Forbes Magazine recently revealed the latest ranking of America's wealthiest in "The Forbes 400" list this 2014. The richest list will be published on page 125 of the October 20, 2014 magazine issue. And Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates ranked the top spot of the annual list.
The 2014 Forbes 400 richest list marked the highest combined wealth of America's most affluent personalities totaling to $2.29 trillion. It is the highest ever tallied and experts said that it may be partially due to the strength of the US stock market. The average net worth of a Forbes 400 member is an astonishing $5.7 billion, still the highest net worth value archived since their last list in 2013.
On The Forbes 400 list this 2014, the price entry for the richest person in the US is $1.55 billion. It is the highest figure entry since the Forbes started tracking American wealth in 1982. Because the bar was set so high, over a hundred US billionaires didn't make the annual list.
Bill Gates remained at the top spot on The Forbes 400 richest list of 2014. It is his 21st consecutive year with a remarkable net worth of $81 billion. The Microsoft chairman's stake in the software company he cofounded accounts for just fewer than 20 percent of his total net worth.
Consistently ranked in the Forbes list of the world's richest people, William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, philanthropist, investor, computer programmer, and inventor. Bill Gates is Microsoft's former CEO and the prime billionaire that topped The Forbes 400 this 2014. Microsoft is the world's largest personal-computer software company, which was co-founded with Paul Allen.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires List, Forbes 400 richest list 2014 frontrunner Bill Gates became the world's richest person again in May 2013, a position that he last held on the list in 2007. He held the position until Carlos Slim reclaimed the rank on July 2014.
During his Microsoft career, Bill Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect; he was also the major individual shareholder up until May 2014. He has also authored and co-authored several books. Bill Gates is one of the finest known industrialists of the personal computer revolution. He has been criticized for his business strategies, which have been considered anti-competitive. In the late stages of his career, he has followed a number of charitable endeavors, donating hefty amounts of money to various philanthropic societies and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.
As of September 2014, Bill Gates is the second richest person in the world aside from being the first on The Forbes 400 list this year. He stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January 2000. He stayed as chairman and formed the position of chief software architect for himself. He stepped down as Microsoft's chairman in February 2014, taking on an innovative post as technology advisor to support freshly appointed CEO Satya Nadella.
2014 list of the richest Americans featured on The Forbes 400 accentuated that 276 members are self-made billionaires, 58 inherited their wealth while 66 inherited at least a portion but are still increasing it. Among the top ten on the list are Bill Gates of Microsoft with $81 billion, Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway with $67 billion, Larry Ellison of Oracle with $50 billion, Charles and David Koch of Diversified with $42 billion individually, Christy Walton and family of Wal-Mart with $38 billion, Wal-Mart's Jim Walton with $36 billion, Michael Bloomberg of Bloomberg LP with $35 billion and the last two are Wal-Mart's Alice Walton and S. Robson Walton with $34.9 billion and $34.8 billion respectively.
Aside from list-topper Bill Gates, other personalities also highlighted The Forbes 400 richest list this 2014.The youngest billionaires featured are Facebook's Dustin Moskovitz and Mark Zuckerberg. Elizabeth Holmes, who is making a dramatic mark on the blood-testing industry, is the youngest woman billionaire on the list. The oldest billionaire ever archived on the list is 99-year old David Rockefeller Sr.
