications and management. However, I will instead argue for a global organization with several medium-sized offices. The market is global and if your employees aren’t global you’ll remain too foreign for many potential customers. Our office in Finland is an interesting melting pot all by itself because people born in 35 different countries have worked there. They have a good idea of global tastes because it is in the building. Costs are also much more competitive when you are global, as compared to only being in an expensive city like San Francisco or London. In many of our seven locations the turnover rate and organizational churn are also lower because we’re the best game company in town – simply because there are fewer competitors of note.

To make such a structure work we ask everyone to communicate in English, we make extensive use of tools like email, IM and Skype and we gratefully get people to participate in conference calls that have to span a lot of time zones. We are respectful and courteous about the demands and it works because everyone is learning much faster and advancing in their career. It seems like every office has some big brother offices that they aspire to follow, and some little brother offices that they are training and managing on some projects. This process allows the most advanced people to take on exciting new work by enabling them to hand down mastered categories to a new owner for whom it is a chance to advance and grow. Pixar continues to be a great role model for us. Harvard Business School was sufficiently fascinated by how we do it that they wrote a case study about Digital Chocolate: http://hbr.org/product/digital-chocolate/an/410049-PDF-ENG.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Samsung says delay in some blue Galaxy S3 smartphone orders - Yahoo! News


LONDON (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics said there had been a delay in making the blue variant of its new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, which launched on Tuesday, meaning some customers faced a two to three week wait for delivery. "In order to meet the highest internal quality standards and to provide the best quality Galaxy

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Google News: Calling All Rihanna Fans! Win A Pair Of Tickets To RiRi's London Show

Rihanna in her Last Girl on Earth TourImage via Wikipedia
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Entertainmentwise - ‎1 hour ago‎
Rihanna has sensationally returned to London's 02 Arena bringing her tour 'Loud' with her and Renault Clio has teamed with Entertainmentwise to make sure one of our lucky readers can be there to see her in action.
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Google News: Pippa Middleton's Stunning Bridesmaid Dress Goes on Sale!

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 17:  Recently publis...Image by Getty Images via @daylife
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E! Online - ‎2 hours ago‎
Pippa Middleton's stunning bridesmaid dress is finally available for sale today, nearly seven months after she rocked the gown at the fairy-tale wedding of her big sis, Kate Middleton, and Prince William.
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Monday, October 3, 2011

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria, a small village bordering the Styrian capital Graz, and was christened Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger.[6] His parents were the local police chief, Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907–72), and Aurelia (née Jadrny; 1922–1998). His father served in World War II, after he voluntarily applied to join the Nazi Party in 1938.[7] He served with the German Army as a Hauptfeldwebel of the Feldgendarmerie and was discharged in 1943 after contracting malaria. They were married on October 20, 1945 – Gustav was 38, and Aurelia was a 23-year-old widow with a son, Meinhard. According to Schwarzenegger, both of his parents were very strict: "Back then in Austria it was a very different world, if we did something bad or we disobeyed our parents, the rod was not spared."[8] He grew up in a Roman Catholic family who attended mass every Sunday.[9][10]
Gustav had a preference for his stepson Meinhard, over his son, Arnold.[11] His favoritism was "strong and blatant," which stemmed from unfounded suspicion that Arnold was not his child.[12] Schwarzenegger has said his father had "no patience for listening or understanding your problems."[9] Schwarzenegger had a good relationship with his mother and kept in touch with her until her death.[13] In later life, Schwarzenegger commissioned the Simon Wiesenthal Center to research his father's wartime record, which came up with no evidence of atrocities despite Gustav's membership in the Nazi Party and SA.[11] Schwarzenegger's father's background received wide press attention during the 2003 California recall campaign.[14] At school, Schwarzenegger was apparently in the middle but stood out for his "cheerful, good-humored and exuberant" character.[9] Money was a problem in their household; Schwarzenegger recalled that one of the highlights of his youth was when the family bought a refrigerator.[12]
As a boy, Schwarzenegger played several sports, heavily influenced by his father.[9] He picked up his first barbell in 1960, when his football coach took his team to a local gym.[6] At the age of 14, he chose bodybuilding over football (soccer) as a career.[15][16] Schwarzenegger has responded to a question asking if he was 13 when he started weightlifting: "I actually started weight training when I was 15, but I'd been participating in sports, like soccer, for years, so I felt that although I was slim, I was well-developed, at least enough so that I could start going to the gym and start Olympic lifting."[8] However, his official website biography claims: "At 14, he started an intensive training program with Dan Farmer, studied psychology at 15 (to learn more about the power of mind over body) and at 17, officially started his competitive career."[17] During a speech in 2001, he said, "My own plan formed when I was 14 years old. My father had wanted me to be a police officer like he was. My mother wanted me to go to trade school."[18] Schwarzenegger took to visiting a gym in Graz, where he also frequented the local movie theaters to see bodybuilding idols such as Reg Park, Steve Reeves and Johnny Weissmuller on the big screen. "I was inspired by individuals like Reg Park and Steve Reeves."[8] When Reeves died in 2000, Schwarzenegger fondly remembered him: "As a teenager, I grew up with Steve Reeves. His remarkable accomplishments allowed me a sense of what was possible, when others around me didn't always understand my dreams ... Steve Reeves has been part of everything I've ever been fortunate enough to achieve." In 1961, Schwarzenegger met former Mr. Austria Kurt Marnul, who invited him to train at the gym in Graz.[6] He was so dedicated as a youngster that he broke into the local gym on weekends, when it was usually closed, so that he could train. "It would make me sick to miss a workout ... I knew I couldn't look at myself in the mirror the next morning if I didn't do it."[8] When Schwarzenegger was asked about his first movie experience as a boy, he replied, "I was very young, but I remember my father taking me to the Austrian theaters and seeing some newsreels. The first real movie I saw, that I distinctly remember, was a John Wayne movie."[8]
In 1971, his brother Meinhard died in a car accident.[6] Meinhard had been drinking and was killed instantly. Schwarzenegger did not attend his funeral.[12] Meinhard was due to marry Erika Knapp, and the couple had a three-year-old son, Patrick. Schwarzenegger would pay for Patrick's education and help him to immigrate to the United States.[12] Gustav died the following year from a stroke.[6] In Pumping Iron, Schwarzenegger claimed that he did not attend his father's funeral because he was training for a bodybuilding contest. Later, he and the film's producer said this story was taken from another bodybuilder for the purpose of showing the extremes that some would go to for their sport and to make Schwarzenegger's image more cold and machine-like in order to fan controversy for the film.[19] Barbara Baker, his first serious girlfriend, has said he informed her of his father's death without emotion and that he never spoke of his brother.[20] Over time, he has given at least three versions of why he was absent from his father's funeral.[12]
In an interview with Fortune in 2004, Schwarzenegger told how he suffered what "would now be called child abuse" at the hands of his father:[7][21]
My hair was pulled. I was hit with belts. So was the kid next door. It was just the way it was. Many of the children I've seen were broken by their parents, which was the German-Austrian mentality. They didn't want to create an individual. It was all about conforming. I was one who did not conform, and whose will could not be broken. Therefore, I became a rebel. Every time I got hit, and every time someone said, 'you can't do this,' I said, 'this is not going to be for much longer, because I'm going to move out of here. I want to be rich. I want to be somebody.'
Early adulthood
Schwarzenegger served in the Austrian Army in 1965 to fulfill the one year of service required at the time of all 18-year-old Austrian males.[6][17] During his army service, he won the Junior Mr. Europe contest.[16] He went AWOL during basic training so he could take part in the competition and spent a week in military prison: "Participating in the competition meant so much to me that I didn't carefully think through the consequences." He won another bodybuilding contest in Graz, at Steirer Hof Hotel (where he had placed second). He was voted best built man of Europe, which made him famous.
"The Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America – the land of opportunity, where I could become a star and get rich."[18] Schwarzenegger made his first plane trip in 1966, attending the NABBA Mr. Universe competition in London.[17] He would come in second in the Mr. Universe competition, not having the muscle definition of American winner Chester Yorton.[17]
Charles "Wag" Bennett, one of the judges at the 1966 competition, was impressed with Schwarzenegger and he offered to coach him. As Schwarzenegger had little money, Bennett invited him to stay in his crowded family home above one of his two gyms in Forest Gate, London, England. Yorton's leg definition had been judged superior, and Schwarzenegger, under a training program devised by Bennett, concentrated on improving the muscle definition and power in his legs. Staying in the East End of London helped Schwarzenegger improve his rudimentary grasp of the English language.[22][23] Also in 1966, Schwarzenegger had the opportunity to meet childhood idol Reg Park, who became his friend and mentor.[24] The training paid off and, in 1967, Schwarzenegger won the title for the first time, becoming the youngest ever Mr. Universe at the age of 20.[17] He would go on to win the title a further three times.[16] Schwarzenegger then flew back to Munich, training for four to six hours daily, attending business school and working in a health club (Rolf Putzinger's gym where he worked and trained from 1966–1968), returning in 1968 to London to win his next Mr. Universe title.[17] He frequently told Roger C. Field, a friend in Munich at that time, "I'm going to become the greatest actor!"
Move to the U.S.


