Forbes 2010 List of Richest US Billionaires

Added by Gary Dunn on September 24, 2010

In the Forbes February 12, 2010 ranking of richest billionaires of the U.S., Bill Gates of Microsoft once again emerged on top. For 17 years in a row, Gates has been consistently listed as the richest man in the US with a current estimated net worth of $54 billion, up by $4 billion from last year.

The second spot was secured by Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway with a net worth of $45 billion, followed by Oracle founder Larry Ellison in third place at $27 billion and Christy Walton, heir to Walmart, in fourth place with $24 billion.

In the 2009 Forbes 400 list of richest Americans, a majority of 314 members saw a decrease in their wealth. Compared to that, the 2010 list showed the total wealth of the group up by 8% from $1.27 trillion to $1.37 trillion, with increased net worth of 217 of the tycoons from last year.  The top 10 positions were held by the same members from last year, though the list was shuffled and they gained $24.9 billion, while the same group had lost almost $40 billion last year.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg at No. 35 showed the largest relative increase in wealth by almost tripling his fortune. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz emerged as the world’s youngest billionaire while David Rockefeller was the oldest listed tycoon.