The Money Moment

Could Abigail Johnson, next-in-line at Fidelity Investments, be scheming but laying low so the police don't get involved?

If so, it is a wise move for the woman who waits, as does the entire financial world, for her father, 77-year-old Edward "Ned" Johnson III to give up his position heading the mutual fund giant his father began. Johnson says there is a secret succession plan in place. Meanwhile, he shuffles the deck of successors at the company he rules. So far, the 45-year-old Abby, who fell from #12 (2005) to #16 (2006) to #42 on Forbes's 2007 list of richest people bides her time, not publicly displaying concern and moving through the company and keeping out of trouble.

It is wisdom and patience that might have come in handy for the Srinagar (India) teen Ahsan-ul Haq, who tried to extort Rs. 5 Lakh (about US$63,500) from his dad with a fake kidnapping. The scam seemed to him like a good idea at the time — that is, before he headed off to prison with his cousin and other collaborators — "knowing his father could do anything for him."

** Dad's miss out on much, but they do catch on to kid plans often enough. **