Schwarzenegger with President Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Schwarzenegger, who dreamed of moving to the U.S. since the age of 10, and saw bodybuilding as the avenue through which to do so,[25] realized his dream by moving to the United States in September 1968 at the age of 21, speaking little English.[6][16] "Naturally, when I came to this country, my accent was very bad, and my accent was also very strong, which was an obstacle as I began to pursue acting."[8] There he trained at Gold's Gym in Venice, Los Angeles, California, under Joe Weider. From 1970 to 1974, one of Schwarzenegger's weight training partners was Ric Drasin, a professional wrestler who designed the original Gold's Gym logo in 1973.[26] Schwarzenegger also became good friends with professional wrestler "Superstar" Billy Graham. In 1970, at age 23, he captured his first Mr. Olympia title in New York, and would go on to win the title a total of seven times.[17]
Immigration law firm Siskind & Susser have stated that Schwarzenegger may have been an illegal immigrant at some point in the late 1960s or early 1970s because of violations in the terms of his visa.[27] LA Weekly would later say in 2002 that Schwarzenegger is the most famous immigrant in America, who "overcame a thick Austrian accent and transcended the unlikely background of bodybuilding to become the biggest movie star in the world in the 1990s".[25]
In 1977, Schwarzenegger's autobiography/weight-training guide Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder was published and became a huge success.[6] After taking English classes at Santa Monica College in California, he earned a BA by correspondence from the University of Wisconsin–Superior, where he graduated Business and International Economics, in 1979.[6]
Bodybuilding career

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Personal Info
Nickname The Austrian Oak
Born July 30, 1947 (age 64)
Thal, Styria, Austria
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[28]
Weight 250 pounds (113 kg)
Professional Career
Pro-debut NABBA Mr. Universe, 1968
Best win IFBB Mr. Olympia, 1970–1975, 1980, Seven Times
Predecessor Sergio Oliva ('69), Frank Zane ('79)
Successor Franco Columbu ('76, '81)
Active Retired 1980
See also: Bodybuilding competitions featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger
Schwarzenegger is considered among the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy is commemorated in the Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement, in part because of his ownership of gyms and fitness magazines. He has presided over numerous contests and awards shows.
For many years, he wrote a monthly column for the bodybuilding magazines Muscle & Fitness and Flex. Shortly after being elected Governor, he was appointed executive editor of both magazines, in a largely symbolic capacity. The magazines agreed to donate $250,000 a year to the Governor's various physical fitness initiatives. The magazine MuscleMag International has a monthly two-page article on him, and refers to him as "The King".
One of the first competitions he won was the Junior Mr. Europe contest in 1965.[6] He won Mr. Europe the following year, at age 19.[6][17] He would go on to compete in, and win, many bodybuilding contests, as well as some weightlifting contests, including five Mr. Universe (4 – NABBA [England], 1 – IFBB [USA]) wins, and seven Mr. Olympia wins, a record which would stand until Lee Haney won his eighth consecutive Mr. Olympia title in 1991.
Schwarzenegger continues to work out even today. When asked about his personal training during the 2011 Arnold Classic he said that he was still working out a half an hour with weights every day.[29]
Competition Weight: 240 lb (110 kg) (top 250 lb [113 kg])
Off Season Weight: 260 lb (120 kg)
Strongman
In 1967, Schwarzenegger competed in and won the Munich stone-lifting contest, in which a stone weighing 508 German pounds (254 kg/560 lbs.) is lifted between the legs while standing on two foot rests.
Mr. Olympia


Schwarzenegger presented awards at the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2011 in Columbus, Ohio. In photo: 1987 world champion American Karyn Marshall.
Schwarzenegger's goal was to become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, which meant becoming Mr. Olympia.[6][17] His first attempt was in 1969, when he lost to three-time champion Sergio Oliva. However, Schwarzenegger came back in 1970 and won the competition, making him the youngest ever Mr. Olympia at the age of 23, a record he holds to this day.[17]
He continued his winning streak in the 1971–74 competitions.[17] In 1975, Schwarzenegger was once again in top form, and won the title for the sixth consecutive time,[17] beating Franco Columbu. After the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, Schwarzenegger announced his retirement from professional bodybuilding.[17]
Months before the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, filmmakers George Butler and Robert Fiore persuaded Schwarzenegger to compete, in order to film his training in the bodybuilding documentary called Pumping Iron. Schwarzenegger had only three months to prepare for the competition, after losing significant weight to appear in the film Stay Hungry with Jeff Bridges. Lou Ferrigno proved not to be a threat, and a lighter-than-usual Schwarzenegger convincingly won the 1975 Mr. Olympia.
Schwarzenegger came out of retirement, however, to compete in the 1980 Mr. Olympia.[6] Schwarzenegger was training for his role in Conan, and he got into such good shape because of the running, horseback riding and sword training, that he decided he wanted to win the Mr. Olympia contest one last time. He kept this plan a secret, in the event that a training accident would prevent his entry and cause him to lose face. Schwarzenegger had been hired to provide color commentary for network television, when he announced at the eleventh hour that while he was there: "Why not compete?" Schwarzenegger ended up winning the event with only seven weeks of preparation. After being declared Mr. Olympia for a seventh time, Schwarzenegger then officially retired from competition.
Steroid use
Schwarzenegger has admitted to using performance-enhancing anabolic steroids while they were legal, writing in 1977 that "steroids were helpful to me in maintaining muscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for a contest. I did not use them for muscle growth, but rather for muscle maintenance when cutting up."[30] He has called the drugs "tissue building."[31]
In 1999, Schwarzenegger sued Dr. Willi Heepe, a German doctor who publicly predicted his early death on the basis of a link between his steroid use and his later heart problems. As the doctor had never examined him personally, Schwarzenegger collected a US$10,000 libel judgment against him in a German court.[32] In 1999, Schwarzenegger also sued and settled with The Globe, a U.S. tabloid which had made similar predictions about the bodybuilder's future health.[33]
Height
His official height of 6'2" (1.88 m) has been brought into question by several articles. In his bodybuilding days in the late 1960s, he was measured to be 6'1.5" (1.87 m), a height confirmed by his fellow bodybuilders.[34][35] However, in 1988 both the Daily Mail and Time Out magazine mentioned that Schwarzenegger appeared noticeably shorter.[36] More recently, before running for Governor, Schwarzenegger's height was once again questioned in an article by the Chicago Reader.[37] As Governor, Schwarzenegger engaged in a light-hearted exchange with Assemblyman Herb Wesson over their heights. At one point Wesson made an unsuccessful attempt to, in his own words, "[s]ettle this once and for all and find out how tall he is"[38] by using a tailor's tape measure on the Governor. Schwarzenegger retaliated by placing a pillow stitched with the words "Need a lift?" on the five-foot-five inch (165 cm) Wesson's chair before a negotiating session in his office.[39] Bob Mulholland also claimed Arnold was 5'10" (1.78 m) and that he wore risers in his boots.[40] The debate on Schwarzenegger's height has spawned a website solely dedicated to the issue,[41] and his page remains one of the most active on CelebHeights.com, a website which discusses the heights of celebrities.[34]
Acting career

See also: Arnold Schwarzenegger filmography and List of awards and nominations received by Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Other names Arnold Strong
Arnie
Occupation Actor, director, producer
Years active 1970–2006, 2009–present (acting)
Schwarzenegger wanted to move from bodybuilding into acting, finally achieving it when he was chosen to play the role of Hercules in 1970's Hercules in New York. Credited under the name "Arnold Strong," his accent in the film was so thick that his lines were dubbed after production.[16] His second film appearance was as a deaf mute hit-man for the mob in director Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973), which was followed by a much more significant part in the film Stay Hungry (1976), for which he was awarded a Golden Globe for New Male Star of the Year. Schwarzenegger has discussed his early struggles in developing his acting career. "It was very difficult for me in the beginning – I was told by agents and casting people that my body was 'too weird', that I had a funny accent, and that my name was too long. You name it, and they told me I had to change it. Basically, everywhere I turned, I was told that I had no chance."[8]
Schwarzenegger drew attention and boosted his profile in the bodybuilding film Pumping Iron (1977),[15][16] elements of which were dramatized. In 1991, Schwarzenegger purchased the rights to the film, its outtakes, and associated still photography.[42] Schwarzenegger auditioned for the title role of The Incredible Hulk, but did not win the role because of his height. Later, Lou Ferrigno got the part of Dr. David Banner's alter ego. Schwarzenegger appeared with Kirk Douglas and Ann-Margret in the 1979 comedy The Villain. In 1980 he starred in a biographical film of the 1950s actress Jayne Mansfield as Mansfield's husband, Mickey Hargitay.
Schwarzenegger's breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian in 1982, which was a box-office hit.[15] This was followed by a sequel, Conan the Destroyer in 1984, although it was not as successful as its predecessor.[43] In 1983, Schwarzenegger starred in the promotional video "Carnival in Rio".
In 1984, he made the first of three appearances as the eponymous character and what some would say was the signature role in his acting career in director James Cameron's science fiction thriller film The Terminator.[15][16][44] Following The Terminator, Schwarzenegger made Red Sonja in 1985.[43]
During the 1980s, audiences had an appetite for action films, with both Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone becoming international stars.[16] Schwarzenegger's roles reflected his sense of humor, separating his roles from more serious action hero fare. His alternative-universe comedy/thriller Last Action Hero featured a poster of the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day which, in the fictional alternate universe, had Sylvester Stallone as its star.
He made a number of successful films: Commando (1985), Raw Deal (1986), The Running Man (1987), and Red Heat (1988). In Predator (1987), another successful film, Schwarzenegger led a cast which included future Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura (Ventura also appeared in The Running Man and Batman & Robin with Schwarzenegger) and future candidate for governor of Kentucky Sonny Landham.


