Anyone willing to invest at least £1 million in the UK economy is eligible to apply for a UK visa under the ‘investor visas’ programme but, with hundreds of foreign nationals now applying through the programme and many seeing it as a quick route to British citizenship, concerns are beginning to rise.

In 2008, 43 foreign millionaires were granted a UK visa through the investor programme; in 2011, 320 were granted.

Russian millionaires are the most common with 21% of the total applications coming from Russia, wealthy Chinese citizens were the next most prominent group while approximately 30% of applications were from Eastern Bloc countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Ukraine.

“The investor visas’ rules are designed to reduce speculation in prime central London property, which is so favoured by wealthy Russian, and channels money into other areas. Many Russian investors [are advised to invest in] commercial property, boutique hotels being a current favourite,” said Yuri Botiuk, head of the Russia and Ukraine desk at McGrigors law firm.

With UK immigration being a continuing issue, concern has been raised that increasing numbers of wealthy foreigners are seeing the investor visa route a method of essentially buying UK citizenship.

Source: UK Visa Bureau

Whitney Houston’s funeral last weekend provided the first public glimpse of what may be trouble involving her estate.  Her ex-husband, Bobby Brown, was invited to the funeral, after reports surfaced that some family members didn’t want him there. He didn’t last long.  Brown’s entourage wasn’t allowed to sit with him at the funeral.  Brown wasn’t happy and left, visibly upset.

Bobby Brown issued a statement after the funeral, saying he and his group were asked to relocate three times, and rather than making a scene, he chose to pay his respects quickly and leave.

TMZ reported the day before the funeral that Whitney’s mother, Cissy Houston, and other family members had been trying to keep Brown away from Bobbi Kristina, Whitney’s daughter with Brown.  They were said to be worried that Brown would try to use Bobbi Kristina to make a play for some of Whitney’s money.

Brown’s statement confirmed some of this.  He said that security prevented him from seeing his daughter at the funeral.  Is money the reason why? Brown tried to get some of Whitney’s money through a court proceeding in 2007, just after their divorce judgment was entered, but he failed.

Some have speculated that Whitney’s estate will be worth between $10 and $20 million, or more.  At this point, that’s pure speculation.  As we wrote a few weeks ago, Whitney’s camp previously denied rumors that she was broke. Certainly, between the royalties from increased record sales, and with prudent marketing of her name and image, her estate can bring in millions. But, because Whitney Houston only sang songs, instead of writing or producing them like Michael Jackson did, her estate won’t have the same earning potential.

Here’s an ABC News article that discusses her estate’s earning potential in more depth.  The article quotes an unnamed source familiar with the situation who indicated that Whitney did have a will and that the estate process has been started.  At this point, we don’t know how much estate planning she had in place.  But, certainly, we can expect there will be millions of dollars at stake.

We hope that Whitney Houston’s estate planning included more than just a simple will.  For the large majority of people with even a modest amount of assets, a will is not enough.  Whitney Houston’s passing provides a perfect illustration of why this is true.

With a basic will alone, Whitney’s beneficiaries would generally receive their inheritances outright.  Everyone expects that Whitney left most — and perhaps all — of her assets to her daughter Bobbi Kristina.  Because Bobbi Kristina is 18, she would be entitled to receive everything at once under a simple will.

How many 18-year-olds do you know who are responsible enough to handle a large sum of money?  Not many.  And, again according to TMZ, there may be more concerns about Bobbi Kristina’s responsibility.  Reportedly, family members want her to undergo drug rehab right away, because she has been struggling with substance abuse issues for years, much like her mother did.

If this is true, and if Bobbi Kristina is a beneficiary under a simple will, then this report raises a big concern.  If she is controlled by drug abuse, Bobbi Kristina might not be competent to handle the money.  If that’s the case, then family members could go to court, try to have her declared legally incompetent to manage her finances, and seek a conservatorship over her.

Who would have standing to do this?  Bobby Brown for one.  It could be the legal avenue he may try to use to seek control of the money, which is what Whitney’s mother and other family members are reportedly afraid of.

Think this won’t happen?  Look at the Britney Spears case.  Her father filed for conservatorship over her in 2008 due to her out-of-control behavior caused by substance abuse, and she is still subject to it, even though she’s turned her life around and is engaged to be married.  As we’ve written before, in Britney’s case, that process may have actually saved her life, but that did come at a cost to Britney’s personal freedom in many respects.  You can read more about that case here.

