According to Forbes magazine"s 25th annual ranking of the 400 richest Americans, Microsoft founder Bill Gates ($59 billion) is the richest person in America for the 14th year in a row, followed by investor Warren Buffett ($52 billion) – the pair"s fortunes each grew by $6 billion in the past year. Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson ($28 billion), head of Las Vegas Sands, and software tycoon Larry Ellison ($26 billion), chief executive of Oracle, remain at spots 3 and 4, respectively. "The collective net worth of those listed on the 400 this year rose $290 billion to $1.54 trillion," Forbes said.
For the first time since 1989 there are no members of the Walton family, descendants of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, in the top 10. The Waltons were displaced by Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who came in at 5th place with fortunes of $18.5 billion, and brothers Charles and David Koch, who run Koch Industries and are each valued at $17 billion, earning them 9th place. Investor Kirk Kerkorian was the biggest gainer on the list, his fortune rising by more than $9 billion in the past year to $18 billion and moving from 26th to 7th place. Of the top 400 richest Americans, Forbes said 270 are entirely self-made, 74 inherited their wealth and 39 are women.