Footprints and handprints of Arnold Schwarzenegger in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Twins (1988), a comedy with Danny DeVito also proved successful. Total Recall (1990) netted Schwarzenegger $10 million and 15% of the gross, and was a science fiction script directed by Paul Verhoeven, based on the Philip K. Dick short story, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale". Kindergarten Cop (1990) reunited him with director Ivan Reitman, who directed him in Twins.
Schwarzenegger had a brief foray into directing, first with a 1990 episode of the TV series Tales from the Crypt, entitled "The Switch", and then with the 1992 telemovie Christmas in Connecticut. He has not directed since.
Schwarzenegger's commercial peak was his return as the title character in 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was the highest-grossing film of 1991.[citation needed] In 1993, the National Association of Theatre Owners named him the "International Star of the Decade."[6] His next film project, the 1993 self-aware action comedy spoof Last Action Hero was released opposite Jurassic Park, and did not do well at the box office. His next film, the comedy drama True Lies (1994) was a popular spy film, and saw Schwarzenegger, reunited with James Cameron, appearing opposite Jamie Lee Curtis.
That same year the comedy Junior (1994) was released, the last of his three collaborations with Ivan Reitman and again co-starring Danny DeVito and also for the second time featuring Pamela Reed. This film brought Schwarzenegger his second Golden Globe nomination, this time for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy. It was followed by the action thriller Eraser (1996), the Christmas comedy Jingle All The Way (1996) with Arnold playing the main character, Howard Langston, and the comic book-based Batman & Robin (1997), where he played the villain Mr. Freeze. This was his final film before taking time to recuperate from a back injury. Following the critical failure of Batman & Robin, Schwarzenegger's film career and box office prominence went into decline.
He returned with the supernatural thriller End of Days (1999), later followed by the action films The 6th Day (2000) and Collateral Damage (2002) all of which failed to do well at the box office. In 2003, he made his third appearance as the title character in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which went on to earn over $150 million domestically.[citation needed]
In tribute to Schwarzenegger in 2002, Forum Stadtpark, a local cultural association, proposed plans to build a 25-meter (82 ft) tall Terminator statue in a park in central Graz. Schwarzenegger reportedly said he was flattered, but thought the money would be better spent on social projects and the Special Olympics.[45]
His film appearances after becoming Governor of California include a 3-second cameo appearance in The Rundown (a.k.a., Welcome to the Jungle) with The Rock, and the 2004 remake of Around the World in 80 Days, where he appeared onscreen with action star Jackie Chan for the first time. In 2005 he appeared as himself in the film The Kid & I. Schwarzenegger voiced Baron von Steuben in Episode 24 ("Valley Forge") of Liberty's Kids.
Schwarzenegger had been rumored to be appearing in Terminator Salvation as the original T-800 model, alongside Roland Kickinger. Schwarzenegger denied his involvement,[46] but it was later revealed that although he would appear briefly he would not be shooting new footage, and his image would be inserted into the movie from stock footage of the first Terminator movie.[47][48] Schwarzenegger's most recent appearance was in Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables, where he made a cameo appearance alongside Stallone and Bruce Willis.[citation needed]
Return to acting


Arnold Schwarzenegger's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
In January 2011, just weeks after leaving office in California, Schwarzenegger announced that he was reading several new scripts for future films, one of them being the World War II action drama With Wings as Eagles, written by Randall Wallace, based on a true story.[49][50]
On March 6, 2011, at the Arnold Seminar of the Arnold Classic, Schwarzenegger revealed that he was being courted for several films, including sequels to The Terminator and remakes of Predator and The Running Man, and that he was "packaging" a comic book character.[51] The character was later revealed to be the Governator, star of the comic book and animated series of the same name. Schwarzenegger inspired the character and co-developed it with Stan Lee, who would have produced the series. Schwarzenegger would have voiced the Governator.[52][53][54][55]
On May 20, 2011, Schwarzenegger's entertainment counsel announced that all movie projects currently in development were being halted. "Governor Schwarzenegger is focusing on personal matters and is not willing to commit to any production schedules or timelines."[56] However, the Daily Star reported on May 29 that Schwarzenegger had been offered $40 million to star in two Terminator films.[57]
On July 11, 2011 it was announced that Schwarzenegger is considering a comeback film despite his continuing legal problems.[58] He has reportedly signed to star in "Last Stand" as a dishonored Los Angeles cop.[59] On September 6, 2011 is was announced that Schwarzenegger had signed on to the The Expendables sequel in which he will play a larger role.[60]
Political career

Main article: Political career of Arnold Schwarzenegger


Vice President Dick Cheney meets with Schwarzenegger for the first time at the White House.
Early politics
Schwarzenegger has been a registered Republican for many years. As an actor, his political views were always well known as they contrasted with those of many other prominent Hollywood stars, who are generally considered to be a liberal and Democratic-leaning community. At the 2004 Republican National Convention, Schwarzenegger gave a speech and explained why he was a Republican:[61]
I finally arrived here in 1968. What a special day it was. I remember I arrived here with empty pockets but full of dreams, full of determination, full of desire. The presidential campaign was in full swing. I remember watching the Nixon-Humphrey presidential race on TV. A friend of mine who spoke German and English translated for me. I heard Humphrey saying things that sounded like socialism, which I had just left.
But then I heard Nixon speak. He was talking about free enterprise, getting the government off your back, lowering the taxes and strengthening the military. Listening to Nixon speak sounded more like a breath of fresh air. I said to my friend, I said, "What party is he?" My friend said, "He's a Republican." I said, "Then I am a Republican." And I have been a Republican ever since.
In 1985, Schwarzenegger appeared in Stop the Madness, an anti-drug music video sponsored by the Reagan administration. He first came to wide public notice as a Republican during the 1988 Presidential election, accompanying then-Vice President George H.W. Bush at a campaign rally.[62]
Schwarzenegger's first political appointment was as chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, on which he served from 1990 to 1993.[6] He was nominated by George H. W. Bush, who dubbed him "Conan the Republican". He later served as Chairman for the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson. Yet, political analysts have identified Schwarzenegger as a liberal, as he has become more left-leaning since his election.[63]
Between 1993 and 1994, Schwarzenegger was a Red Cross ambassador (a ceremonial role fulfilled by celebrities), recording several television/radio public service announcements to donate blood. A small amount of interest was garnered by his wearing of a white t-shirt with the Red Cross on it, while posing with a flexed arm; the image made it into several celebrity magazines.[citation needed]
In an interview with Talk magazine in late 1999, Schwarzenegger was asked if he thought of running for office. He replied, "I think about it many times. The possibility is there, because I feel it inside."[64] The Hollywood Reporter claimed shortly after that Schwarzenegger sought to end speculation that he might run for governor of California.[64] Following his initial comments, Schwarzenegger said, "I'm in show business – I am in the middle of my career. Why would I go away from that and jump into something else?"[64]
Governor of California
Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy in the 2003 California recall election for Governor of California on the August 6, 2003 episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[16] According to Schwarzenegger, he did not decide to run until the day of the announcement:
The recall happens and people are asking me, ‘What are you going to do?’ I thought about it but decided I wasn’t going to do it. I told Maria I wasn’t running. I told everyone I wasn’t running. I wasn’t running. I just thought [en route to the Tonight Show], This will freak everyone out. It’ll be so funny. I’ll announce that I am running. I told Leno I was running. And two months later I was governor. What the fuck is that? All these people are asking me, ‘What’s your plan? Who’s on your staff?’ I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t have a staff. I wasn’t running until I went on Jay Leno.[65]
Schwarzenegger had the most name recognition in a crowded field of candidates, but he had never held public office and his political views were unknown to most Californians. His candidacy immediately became national and international news, with media outlets dubbing him the "Governator" (referring to The Terminator movies, see above) and "The Running Man" (the name of another one of his films), and calling the recall election "Total Recall" (yet another Schwarzenegger starrer). Schwarzenegger declined to participate in several debates with other recall replacement candidates, and appeared in only one debate on September 24, 2003.[66]


President George W. Bush meets with Schwarzenegger after his successful election to the California Governorship
On October 7, 2003, the recall election resulted in Governor Gray Davis being removed from office with 55.4% of the Yes vote in favor of a recall. Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California under the second question on the ballot with 48.6% of the vote to choose a successor to Davis. Schwarzenegger defeated Democrat Cruz Bustamante, fellow Republican Tom McClintock, and others. His nearest rival, Bustamante, received 31% of the vote. In total, Schwarzenegger won the election by about 1.3 million votes. Under the regulations of the California Constitution, no runoff election was required. Schwarzenegger was the first foreign-born governor of California since Irish-born Governor John G. Downey in 1862.
As soon as Schwarzenegger was elected governor, Willie Brown said he would start a drive to recall the governor. Schwarzenegger was equally entrenched in what he considered to be his mandate in cleaning up gridlock. Building on a catchphrase from the sketch "Hans and Franz" from Saturday Night Live (which partly parodied his bodybuilding career), Schwarzenegger called the Democratic State politicians "girlie men".[67]
Schwarzenegger's early victories included repealing an unpopular increase in the vehicle registration fee as well as preventing driver's licenses being given out to illegal immigrants, but later he began to feel the backlash when powerful state unions began to oppose his various initiatives. Key among his reckoning with political realities was a special election he called in November 2005, in which four ballot measures he sponsored were defeated. Schwarzenegger accepted personal responsibility for the defeats and vowed to continue to seek consensus for the people of California. He would later comment that "no one could win if the opposition raised 160 million dollars to defeat you".
Schwarzenegger then went against the advice of fellow Republican strategists and appointed a Democrat, Susan Kennedy, as his Chief of Staff. Schwarzenegger gradually moved towards a more politically moderate position, determined to build a winning legacy with only a short time to go until the next gubernatorial election.
Schwarzenegger ran for re-election against Democrat Phil Angelides, the California State Treasurer, in the 2006 elections, held on November 7, 2006. Despite a poor year nationally for the Republican party, Schwarzenegger won re-election with 56.0% of the vote compared with 38.9% for Angelides, a margin of well over one million votes.[68] In recent years, many commentators have seen Schwarzenegger as moving away from the right and towards the center of the political spectrum. After hearing a speech by Schwarzenegger at the 2006 Martin Luther King, Jr. breakfast, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom said that, "[H]e's becoming a Democrat [... H]e's running back, not even to the center. I would say center-left".
It was rumored that Schwarzenegger might run for the United States Senate in 2010, as his governorship would be term-limited by that time. This turned out to be false.[69][70]


