Gates dethroned as world's richest man

You knew this was going to happen eventually--Bill Gates prepares to step away from full-time work at Microsoft and suddenly he is on the slippery slope to the poor house.

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(Credit: Dan Farber)

Well, maybe not the poor house, but he has lost his position as the world's richest man, a title he'd held since 1995. The new world's richest man is Gates' friend and investment mogul Warren Buffett, according to Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the world's wealthiest people, which was released Wednesday. The magazine estimated Buffett's worth at $62 billion, and Gates' fortune not too far behind at $58 billion. But that doesn't mean he only slipped one notch: Carlos Slim, a Mexican telecoms tycoon, came in second with an estimated worth of $60 billion.

Buffett, who runs a holding company whose stock price closed up Wednesday at $139,000 per share, announced in 2006 that he would give away the lion's share of his fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At that time his personal fortune was valued at $44 billion. In the past year, Microsoft's stock price has seen fluctuations but is pretty much in the same place it was 12 months ago, while Berkshire Hathaway's stock price has increased more than 25 percent.

Gates plans to step away from full-time work at the software giant in July to focus on his charitable foundation.

There were rumblings last year that Gates' hold on the top spot might be slipping when various media reports estimated Slim's net worth at $67 billion.

[MyRightEye]

OMG... Gates was NEVER the world's richest man

Or anything even close to it. It's the Rockerfellers and the like who <br />have wealth that positively dwarfs Gates and co.

[ScottRiqui]

No, it was Bill...

This list is talking about *personal* wealth of individuals or <br />families. There may be people that control *companies* that are <br />worth more than Bill Gates is worth, but they don't have the same <br />amount of *personall-owned* wealth as Gates.<br /><br />BTW, the only Rockefeller on the list this year is #428.

[ewelch]

Richest man, a family?

You're mixing your numbers. One man is richer than any one <br />Rockefeller.

[a85]

Um...

That's like trying to claim Gates was not the richest because when you add the net worth of all the Waltons together it is greater: erroneous.

[umbrae]

With that kind of money...

Who cares who is the richest. I would happily be the poorest millionaire.

[toddvj]

Not too far off.

I like how they say Gates is not too far off the $62 Billion mark, with $58 Billion. I mean, that's only $4 Billion. Chump change.

[rnieves1977]

i wonder why

they don't do something completely innovative with all that money... I don't know... With that kind of money I'd want a summer home on the moon and a way to get there... I'll give you 20 billion... make it happen

[gary85739]

Unlike some computer rich...Gates...

gives BILLIONS to charity!<br /><br />If he didn't, he have even more $, but he's learned something that other techie rich haven't,,,it's not what you have, it's what you do with it to help society!<br /><br />Name ANY person on earth that have donated at much $ to charity...

[Scott Clausen]

He's the Carnegie of our time

Sure, Gates is giving millions to charity. He broke the law making it <br />and now he's buying his way into heaven like Carnegie did after he <br />made his millions. While I appreciate his donations, I'm not going to <br />forget how he made those billions. He is definitely not one for <br />sainthood.

[The_Decider]

Get some perspective

He is not a philanthropist. He does it for business and personal gain. Motivation is what separates a sleazy opportunist like Gates with a person of true charity.<br /><br />He could give away 99% of his net worth and still be a billionaire, so it is not like he is sacrificing anything.

[gerrrg]

Richest person in the world comes from Mexico.

That's just not right.<br /><br />Shouldn't the richest person in the world come from the richest nation? I'm not saying America is the richest nation...but I know Mexico isn't in the top 20. Hell, they're 64th or something.<br /><br />How does a person get to be so rich in a country with so many poor, they come to America to earn a wage that they then send back to Mexico?<br /><br />That's just not right.

[a85]

Ironic...

given that the UN figures indicate that 17% of Americans lived in poverty between 1999 and 2002, the second highest percentage of any high-income OECD country.

[wolivere]

Actually its not a Mexician

The richest man is still from the US. Although you cry about Mexico, think on this there are more Billionaires in the top list from India, then from America.

[gurdal]

no surprise

If you're a well-connected person in a corrupt country, it's not surprising that you can amass a huge fortune. It's quite doubtful that Slim could have done as well here (witness his failed CompUSA chain).

[lovelife2much]

Mexico has money...

Oh poor you! can you really imagine that a Mexican got to be second richest by sending its people to labor in the USA??<br /><br />Far from it.<br />Here is the story on this super rich Mexican:<br />First, he is very intelligent and has a great sense of money. He comes from a rich family and has taken advantage of the corruption in his country to buy the national telecom company by a government decree to "privatize" national companies, which was sold to a company only and made it where he does not have to share it with smaller companies for at least 10 years.<br />He also has other businesses: real estate, cement, tiles, transportation, food, and much more.<br /><br />He surely does not have money because the guy that cuts your grass sends money home.

[The_Decider]

Irony

A huge amount of Americans are poor, so Gates shouldn't have been able to steal his way to riches here.

[Jon N.]

...and now, breaking news....Flash!

The world's richest venture capitalist emperor has been dethroned! Mr. Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, has been ousted by the same thing that put him on that mercenary throne in 1995! Now the world reels as Warren Buffett takes the throne of the Imperial Capitalistic Monetary Aristocracy!!! Oh, PLEASE! This story make Bill Gates' drop from richest man in the world sound like a coup d'tat at Buckingham Palace! TMZ couldn't have done a better job! Oh, and F.Y.I., where Bill goes, so does Windoze! You can't stay top dog forever! ;-)

[mpotter28]

who's richest?

The first answer that comes to mind is who cares it certainly isn't me. What I do care about is an economic system that allows anyone to accumulate this much money in such a short time. Face it all of these people got a lot more out of the system then thy put into it. That isn't their fault they just took advantage of Mad Ronnie's "trickle down theory of economics. It was bs of course but it was implemented by the republicans and democrats who of course being wealthy like the idea.

[freehuman]

Enough with the rich-bashing

What a disgusting and ignorant attitude. Bill Gates' wealth has nothing to do with so-called "trickle-down" economics. He didn't win it, or inherit it, or steal it. Gates got rich by providing a product that everyone wants at a better price than the competition. He simply out-competed the others. It's ironic that you probably sit there writing that hate mail while using his products.

[volterwd]

Flawed methodology

They are stock rich. If they tried to sell it would immediately drop their value.<br /><br />Anyways having cash, income, and assets is preferable anyday to being extremely stock wealthy which is why it's better to be a rockafella then a gate.

[MrTroy03]

I agree

People are just jealous. If you become rich, all of the sudden you are a rotten bastard. He plans on using a TON of his money on charity work!<br /><br />If you were BORN into billions of dollars and were an *******, then maybe. But this guy dropped out of college, was middle class. He make good business decisions, and dominated. It is the epitome of the American dream.

[mrbonaparte]

wrong

it's some guy in mexico with the nickname of slim

[Arthurmurara]

I wish I can have only $1 all what I need in this African would be solved....am not jealousy on those who are rich but just worried about my tomorrow. <br /> <br />Am sorry if I've hurt anyone but that's how I have it in mind.