Gates falls to world's third richest on Forbes list
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates fell to third place on Forbes' 2008 list of the world's richest people after 13 years at number one, due largely to Microsoft's bid for Yahoo , Forbes said Wednesday.
The magazine, which puts out annual lists of the world's richest people, blamed Gates' decline to the slide in Microsoft shares from the day before the company announced a $44.6 billion offer to buy Yahoo, Jan. 31, to the day Forbes calculated stock prices into its rich list valuations, Feb. 11.
Had Microsoft shares not declined so much, Gates would have been in a close race with investing mogul Warren Buffett for the top spot on the list, Forbes said.