With Schwarzenegger and Senator Dianne Feinstein behind him, President George W. Bush comments on wildfires and firefighting efforts in California, October 2007
Wendy Leigh, who wrote an unofficial biography on Schwarzenegger, claims he plotted his political rise from an early age using the movie business and bodybuilding as building blocks to escape a depressing home.[11] Leigh portrays Schwarzenegger as obsessed with power and quotes him as saying, "I wanted to be part of the small percentage of people who were leaders, not the large mass of followers. I think it is because I saw leaders use 100% of their potential –I was always fascinated by people in control of other people."[11] Schwarzenegger has said that it was never his intention to enter politics, but he says, "I married into a political family. You get together with them and you hear about policy, about reaching out to help people. I was exposed to the idea of being a public servant and Eunice and Sargent Shriver became my heroes."[25] Eunice Kennedy Shriver was sister of John F. Kennedy, and mother-in-law to Schwarzenegger; Sargent Shriver is husband to Eunice and father-in-law to Schwarzenegger. He cannot run for president as he is not a natural born citizen of the United States. In The Simpsons Movie (2007), he is portrayed as the President, and in the Sylvester Stallone movie, Demolition Man (1993, ten years before his first run for political office), it is revealed that a constitutional amendment passed which allowed Schwarzenegger to run for President.[citation needed]
Schwarzenegger is a dual Austria/United States citizen.[71] He holds Austrian citizenship by birth and has held U.S. citizenship since becoming naturalized in 1983. Being Austrian and thus European, he was able to win the 2007 European Voice campaigner of the year award for taking action against climate change with the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 and plans to introduce an emissions trading scheme with other US states and possibly with the EU.[72] Still, Schwarzenegger has always identified with his American citizenship, and has shown great affinity for the state of California beyond his foreign birth.[citation needed]
Because of his personal wealth from his acting career, Schwarzenegger did not accept his governor's salary of $175,000 per year.[73] He stated after he left office that being governor cost him as much as $200 million in potential movie deals, but that "it was more than worth it."[citation needed]
Schwarzenegger's endorsement in the Republican primary of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election was highly sought; despite being good friends with candidates Rudy Giuliani and Senator John McCain, Schwarzenegger remained neutral throughout 2007 and early 2008. Giuliani dropped out of the Presidential race on January 30, 2008, largely because of a poor showing in Florida, and endorsed McCain. Later that night, Schwarzenegger was in the audience at a Republican debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. The following day, he endorsed McCain, joking, "It's Rudy's fault!" (in reference to his friendships with both candidates and that he could not make up his mind). Schwarzenegger's endorsement was thought to be a boost for Senator McCain's campaign; both spoke about their concerns for the environment and economy.[74]
In its April 2010 report, Progressive ethics watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Schwarzenegger one of 11 "worst governors" in the United States because of various ethics issues throughout Schwarzenegger's term as governor.[75][76]
Governor Schwarzenegger played a significant role in opposing Proposition 66, a proposed amendment of the Californian Three Strikes Law, in November 2004. This amendment would have required the third felony to be either violent or serious to mandate a 25-years-to-life sentence. In the last week before the ballot, Schwarzenegger launched an intensive campaign[77] against Proposition 66.[78] He stated that "it would release 26,000 dangerous criminals and rapists".
Allegations of sexual and personal misconduct


Code Pink protesting against Schwarzenegger
During his initial campaign for governor, allegations of sexual and personal misconduct were raised against Schwarzenegger, dubbed "Gropegate".[79] Within the last five days before the election, news reports appeared in the Los Angeles Times recounting allegations of sexual misconduct from several individual women, six of whom eventually came forward with their personal stories.[80]
Three of the women claimed he had grabbed their breasts, a fourth said he placed his hand under her skirt on her buttock. A fifth woman claimed Schwarzenegger tried to take off her bathing suit in a hotel elevator, and the last said he pulled her onto his lap and asked her about a sex act.[79]
Schwarzenegger admitted that he has "behaved badly sometimes" and apologized, but also stated that "a lot of [what] you see in the stories is not true". This came after an interview in adult magazine Oui from 1977 surfaced, in which Schwarzenegger discussed attending sexual orgies and using substances such as marijuana.[81] Schwarzenegger is shown smoking a marijuana joint after winning Mr. Olympia in the 1975 documentary film Pumping Iron. In an interview with GQ magazine in October 2007, Schwarzenegger said, "[Marijuana] is not a drug. It's a leaf. My drug was pumping iron, trust me."[82] His spokesperson later said the comment was meant to be a joke.[82]
British television personality Anna Richardson settled a libel lawsuit in August 2006 against Schwarzenegger, his top aide, Sean Walsh, and his publicist, Sheryl Main.[83] A joint statement read: "The parties are content to put this matter behind them and are pleased that this legal dispute has now been settled."[83] Richardson claimed they tried to tarnish her reputation by dismissing her allegations that Schwarzenegger touched her breast during a press event for The 6th Day in London.[84] She claimed Walsh and Main libeled her in a Los Angeles Times article when they contended she encouraged his behavior.[83]
Citizenship
In 2005, Peter Pilz, from the Austrian Green Party, demanded that parliament revoke Schwarzenegger's Austrian citizenship. This demand was based on Article 33 of the Austrian Citizenship Act that states: A citizen, who is in the public service of a foreign country, shall be deprived of his citizenship, if he heavily damages the reputation or the interests of the Austrian Republic.[71] Pilz claimed that Schwarzenegger's actions in support of the death penalty (prohibited in Austria under Protocol 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights) had indeed done damage to Austria's reputation. Schwarzenegger explained his actions by referring to the fact that his only duty as Governor of California was to prevent an error in the judicial system.
Environmental record
On September 27, 2006 Schwarzenegger signed a bill creating the nation's first cap on greenhouse gas emissions. The law set new regulations on the amount of emissions utilities, refineries and manufacturing plants are allowed to release into the atmosphere. Schwarzenegger also signed a second global warming bill that prohibits large utilities and corporations in California from making long-term contracts with suppliers who do not meet the state's greenhouse gas emission standards. The two bills are part of a plan to reduce California's emissions by 25 percent to 1990s levels by 2020. In 2005, Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling to reduce greenhouse gases to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.[85]
Schwarzenegger signed another executive order on October 17, 2006 allowing California to work with the Northeast's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. They plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by issuing a limited amount of carbon credits to each power plant in participating states. Any power plants that exceed emissions for the amount of carbon credits will have to purchase more credits to cover the difference. The plan is set to be in effect in 2009.[86] In addition to using his political power to fight global warming, the governor has taken steps at his home to reduce his personal carbon footprint. Schwarzenegger has adapted one of his Hummers to run on hydrogen and another to run on biofuels. He has also installed solar panels to heat his home.[87]
In respect of his contribution to the direction of the US motor industry, Schwarzenegger was invited to open the 2009 SAE World Congress in Detroit, on April 20, 2009.[88]
Electoral history
California Gubernatorial Recall Election 2003
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger 4,206,284 48.6
Democratic Cruz Bustamante 2,724,874 31.5
Republican Tom McClintock 1,161,287 13.5
Green Peter Miguel Camejo 242,247 2.8
California Gubernatorial Election 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger 4,850,157 55.9 +7.3
Democratic Phil Angelides 3,376,732 39.0
Green Peter Miguel Camejo 205,995 2.3 -0.5
Business career

Schwarzenegger has also had a highly successful business career.[11][25] Following his move to the United States, Schwarzenegger became a "prolific goal setter" and would write his objectives at the start of the year on index cards, like starting a mail order business or buying a new car – and succeed in doing so.[20] By the age of 30, Schwarzenegger was a millionaire, well before his career in Hollywood. His financial independence came from a series of successful business ventures and investments.
Bricklaying business
In 1968, Schwarzenegger and fellow bodybuilder Franco Columbu started a bricklaying business. The business flourished thanks to the pair's marketing savvy and an increased demand following the 1971 San Fernando earthquake.[89][90][65] Schwarzenegger and Columbu used profits from their bricklaying venture to start a mail order business, selling bodybuilding and fitness-related equipment and instructional tapes.[6][89]
Real estate investing
Schwarzenegger rolled profits from the mail order business and his bodybuilding competition winnings into his first real estate investment venture: an apartment building he purchased for $10,000. He would later go on to invest in a number of real estate holding companies.[91][92]
Restaurant
In 1992, Schwarzenegger and his wife opened a restaurant in Santa Monica called Schatzi On Main. Schatzi literally means "little treasure," colloquial for "honey" or "darling" in German. In 1998, he sold his restaurant.[93]
Planet Hollywood investment
See also: Planet Hollywood
Schwarzenegger was a founding celebrity investor in the Planet Hollywood chain of international theme restaurants (modeled after the Hard Rock Cafe) along with Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and Demi Moore. Schwarzenegger severed his financial ties with the business in early 2000.[94] Schwarzenegger said the company had not had the success he had hoped for, claiming he wanted to focus his attention on "new US global business ventures" and his movie career.[94]
Other ventures and investments
He also invested in a shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio. He has talked about some of those who have helped him over the years in business: "I couldn't have learned about business without a parade of teachers guiding me... from Milton Friedman to Donald Trump... and now, Les Wexner and Warren Buffett. I even learned a thing or two from Planet Hollywood, such as when to get out! And I did!"[18] He has significant ownership in Dimensional Fund Advisors, an investment firm.[95]
Personal life

