subject: Is This America Up Close And Personal? [print this page] New York City has more super rich residents than any other U.S. city - 7,720. That's according to a 2011 report by Wealth-X, a wealth research company that defines super rich as having a total net worth of over $30 million. Los Angeles is second with 4,350 super rich followed by San Francisco with 4,230; Chicago with 2,550; and Washington, D.C. with 2,300. Supposedly there are 57,860 super rich in the U.S. The majority of these people started businesses, took risks and were monetarily compensated for those risks. Risk capital is synonymous with venture capital, which could by synonymous with "adventure capital".
However, New York City isn't the city with the biggest gap between rich and poor. According to 2010 census data, that's Atlanta - followed by New Orleans and Washington, D.C. The major cities with the lowest income inequality are in the west and have smaller populations: West Jordon, Utah; Thornton, Colorado; and Norwalk, California. Among states, New York has the biggest gap between rich and poor - followed by Connecticut and Louisiana. Utah, Alaska and New Hampshire have the smallest gaps. The anger that caused "Occupy Wall Street" and spread across the U.S. in 2011 gave new meaning to "gap year".
Fairbanks, Hilo and Pittsburgh are the only non-California cities on the 2011 World Health Organization's list of most polluted U.S. cities. Fairbanks' (#4) air pollution is primarily caused by outdoor, wood-burning boilers; Hilo's (#6) by volcanic ash; and Pittsburgh's (#10) by nearby steel mills. However, the pollution in the 7 California cities - Bakersfield (#1), Fresno (#2), Riverside/San Bernardino/Ontario (#3), Modesto (#5), Visalia/Porterville (#7), Hanford/Corcoran (#8) and San Diego (#9) - is more generic. It's primarily caused by transportation (cars and ships), a warm climate that encourages pollutants to form and geography that traps pollutants. For California this list is "breathtaking".
North Dakota is the state with the worst drunk driving record. According to a 2010 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 988 out of 1,000 North Dakotans admitted to alcohol-impaired driving. Delaware is second (843/1,000) followed by Massachusetts (835/1,000), Nebraska (832/1,000), Louisiana (728/1,000) and Missouri (701/1,000). The study also found men were responsible for 81% of drinking and driving; and although men ages 21-34 accounted for only 11% of the population, they accounted for 32% of drinking-and-driving incidents. Approximately 11,000 Americans die yearly in car crashes involving alcohol. It's a problem that needs to be "man-aged".
