USA Today is running a favorable piece on my hometown in today’s edition.
Omaha has tremendous wealth, industry and influence for being in the middle of nowhere. It ranks eighth among the nation’s 50 largest cities in both per-capita billionaires and Fortune 500 companies. San Francisco is the leader in billionaires per 1 million people, even after the dot-com bust trimmed the list. Atlanta is the leader in Fortune 500 companies per 1 million people. But no city, not even the major coastal giants, can claim a ranking as high as Omaha on both lists. Not San Francisco. Not Los Angeles nor New York — nor Houston. Philadelphia and Baltimore haven’t a single billionaire between them, nor do 15 other cities in the top 50 by population. Honolulu has no Fortune 500 companies, nor do a dozen other cities among the largest 50.