Will Bobby Brown try something similar?  He could.  At least, if Whitney Houston only had a basic will.

If Whitney Houston did the right estate planning, by using a trust, this result could be avoided.  Unlike a will which passes through probate court, a trust is handled privately, outside of court, when used properly.  Trusts normally have provisions to spell out what each beneficiary would inherit, and when and how.  Usually, young adults don’t receive money under a trust, until they reach a certain age.  Often trusts spell out that the beneficiaries’ money is to be managed by a trustee and used for their benefit, for things like education, health and living expenses, but not given directly to them to control and spend.

In fact, trusts can be even more creative, such as those with drug and alcohol language that requires beneficiaries to be “clean” before they receive their money.

Did Whitney properly protect Bobbi Kristina with a trust?  Is there an opening for Bobby Brown to cause trouble?  We will likely find out in the weeks to come.  Certainly, there are enough reports, justified by what happened at the funeral over the weekend, to create serious cause for concern.

It’s a lesson for everyone.  No one knows when tragedy may strike.  For most people, having a simple will is not enough. A properly-funded trust, with detailed distribution provisions specifically tailored for your beneficiaries, based on your wishes, is the best way to protect your loved ones after you pass.

Too many people — the rich and famous, and not-so-rich-or-famous alike — fail to do the proper estate planning, and it’s the family members left behind who pay the price.

Source: Forbes.
By Danielle and Andy Mayoras, co-authors of Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!, husband-and-wife legacy expert attorneys, and hosts of the national television special, Trial & Heirs:  Protect Your Family Fortune! For the latest celebrity and high-profile cases, with tips to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your clients.

 
An Australian mining company says it has found a 12.76-carat pink diamond, the largest rough pink diamond found in the country.

The rare diamond was found at Rio Tinto’s Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia’s East Kimberly region.

Estimated to be worth millions, it has been named the Argyle Pink Jubilee, and is being cut and polished in Perth.

It will be sold later this year after being shown around the world, including in New York and Hong Kong.

The process of polishing and cutting, which began in Perth on Tuesday, is expected to take about 10 days. The diamond will then be graded by a team of international experts.

More than 90% of the pink diamonds in the world come from the Argyle mine, a Rio Tinto statement said.

The Argyle Pink Jubilee is a light pink diamond, the company said. It is similar in colour to The Williamson Pink – the diamond found in Tanzania that Queen Elizabeth II received as a wedding gift and which was subsequently set into a brooch for her coronation.

A Rio Tinto spokesperson said that a diamond of this calibre was ”unprecedented”.

”It has taken 26 years of Argyle production to unearth this stone and we may never see one like this again,” said Argyle Pink Diamonds Manager Josephine Johnson.

In 2010, a rare 24.78-carat “fancy intense pink” diamond was sold for a record-breaking $46 million (£29m), the highest price ever paid for a jewel, to a well-known British dealer at an auction in Geneva.

That diamond had been in a private collection for 60 years.

Source: BBC News Asia

Australian millionaire Bill Liao (photo above) is a tech whizz who has set up countless successful companies all around the world. So, obviously the immigration service here decided it’d be best to mess him about for a bit when he wanted to invest his money here.

Billy boy was going to pump millions into eight start up companies in Ireland, but was rejected three time when he applied for a green card.

In an interview with Businessandleadership.com, Mr Liao was critical of the levels of bureaucracy in Ireland. “When you’ve got thousands of empty houses and a huge property problem as well as skills shortages in the technology sector, to have civil servants making it difficult for overseas workers to come and live here is insane,” he said. “My Green Card got rejected three times!”

Bill did eventually managed to come over and get settled here, however. He says there are endless opportunities for people who study programming, but not for courses where there is obviously no work.

“You are throwing all your kids at sectors like law with no job prospects at the end of it. Yet I could find work in about two seconds for anyone who can programme software.

“I can find work for them globally, not just here but anywhere on the planet and they could stay and live in Ireland. What other job allows you to stay in your home country and yet work globally?”

The tech entrepreneur also levelled criticism at Ireland’s broadband setup. “It’s criminal that rural broadband isn’t on the national agenda. I think that if you made sure you had high quality broadband everywhere and then advertised that fact internationally, NAMA would disappear as a problem.”

It’s good to some people aren’t put off investing in Ireland, despite our best efforts to put them off.

Source: Joe.ie
By Denis McEvoy

The number of foreign millionaires being granted visas to stay in Britain has increased six-fold in the past three years with Russians leading the way, figures suggest. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA.

