Tropical Tundra
02-26-2004, 04:07 PM
NEW YORK -- ``Harry Potter'' author J.K. Rowling and the founders of the Google search engine have landed on Forbes magazine's annual list of billionaires after a year when rallying stocks and a strong euro swelled the list to the longest it's ever been.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates remains perched atop the list for the 10th straight year but investor Warren Buffett is nipping at his heels. Gates' net worth is now estimated at $46.6 billion, still less than half the $100 billion it peaked at in 1998, but up about 13 percent from the $40.7 billion Forbes attributed to him in 2003.
Buffett wins the bragging rights for reaping the best gains of the year. He increased his net worth by $12.4 billion to $42.9 billion, significantly narrowing the gap between him and Gates, with whom he competes in bridge tournaments.
German supermarket magnate Karl Albrecht remained in third place, with a fortune of $23 billion. Close behind were Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, whose $21.5 billion nest egg put him just ahead of Microsoft's other co-founder, Paul Allen, who came in fifth with $21 billion.
Rounding out the top 10 were Helen Walton, wife of the late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, and four members of her family. They were tied for fifth, with each worth an estimated $20 billion - making for a Walton's mountain of money that's bigger than the holdings of Gates and Buffett combined.
.....There were 56 billionaires who returned to the list after dropping off it in the previous few years, including Yahoo! founders David Filo ($2.2 billion) and Jerry Yang ($1.9 billion).
They returned to find their upstart search-engine rivals, Google's Sergey Brin and Larry Page ($1 billion each), making their debut on the list.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates remains perched atop the list for the 10th straight year but investor Warren Buffett is nipping at his heels. Gates' net worth is now estimated at $46.6 billion, still less than half the $100 billion it peaked at in 1998, but up about 13 percent from the $40.7 billion Forbes attributed to him in 2003.
Buffett wins the bragging rights for reaping the best gains of the year. He increased his net worth by $12.4 billion to $42.9 billion, significantly narrowing the gap between him and Gates, with whom he competes in bridge tournaments.
German supermarket magnate Karl Albrecht remained in third place, with a fortune of $23 billion. Close behind were Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, whose $21.5 billion nest egg put him just ahead of Microsoft's other co-founder, Paul Allen, who came in fifth with $21 billion.
Rounding out the top 10 were Helen Walton, wife of the late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, and four members of her family. They were tied for fifth, with each worth an estimated $20 billion - making for a Walton's mountain of money that's bigger than the holdings of Gates and Buffett combined.
.....There were 56 billionaires who returned to the list after dropping off it in the previous few years, including Yahoo! founders David Filo ($2.2 billion) and Jerry Yang ($1.9 billion).
They returned to find their upstart search-engine rivals, Google's Sergey Brin and Larry Page ($1 billion each), making their debut on the list.