One of the great voyeuristic devices of modern America is the annual list of the world’s richest people, published by Forbes magazine. While the information is mostly trivial, the nation is fascinated with knowing just which billionaire is the richest of the rich. For the 11th straight year, the winner is Microsoft chairman and founder Bill Gates.
Gates, who was recently dubbed a knight by Queen Elizabeth II, has a net worth of $46.5 billion, besting runner up Warren Buffett, the Berkshire Hathaway mogul often referred to as “The Oracle of Omaha”, who checked in at a paltry $44 billion. Other Americans making the list include Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen (#7), Oracle founder Lawrence Ellison (#9), and one of the Waltons (#10). The four other primary Walton heirs are next on the list. All five Waltons had been in the top ten for several years, but a recent decline in the value of Wal-Mart has resulted in a coup at the bottom of the chart. Legal troubles and slow growth for the retail magnate have cost each of the five Walton heirs around $2 billion apiece.
Michael Dell, founder of the computer manufacturer by the same name, is #18 on the list. Foreigners on the list include, in the words of Reuters, “Indian steel magnate, Lakshmi Mittal, who took the no. 3 spot, with a net worth of $25 billion, and Mexican entrepreneur Carlos Slim Helu, who took the fourth spot after his telecommunications fortune grew by $10 billion this year. Ingvar Kamprad, founder of Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea, and German supermarket owner Karl Albrecht also made the top 10, at no. 6 and no. 8, respectively.”
There are now 691 billionaires worldwide, up from last year’s count of 587. Martha Stewart is the leading name among the newcomers. The value of Stewart’s company, Omnimedia, doubled during Stewart’s five-month stint in a federal prison in West Virginia. Nearly ten percent (68) of the billionaires are female.
Nathan Novak at 8:31 pm
