• Slide 1 of 34: You might be surprised just how many entire towns, villages and even cities are largely funded by super-rich individuals. Whether they're motivated by civic pride or a sentimental attachment to their chosen location, these mega-wealthy donors are re-invigorating tired locations and creating thousands of jobs. Read on to see the affluent benefactors that are making a real difference in these places. All dollar amounts in US dollars.

  • Slide 2 of 34: In late 2018, husband-and-wife duo Michael and Xochi Birch, who founded social network Bebo in 2005, decided to channel a huge amount of money into reviving the sleepy village of Woolsery, aka Woolfardisworthy, in Devon, England, which had been in decline for several years. It's estimated that the pair had plenty of money to splash on the project, after they sold Bebo to AOL for $850 million (£570m) back in 2010.

  • Slide 3 of 34: Michael Birch spent his childhood summers in Woolsery and has a strong emotional attachment to the picturesque village as his mother's side of the family had lived close-by since the 1700s. The couple's project really got off the ground after they purchased local pub Farmers Arms in 2012, which then spiralled into the acquisition of the fish and chip shop, local stores and several residential properties. The much-needed cash injection has been welcomed with open arms by local residents, who described the Birchs' investment in the village as like winning the lottery or having all their Christmases come at once.

  • Slide 4 of 34: In October 2019, the company behind the project, MXB Devon Operations Ltd, employed 65 people, 37 of whom were from the area. Sadly 23 of those employees were made redundant due to financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. That said, work is still very much underway across the village, including expanding the village shop to include a post office and converting a Georgian manor house into a 19-room hotel with a restaurant. The project was due to last until 2021, but its completion date has now been postponed.

  • Slide 5 of 34: Chinese steel tycoon Xiong Shuihua has gone even further than the Birchs by bulldozing the impoverished village where he grew up and replacing its ramshackle huts with luxury apartments and villas. But not to make a profit. Shuihua transformed the village for its inhabitants' benefit and didn't charge them a penny for their new homes – he simply said he had

  • Slide 6 of 34: The deep-pocketed metal mogul has ploughed the equivalent of millions of dollars into the village of Xiongkeng in southern China to repay the kindness shown to his family by the residents of the village.

  • Slide 7 of 34: A total of 72 families were provided with luxury apartments, while 18 families who Xiong singled out as being particularly helpful to his family in the past have been gifted villas of their own. The tycoon is also treating elderly and low-income residents to three free meals a day.

  • Slide 8 of 34: Antonio Fernandez, the late founder of the Corona beer empire, hit the headlines in November 2016 after it was claimed he'd left each and every resident of his childhood village Cerezales del Condado in northwestern Spain a cool €2.3 million ($2.7m/£2.1m) apiece.

  • Slide 9 of 34: The story was reported by several trusted news outlets but later refuted by residents of the 30-person village. In reality, Fernandez didn't bequeath millions to individual residents of Cerezales del Condado, but his charitable trust has invested heavily in the village.

  • Slide 10 of 34: The philanthropic beer magnate's foundation, Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Cinia, has paid for an extensive restoration of the village church, funded a cultural centre that draws hundreds of visitors into the area, and improved the water supply in residents' homes. A public square and a street lined with 92 cypress trees were other additions made to the village courtesy of Fernandez's fortune. In 2016, president of the neighbourhood council Maximino Sanchez said the investments the millionaire had made in his hometown were

  • Slide 11 of 34: Not one to forget her roots, country music star Dolly Parton put her home town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on the map in 1986 when she helped transform the ailing Silver Dollar City theme park into Dollywood. Parton is a co-owner and partner in the business alongside Herschend Family Entertainment, which operates entertainment, tourism and hospitality properties across six states.

  • Slide 12 of 34: Parton's involvement has helped turn the struggling theme park into Tennessee's premier attraction. Millions of people visit Dollywood each year, and the growth of the theme park has created thousands of jobs for local residents. There is one person you'll never see on the rides though, and that's Dolly herself. The superstar has listed a number of reasons as to why she avoids the rollercoasters, including motion sickness and not wanting to ruin her hair.

  • Slide 13 of 34: The theme park, which has doubled in size since 1986, has around 3,000 staff on its books, which makes it the largest employer in the area, and is credited with revitalising the historic Great Smoky Mountains town. Around 630 Dollywood workers were laid off in April 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, however the company has since hosted a series of hiring events as the Dolly Parton attraction is fully up and running again.

