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Gates Holds Top Spot on Billionaire’s List
- By Lafe Low
- March 15, 2005
Add to the list of things you can count on – death, taxes and Bill Gates as the world’s richest man.
For the eleventh year in a row, Redmond’s top dog has the top spot on Forbes annual list of the world’s wealthiest people, even though his net worth slipped slightly from $46.6 billion last year to $45.5 billion this year.
Gates’ fellow Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is still in the top ten, with a net worth of $21 billion. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is a solid member of the club, with $12.1 billion.
Other technology luminaries on the list include Oracle's Larry Ellison with $18.4 billion, Michael Dell with $16 billion and Amazon's Jeffrey Bezos with $4.1 billion. It’s interesting to note that all those guys beat out "The Donald," who makes the list with $2.6 billion.
Making a big jump this year are Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page, each tied for $7.2 billion. Their personal fortunes took a huge leap after Google’s initial public offering last August. Relative upstarts at only 31 and 32 years old, respectively, they made the list for the first time last year with $1 billion each.
About the Author
Lafe Low is the editorial liaison for ECG Events.