According to comprehensive reports from Worldway: As of the early morning of September 30, Beijing time, Forbes magazine stated that Bill Gates is the wealthiest person in the United States.
Forbes released its list of the 400 richest Americans on Monday. According to this list, Gates has a total net worth of $81 billion, an increase of $9 billion over the past year, partly due to the rise in the stock price of Microsoft, which he co-founded, as well as the appreciation of other investments. However, what Forbes admires most about Gates is his contribution to philanthropy, noting that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated a total of $30 billion since 2000, playing a role in issues such as eradicating smallpox, controlling polio, and comprehensively reforming the U.S. education system.
Forbes stated: "Now, he has set his sights on the deadliest animal on Earth: the mosquito. Since 2000, malaria cases have decreased by 25%, but there are still 200 million cases globally. Gates is investing huge sums of money, hoping to bring this number to zero."
Among other technology industry giants, Oracle founder and current CEO Larry Ellison ranks third, with a total net worth of $48.1 billion. Ellison announced last Thursday that he would step down as CEO of Oracle to focus on his roles as Chief Technology Officer and Executive Chairman.
Meanwhile, Facebook co-founder and current CEO Mark Zuckerberg has become the fastest riser on the list of richest Americans. He ranks 11th with a net worth of $34.7 billion, an increase of $15 billion compared to last year, mainly because Facebook's stock price performance was disappointing during its 2012 IPO (Initial Public Offering) but has since rebounded.
Since the beginning of this year, Facebook has been busy investing in product development and mergers and acquisitions. In February, Facebook acquired the messaging app WhatsApp for $19 billion, paid in cash and stock; in March, Facebook acquired the head-mounted virtual reality display manufacturer Oculus Rift for $2 billion. Although some analysts have questioned these acquisitions by Facebook, the company's stock price has emerged from the doldrums and is currently about double its IPO price. As a result, Zuckerberg is now the third-richest person in the U.S. technology sector.
Other technology figures on the list include: Google CEO Larry Page, who ranks 12th with a total net worth of $31.7 billion; Sergey Brin follows closely, ranking 13th with a net worth of $31.2 billion; former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has a total net worth of $22.3 billion; Dell Chairman and CEO Michael Dell has a net worth of $17.5 billion; and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen also made the list with a net worth of $17.1 billion.
Worldway Editor