  • Slide 14 of 34: Billionaire Samer Khoury (pictured far left) is on a one-man mission to restore the crumbling town of Bethlehem in Palestine, which is famous of course for being the Biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ and a key Christian pilgrimage destination.

  • Slide 15 of 34: Khoury, a member of the family that owns the Consolidated Contractors Co., is building on the work undertaken by his late father Said, who established the Bethlehem Development Foundation in 2012. The little town has fallen into a sorry state of disrepair following years of instability in the region and is in desperate need of regeneration.

  • Slide 16 of 34: The foundation had already invested at least $40 million (£32.5m) in Bethlehem by 2017, which has paid for essential improvements to the town's buildings and infrastructure. Khoury plans to spend an additional $60 million (£43.1m) by 2027.

  • Slide 17 of 34: Described as the south's

  • Slide 18 of 34: The heiress, who has amassed an enviable art collection, oversaw the opening of the world-class Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in the town in November 2011, which displays important works by American artists including Charles Willson Peale to Jackson Pollock. Housing a collection worth an estimated $500 million (£385m), the art gallery welcomed its millionth visitor in August 2013, a little under two years after opening.

  • Slide 19 of 34: Walton has also been involved in establishing an interactive museum for children in Bentonville, as well as a slick boutique hotel, and a number of swish restaurants and stores have opened in the town to serve the increasing numbers of visitors. Walton also criticised the country's

  • Slide 20 of 34: The richest self-made woman in America with a current net worth of $11 billion (£8bn), roofing billionaire Diane Hendricks is pumping a hefty share of her fortune into revamping the town of Beloit in Wisconsin, carrying on the work undertaken with her late husband Ken, who was also dedicated to revitalising the local economy.

  • Slide 21 of 34: The Hendricks' Downtown Beloit Association has been lauded for re-energising the centre of the town, which had been stagnating following the decline of industry in the region. Hendricks is aiming to transform Beloit into a hub for dynamic start-ups. The billionaire has opened a cutting-edge performing arts centre in Beloit and overseen the renovation of an entire downtown block, which is now home to hip restaurants, offices and apartments. She's also funded an international film festival for the town. The gentrification programme has already attracted a number of start-ups and boosted the town's economy.

  • Slide 22 of 34: Hendricks' adoption of Beloit isn't without its controversies though, for example she was the biggest financial backer of Scott Walker, Wisconsin's Republican governor from 2011 to 2019. This prompted one New York Times reporter to liken Hendricks' involvement in Beloit to somebody

  • Slide 23 of 34: Roger De Haan, the billionaire heir to the fortune made by UK over-50s brand Saga Insurance, has been instrumental in reviving the centre of Folkestone, the coastal English town he calls home. Having sold their business for £1.4 billion ($2.6bn) in 2004, Roger and his brother Peter have set about investing tens of millions into projects to rejuvenate the town.

  • Slide 24 of 34: Committed to transforming the quiet seaside town into a buzzing cultural hub, the Saga heir has funded a new music and performing arts venue, a public art collection and an annual book festival, all through the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust. The organisation has provided around £18 million ($33.6m) for sports projects in and around Folkestone and £4 million ($7.5m) for schools and education. An ambitious seafront development has already seen the construction of 84 new homes, and the next multimillion-pound phase of development is currently in consultation. If approved, it will bring restaurants, shops, public spaces and hundreds of new homes to the seaside.

  • Slide 25 of 34: De Haan's projects in the town include a long-awaited indoor skate and urban sports park, F51. The unique venue was first proposed in 2015 as the world's first multi-storey skatepark but it has faced construction and cost-related delays and was then further set back by the COVID-19 outbreak but is now finally open. The project's costs have soared from an initial projection of £7 million ($9.1m) to £14 million ($18.2m).

  • Slide 26 of 34: Several moneyed tycoons have attempted to revive the downtown area of Detroit, including the late Little Caesars Pizza boss Mike Illitch, but none have been as successful as altruistic billionaire Dan Gilbert. The Detroit-born magnate moved his Quicken Loans headquarters to the centre of the declining city back in 2010 and hasn't looked back.

