A whiz kid of the wired economy, Sal Abbate formed the company that has become Internet Commerce Group in the mid-1990s. What began as a computer Graphics Company has grown into a business that now focuses more on advanced technologies-software development, back-end web site software, automation and some credit card billing.

Abbate and fiancée Anna Hernandez, who plan to marry in March, have attended several of The Wealthy 100’s gatherings including a luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Phoenix where financial guru Steve Forbes was the guest speaker. Abbate said the experience was insightful with discussions of the economic world and talk of where the tech industry is headed.

"What I find is that there are a lot of people around our age group, with disposable income. He's [Christenson] also sent me information on some new people that have come on board. For instance, I own two Hummers just for pleasure, and I guess one of his new clients owns FMA Hummer Parts, so he got me some information on that. So far, the group seems like a real neat concept. It's kind of nice to be able to meet people that are at a certain level-that we have a lot of things in common with."