A rising number of wealthy foreigners are taking advantage of so-called “investor visas”, which enable those with at least £1 million to invest in the UK and remain in the country for three years.

The trend is most prevalent among Russians, who account for 21 per cent of the hundreds of millionaires from abroad taking advantage of the rules introduced in 2008.

Since April 2008, the number of foreigners entering Britain through the scheme has risen from 43 to 320, according to figures by McGrigors, a commercial law firm.

Behind Russia millionaires, Chinese investors are the second largest category of investor visa applicants, accounting for 15 per cent. Around 30 per cent went to high net worth individuals from the Former Soviet Union states, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine.

The visas are seen as a fast-track process for wealthy foreign nationals to acquire British citizenship, experts claim.

Yuri Botiuk, Partner at McGrigors and head of the firm’s Russia and Ukraine desk, said: “Many of the Russians and FSU clients that I work with are what I call stability migrants.

“They want an EU passport and the UK is seen as the premier safe haven.

“A few years ago the current protests and social unrest in Russia would have been unthinkable. What we have seen over the last year or so will have pushed many more wealthy Russians to seek a ‘bolt hole’ of stability abroad.

“The investor visas’ rules are designed to reduce speculation in prime central London property, which is so favoured by wealthy Russians, and channels money into other areas. Many of the Russian investors I have advised have invested in commercial property, boutique hotels being a current favourite.”

Source: The Telegraph
By Murray Wardrop

Movie super spies James Bond and Jason Bourne use them. So do real-life presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who says he pays his taxes, and untold numbers of Americans who don’t. Swiss banks and their secretive counterparts around the globe may sound like the exclusive province of the wealthy, the mysterious or the shady, but anybody can legally open an offshore account.

Wouldn’t it be swell to have a cool million stashed away on a sunny Caribbean island?

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Get a million dollars
How? There are essentially two ways – legally or illegally. For those with dirty cash to launder – drug traffickers, mobsters, smugglers, swindlers and such – offshore accounts hidden from the law are the obvious choice (skip to Step 5).
For honest money, there’s more to consider.

Step 2: Decide whether to tell the IRS
U.S. citizens are supposed to pay taxes no matter where their money is. But the IRS can’t tax what it doesn’t know about, and the odds of getting caught offshore have been slim. But beware – that’s changing.

The government has landed some big fish – notably the largest Swiss bank, UBS AG – and tax cheats are getting scooped up in the net.

In an unprecedented break from Swiss legal tradition, UBS turned over the names of more than 4,000 suspected U.S. tax evaders in 2010 as part of a deal to settle conspiracy charges. Since then, the United States has been going after those people, charging more Swiss bankers with conspiracy, and leaning on Switzerland to name more names.

Other names came from a bank employee-turned-informant at the LGT Bank in Liechtenstein. And the IRS has been tracking down holders of credit cards issued from Caribbean hideaways, because the cards are a popular way to tap secret funds.

“The noose is tightening on those who want to hide money overseas,” said J. Richard Harvey, a former senior adviser to the IRS commissioner.

Pressure to report Americans’ holdings will increase substantially next year under a new U.S. law that imposes financial penalties on foreign banks and investment funds that don’t comply. Some tax haven banks may skirt it completely, however. If they don’t make any U.S. investments they can avoid the penalties.

When the IRS offered amnesty in 2009 and 2011, more than 33,000 tax dodgers came in from the cold, yielding $4.4 billion. A new round in the program opened in January.

Step 3: Look for legal ways to pare taxes
Here it gets complicated.

For corporations, foundations, pension funds and others, controversial offshore maneuvers can help defer or avoid some taxes. For example, a corporation transfers a lucrative chunk of its business to a foreign subsidiary in a low-tax country. Or a nonprofit group puts otherwise taxable investments offshore.

“There’s a thin line between tax avoidance and evasion,” said Rebecca Wilkins, a senior counsel at Citizens for Tax Justice, which opposes corporate loopholes. “A lot of these transactions might not stand up in court if the IRS had the resources to pursue them.”

Private equity and hedge funds flock to the Cayman Islands, which offer tax advantages for fund managers and some of their foreign and nonprofit investors. Setting up shop – usually nothing more than a mail drop – in these freewheeling environs also allows them to escape the tighter financial regulations of the U.S. and other nations. Some critics say that contributed to the global financial crisis.

