Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, has topped the Forbes 400 Richest Americans List for the 17th year in a row. His net estimate is said to be worth $54 billion. He is said to be up from last year by $4 billion. Chief Executive Officer, Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. comes second with fortunes worth $45 billion. While worth $27 billion dollars, software company Oracle’s co-founder and CEO Larry Ellison is the third richest American.
Bill Gates is also one of the most generous richest people in the world has made donations of about $28 million. Most of his donations have passed through his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which now has a $33 billion endowment, including contributions from billionaire buddy Warren Buffett.
Forbes said the net worth of its rich list climbed 8% this year to $1.4 trillion compared to $1.27 trillion last year. Wealth rose for 217 members in the list, while 85 saw a decline.
Forbes has announced that the Forbes 400 has a brand new look and with the latest version, people can stay in touch with America’s richest people with a new digital publishing platform. With this technology staff and “outside” contributors can add information to create content on Forbes.com.
The new website will enable people to keep track of stories of America’s richest people by following them and signing up for daily or weekly alerts. The new Forbes 400 also includes a completely redesigned Forbes magazine and a soon-to-be-released Forbes People List application for the iPad.