  • Slide 27 of 34: Gilbert now owns swathes of real estate in downtown Detroit, which have been fully restored and repurposed. Gilbert's bulging property portfolio includes landmark buildings such as the Chase Tower and Madison Theater, and the tycoon has created more than 17,000 new jobs in the downtown area. One of the latest developments is Gilbert's plan to redesign ailing shopping centre Tower City Center into a marketplace with retail stores and restaurants. Gilbert is also co-chair of the Blight Removal Task Force, which is dedicated to removing all dilapidated structures and lots in the city.

  • Slide 28 of 34: One dilapidated structure Gilbert hopes to give a new lease of life is the half-built Wayne County jail, which Gilbert wanted to develop into a $300 million (£160.6m) innovation centre for the University of Michigan, in partnership with fellow billionaire Stephen Ross. The project recently reached a stumbling block however, when development companies pulled out of building on the site. Ross still intends to build the university innovation centre elsewhere, while Gilbert now plans to create a different innovation centre on the prison site. Gilbert has also pleased Detroiters by announcing a 10-year, $500 million (£359m) investment to aid residents of the city, including a $15 million (£10.8m) package to eliminate property tax debt for 20,000 low-income homeowners.

  • Slide 29 of 34: Billionaire Kevin Plank, the founder and CEO of thriving sports apparel company Under Armour, is funnelling a staggering $5.5 billion (£3.9bn) into South Baltimore's game-changing Port Covington development.

  • Slide 30 of 34: The ambitious development, which is poised to transform 235 acres of Maryland cityscape, will create 50 new city blocks, 17 streets and around 40 acres of parkland, along with a light rail extension and two new stations. The latest stage in the development is the delivery of 25 acres-worth of new residences, offices, retail outlets and parking, as well as 10 acres of public space, all set for completion in 2022.

  • Slide 31 of 34: While the project has its detractors, who believe Port Covington will only benefit Baltimore's more affluent residents, the development is pretty much guaranteed to attract scores of new businesses to the city and create thousands of jobs. The project is also benefitting the surrounding area, with $10 million (£7.2m) going to six communities nearby, including Cherry Hill and Westport, who can decide how they want to spend the additional funds.

  • Slide 32 of 34: Known as "the town that Prince Charles built", Poundbury is a new model town which acts as an extension to Dorchester in Dorset in the south west of England. The prince is known for his disdain towards modern architecture, and wanted to design a town to reflect his ideal principles of more traditional buildings and community living. Building works started in 1993, with the first house going up for sale in 1994.

  • Slide 33 of 34: The town faced instant criticism, with one review in the New Statesman calling it "an embarrassing anachronism", while another in the Observer called it "fake, heartless, authoritarian and grimly cute". Architectural details aside, however, the town does seem to have had a positive economic impact. According to a report by the Dorset County Council, the development is already contributing £98 million ($129m) to the local economy per year in demand for goods and services.

  • Slide 34 of 34: The model town opened its town square, Queen Mother Square, in 2016, complete with a visit from the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. Today, Poundbury is home to 3,800 residents living in 1,700 homes, as well as 207  businesses. The final phase of the 30-year venture will be the addition of 200 new homes, a third of which will be social housing. There will also be open squares featuring a variety of tree species, as well as 500 square metres of retail and office units. Designs for this last stage in the development were inspired by the Edwardian Garden Movement, and the entire project is due for completion in 2028. Read more about how the British royal family makes and spends its money

Big-name donors financing local communities

You might be surprised just how many entire towns, villages and fifty-fifty cities are largely funded by super-rich individuals. Whether they're motivated by civic pride or a sentimental attachment to their chosen location, these mega-wealthy donors are re-invigorating tired locations and creating thousands of jobs. Read on to meet the affluent benefactors that are making a real difference in these places. All dollar amounts in Usa dollars.

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Michael and Xochi Birch – Woolsery, England

In late 2018, husband-and-wife duo Michael and Xochi Birch, who founded social network Bebo in 2005, decided to aqueduct a huge amount of money into reviving the sleepy village of Woolsery, aka Woolfardisworthy, in Devon, England, which had been in decline for several years. It's estimated that the pair had enough of money to splash on the project, afterwards they sold Bebo to AOL for $850 million (£570m) back in 2010.

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Michael and Xochi Birch – Woolsery, England

Michael Birch spent his babyhood summers in Woolsery and has a stiff emotional attachment to the picturesque hamlet as his mother'south side of the family had lived close-past since the 1700s. The couple's projection actually got off the footing afterwards they purchased local pub Farmers Arms in 2012, which then spiralled into the acquisition of the fish and chip store, local stores and several residential properties. The much-needed cash injection has been welcomed with open arms by local residents, who described the Birchs' investment in the village every bit like winning the lottery or having all their Christmases come up at once.