Early love life
In 1969, Schwarzenegger met Barbara Outland (later Barbara Outland Baker), an English teacher he lived with until 1974.[96] Schwarzenegger talked about Barbara in his memoir in 1977: "Basically it came down to this: she was a well-balanced woman who wanted an ordinary, solid life, and I was not a well-balanced man, and hated the very idea of ordinary life."[96] Baker has described Schwarzenegger as "[a] joyful personality, totally charismatic, adventurous, and athletic" but claims towards the end of the relationship he became "insufferable – classically conceited – the world revolved around him".[97] Baker published her memoir in 2006, entitled Arnold and Me: In the Shadow of the Austrian Oak.[98] Although Baker, at times, painted an unflattering portrait of her former lover, Schwarzenegger actually contributed to the tell-all book with a foreword, and also met with Baker for three hours.[98] Baker claims, for example, that she only learned of his being unfaithful after they split, and talks of a turbulent and passionate love life.[98] Schwarzenegger has made it clear that their respective recollection of events can differ.[98] The couple first met six to eight months after his arrival in the U.S. – their first date was watching the first Apollo Moon landing on television.[20] They shared an apartment in Santa Monica for three and a half years, and having little money, would visit the beach all day, or have barbecues in the back yard.[20] Although Baker claims that when she first met him, he had "little understanding of polite society" and she found him a turn-off, she says, "He's as much a self-made man as it's possible to be –he never got encouragement from his parents, his family, his brother. He just had this huge determination to prove himself, and that was very attractive ... I'll go to my grave knowing Arnold loved me."[20]
Schwarzenegger met his next paramour, Sue Moray, a Beverly Hills hairdresser's assistant, on Venice Beach in July 1977. According to Moray, the couple led an open relationship: "We were faithful when we were both in LA ... but when he was out of town, we were free to do whatever we wanted."[12] Schwarzenegger met Maria Shriver at the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in August 1977, and went on to have a relationship with both women until August 1978, when Moray (who knew of his relationship with Shriver) issued an ultimatum.[12]
Marriage and family


Schwarzenegger with his wife Maria Shriver at the 2007 Special Olympics in Shanghai, China
On April 26, 1986, Schwarzenegger married television journalist Maria Shriver, niece of President John F. Kennedy, in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The Rev. John Baptist Riordan performed the ceremony at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church.[99] They have four children: Katherine Eunice Shriver Schwarzenegger (born December 13, 1989 in Los Angeles); Christina Maria Aurelia Schwarzenegger (born July 23, 1991 in Los Angeles);[100] Patrick Schwarzenegger (born September 18, 1993 in Los Angeles);[101] and Christopher Sargent Shriver Schwarzenegger (born September 27, 1997 in Los Angeles).[102] Schwarzenegger lives in a 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) home in Brentwood.[103][104] The divorcing couple currently own vacation homes in Sun Valley, Idaho and Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.[105] They attended St. Monica's Catholic Church.[106]
Son in serious accident
Schwarzenegger's 13-year-old son Christopher Schwarzenegger was seriously injured in a boogie-boarding accident in Malibu, on July 17, 2011. In a joint statement, Schwarzenegger and estranged wife Shriver described it as "scary," and that "he is expected to make a full recovery." Christopher had been in intensive care after suffering a collapsed lung and broken bones in the accident.[107]
Infidelity and divorce
On May 9, 2011, Shriver and Schwarzenegger separated after 25 years of marriage, with Shriver moving out of the couple's Brentwood mansion.[108][109][110] On May 16, 2011, the Los Angeles Times revealed that Schwarzenegger had fathered a son more than fourteen years earlier with an employee in their household, Mildred Patricia 'Patty' Baena.[111][112][113] "After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago," Schwarzenegger said in a statement issued to The Times. In the statement, Schwarzenegger did not mention that he had confessed to his wife only after Shriver had confronted him with the information, which she had done after confirming with the housekeeper what she had suspected about the child.[114]
Fifty-year-old Baena, of Guatemalan origin, was employed by the family for 20 years and retired in January.[115] The pregnant Baena was working in the home while Shriver was pregnant with the youngest of the couple’s four children.[116] Baena's son with Schwarzenegger, Joseph,[117] was born on October 2, 1997;[118] Shriver gave birth to Christopher only a few days earlier on September 27, 1997.[119] Schwarzenegger found ways to spend time with this child: in one instance, in 1998, Shriver and Schwarzenegger's children unexpectedly accompanied Schwarzenegger to the lovechild's baptism;[120] and he was photographed teaching the boy how to play golf and swinging him playfully above his head.[121] Despite Schwarzenegger's interactions with the child, the boy was never told that Schwarzenegger was his father, and he was unaware of the fact until it was revealed by the press.[122] Schwarzenegger has taken financial responsibility for the child "from the start and continued to provide support."[123] KNX 1070 radio reported that he bought a new, four-bedroom house, with a pool, in Bakersfield, about 112 miles (180 km) north of Los Angeles, in 2010 for Baena and their son.[124] Baena separated from her husband, Rogelio, in 1997, a few months after Joseph's birth. She divorced Rogelio in 2008.[125] Baena's ex-husband, Rogelio Baena, says that the child's birth certificate was falsified and that he plans to sue Schwarzenegger and his ex-wife for engaging in conspiracy to falsify a public document, a serious crime in California.[126]
Schwarzenegger has consulted an attorney, Bob Kaufman. Kaufman has earlier handled divorce cases for celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.[127][128] Schwarzenegger will keep the Brentwood home as part of their divorce settlement and Shriver has purchased a new home nearby so that the children may travel easily between their parents' homes. They will share custody of the two minor children.[129] Schwarzenegger came under fire after the initial petition did not include spousal support and a reimbursement of attorney's fees.[59] However, he claims this was not intentional and that he signed the initial documents without having properly read them.[59] Schwarzenegger has filed amended divorce papers remedying this.[59][130]
In the aftermath of Schwarzenegger's infidelity scandal, actress Brigitte Nielsen came forward and stated that she too had an affair with Schwarzenegger while he was in a relationship with Shriver,[131] saying, "Maybe I wouldn't have got into it if he said 'I'm going to marry Maria' and this is dead serious, but he didn't, and our affair carried on."[131]
Accidents and injuries
Schwarzenegger was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, an aortic valve with only two leaflets (a normal aortic valve has three leaflets).[132][133] Schwarzenegger opted in 1997 for a replacement heart valve made of his own transplanted tissue; medical experts predicted he would require heart valve replacement surgery in the following two to eight years as his valve would progressively degrade. Schwarzenegger apparently opted against a mechanical valve, the only permanent solution available at the time of his surgery, because it would have sharply limited his physical activity and capacity to exercise.[134]
On December 9, 2001, he broke six ribs and was hospitalized for four days after a motorcycle crash in Los Angeles.[135]
Schwarzenegger saved a drowning man's life in 2004 while on vacation in Hawaii by swimming out and bringing him back to shore.[136]
On January 8, 2006, while Schwarzenegger was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle in Los Angeles, with his son Patrick in the sidecar, another driver backed into the street he was riding on, causing him and his son to collide with the car at a low speed. While his son and the other driver were unharmed, the governor sustained a minor injury to his lip, requiring 15 stitches. "No citations were issued", said Officer Jason Lee, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.[137] Schwarzenegger did not obtain his motorcycle license until July 3, 2006.[138]
Schwarzenegger tripped over his ski pole and broke his right femur while skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho, with his family on December 23, 2006.[139] On December 26, 2006, he underwent a 90-minute operation in which cables and screws were used to wire the broken bone back together. He was released from the St. John's Health Center on December 30, 2006.[140] He appeared in crutches at his inauguration.[citation needed]
Schwarzenegger's private jet made an emergency landing at Van Nuys Airport on June 19, 2009, after the pilot reported smoke coming from the cockpit, according to a statement released by the governor's press secretary. No one was harmed in the incident.[141]
Net worth

Schwarzenegger's net worth has been conservatively estimated at $100–$200 million.[142] But with his recent split from his wife, Maria Shriver in 2011, it has been estimated that his net worth has been hovering around the $400 million mark and even as high as $800 million, based on tax returns he filed in 2006.[143][144] Over the years as an investor, he invested his bodybuilding and movie earnings in an array of stocks, bonds, privately controlled companies, and real estate holdings worldwide, so a more accurate estimation of his net worth is difficult to calculate, particularly in light of declining real estate values owing to economic recessions in the United States and Europe. In June 1997, Schwarzenegger spent $38 million of his own money on a private Gulfstream Jet.[145] Schwarzenegger once said of his fortune, "Money doesn't make you happy. I now have $50 million, but I was just as happy when I had $48 million."[11] He has also stated, "I've made many millions as a businessman many times over."[18]
Activism

He bought the first Hummer manufactured for civilian use in 1992, a model so large, 6,300 lb (2,900 kg) and 7 feet (2.1 m) wide, that it is classified as a large truck and U.S. fuel economy regulations do not apply to it. During the Gubernatorial Recall campaign he announced that he would convert one of his Hummers to burn hydrogen. The conversion was reported to have cost about US$21,000. After the election, he signed an executive order to jump-start the building of hydrogen refueling plants called the California Hydrogen Highway Network, and gained a U.S. Department of Energy grant to help pay for its projected US$91,000,000 cost.[146] California took delivery of the first H2H (Hydrogen Hummer) in October 2004.[147]
On February 12, 2010, Schwarzenegger was the 18th runner on the 106th day of the Vancouver Olympic Torch relay. His leg was along the Stanley Park Seawall, and he exchanged a "torch kiss" with the next runner, Sebastian Coe.[148]
Honors

Schwarzenegger's home town of Graz had its soccer stadium named The Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium in his honor. It is the home of both Grazer AK and Sturm Graz. After the Stanley Williams execution and street protests in Schwarzenegger's hometown, several local politicians began a campaign to remove his name from the stadium. In response, Schwarzenegger said "to spare the responsible politicians of the city of Graz further concern, I withdraw from them as of this day the right to use my name in association with the Liebenau Stadium", and set a deadline of two days to remove his name. Graz officials removed Schwarzenegger's name from the stadium in December 2005.[149] It is now officially titled UPC-Arena.
The Sun Valley Resort has a short ski trail called Arnold's Run, named after Schwarzenegger in 2001.[150] The trail is categorized as a black diamond, or most difficult, for its terrain.
People in Thal, Austria, celebrated Schwarzenegger's 60th birthday by throwing a party. Officials proclaimed "A Day for Arnold" on July 30, 2007. The mayor sent Schwarzenegger the enameled sign, Thal 145, the number of the house where Schwarzenegger was born, declaring "This belongs to him. No one here will ever be assigned that number again".[151]
Bibliography

