Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren
Buffett (L) plays table tennis with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
during the Berkshire annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska May 3,
2015. More than 40,000 Berkshire Hathaway shareholders poured into Omaha
this weekend to celebrate Buffett's 50th anniversary running the
company, at what the world's third-richest person calls Woodstock for
Capitalists. REUTERS/Rick Wilking TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Bill Gates is the richest American for the 22nd year in a row, with a net worth of $76 billion. His stake in Microsoft, which he cofounded 40 years ago, now accounts for just under 13% of his fortune. His friend Warren Buffett, chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, occupies the number two spot on The 400 (he’s been ensconced there since 2001), with a net worth of $62 billion. Larry Ellison, chairman of business software firm Oracle, comes in at number three, with a net worth of $47.5 billion.
In percentage terms, Travis Kalanick, founder of ride-hailing service Uber, gained the most, doubling his fortune since last year to $6 billion. Investors have valued Uber – which has faced plenty of controversy around the world - at more than $50 billion.
Altogether the 400 wealthiest Americans are worth $2.34 trillion, up $50 billion from a year ago. The average net worth of list members is $5.8 billion, $100 million more than last year and a record high. About half – 202 of the 400 - are worth more now than they were a year ago, while 119 people from last year’s list had lower net worths this year. Thirty-five people fell off the list; another four died, including Subway sandwich chain cofounder and CEO Fred DeLuca.
There are 25 newcomers to The Forbes 400, including Evan Spiegel, the youngest person in the ranks, and the youngest billionaire in the world. Just 25 years old, the Stanford University graduate cofounded mobile messaging app SnapChat with Bobby Murphy, also a newcomer. Snapchat has been valued by investors at $16 billion. Other newcomers include private equity titan Robert Smith, the second-richest African-American, after Oprah Winfrey; and the three cofounders of rental-accommodations service Airbnb: Nathan Blecharczyk, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia.
Our estimates are a snapshot of the wealthiest Americans’ net worth on Sept. 11, when we locked in numbers and rankings. Some of The Forbes 400 become richer or poorer within weeks, even days, of publication. We track those changes online at Forbes.com/forbes-400. That’s also where you can find more information on list members, including additional photos, videos and coverage of these influential billionaires.
TOP TEN RICHEST ON FORBES 400 2015
1. Bill Gates
Net worth: $76 billion, down $5 billion
Source: Microsoft
Age: 59
- World’s richest man for 22nd year in a row
- Fortune down 6%
- Gates own just under 3% of Microsoft, which accounts for 13% of his total fortune. His private investment firm, Cascade, makes up the rest, investing in stocks, bonds, private equity and real estate
- Lifetime philanthropic giving: $31.5 billion
2. Warren Buffett
Net worth: $62 billion, down $5 billion
Source: Berkshire Hathaway
Age: 85
- Fortune down $5 billion in the past year because share price of Berkshire Hathaway fell
- His net worth is down 7.5% since 2014 Forbes 400
- Berkshire Hathaway in August announced its biggest acquisition ever, agreeing to pay $37 billion for Precision Castparts, a maker of aerospace, power and industrial parts
- In addition to Precision, Berkshire owns companies including Geico, Dairy Queen and Fruit of the Loom
- This year teamed up again with 3G Capital, a firm run by a trio of Brazilian billionaires, to merge Kraft Foods with Heinz. Buffett has joined forces last year to help finance 3G’s merger of Burger King and coffeehouse chain Tim Hortons
- Lifetime philanthropic giving: $25.6 billion
3. Larry Ellison
Net worth: $47.5 billion, down $2.5 billion
Source: Oracle
Age: 71
- Fortune down $2.5 billion in the past year as Oracle’s share price fell
- His net worth is down 5% since 2014 Forbes 400
- Stepped down as CEO of Oracle in September 2014, stayed on as chairman.
- In June he announced that Oracle would expand its cloud-computing business, putting it in direct competition with Amazon.com’s Web Services business.
- Both of his children are Hollywood moguls. Daughter Megan has financed films like Zero Dark Thirty and American Hustle. Son David has produced franchises like The Terminator and Mission: Impossible.
4. Jeff Bezos
Net worth: $47 billion, up $16.5 billion
Source: Amazon.com
Age: 51
- Bezos is the biggest dollar-gainer on the list
- Climbs into the top 10 richest on The Forbes 400 for the first time thanks to surge in Amazon.com shares
- In September he announced that his aerospace company, Blue Origin, would spend over $200 million to build reusable rockets and launch them into orbit from a site at Cape Canaveral by the end of the decade.
Net worth: $41 billion, down $1 billion
Source: Diversified
Age: 79
- Net worth down 2% since 2014 Forbes 400 due to market pressure on commodities and industrial companies
- Charles runs $15 billion (revenues) Koch Industries, the country’s second-largest private company with $115 billion in sales.
- He’s been chairman since 1967, when the company was valued at $50 million; it is now worth an estimated $100 billion
- Political heavyweight compares his crusade for smaller government and economic liberty to the campaign for civil rights, and hopes his network of several hundred wealthy conservatives will spend up to $300 million on candidates and another $600 million on efforts to reduce regulation and reform the criminal justice system
5. David Koch
Net worth: $41 billion, down $1 billion
Source: Diversified
Age: 75
- Net worth down 2% since 2014 Forbes 400
- New York City’s richest resident
- Shares control of conglomerate Koch Industries with brother Charles. David runs the company’s chemical-trading business
- The brothers’ fortunes fell slightly in the past year owing to weakness in the manufacturing and pipeline sectors
7. Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $40.3 billion, up $6.3 billion
Source: Facebook
Age: 31
- In August Facebook had 1 billion users in a single day for the first time ever
- A year after buying virtual reality startup Oculus, Facebook says the Rift VR headset will start shipping to customers in early 2016.
- Net worth up 18.5% since 2014 Forbes 400, as Facebook stock rises by more than 25%.
- Zuckerberg cracks top 10 on Forbes 400 for first time
8. Michael Bloomberg
Net worth: $38.6 billion, up $3.6 billion
Source: Bloomberg LP
Age: 73
- Fortune up $3.6 billion since the 2014 Forbes 400
- He returned to the CEO role at Bloomberg LP in late 2014
- Bloomberg LP revenues are now estimated at more than $9 billion
- In June Mike Bloomberg announced a $100 million donation to Cornell University's technology campus in New York
- Lifetime philanthropic giving is $3.9 billion
9. Jim Walton
Net worth: $33.7 billion, down $2.3 billion
Source: Wal-Mart
Age: 67
- Sits on the board of Wal-Mart.
- Youngest son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton
- FORBES estimates that he owns nearly 13% of Wal-Mart
- Jim is chairman and CEO of family-owned Arvest Bank, which has $16 billion in assets
- Wal-Mart stock is down 15%
10. Larry Page
Net worth: $33.3 billion, up $1.8 billion
Source: Google
Age: 42
- With Google cofounder Sergey Brin, announced in August that Google will create Alphabet as a parent company in the fourth quarter. Their aim: to “get more ambitious things done”
- Page will shift from CEO of Google to CEO of Alphabet
- Google — including YouTube — is one of the multiple companies that will be under the Alphabet umbrella
- Google stock hit an all-time high in July
Culled from Forbes in Yahoo Finance
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