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Bill Gates Still Tops Billionaire List
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is still the richest man on the planet, according to the latest ranking by Forbes magazine, but value investing legend Warren Buffett slipped past the software giant's co-founder to take second place.
The bursting of the Internet bubble knocked a number of billionaires down a peg or two, or off the list. But Gates �� with a net worth of $58.7 billion, down from last year's $60 billion �� easily retained his No. 1 position on Forbes's 15th annual list of billionaires.
Microsoft's Paul Allen slipped behind Buffett after Buffett's net worth increased $4 billion, to $32.3 billion. Allen, tied with Buffett for third place last year, had $30.4 billion, according to list.
The billionaire club swelled to 538 members this year, from 482 last year, because Forbes decided for the first time to include all billionaires. Previously, the magazine counted only the "working rich," to differentiate between those who ran businesses and those who simply lived off their wealth.
Because of the new entries, some year-to-year comparisons are difficult. For example, the overall number of billionaires would have dropped this year under the old parameters, and Forbes wasn't able to provide a comparable number.
"What we decided to do is give the people what they want," said Kerry Dolan, a senior Forbes editor who co-edited the rankings. "Everybody wants to know who are the richest people in the world, and how they rank."
The rankings appear in the July 9 issue of Forbes, on newsstands Friday.
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