Fannie Mae has burst into the top 30, an obvious beneficiary of low interest rates and the refinancing boom in home mortgages.

FORBES: The hit parade

If the ownership of a life insurance policy is transferred to another party before death for cash or other consideration (like a business interest), the proceeds paid to the beneficiary may be considered taxable income to that beneficiary.

FORBES: Taxes From A To Z (2013): L Is For Life Insurance

When Eurobarometer pollsters asked Turks whether membership was mainly in their interest, the EU's interest or in the mutual interest of both, the largest block of respondents (34%) thought the main beneficiary would be the EU. Perhaps surprisingly, some senior EU figures agree.

ECONOMIST: Enlargement enriches old as well as new members

The only beneficiary of accelerated mortgage payments is the bank, whose money you are effectively lending back to it at zero percent interest, money it can hold to bolster its capital requirements or lend to someone else and earn fees by selling the mortgage to a third party.

FORBES: In Hard Times, Mortgage Debt Can Set You Free