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Michael and Xochi Birch – Woolsery, England

In October 2019, the visitor behind the project, MXB Devon Operations Ltd, employed 65 people, 37 of whom were from the area. Sadly 23 of those employees were made redundant due to fiscal difficulties acquired by the COVID-19 outbreak. That said, work is still very much underway beyond the hamlet, including expanding the village shop to include a post office and converting a Georgian estate house into a nineteen-room hotel with a restaurant. The project was due to last until 2021, simply its completion engagement has now been postponed.

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Xiong Shuihua – Xiongkeng, China

Chinese steel tycoon Xiong Shuihua has gone even farther than the Birchs by bulldozing the impoverished village where he grew upwards and replacing its ramshackle huts with luxury apartments and villas. But not to make a profit. Shuihua transformed the village for its inhabitants' benefit and didn't charge them a penny for their new homes – he only said he had "more coin than he knew what to practise with".

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Xiong Shuihua – Xiongkeng, Prc

The deep-pocketed metal mogul has ploughed the equivalent of millions of dollars into the village of Xiongkeng in southern Prc to repay the kindness shown to his family by the residents of the village.

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Xiong Shuihua – Xiongkeng, China

A total of 72 families were provided with luxury apartments, while 18 families who Xiong singled out every bit being peculiarly helpful to his family unit in the by have been gifted villas of their own. The tycoon is also treating elderly and low-income residents to three free meals a day.

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Antonio Fernandez – Cerezales del Condado, Espana

Antonio Fernandez, the late founder of the Corona beer empire, hitting the headlines in November 2016 after it was claimed he'd left each and every resident of his childhood village Cerezales del Condado in northwestern Spain a absurd €ii.3 million ($2.7m/£2.1m) apiece.

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Antonio Fernandez – Cerezales del Condado, Spain

The story was reported by several trusted news outlets just after refuted by residents of the 30-person hamlet. In reality, Fernandez didn't bequeath millions to individual residents of Cerezales del Condado, but his charitable trust has invested heavily in the village.

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Antonio Fernandez – Cerezales del Condado, Spain

The philanthropic beer magnate's foundation, Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Cinia, has paid for an extensive restoration of the village church, funded a cultural centre that draws hundreds of visitors into the area, and improved the h2o supply in residents' homes. A public square and a street lined with 92 cypress trees were other additions made to the village courtesy of Fernandez's fortune. In 2016, president of the neighbourhood council Maximino Sanchez said the investments the millionaire had fabricated in his hometown were "his all-time legacy", as reported past the BBC.

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Dolly Parton – Pigeon Forge, Usa

Not one to forget her roots, country music star Dolly Parton put her home boondocks of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on the map in 1986 when she helped transform the bilious Silver Dollar Metropolis theme park into Dollywood. Parton is a co-owner and partner in the business alongside Herschend Family unit Entertainment, which operates entertainment, tourism and hospitality backdrop across vi states.

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Dolly Parton – Pigeon Forge, USA

Parton's involvement has helped turn the struggling theme park into Tennessee'southward premier attraction. Millions of people visit Dollywood each year, and the growth of the theme park has created thousands of jobs for local residents. In that location is 1 person you'll never come across on the rides though, and that's Dolly herself. The superstar has listed a number of reasons as to why she avoids the rollercoasters, including motion sickness and not wanting to ruin her pilus.

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Dolly Parton – Pigeon Forge, The states

The theme park, which has doubled in size since 1986, has around three,000 staff on its books, which makes it the largest employer in the surface area, and is credited with revitalising the historic Corking Smoky Mountains town. Around 630 Dollywood workers were laid off in April 2020 as a effect of the coronavirus pandemic, withal the company has since hosted a serial of hiring events as the Dolly Parton attraction is fully upwards and running over again.

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Samer Khoury – Bethlehem, Palestine

Billionaire Samer Khoury (pictured far left) is on a 1-man mission to restore the crumbling town of Bethlehem in Palestine, which is famous of course for being the Biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ and a key Christian pilgrimage destination.

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Samer Khoury – Bethlehem, Palestine

Khoury, a member of the family that owns the Consolidated Contractors Co., is building on the work undertaken by his belatedly father Said, who established the Bethlehem Evolution Foundation in 2012. The niggling town has fallen into a sorry state of busted post-obit years of instability in the region and is in desperate need of regeneration.

