grows
June 20, 1999
Web posted at: 6:03 PM EDT (2203 GMT)
NEW YORK (AP) -- A booming
stock market and newly created
Internet wealth have expanded the
world's billionaires club and pushed
the collective net worth of the richest
200 working people beyond $1
trillion, Forbes magazine says in its
latest ranking of billionaires around
the globe.
With $90 billion to his name,
Microsoft Corp. co-founder and
chairman Bill Gates tops the list of 465 billionaires counted in the magazine's
July 5 issue, the 13th annual World's Billionaires list.
Just as the Internet has sped up the pace of life today, hastening everything
from stock trading to travel planning, it also has accelerated the creation of
more wealth -- particularly among the richest individuals.
The magazine says the total wealth of the Top 200 working rich not only
surpassed $1 trillion this year, but their collective net worth is more than
double the $463 billion that the top 200 billionaires had 10 years ago. Also,
Gates alone has as much money as the top 9 on the list 10 years ago.
Forbes has a separate list for what it calls the "World's Working Rich," those
who made their own wealth or are working with their inheritance.
Gates remains by far the world's richest man as his net worth nearly doubled
from $51 billion last year, briefly touching $100 billion in April before the
stock market retrenched somewhat.
Microsoft boosted two others into top five ranking. Co-founder Paul Allen
was in the No. 3 spot, with a $30 billion net worth, behind investor Warren
Buffet's $36 billion. Microsoft president Steven Ballmer was in fourth place,
with $19.5 billion.
In fifth place were the Oeri, Hoffman and Sacher families of Switzerland with
$17 billion from the Roche pharmaceuticals conglomerate.
Tied for sixth place with a net worth of $16.5 billion were oil, rail and
telecommunications magnate Philip Anschutz and Dell Computer Corp.
chairman Michael Dell, who at 34 was the youngest among the top 10.
The top 10 list is actually a top 11, because the next four spots, eight
through 11, are held by members of the Walton family, heirs of the late
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. founder Sam Walton. Forbes estimated their wealth at
$16 billion each.
Dot-com billionaires from around the globe were catapulted onto this year's
list.
Jay Walker, founder of Priceline.com, and Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay,
went from nowhere into the Top 50. Walker was No. 25 with a net worth of
$10.2 billion, while Omidyar was 36th with $10.1 billion.
In another list, Forbes ranked the estimated net worths of what it called the
world's "Kings, Queens and Dictators." Leading that category were the
Sultan of Brunei, with $30 billion in wealth, Saudi Arabia's King Fahd with
$28 billion, Iraq's President Saddam Hussein with $6 billion, Queen Beatrix
of the Netherlands with $5.2 billion and Syria's President Hafez Al-Assad
with $2 billion.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth has either $450 million or $16 billion, depending
on whether you count the Royal Collection, which includes the crown jewels
and is held by the Queen in trust for the nation.