They have called upon President Mobutu Sese Seko to step aside and to pay back the multibillion-dollar fortune amassed during his 25-year dictatorship.

He has spent his entire life marrying a succession of heiresses and living off the fortunes amassed by other men.

There is a downside to these instant fortunes amassed during the economic chaos.

Mr. Suharto's possessions are an issue for his critics, who say the fortune amassed by the President and his six children amounts to $30 billion.

His personal fortune, amassed as Governor, became part of the basis of the wealth of the Stewart family for generations.

According to the New York Times, however, Hilton presided over "the dissipation of one of the greatest fortunes ever amassed by trade."

To be sure, with private fortunes amassed in shipbuilding and lumbering, Maine emerged from the pre-Civil War building boom with a reputation for 19th-century decorative arts.

The fine houses built during the Renaissance bear witness to the vast fortunes amassed by the pastel merchants.

The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fund is named for Mr. Sasakawa's father, who used a fortune amassed in motorboat racing to begin the foundation.

Mr. Khodorkovsky and other tycoons are widely despised by many Russians, who see their quick fortunes, amassed in the economic chaos of the 1990's, as stolen, not earned.