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Samer Khoury – Bethlehem, Palestine

The foundation had already invested at least $40 1000000 (£32.5m) in Bethlehem past 2017, which has paid for essential improvements to the town'south buildings and infrastructure. Khoury plans to spend an additional $60 million (£43.1m) past 2027.

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Alice Walton – Bentonville, The states

Described equally the due south's "next cultural mecca", the unassuming boondocks of Bentonville, Arkansas has undergone a major revamp in contempo years. The town, which is habitation to the headquarters of Walmart Stores Inc. and where the Waltons grew up, has been revitalised thanks to the efforts of Walmart scion Alice Walton. Walton currently has a staggering net worth of $65.five billion (£49.6bn), co-ordinate to Forbes – some of which has gone towards Bentonville improvements.

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Alice Walton – Bentonville, U.s.

The heiress, who has clustered an enviable fine art collection, oversaw the opening of the world-class Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in the town in November 2011, which displays important works by American artists including Charles Willson Peale to Jackson Pollock. Housing a drove worth an estimated $500 million (£385m), the fine art gallery welcomed its millionth company in August 2013, a fiddling nether ii years after opening.

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Alice Walton – Bentonville, United states of america

Walton has likewise been involved in establishing an interactive museum for children in Bentonville, as well as a slick boutique hotel, and a number of classy restaurants and stores accept opened in the town to serve the increasing numbers of visitors. Walton also criticised the state'due south "cleaved" healthcare system and announced plans to found the Whole Wellness Found and Chopra Medical Library in Bentonville. The centres will aim to amend the wellness of those living in the area through improve medical education and holistic treatments, with plans to eventually spread throughout the balance of Arkansas. Announced in January 2020, the project has a completion engagement of 2023.

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Diane Hendricks – Beloit, USA

The richest self-made adult female in America with a current net worth of $eleven billion (£8bn), roofing billionaire Diane Hendricks is pumping a hefty share of her fortune into revamping the town of Beloit in Wisconsin, carrying on the work undertaken with her late husband Ken, who was likewise dedicated to revitalising the local economy.

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Diane Hendricks – Beloit, Us

The Hendricks' Downtown Beloit Association has been lauded for re-energising the eye of the town, which had been stagnating following the decline of industry in the region. Hendricks is aiming to transform Beloit into a hub for dynamic start-ups. The billionaire has opened a cutting-edge performing arts centre in Beloit and overseen the renovation of an unabridged downtown block, which is at present domicile to hip restaurants, offices and apartments. She'south besides funded an international pic festival for the boondocks. The gentrification program has already attracted a number of start-ups and boosted the boondocks'due south economy.

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Diane Hendricks – Beloit, U.s.a.

Hendricks' adoption of Beloit isn't without its controversies though, for example she was the biggest financial backer of Scott Walker, Wisconsin'southward Republican governor from 2011 to 2019. This prompted one New York Times reporter to liken Hendricks' involvement in Beloit to somebody "playing SimCity" in 2017, and Hendricks sparked debate once again when she announced she would be funding a brand-new, independent charter schoolhouse in Beloit. The Lincoln Academy is now open, despite concerns over whether it'south a skillful idea to divert money abroad from public schools.

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Roger De Haan – Folkestone, England

Roger De Haan, the billionaire heir to the fortune made past United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland over-50s brand Saga Insurance, has been instrumental in reviving the eye of Folkestone, the coastal English town he calls home. Having sold their concern for £1.four billion ($ii.6bn) in 2004, Roger and his blood brother Peter have set almost investing tens of millions into projects to rejuvenate the boondocks.

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Roger De Haan – Folkestone, England

Committed to transforming the quiet seaside town into a buzzing cultural hub, the Saga heir has funded a new music and performing arts venue, a public fine art collection and an annual book festival, all through the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust. The organisation has provided around £xviii million ($33.6m) for sports projects in and around Folkestone and £4 1000000 ($seven.5m) for schools and educational activity. An aggressive seafront development has already seen the structure of 84 new homes, and the next multimillion-pound stage of evolution is currently in consultation. If canonical, information technology will bring restaurants, shops, public spaces and hundreds of new homes to the seaside.