Schwarzenegger, Arnold (1977). Arnold: Developing a Mr. Universe Physique. Schwarzenegger.
 – with Douglas Kent Hall (1977). Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-22879-8.
 – with Douglas Kent Hall (1979). Arnold's Bodyshaping for Women. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-24301-2.
 – with Bill Dobbins (1981). Arnold's Bodybuilding for Men. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-25613-5.
 – with Bill Dobbins (1998). The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding (rev. ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-84374-2.
Andrews, Nigel (2003). True Myths: The Life and Times of Arnold Schwarzenegger: From Pumping Iron to Governor of California (rev. ed.). New York: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-58234-465-2.
Blitz, Michael; and Louise Krasniewicz (2004). Why Arnold Matters: The Rise of a Cultural Icon. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-03752-0.
Borowitz, Andy (2004). Governor Arnold: A Photodiary of His First 100 Days in Office. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-6266-8.
Brandon, Karen (2004). Arnold Schwarzenegger. San Diego: Lucent Books. ISBN 978-1-59018-539-1.
Saunders, Dave (2008). "Arnie": Schwarzenegger and the Movies. London: I. B. Tauris.
Sexton, Colleen A. (2005). Arnold Schwarzenegger. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications. ISBN 978-0-8225-1634-7.
Zannos, Susan (2000). Arnold Schwarzenegger. Childs, Md.: Mitchell Lane. ISBN 978-1-883845-95-7.
Interviews
Interview in Oui magazine, August 1977 at thesmokinggun.com
Excerpts from Time Out (London) interview, 1977 at time.com
Schwarzenegger Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
Film
Footage of Arnold Schwarzenegger winning Mr Universe, 1969
"Arnold Schwarzenegger – Hollywood Hero" DVD ~ Todd Baker
"Pumping Iron" (25th Anniversary Special Edition) DVD ~ George Butler
Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Internet Movie Database

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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Royal Dutch Shell

Logotipo ShellImage via Wikipedia
Royal Dutch Shell plc (LSE: RDSA, RDSB), commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom.[2] It is the fifth-largest company in the world (and the second-largest energy company) according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors".[3][4] It is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It also has major renewable energy activities, including in biofuels, hydrogen, solar and wind power.
Shell has operations in over 90 countries, produces around 3.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and has 44,000 service stations worldwide.[5] Shell Oil Company, its subsidiary in the United States, is one of its largest businesses.[6]
Shell has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange.
Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 20th century
1.2 21st century
2 Corporate affairs
2.1 Management
2.2 Name and logo
3 Operations
3.1 Oil and gas related activities
3.1.1 Africa
3.1.2 Australia
3.1.3 Ireland
3.1.4 New Zealand
3.1.5 North America
3.1.6 The Philippines
3.1.7 Scandinavia
3.2 Other activities
4 Controversies
4.1 2004 overstatement of oil reserves
4.2 Canadian oil sands
4.3 Corporate communications
4.4 Environmental pollution
4.5 Health and safety
4.6 Human rights
4.7 Sakhalin-II project
4.8 Tom Corbett campaign donations
4.9 Whistleblowers
5 See also
6 References
7 Bibliography
8 External links
[edit]History



Royal Dutch Petroleum dock in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia)


Headquarters in The Hague
[edit]20th century
The Royal Dutch Shell Group was created in February 1907 when the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company (legal name in Dutch, N.V. Koninklijke Nederlandsche Petroleum Maatschappij) and the "Shell" Transport and Trading Company Ltd of the United Kingdom merged their operations[7] – a move largely driven by the need to compete globally with the then dominant American petroleum company, John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil. The terms of the merger gave 60% ownership of the new Group to the Dutch arm and 40% to the British.
Royal Dutch Petroleum Company was a Dutch company founded in 1890 by Jean Baptiste August Kessler,[7] along with Henri Deterding, when a Royal charter was granted by King William III of the Netherlands to a small oil exploration and production company known as "Royal Dutch Company for the Working of Petroleum Wells in the Dutch Indies".[8]
The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company (the quotation marks were part of the legal name) was a British company, founded in 1897 by Marcus Samuel and his brother Samuel Samuel.[7] Their father had owned a company, importing and selling sea-shells, after which the company "Shell" took its name.[9] In 1925, he became 1st Viscount Bearsted. Lord Bearsted was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law (LLD) from the University of Sheffield during his lifetime.[9] Initially the Company commissioned eight oil tankers for the purposes of transporting oil. In 1919, Shell took control of the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company and in 1921 formed Shell-Mex Limited which marketed products under the "Shell" and "Eagle" brands in the United Kingdom. In 1932, partly in response to the difficult economic conditions of the times, Shell-Mex merged its UK marketing operations with those of British Petroleum to create Shell-Mex and BP Ltd,[10] a company that traded until the brands separated in 1975.
Around 1953, Shell was the first company to purchase and use an electronic computer in the Netherlands.[11] The computer, a Ferranti Mark 1 Star, was assembled and used at the Shell laboratory in Amsterdam. In 1970 Shell acquired the mining company Billiton, which it subsequently sold in 1994 and now forms part of BHP Billiton.[12]
[edit]21st century
In November 2004, following a period of turmoil caused by the revelation that Shell had been overstating its oil reserves, it was announced that the Shell Group would move to a single capital structure, creating a new parent company to be named Royal Dutch Shell plc, with its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, a secondary listing on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, its headquarters and tax residency in The Hague, Netherlands and its registered office in London. The unification was completed on 20 July 2005. Shares were issued at a 60/40 advantage for the shareholders of Royal Dutch in line with the original ownership of the Shell Group.[13] In December 2009 a consortium led by Shell was awarded a production contract for the Majnoon field in the south of Iraq, which contains an estimated 12.6 billion barrels of oil.[14]
In February 2010 Shell and Cosan formed a 50:50 joint-venture comprising all of Cosan's Brazilian ethanol, energy generation, fuel distribution and sugar activities, and all of Shell's Brazilian retail fuel and aviation distribution businesses.[15] In March 2010, Shell announced the sale of some of its assets, including its liquid petroleum gas (LPG) business, to meet the cost of a planned $28bn capital spending programme. Shell invited buyers to submit indicative bids, due by 22 March, with a plan to raise $2–3bn from the sale.[16] In June 2010, Royal Dutch Shell agreed to acquire all of the business of East Resources for a cash consideration of $4.7 billion. The transaction included East Resources' tight gas fields.[17]
[edit]Corporate affairs

[edit]Management
On 4 August 2005, the board of directors announced the appointment of Jorma Ollila, chairman and CEO of Nokia at the time, to succeed Aad Jacobs as the company’s non-executive chairman on 1 June 2006. Ollila is the first Shell chairman to be neither Dutch nor British. Other non-executive directors include Maarten van den Bergh, Wim Kok, Nina Henderson, Lord Kerr, Adelbert van Roxe, and Christine Morin-Postel.
As of 1 July 2009, Peter Voser is CEO of Shell.[18] Peter, who is Swiss, is the first non-Dutch, non-British CEO of the company.
[edit]Name and logo


A Shell-sponsored Ferrari F60 Formula One motor racing car
The name Shell is linked to The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company.[19] In 1833, the founder's father, also Marcus Samuel, founded an import business to sell seashells to London collectors. When collecting seashell specimens in the Caspian Sea area in 1892, the younger Samuel realized there was potential in exporting lamp oil from the region and commissioned the world's first purpose-built oil tanker, the Murex (Latin for a type of snail shell), to enter this market; by 1907 the company had a fleet. Although for several decades the company had a refinery at Shell Haven on the Thames, there is no evidence of this having provided the name.
The Shell logo is one of the most familiar commercial symbols in the world. This logo is known as the "pecten" after the sea shell Pecten maximus (the giant scallop), on which its design is based. The yellow and red colours used are thought to relate to the colours of the flag of Spain, as Shell built early service stations in California, which was an early Spanish colony.
The slash was removed from the name "Royal Dutch/Shell" in 2004, concurrent with moves to merge the two legally separate companies (Royal Dutch and Shell) to the single legal entity which exists today.[20]
[edit]Operations



