The Six Richest People in Massachusetts


The Six Richest People in Massachusetts. With a net worth of $10.3 billion, Abigail Johnson led the pack of Massachusetts billionaires who made the annual Forbes World’s Billionaires List. Johnson ranked No. 50 on the list overall and was followed by Edward Johnson III (No. 173, $5.8 billion), Amos Hostetter (No. 521, $2.4 billion), Jim Davis and family (No. 683, $1.9 billion), Robert Kraft (No. 764, $1.7 billion), and Valentin Gapontsev and family (No. 1075, $1.1 billion). [CityBiz List]

Graduation Means More State Troopers on the Road. Today, the first class of state troopers since 2006 will graduate from the Massachusetts State Police Academy. “It’s hard to put into words,” Noah Clock said.”My life-long dream has come true.” [MassLive.com]

Job Growth Far Lower Than Originally Reported. Massachusetts added roughly 30,000 fewer jobs in 2011 than everyone first thought. State officials have been touting the addition of 40,700 jobs in 2011, but the real number is more like 12,000 over the whole year … statewide. Looks like the state’s labor department needs to check their calculators. [Patriot Ledger]

High School Dropout Age Could Increase from 14-16 to 18. And no exceptions. This essentially means that high school students in Massachusetts would have to be thisclose to graduation before they could opt to drop out. [Herald]

Politicians and Their Dogs vs. Mitt Romney and Seamus. Over the past few years, the First Dogs of the United States — most recently Buddy, Barney, and Bo — have found their way to an ever-increasing part of our collective consciousness (remember the great debate over what kind of dog the Obamas would pick?). As Amy Davidson points out: If a politician can’t talk about dogs without sounding deranged, is there any hope? [The New Yorker]