Diary

Famously one of the most private of family business heads, Gina Rinehart is unlikely to be pleased by the news that her life is to be dramatised on Australian television screens from 2014. The executive chairwoman of Hancock Prospecting and Australia’s richest person will be the main character in the tentatively titled Mother Monster Magnate.

Lavazza, the family-owned coffee company, is throwing its hat into the UK coffee shop ring with its chain of cafes.

Headed by fourth-gen Alberto Lavazza, the Italian family business has plans to create a potential 400 Lavazza Espression cafes in the UK over the coming decade, with the first 50 opening in the next two years.

The closest international equivalent might be Margaret Thatcher going into business with Fidel Castro.

But according to US reports, something almost that bizarre is being considered in the New York media world. Donald Trump, outspoken real estate mogul, long-term Republican and star of the US version of TV show The Apprentice, has reportedly shown an interest in buying the New York Times, the left-leaning American daily owned by the Ochs Sulzberger family.

What does your average multi-millionaire look like? White? Middle-aged? Wearing the obligatory suit and tie? Not according to a new series set to be broadcast this year.

Changing Fortunes traces how the major events in the latter half of the 20th century radically changed the demographic of the world’s wealthy. According to its makers, the rich are getting younger and more racially diverse – plus there are more self-made women.