The 2014 Forbes 400

Bill Gates is the richest American for the 21st year in a row, with a net worth of $81 billion. (He’s the world’s second richest person, behind Mexico’s Carlos Slim.) The Microsoft chairman’s stake in the software company he cofounded accounts for just under 20% of his total net worth. His friend Warren Buffett, chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, occupies the number two spot on the 400 (he’s been number 2 since 2001) with a net worth of $67 billion. Larry Ellison, who just announced that he was giving up the CEO role at Oracle, the software firm he founded, comes in at number three, with a net worth of $50 billion.

Facebook cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now the 11th richest person in the U.S., and the biggest dollar gainer on the list. His fortune soared to $34 billion, up $15 billion since last year, due to a sharp rise in the price of the social network’s shares. In percentage terms, Nicholas Woodman, founder of wearable video camera company GoPro, jumped the most, with a 200% increase in his net worth since last year, to $3.9 billion. GoPro went public in June; the stock has been on a tear as more people buy GoPro cameras and strap them onto bike helmets, surfboards, scuba gear and more.


There are 27 newcomers to the Forbes 400, including Elizabeth Holmes the youngest woman on the list, and the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world. Just 30 years old, the Stanford University dropout has built blood testing company Theranos into a firm that venture capitalists have valued at $9 billion. She owns 50% of it.


1. Bill Gates

Net worth: $81 billion, up $9 billion
Source: Microsoft
Age: 58

Richest man in America for the 21st straight year, His Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given away $30 billion since 2000. As America’s top philanthropist, he picks and chooses which of the world’s biggest issues to tackle. This year he pledged $50 million to fight the Ebola outbreak in Africa and $1 million to advocate for gun control in Washington.  Net worth is up $9 billion, helped by rising shares of Microsoft, Canadian National Railway and trash company Republic Services, cofounded Microsoft with childhood friend Paul Allen. Harvard hallmate Steve Ballmer served as longtime CEO. All three are among top 30 richest in America. Bulk of his fortune is in private investment vehicle Cascade, which holds stakes in Canadian National Railway, tractor maker Deere & Co., and South American McDonald’s franchisee Arcos Dorados (golden arches in Spanish.)
2. Warren Buffett

Net worth: $67 billion, up $8.5 billion
Source: Berkshire Hathaway
Age: 84

Has been the second-richest man in America, behind Gates, every year since 2001, Net worth up $8.5 billion thanks to surging stock in Berkshire Hathaway. Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway are the most expensive shares of any public company, over $200,000 apiece, Has given away nearly $23 billion in his lifetime, to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and to foundations run by his 3 children. His company has dozens of subsidiaries, including Dairy queen, Geico insurance, See’s Candies and Heinz ketchup.
3. Larry Ellison

Net worth: $50 billion, up $9 billion
Source: Oracle
Age: 70

Shocked business world when he announced he would step down as Oracle CEO in September, but will remain chief technology officer, Richest man in Silicon Valley, Built databases for the CIA before founding Oracle in 1977.
Continuing to add to his real estate portfolio by buying up the Hawaiian island of Lanai. He bought nearly the entire Hawaiian island of Lanai in 2012 and continues to add to his holdings there, 86% of his net worth is tied up in Oracle stock.
4. Charles Koch

Net worth: $42 billion, up $6 billion
Source: diversified
Age: 78

Chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, second-largest private company in America, with sales of $115 billion,
He took over for his father Fred in 1967 and grew the company into the giant it is today. He and his brother David are pouring money toward a Republican effort to take control of the Senate in 2014. This year Koch Industries acquired inkmaker Fling Group for a reported $3 billion and PetroLogistics for $2.1 billion.
5 David Koch

Net worth: $42 billion, up $6 billion
Source: diversified
Age: 74

Richest man in New York City, He and his brother Charles share control of Koch Industries, second-largest private company in America, Koch Industries’ interests include oil pipelines, refineries, building materials, paper towels and even Dixie cups. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York dedicated the David H. Koch Plaza in September after he funded a $65 million renovation


credit: joblessmen blog