Romney, the multimillionaire front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, has disclosed numerous offshore investments.

His financial filings included at least six Cayman-based funds, worth between $7 million and $32 million, run by Bain Capital, the private equity powerhouse he once led. More than a dozen other funds based in the Caymans and Bermuda showed up on his 2010 federal tax returns. His campaign says he pays the same taxes he would if they were based in the United States.

Romney also had a UBS bank account in Switzerland, but it was closed in 2010 as he prepared to run for president.

Step 4: Consider other motives
Some people want to hide wealth from spouses or business partners; doctors worry about malpractice suits; others think creditors or the government might try to seize their assets.

Wealthy residents of oppressive countries may feel safer with their savings elsewhere. Dictators, fearing revolt, often do, too.

Step 5: Choose a country
Switzerland’s famous “numbered accounts” aren’t as clandestine as they’re portrayed in spy movies but do cater to the rich and ensure only a few bank executives know a client’s name. Hong Kong has its own version – “chop accounts,” identified by a symbol. Congressional investigators counted 50 places that can be considered tax havens or financial hideaways.

Tax havens usually boast:
Little or no income tax;
Laws that make it a crime for banks to reveal account holders’ names;
A history of failing to cooperate with other nations’ tax collectors.

Step 6: Open an account
Law-abiding customers who can’t travel to an offshore bank can usually set up an account by mail with little or no minimum deposit.

For tax evaders and those playing the angles, a network of accountants, lawyers and bankers is ready to set up shell companies and phony trusts to hide behind.

They can get creative. Former UBS banker Bradley Birkenfeld told investigators he helped a billionaire client withdraw his funds in the form of diamonds. Birkenfeld flew to America with the diamonds hidden in his luggage, inside a tube of toothpaste.

Source: IndyStar
Written by Connie Cass, Associated Press

Goldman Sachs handed its chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, a bonus of $7m (£4,4m) in shares for his work last year, down from $12.6m in 2010 in line with the investment bank’s slipping profits.

The figure, revealed last night, does not yet complete the picture of Mr Blankfein’s pay. Shareholders know that he also has an annual salary of $2m but Goldman is yet to publicise details of any cash bonus he may have been given on top. His total compensation for 2010 was $18.6m.

In common with the rest of Wall Street, Goldman’s fortunes have ebbed over the past 12 months, as the lessons of the credit crisis crimped trading activity and new regulations to tame the finance industry kicked in. Bond trading in particular has suffered.

However, the bank said last month that it had still been able to amass a pay and bonus pool for its employees of $12.2bn, about the size of the GDP of Albania.

Four other top executives – chief operating officer Gary Cohn, chief financial officer David Viniar and vice-chairmen Michael Evans and John Weinberg – received the same restricted stock bonus as Mr Blankfein.

Source: The Independent, By Stephen Foley

 
A messy court case has shed light on Australia’s richest and most secretive family.

Already Australia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart has been tipped to overtake Carlos Slim and Bill Gates as the world’s wealthiest person in years to come. But her billions – the proceeds of vast iron ore deposits – have not brought her happiness, judging by a bitter family feud that was exposed this week.

Ms Rinehart, 57, is being sued by three of her children – John Hancock, 35, Bianca Rinehart, 31, and Hope Welker, 26 – who want her removed as head of the family trust. Details of the dispute remain sketchy, thanks to a court order but the latest twist of the legal battle has led to the release of emails in which the mining magnate’s daughters beg her for money, bodyguards and domestic staff, with one complaining of being “down to my last A$60,000 [£40,770]“.

Dubbed the “Iron Lady”, Ms Rinehart – whose fortune was estimated by Forbes magazine this week to have doubled to US$18bn (£11.38bn) in the past year – has a reputation for penny-pinching. Hope, Bianca and John are said to have grown tired of waiting for their inheritance. Her youngest daughter, Ginia, 25, who has sided with her, has reportedly been anointed to take over the vast minerals empire.

The emails – which date from July and August last year, just before the legal action was launched – were submitted to the New South Wales Supreme Court, to support Ms Rinehart’s claim that publicity about the dispute would jeopardise her family’s safety. However, the judge was unimpressed and released the material which gives a rare insight into the life of the Perth-based tycoon.

The judge also disclosed a security report commissioned by Ms Rinehart, which concluded that the family would be at risk of abduction, robbery and harassment by “criminals, deranged individuals and issue-motivated groups” if the court order was lifted. The report likened their plight to that of celebrities such as David Beckham, David Letterman and the singer Joss Stone.

