Posted on 09/29/2014 8:14:43 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
An American worth less than $1.55 billion could not land on this year's "The Forbes 400," the annual ranking for the richest people in America. The cut-off increase from last year's $1.3 billion disqualified 113 poor billionaires for this year's list.
Bill Gates once again lorded over his fellow wealthy Americans for the 21st consecutive year with a healthy $81 billion, up $9 billion from 2013. He outpaced Warren Buffet ($67 billion), Larry Ellison ($50 billion) and the Koch brothers' Charles and David (each worth $42 billion) to round out the top five.
Michael Bloomberg ($35 billion) managed to slide into the No. 8 spot between the Walton family members. The Walmart heirs were led by Christy Walton, who married into the family and inherited her husband's fortune after his death in 2005. Her in-laws Jim, Alice and S. Robsen took up the remaining three spaces.
A majority of list contenders (276) were self-made billionaires compared to the 58 who inherited their wealth. Another 66 billionaires inherited a portion of their wealth but continue to increase their value.
Investments, technology and food and beverage industries dominated the list. Celebrities like George Lucas (115), Steven Spielberg (152) and Oprah Winfrey (209) managed to make their ways onto the list.
The list of 400 uber-rich Americans produced only 47 women, one fewer than last year. The other women to crack the top 20 was Jacqueline Mars of the Mars candy makers. Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, was the youngest woman at age 30 to make the list in the No. 110 spot.
Facebook co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz, both 30, ranked as the youngest billionaires. Moskovitz is a few days younger than Zuckerberg, who still is worth more at $34 billion compared to Moskovitz's $8.1 billion.
The combined net worth of the entire list was $2.29 trillion, up from $2.02 trillion in 2013. A total of 27 people dropped off the list from last year, and six died.
What odd phrasing. I mean, it was kind of the list to produce some rich women -- I'm sure those 47 lucky women are grateful.
He is richer than Putin, who some think could have stolen and taken up to 70 billion dollars.
Pisses off Larry Elleson - good
Sterilize half the worlds population without their knowledge - bad
Gates is an odd, strange man who has many delusions....I guess if you are rich it doesn’t matter.
His money would go farther if he outsourced himself to India. Just sayin’...
And judging from some of the comments in his speeches, he’s crazy as a June bug.
Some of those women produced nothing, they inherited their industries.
“Some of those women produced nothing, they inherited their industries.”
Don’t you think some men did, as well? Waltons for example?
58 inherited their wealth. The lead woman listed under Waltons married into the family.
The list called out the women who were wealthy.
Oprah made her money (off the brand loyalty of tv addicted housewives). Elizabeth Holmes founded a company.
But when people tell me that Hillary is qualified to be president because she married one, that doesn't say much.
The left loves to drag the Koch Brothers through the mud every chance they get. Wonder why our side doesn’t do the same with Bill Gates? He’s richer than they are and a loony-tuned leftie.
And he’s tied to common core and the filthy fisting Arne Duncan.
I wish that rich Bill Gates wasn’t such a flaming lib. Libs like him literally feed the wolves that eat them. I guess they are fooled by the sheep’s clothing.
Poor Michael Bloomberg has fallen down the list; maybe if he’d minded his own business, rather than attempting to mind everyone else’s, he’d being doing better.
Bill Gates is a paper software billionaire whose wealth is manipulable by interest rates and other artifices.
Putin’s a hardware billionaire.
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