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Microsoft's co-founder continues to top the Forbes ranking, which also includes victims of the tech plunge.
©Associated Press
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 22, 2001
NEW YORK -- Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is still the richest man on the planet, according to the latest ranking by Forbes magazine, but value investing guru Warren Buffett slipped past the software giant's other co-founder for second place.
The bursting of the Internet bubble knocked a number of billionaires down a peg or two, or off the list entirely. Nevertheless, Gates -- with a net worth of $58.7-billion, down from last year's $60-billion -- easily retained his No. 1 position on Forbes' 15th annual list of the world's billionaires.
Microsoft's Paul Allen slipped behind Buffett after the net worth of the "Oracle of Omaha" increased $4-billion to $32.3-billion. Allen, who was tied with Buffett for third place last year, had $30.4-billion, according to list results released Thursday.
Those with Florida connections on the list include Carnival chairman Micky Arison ($4.1-billion) at 52nd; Tampa Bay Lightning owner William Davidson ($2.3-billion) at 198th; South Florida businessman H. Wayne Huizenga ($2.2-billion) at 209th; Amway chairman and Orlando Magic owner Richard DeVos ($1.6-billion) at 312th; and former Lightning owner and insurance magnate Arthur Williams Jr. ($1.3-billion) at 387th.
Arison moved up dramatically from last year, when he was 190th at $3-billion. The billionaire club swelled to 538 members this year, up from 482 last year, because Forbes decided for the first time to include all billionaires. Previously, the magazine counted only "working rich" to differentiate between those who ran businesses and those who lived off their wealth.
Because of the new entries, some year-to-year comparisons are difficult. For example, the overall number of billionaires would have dropped this year under the old parameters, and Forbes wasn't able to provide a comparable number. The problem should be resolved when next year's list appears, said Kerry Dolan, a senior Forbes editor who co-edited the rankings.
"What we decided to do is give the people what they want," she said. "Everybody wants to know who are the richest people in the world and how they rank."
The rankings appear in the July 9 issue of Forbes, which reaches newsstands today. Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison, last year's second-richest man, saw his net worth plummet from $47-billion to $26-million. But that was still good enough to make him No. 4.
The stock market shakeout over the past year hurt several on the list. "Call it the worldwide humbling of the billionaires," the magazine said.
For example, the net worth of Japanese software magnate Masayoshi Son, founder of Softbank, dropped from $19.4-billion to $5.6-billion, putting him in 55th place. Last year, he was eighth.
Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos saw his net worth fall from $6.1-billion to $2-billion, still good enough for a tie for 234th.
German media mogul Thomas Haffa, whose conglomerate owns the rights to the Muppets, dropped from the list, however, after his net worth dropped from $4-billion to $250-million.