The upstream provides two thirds of Shell's revenues


Shell oil depot in Kowloon, Hong Kong
Shell has five core businesses: exploration and production (the "upstream"), gas and power, refining and marketing (the "downstream"), chemicals, and trading and shipping. Shell has operations in over 140 countries.
Shell is a signatory participant of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
[edit]Oil and gas related activities
Shell's primary business is the management of a vertically integrated oil company. The development of technical and commercial expertise in all stages of this vertical integration, from the initial search for oil (exploration) through its harvesting (production), transportation, refining and finally trading and marketing established the core competencies on which the company was founded. Similar competencies were required for natural gas, which has become one of the most important businesses in which Shell is involved, and which contributes a significant proportion of the company's profits. While the vertically integrated business model provided significant economies of scale and barriers to entry, each business now seeks to be a self-supporting unit without subsidies from other parts of the company.
Traditionally, Shell was a heavily decentralised business worldwide (especially in the downstream) with companies in over 100 countries, each of which operated with a high degree of independence. The upstream tended to be far more centralised with much of the technical and financial direction coming from the central offices in The Hague. Nevertheless. there were very large "exploration and production" companies in a small number of major oil and gas production centres such as the United Kingdom (Shell Expro, a Joint Venture with Exxon), Nigeria, Brunei, and Oman.
Downstream operations, which now also includes the chemicals business, generates a third of Shell's profits worldwide and is known its global network of more than 40,000 petrol stations and its 47 oil refineries. The downstream business, which in some countries also included oil refining, generally included a retail petrol station network, lubricants manufacture and marketing, industrial fuel and lubricants sales and a host of other product/market sectors such as LPG and bitumen. The practice in Shell was that these businesses were essentially local and that they were best managed by local "operating companies" – often with middle and senior management reinforced by expatriates. In the 1990s, this paradigm began to change, and the independence of operating companies around the world was gradually reduced. Today, virtually all of Shell’s operations in various businesses are much more directly managed from London and The Hague. The autonomy of “operating companies” has been largely removed, as more "global businesses" have been created.
[edit]Africa
Shell began drilling for oil in Africa during the 1950s. Shell began oil production in Nigeria in 1958.[21] Shell operates in the upstream oil sector in Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Gabon where is the giant Rabi-Kounga oil field, Ghana, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia; and in the downstream sector in 16 other countries.[22]
In Nigeria, Shell told US diplomats that it had placed staff in all the main ministries of the government.[23]
In April 2010, Shell announced its intention to divest from downstream business of all African countries except South Africa to Vitol and "Helios".[24] In several countries such as Tunisia, protests and strikes broke out. Shell denied rumors of the sellout.[25] Shell continues however upstream activities/extracting crude oil in the oil-rich Niger Delta as well as downstream/commercial activities in South Africa.
[edit]Australia


Shell petrol station in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.
Main article: Shell Australia
In Australia, retailer Coles Group (now part of Wesfarmers) purchased the rights to the retail business from the existing Shell Australia multi-site franchisees in 2003 for an amount less than A$100 million. The purchase was made in response to a popular discount fuel offer by rival Woolworths Limited launched some years earlier.
Coles Express' only affiliation with Shell is that Shell is the exclusive supplier of fuel and lubricant products, leases the service station property to Coles, and maintains the presence of the "pecten" and other Shell branding on the price board and other signage. Coles Express sets fuel and shop prices and runs the business, provides convenience and grocery merchandise through its supply chain and distribution network, and directly employs the service station staff.
Royal Dutch Shell is currently developing the first floating liquefied natural gas facility, which will be situated 200 km off the coast of Western Australia and is due for completion in around 2017.[26] When it is finished, it will measure around 488m long and 74m wide, and when fully ballasted will weigh 600,000 tonnes.[27]
[edit]Ireland
Shell first started trading in Ireland in 1902.[28] Shell E&P Ireland (SEPIL) (previously Enterprise Energy Ireland) is an Irish exploration and production subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell. Its headquarters are on Leeson Street in Dublin. It was acquired in May 2002.[29] Its main project is the Corrib gas project, a large gas field off the northwest coast, for which Shell has encountered controversy and protests in relation to the onshore pipeline and licence terms.
In 2005 Shell disposed of its entire retail and commercial fuels business in Ireland to Topaz Energy Group. This included depots, company-owned petrol stations and supply agreements stations throughout the island of Ireland.[30] The retail outlets were re-branded as Topaz in 2008/9.[31]


Service station near Lost Hills, California
[edit]New Zealand
Shell has had a long-time presence in New Zealand, and partly owns the Maui and Kapuni natural gas fields. In 2011 it completed the sale of its petrol retail division to Infratil and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, which rebranded the stations as Z Energy. Shell still operates in New Zealand via oil exploration and infrastructure.
[edit]North America
Main articles: Shell Oil Company and Shell Canada
Through most of Shell's history, its business in the United States, Shell Oil Company was substantially independent with its stock ("Shell Oil") being traded on the NYSE and with little direct involvement from the group’s central offices in the running of the American business. Such practice also changed in the 1990s when Shell first bought out the shares in Shell Oil that it did not own and then took a more hands-on approach. In Canada, also previously very independent, Shell has completed its purchase of the shares in Shell Canada that it did not own, to apply the new global business model.
[edit]The Philippines
On January 2010, The bureau of customs claimed 7.34 billion pesos worth of unpaid excise taxes against Pilipinas Shell for importing Catalytic cracked gasoline (CCG) and light catalytic cracked gasoline (LCCG) stating that those imports are bound for tariff charges.[32]
Pilipinas Shell denied the claim stating that those imports are raw materials for making their products. The company later emphasized that they are considering to close their local oil refinery if the case continues. Pilipinas Shell informed the public that they will exhaust all necessary steps to meet the demand for fuel.
[edit]Scandinavia
On 27 August 2007, Royal Dutch Shell and Reitan Group, the owner of the 7-Eleven brand in Scandinavia, announced an agreement to re-brand some 269 service stations across Norway, Sweden Finland and Denmark, subject to obtaining regulatory approvals under the different competition laws in each country.[33] On April 2010 Shell announced that the corporation is in process of trying to find a potential buyer for all of its operations in Finland and is doing similar market research concerning Swedish operations.[34][35]
[edit]Other activities
Over the years Shell has occasionally sought to diversify away from its core oil, gas and chemicals businesses. These diversifications have included nuclear power (a short-lived and costly joint venture with Gulf Oil in the USA); coal (Shell Coal was for a time a significant player in mining and marketing); metals (Shell acquired the Dutch metals-mining company Billiton in 1970) and electricity generation (a joint venture with Bechtel called Intergen). None of these ventures were seen as successful and all have now been divested.
In the early 2000s Shell moved into alternative energy and there is now an embryonic "Renewables" business that has made investments in solar power, wind power, hydrogen, and forestry. The forestry business went the way of nuclear, coal, metals and electricity generation, and was disposed of in 2003. In 2006 Shell sold its entire solar business[36] and in 2008, the company withdrew from the London Array which is expected to become the world's largest offshore wind farm.[37]
Shell also is involved in large-scale hydrogen projects. HydrogenForecast.com describes Shell's approach thus far as consisting of "baby steps", but with an underlying message of "extreme optimism".[38]
In September 2010, Shell agreed to a $12 billion joint venture with Brazilian sugarcane producer Cosan to develop sugarcane-based ethanol and power.[39]

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Royal Dutch Shell

Logotipo ShellImage via Wikipedia
Royal Dutch Shell plc (LSE: RDSA, RDSB), commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom.[2] It is the fifth-largest company in the world (and the second-largest energy company) according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors".[3][4] It is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It also has major renewable energy activities, including in biofuels, hydrogen, solar and wind power.
Shell has operations in over 90 countries, produces around 3.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and has 44,000 service stations worldwide.[5] Shell Oil Company, its subsidiary in the United States, is one of its largest businesses.[6]
Shell has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange.
Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 20th century
1.2 21st century
2 Corporate affairs
2.1 Management
2.2 Name and logo
3 Operations
3.1 Oil and gas related activities
3.1.1 Africa
3.1.2 Australia
3.1.3 Ireland
3.1.4 New Zealand
3.1.5 North America
3.1.6 The Philippines
3.1.7 Scandinavia
3.2 Other activities
4 Controversies
4.1 2004 overstatement of oil reserves
4.2 Canadian oil sands
4.3 Corporate communications
4.4 Environmental pollution
4.5 Health and safety
4.6 Human rights
4.7 Sakhalin-II project
4.8 Tom Corbett campaign donations
4.9 Whistleblowers
5 See also
6 References
7 Bibliography
8 External links
[edit]History



Royal Dutch Petroleum dock in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia)


Headquarters in The Hague
[edit]20th century
The Royal Dutch Shell Group was created in February 1907 when the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company (legal name in Dutch, N.V. Koninklijke Nederlandsche Petroleum Maatschappij) and the "Shell" Transport and Trading Company Ltd of the United Kingdom merged their operations[7] – a move largely driven by the need to compete globally with the then dominant American petroleum company, John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil. The terms of the merger gave 60% ownership of the new Group to the Dutch arm and 40% to the British.
Royal Dutch Petroleum Company was a Dutch company founded in 1890 by Jean Baptiste August Kessler,[7] along with Henri Deterding, when a Royal charter was granted by King William III of the Netherlands to a small oil exploration and production company known as "Royal Dutch Company for the Working of Petroleum Wells in the Dutch Indies".[8]
The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company (the quotation marks were part of the legal name) was a British company, founded in 1897 by Marcus Samuel and his brother Samuel Samuel.[7] Their father had owned a company, importing and selling sea-shells, after which the company "Shell" took its name.[9] In 1925, he became 1st Viscount Bearsted. Lord Bearsted was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law (LLD) from the University of Sheffield during his lifetime.[9] Initially the Company commissioned eight oil tankers for the purposes of transporting oil. In 1919, Shell took control of the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company and in 1921 formed Shell-Mex Limited which marketed products under the "Shell" and "Eagle" brands in the United Kingdom. In 1932, partly in response to the difficult economic conditions of the times, Shell-Mex merged its UK marketing operations with those of British Petroleum to create Shell-Mex and BP Ltd,[10] a company that traded until the brands separated in 1975.
Around 1953, Shell was the first company to purchase and use an electronic computer in the Netherlands.[11] The computer, a Ferranti Mark 1 Star, was assembled and used at the Shell laboratory in Amsterdam. In 1970 Shell acquired the mining company Billiton, which it subsequently sold in 1994 and now forms part of BHP Billiton.[12]
[edit]21st century
In November 2004, following a period of turmoil caused by the revelation that Shell had been overstating its oil reserves, it was announced that the Shell Group would move to a single capital structure, creating a new parent company to be named Royal Dutch Shell plc, with its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, a secondary listing on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, its headquarters and tax residency in The Hague, Netherlands and its registered office in London. The unification was completed on 20 July 2005. Shares were issued at a 60/40 advantage for the shareholders of Royal Dutch in line with the original ownership of the Shell Group.[13] In December 2009 a consortium led by Shell was awarded a production contract for the Majnoon field in the south of Iraq, which contains an estimated 12.6 billion barrels of oil.[14]
In February 2010 Shell and Cosan formed a 50:50 joint-venture comprising all of Cosan's Brazilian ethanol, energy generation, fuel distribution and sugar activities, and all of Shell's Brazilian retail fuel and aviation distribution businesses.[15] In March 2010, Shell announced the sale of some of its assets, including its liquid petroleum gas (LPG) business, to meet the cost of a planned $28bn capital spending programme. Shell invited buyers to submit indicative bids, due by 22 March, with a plan to raise $2–3bn from the sale.[16] In June 2010, Royal Dutch Shell agreed to acquire all of the business of East Resources for a cash consideration of $4.7 billion. The transaction included East Resources' tight gas fields.[17]
[edit]Corporate affairs