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Roger De Haan – Folkestone, England

De Haan'southward projects in the town include a long-awaited indoor skate and urban sports park, F51. The unique venue was first proposed in 2015 every bit the earth's offset multi-storey skatepark merely it has faced structure and cost-related delays and was then farther set dorsum by the COVID-19 outbreak but is now finally open. The projection'south costs have soared from an initial projection of £7 million ($9.1m) to £14 meg ($18.2m).

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Dan Gilbert – Detroit, Us

Several moneyed tycoons take attempted to revive the downtown area of Detroit, including the tardily Fiddling Caesars Pizza boss Mike Illitch, but none have been as successful as altruistic billionaire Dan Gilbert. The Detroit-born magnate moved his Quicken Loans headquarters to the heart of the declining city back in 2010 and hasn't looked back.

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Dan Gilbert – Detroit, Usa

Gilbert now owns swathes of real estate in downtown Detroit, which have been fully restored and repurposed. Gilbert's bulging property portfolio includes landmark buildings such as the Chase Tower and Madison Theater, and the tycoon has created more than 17,000 new jobs in the downtown area. One of the latest developments is Gilbert's plan to redesign ailing shopping centre Tower Metropolis Center into a market place with retail stores and restaurants. Gilbert is also co-chair of the Blight Removal Task Force, which is dedicated to removing all dilapidated structures and lots in the metropolis.

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Dan Gilbert – Detroit, USA

1 battered structure Gilbert hopes to requite a new lease of life is the half-built Wayne County jail, which Gilbert wanted to develop into a $300 meg (£160.6m) innovation heart for the University of Michigan, in partnership with fellow billionaire Stephen Ross. The project recently reached a stumbling cake however, when evolution companies pulled out of building on the site. Ross even so intends to build the university innovation center elsewhere, while Gilbert now plans to create a different innovation centre on the prison house site. Gilbert has too pleased Detroiters by announcing a 10-year, $500 meg (£359m) investment to aid residents of the metropolis, including a $15 million (£ten.8m) package to eliminate belongings tax debt for 20,000 low-income homeowners.

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Kevin Plank – Baltimore, United states of america

Billionaire Kevin Plank, the founder and CEO of thriving sports apparel company Under Armour, is funnelling a staggering $5.v billion (£3.9bn) into South Baltimore's game-changing Port Covington development.

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Kevin Plank – Baltimore, USA

The ambitious development, which is poised to transform 235 acres of Maryland cityscape, will create 50 new city blocks, 17 streets and around 40 acres of parkland, forth with a light rail extension and 2 new stations. The latest phase in the development is the delivery of 25 acres-worth of new residences, offices, retail outlets and parking, as well every bit 10 acres of public space, all set for completion in 2022.

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Kevin Plank – Baltimore, United states

While the project has its detractors, who believe Port Covington will only benefit Baltimore's more affluent residents, the development is pretty much guaranteed to concenter scores of new businesses to the city and create thousands of jobs. The project is too benefitting the surrounding surface area, with $x million (£7.2m) going to six communities nearby, including Cherry Hill and Westport, who tin decide how they want to spend the additional funds.

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Prince Charles – Poundbury, UK

Known as "the town that Prince Charles built", Poundbury is a new model town which acts as an extension to Dorchester in Dorset in the south west of England. The prince is known for his disdain towards modern architecture, and wanted to design a town to reflect his ideal principles of more than traditional buildings and community living. Building works started in 1993, with the get-go firm going upwards for sale in 1994.

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Prince Charles – Poundbury, Great britain

The town faced instant criticism, with ane review in the New Statesman calling it "an embarrassing anachronism", while another in the Observer called it "false, heartless, authoritarian and grimly cute". Architectural details aside, still, the town does seem to have had a positive economical impact. According to a report by the Dorset Canton Council, the development is already contributing £98 million ($129m) to the local economy per year in demand for goods and services.

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Prince Charles – Poundbury, Great britain

The model town opened its boondocks square, Queen Mother Square, in 2016, complete with a visit from the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. Today, Poundbury is habitation to iii,800 residents living in ane,700 homes, as well equally 207  businesses. The terminal phase of the 30-year venture will be the add-on of 200 new homes, a 3rd of which volition be social housing. There will also be open squares featuring a variety of tree species, as well equally 500 square metres of retail and office units. Designs for this concluding stage in the development were inspired past the Edwardian Garden Motion, and the entire projection is due for completion in 2028.

Read more than virtually how the British royal family makes and spends its money

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