Microsoft mogul tops rich list for eighth year
Bill Gates is still a multi-billionaire, but not quite as wealthy as he was a year ago.
The co-founder and chairman of software giant Microsoft remained the richest person in the world, according to the annual survey by Forbes Magazine of the 400 wealthiest Americans.
The slowing economy was reflected in the declining worth in the rankings, which were released by Forbes on its website.
The magazine is due to be on US newsstands on October 1.
Super investor Warren Buffett moved into second place, followed by the other Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen. Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison dropped from second to fourth.
The rest of the top 10, except for Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, was a family affair, made up of relatives of the late Wal-Mart Stores founder Sam Walton.
Gates’ net worth fell to $54bn (£36bn) this year, down from $63bn (£42bn) last year, largely on the strength of Microsoft’s shares, but the diversity of his portfolio, which includes significant investments beyond Microsoft, kept him in the top spot for the eighth straight year.
Buffett saw his net worth fall to $33.2bn (£22bn), but the 71-year-old still regales investors with his Berkshire Hathaway Investments. According to Forbes, Berkshire Hathaway shares outpaced the Standard & Poor’s 500 last year.
The list’s average financial heavyweight is worth $2.4bn (£1.6bn), down $600m (£400m) from last year.
This year’s lineup includes 236 billionaires, down from 274 last year. Just to make it into the top 400 took a minimum net worth of $600m, down $125m (£83m) from last year.
Considering the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11, the magazine recalculated the financial effect on 50 of the list’s more recognisable names.
‘‘By looking at the impact of recent events on the working capital of a group of America’s top businesspeople and investors, we thought we could provide one measure of the shock the American financial system sustained,’’ said Forbes editor Bill Baldwin.
The ranking includes fortune-makers spread across the age spectrum, from Daniel Ziff, the 30-year-old heir who joined his brothers and turned a family publishing fortune into an even bigger investment portfolio, to Max Fisher, 93, who reaped his fortune from oil. There are 46 women on the list.