[edit]Management
On 4 August 2005, the board of directors announced the appointment of Jorma Ollila, chairman and CEO of Nokia at the time, to succeed Aad Jacobs as the company’s non-executive chairman on 1 June 2006. Ollila is the first Shell chairman to be neither Dutch nor British. Other non-executive directors include Maarten van den Bergh, Wim Kok, Nina Henderson, Lord Kerr, Adelbert van Roxe, and Christine Morin-Postel.
As of 1 July 2009, Peter Voser is CEO of Shell.[18] Peter, who is Swiss, is the first non-Dutch, non-British CEO of the company.
[edit]Name and logo


A Shell-sponsored Ferrari F60 Formula One motor racing car
The name Shell is linked to The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company.[19] In 1833, the founder's father, also Marcus Samuel, founded an import business to sell seashells to London collectors. When collecting seashell specimens in the Caspian Sea area in 1892, the younger Samuel realized there was potential in exporting lamp oil from the region and commissioned the world's first purpose-built oil tanker, the Murex (Latin for a type of snail shell), to enter this market; by 1907 the company had a fleet. Although for several decades the company had a refinery at Shell Haven on the Thames, there is no evidence of this having provided the name.
The Shell logo is one of the most familiar commercial symbols in the world. This logo is known as the "pecten" after the sea shell Pecten maximus (the giant scallop), on which its design is based. The yellow and red colours used are thought to relate to the colours of the flag of Spain, as Shell built early service stations in California, which was an early Spanish colony.
The slash was removed from the name "Royal Dutch/Shell" in 2004, concurrent with moves to merge the two legally separate companies (Royal Dutch and Shell) to the single legal entity which exists today.[20]
[edit]Operations



The upstream provides two thirds of Shell's revenues


Shell oil depot in Kowloon, Hong Kong
Shell has five core businesses: exploration and production (the "upstream"), gas and power, refining and marketing (the "downstream"), chemicals, and trading and shipping. Shell has operations in over 140 countries.
Shell is a signatory participant of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
[edit]Oil and gas related activities
Shell's primary business is the management of a vertically integrated oil company. The development of technical and commercial expertise in all stages of this vertical integration, from the initial search for oil (exploration) through its harvesting (production), transportation, refining and finally trading and marketing established the core competencies on which the company was founded. Similar competencies were required for natural gas, which has become one of the most important businesses in which Shell is involved, and which contributes a significant proportion of the company's profits. While the vertically integrated business model provided significant economies of scale and barriers to entry, each business now seeks to be a self-supporting unit without subsidies from other parts of the company.
Traditionally, Shell was a heavily decentralised business worldwide (especially in the downstream) with companies in over 100 countries, each of which operated with a high degree of independence. The upstream tended to be far more centralised with much of the technical and financial direction coming from the central offices in The Hague. Nevertheless. there were very large "exploration and production" companies in a small number of major oil and gas production centres such as the United Kingdom (Shell Expro, a Joint Venture with Exxon), Nigeria, Brunei, and Oman.
Downstream operations, which now also includes the chemicals business, generates a third of Shell's profits worldwide and is known its global network of more than 40,000 petrol stations and its 47 oil refineries. The downstream business, which in some countries also included oil refining, generally included a retail petrol station network, lubricants manufacture and marketing, industrial fuel and lubricants sales and a host of other product/market sectors such as LPG and bitumen. The practice in Shell was that these businesses were essentially local and that they were best managed by local "operating companies" – often with middle and senior management reinforced by expatriates. In the 1990s, this paradigm began to change, and the independence of operating companies around the world was gradually reduced. Today, virtually all of Shell’s operations in various businesses are much more directly managed from London and The Hague. The autonomy of “operating companies” has been largely removed, as more "global businesses" have been created.
[edit]Africa
Shell began drilling for oil in Africa during the 1950s. Shell began oil production in Nigeria in 1958.[21] Shell operates in the upstream oil sector in Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Gabon where is the giant Rabi-Kounga oil field, Ghana, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia; and in the downstream sector in 16 other countries.[22]
In Nigeria, Shell told US diplomats that it had placed staff in all the main ministries of the government.[23]
In April 2010, Shell announced its intention to divest from downstream business of all African countries except South Africa to Vitol and "Helios".[24] In several countries such as Tunisia, protests and strikes broke out. Shell denied rumors of the sellout.[25] Shell continues however upstream activities/extracting crude oil in the oil-rich Niger Delta as well as downstream/commercial activities in South Africa.
[edit]Australia


Shell petrol station in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.
Main article: Shell Australia
In Australia, retailer Coles Group (now part of Wesfarmers) purchased the rights to the retail business from the existing Shell Australia multi-site franchisees in 2003 for an amount less than A$100 million. The purchase was made in response to a popular discount fuel offer by rival Woolworths Limited launched some years earlier.
Coles Express' only affiliation with Shell is that Shell is the exclusive supplier of fuel and lubricant products, leases the service station property to Coles, and maintains the presence of the "pecten" and other Shell branding on the price board and other signage. Coles Express sets fuel and shop prices and runs the business, provides convenience and grocery merchandise through its supply chain and distribution network, and directly employs the service station staff.
Royal Dutch Shell is currently developing the first floating liquefied natural gas facility, which will be situated 200 km off the coast of Western Australia and is due for completion in around 2017.[26] When it is finished, it will measure around 488m long and 74m wide, and when fully ballasted will weigh 600,000 tonnes.[27]
[edit]Ireland
Shell first started trading in Ireland in 1902.[28] Shell E&P Ireland (SEPIL) (previously Enterprise Energy Ireland) is an Irish exploration and production subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell. Its headquarters are on Leeson Street in Dublin. It was acquired in May 2002.[29] Its main project is the Corrib gas project, a large gas field off the northwest coast, for which Shell has encountered controversy and protests in relation to the onshore pipeline and licence terms.
In 2005 Shell disposed of its entire retail and commercial fuels business in Ireland to Topaz Energy Group. This included depots, company-owned petrol stations and supply agreements stations throughout the island of Ireland.[30] The retail outlets were re-branded as Topaz in 2008/9.[31]


Service station near Lost Hills, California
[edit]New Zealand
Shell has had a long-time presence in New Zealand, and partly owns the Maui and Kapuni natural gas fields. In 2011 it completed the sale of its petrol retail division to Infratil and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, which rebranded the stations as Z Energy. Shell still operates in New Zealand via oil exploration and infrastructure.
[edit]North America
Main articles: Shell Oil Company and Shell Canada
Through most of Shell's history, its business in the United States, Shell Oil Company was substantially independent with its stock ("Shell Oil") being traded on the NYSE and with little direct involvement from the group’s central offices in the running of the American business. Such practice also changed in the 1990s when Shell first bought out the shares in Shell Oil that it did not own and then took a more hands-on approach. In Canada, also previously very independent, Shell has completed its purchase of the shares in Shell Canada that it did not own, to apply the new global business model.
[edit]The Philippines
On January 2010, The bureau of customs claimed 7.34 billion pesos worth of unpaid excise taxes against Pilipinas Shell for importing Catalytic cracked gasoline (CCG) and light catalytic cracked gasoline (LCCG) stating that those imports are bound for tariff charges.[32]
Pilipinas Shell denied the claim stating that those imports are raw materials for making their products. The company later emphasized that they are considering to close their local oil refinery if the case continues. Pilipinas Shell informed the public that they will exhaust all necessary steps to meet the demand for fuel.
[edit]Scandinavia
On 27 August 2007, Royal Dutch Shell and Reitan Group, the owner of the 7-Eleven brand in Scandinavia, announced an agreement to re-brand some 269 service stations across Norway, Sweden Finland and Denmark, subject to obtaining regulatory approvals under the different competition laws in each country.[33] On April 2010 Shell announced that the corporation is in process of trying to find a potential buyer for all of its operations in Finland and is doing similar market research concerning Swedish operations.[34][35]
[edit]Other activities
Over the years Shell has occasionally sought to diversify away from its core oil, gas and chemicals businesses. These diversifications have included nuclear power (a short-lived and costly joint venture with Gulf Oil in the USA); coal (Shell Coal was for a time a significant player in mining and marketing); metals (Shell acquired the Dutch metals-mining company Billiton in 1970) and electricity generation (a joint venture with Bechtel called Intergen). None of these ventures were seen as successful and all have now been divested.
In the early 2000s Shell moved into alternative energy and there is now an embryonic "Renewables" business that has made investments in solar power, wind power, hydrogen, and forestry. The forestry business went the way of nuclear, coal, metals and electricity generation, and was disposed of in 2003. In 2006 Shell sold its entire solar business[36] and in 2008, the company withdrew from the London Array which is expected to become the world's largest offshore wind farm.[37]
Shell also is involved in large-scale hydrogen projects. HydrogenForecast.com describes Shell's approach thus far as consisting of "baby steps", but with an underlying message of "extreme optimism".[38]
In September 2010, Shell agreed to a $12 billion joint venture with Brazilian sugarcane producer Cosan to develop sugarcane-based ethanol and power.[39]

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