In the emails, Ms Welker and Bianca Rinehart voiced fears about their security. “I don’t think you understand what it means now that the whole world thinks you’re going to be wealthier than Bill Gates – it means we all need bodyguards and very safe homes,” Bianca, who lives in Vancouver with her husband, Sasha, and son, Nicholas, told her mother. “I don’t have the money to protect myself or my children and it scares me.”

But Ms Welker, who lives in New York with her husband, Ryan, and two small children, also had more prosaic concerns. As well as a bodyguard, she wanted a chef – “so you can be sure April [her daughter] is fed right” – and a housekeeper “that is good [with] kids so if I need to go out I can”. She told her mother: “Even my friends who have nothing compared with your wealth have more staff.” What about Ms Rinehart paying those three salaries as a birthday present, she suggested.

While Ms Rinehart’s responses were not recorded, she is bound to have been mortified by publication of the emails. Despite her prominent role in Australia’s booming mining industry, she has never given an interview, and is said to shun friends indiscreet enough to talk about her. Exceedingly litigious, she has, reportedly, few interests outside work.

During a flight to India last year, she talked about coal non-stop, according to a profile of her in Good Weekend, a magazine published by Australia’s Fairfax Media group. This week, the profile subject became Fairfax’s biggest shareholder, apparently aiming to increase her political and media influence.

She already owns a stake in television network Channel Ten. Some fear she will use those interests to promote her views, which include a push to import cheap labour from overseas.

The sole heir of Lang Hancock, who spotted iron ore deposits in Western Australia’s Pilbara region while flying low to avoid a storm, Ms Rinehart is said to have worshipped her father. The pair fell out when, after her mother’s death, he married his much younger housekeeper, Rose Porteous. Ms Rinehart called her stepmother a “Filipina whore”, and after Hancock’s death hired private detectives to try to prove that Ms Porteous was to blame.

She herself married young, had John and Bianca, got divorced, then married an American corporate lawyer nearly 40 years older than her. Frank Rinehart, with whom she had Hope and Ginia, died in 1990.

In 1997 local media reported that Ms Rinehart had reached an out-of-court settlement with her former security guard, Bob Thompson, who had accused her of sexual harassment. Mr Thompson later told Woman’s Day magazine that she had been besotted with him and wanted to marry him. “I told her over and over I wasn’t interested, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer,” he said.

Details of her dispute with her children are likely to emerge in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, her wealth continues to grow, fuelled by China’s demand for iron ore. She could soon overtake Christy Walton, the Wal-Mart heiress who is the world’s wealthiest woman, and after that – some believe – she could knock Mr Slim, the Mexican telecommunications mogul off the top perch.

Iron Lady: The rich life

Gina Rinehart’s fortune doubled to $18bn last month after her mining company signed a deal with South Korean steel giant Posco, which will take a 15 per cent stake in in Western Australian iron ore mine.

Earlier this week, her company Hancock Prospecting became the biggest shareholder in Sydney publisher Fairfax Media. She increased her stake from 5 per cent to 13 per cent. She also owns a 10 per cent stake in Australian broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd.

In the next few years she plans to expand her iron ore operations and develop two coal projects. If commodity prices hold up, Forbes magazine tips her to become the world’s richest woman.

Source: The Independent, by Jenny stevens

 
1. Sean “Diddy” Combs ($500 million)
Over the years, Sean Combs has changed his stage name from “Puff Daddy” to “P. Diddy” to “Diddy.” Lately, he’s taken to calling himself “Ciroc Obama,” and for good reason: his vodka deal with beverage giant Diageo could soon land him in some very exclusive company. Diddy receives an annual cut of profits and a big chunk of cash if Ciroc is ever sold. With the spirit’s value soaring toward $1 billion—on top of stakes in clothing lines Sean John and Enyce, marketing firm Blue Flame and record label Bad Boy—Diddy may be beat buddy Jay-Z, featured on last year’s cover with Warren Buffett, to the Forbes 400.

2. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter ($450 million)
Beyonce’s husband sold his Rocawear clothing label for $204 million in 2007 and signed 10-year $150 million Live Nation deal in 2008. He holds stakes in the New Jersey Nets, his 40/40 Club chain, ad firm Translation, cosmetics company Carol’s Daughter and other businesses. His lyrical boasts appear accurate: “I’m like really half a billie … you got baby money.” (For more on his rise as a businessmen, check out Zack’s Jay-Z biography, Empire State of Mind).

