Free Republic

One billion dollars is no longer enough. The price of admission to this, the 25th anniversary edition of the Forbes 400, is $1.3 billion, up $300 million from last year. The collective net worth of the nation's mightiest plutocrats rose $290 billion to $1.54 trillion. Wall Street led the charge, despite this summer's market jitters. Nearly half of the 45 new members made their fortunes in hedge funds and private equity. Money manager John Paulson joins the list after pocketing more than $1 billion short-selling subprime credit this summer. Leveraged buyout titans David Bonderman and James Coulter of Texas Pacific...

Warren Buffett is famous for two things. First, for amassing the second-biggest fortune in the U.S. as one of the most talented investors the world has ever known. Second, for an aversion to spending a dime of that $41 billion on anything but the strictly necessary. That includes declining to provide his kids with fortunes of their own, collecting yachts or racehorses, or giving large chunks of his wealth to worthy causes. Thus it may strike some as the supreme paradox that the man who is one of America's greatest misers in life will probably become one of its greatest...

September 25, 2004 -- John Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, is one of America's richest people and ranks 389th on the big-bankroll list with a $750 million net worth, according to Forbes magazine. If Kerry were to win the White House, they'd be the richest first family ever. The Los Angeles Times estimated her wealth even higher at $1 billion. She has refused to release her full tax returns.

Net Worth Reaches $1 Trillion For First Time Since 2000NEW YORK -- The nation's billionaire's club may not be quite as exclusive as it once was. There are now 313 billionaires in the country, the largest number ever and a huge jump over last year's 262 members, according to Forbes magazine, which Thursday released its annual ranking of the 400 richest Americans. The combined net worth of the 400 rose $45 billion, reaching $1 trillion this year for the first time since 2000, before the dot-com bust. Retaining the top spot was Microsoft founder Bill Gates, whose $48 billion in...