Gates loses $11 billion, still the richest
Reuters | at | by Mike
Although he lost almost a fifth of his net worth in the past year, Microsoft founder Bill Gates remained the richest man in the United States, with a fortune of $43 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Gates lost $11 billion last year, but still remained ahead of investor Warren Buffett -- one of the few on the list to see his fortunes increase in a year when an economic recession brought a sharp drop in stock prices. Buffett holds the No. 2 spot, increasing his net worth from $33 billion to $36 billion.
Rounding out the top 10 are Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen with $21 billion at No. 3, the five heirs to the late Sam Walton's Wal-Mart fortune (each with $18.8 billion at No. 4), Oracle's Larry Ellison with $15.2 billion at No. 9 and Microsoft President Steve Ballmer with $11.9 billion at No. 10.