If success is counted in dollars, then Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the most successful – and richest – man in the United States, according to
Forbes’ just-released “The Richest People in America” survey.
Gates, who logged in with a $74 billion fortune, has been topping the U.S. list for 20 years, and this year his No. 1 spot extended outside the country’s borders as he once again became the richest man in the world. He took that title back from Mexico’s Carlos Slim.
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Warren Buffet came in at the No. 2 spot on the list of 400 with $58.5 billion; he was followed by Oracle’s Larry Ellison with a $41 billion fortune, Forbes said.
The average net worth of individuals on the list is a record $5 billion, which is up $800 million over last year’s list, Forbes said.
Twenty-nine people were booted off, 15 because their fortunes fell but the rest because the cut-off to be on the list went up so high. In fact, 61 American billionaires didn’t make the cut because the minimum to be on the list was $1.3 billion.
Fortunes that took a hit include T. Boone Pickens, who lost dollars on wind energy initiatives, and Manoj Bhargava, owner of the 5-Hour Energy drink company that’s
been in trouble with lawsuits, MSN Money said.
Twenty first-timers were added to the list, including Michael Rubin, owner of Fanatics sportswear, Jeff Sutton, who owns storefronts in New York City, and Robert Pera, owner of Ubiquiti Networks, MSN reported.
The biggest gainers on the list this year were David Duffield of Workday, who tripled his fortune to $6.4 billion, and Elon Musk, whose net worth jumped to $6.7 billion and put him 61st on the list, MSN said.
Forbes said it took five years for America’s wealthy to get back the fortunes they lost in the economic crash, and the 2013 list showed evidence of the rebound. The last time the dollar amounts were this high, the business magazine said, was in 2008.
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