3. Andre “Dr. Dre” Young ($250 million)
The bulk of Dr. Dre’s wealth comes from his involvement in Beats Electronics, the headphone maker he founded with Interscope chief Jimmy Iovine in 2008. Earlier in August, handset maker HTC paid $300m to buy a 51% stake in the company. Sources say Iovine and Dre each owned a third of the company before the deal; FORBES estimates that Dre will take home $85 million after taxes. The agreement also values his remaining stake at $100 million, which could increase rapidly as the company continues to expand.

4. Bryan “Birdman” Williams ($110 million)
The New Orleans-born rapper-turned-mogul cofounded Cash Money Records with brother Ronald two decades ago and inked a very favorable $30 million distribution deal with Universal in 1998. His label’s value has soared with the success of rappers Drake, Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne, all of whom made this year’s Hip-Hop Cash Kings list. (For more, read FORBES’ feature story, “Birdman’s Billion Dollar Dreams”).

5. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson ($100 million)
After receiving $100 million for his Vitaminwater stake in 2007, 50 spent freely on cars and renovations to mansion formerly owned by Mike Tyson. But a nice cushion remains from his back catalog, acting gigs and 50 Cent-themed videogames, books, clothes and headphones.

Source: Forbes

Mike Lazaridis, Greek Rich List’s 5th richest Greek in the world, and co-CEO Jim Balsillie step aside after a long slide in the BlackBerry maker’s stock value, market share.

Research in Motion’s co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have quit after a tumultuous period at the company, which saw intense competition, declining sales, a failed tablet debut, and a long services outage at the maker of the BlackBerry over the last two years. The company is in the midst of replacing its BlackBerry operating system and product line with a new platform based on the QNX operating system it acquired in 2010. The first “BlackBerry reboot” products are due in late 2012.

An insider, COO Thorsten Heins, has taken charge as president and CEO, to implement the succession plan previously submitted to the board by the former co-CEOs, RIM said in a statement late Sunday. Heins joined RIM from Siemens Communications Group in December 2007 as senior vice president for hardware engineering and became COO for product and sales in August 2011.

[ Learn about consumerization of IT in person March 4-6, 2012, at IDG's CITE conference in San Francisco. | Get expert advice about planning and implementing your BYOD strategy with InfoWorld's 29-page "Mobile and BYOD Deep Dive" PDF special report. | Keep up on key mobile developments and insights with the Mobilize newsletter. ]

Heins told the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper that he intended to pursue the strategy set by Balsillie and Lazarids, including the move to a new BlackBerry platform. He also said he would be open to licensing that platform to other device makers. In a statement published by RIM, Heins said, “It is Mike [Lazaridis's and Balsillie's] continued unwillingness to sacrifice long-term value for short-term gain which has made RIM the great company that it is today. I share that philosophy and am very excited about the company’s future.”

Lazaridis and Balsillie have also quit their positions as co-chairmen; director Barbara Stymiest takes over as the new chairman. Lazaridis, a founder of the company, will become vice chairman, and Balsillie will remain a board member. Lazaridis will also chair a newly created “Innovation Committee,” and will work closely with the new CEO to offer strategic counsel, provide a smooth transition, and continue to promote the BlackBerry brand worldwide, RIM said.

Will CEOs’ resignation be enough to turn RIM around?

Investors in Research in Motion have been calling for change at the Blackberry maker since profits started falling last year, and on Sunday they got their wish.

Co-chief executives Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie announced they have resigned as the heads of the Waterloo, Ont.-based company.

Former chief operating officer Thorsten Heins will take over as CEO, while Lazaridis and Balsillie will remain on the company’s board of directors.

RIM’s slide in the last few years has been remarkable. In 2008, it was Canada’s most valuable company, with a stock share price of $148. On Friday, shares closed at $17.24.

Its share of the smartphone market has dwindled as competitors Apple and Google surged ahead with their respective iPhone and Android devices. The Blackberry Playbook, RIM’s answer to Apple’s iPad tablet, sold poorly, and the company was forced to sell it at a deep discount.

RIM investors have been pressing for change in the company’s management structure. Some have been calling for the company to be sold, or for the consumer product division to be broken apart from the enterprise business.

Will the resignation of RIM’s CEOs be enough to turn the company around? Does more need to be done to regain investor confidence? Let us know in the comments below.

Sources: CBC News/Info World