Top 10 richest people in America 2014
Thanks to a buoyant stock market, the richest people in the U.S. just keep getting richer. That has made it harder than ever to join the ranks of the 400 wealthiest Americans. The price of entry to The Forbes 400 this year is $1.55 billion, the highest it’s been since Forbes started tracking American wealth in 1982. Last year it took $1.3 billion to score a spot. Because the bar is so high, 113 U.S. billionaires didn’t make the cut.
Bill Gates is the richest American for the 21st year in a row, with a net worth of $81 billion. (He’s the world’s second richest person, behind Mexico’s Carlos Slim.)
Facebook cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now the 11th richest person in the U.S., and the biggest dollar gainer on the list. His fortune soared to $34 billion, up $15 billion since last year, due to a sharp rise in the price of the social network’s shares.
All together the 400 wealthiest Americans are worth a staggering $2.29 trillion, up $270 billion from a year ago. The average net worth of list members is $5.7 billion, $700 million more than last year and a record high.
Check out the top 10 of the Forbes 400.
Source: Forbes
10. S. Robson Walton
Net worth: $34.8 billion, up $1.5 billion
Source: Wal-Mart
Age: 70
![S. Robson Walton]()
• Oldest son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton
• Chairman of Wal-Mart board for nearly a half century
• Also owns a stake in Hyatt Hotels
• Public face of the Walton family has had to deal with criticism over low wages and bribery scandal in Mexico
• Wal-Mart revenues have increased ninefold since he became chairman in 1992
9. Alice Walton
Net worth: $34.9 billion, up $1.4 billion
Source: Wal-Mart
Age: 64
![Alice Walton]()
• Daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton
• Opened her Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas in 2011, which has works from Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell and Mark Rothko.
• Fortune up $1.4 billion thanks to rising value of Wal-Mart shares
8. Michael Bloomberg
Net worth: $35 billion, up $4 billion
Source: Bloomberg LP
Age: 72
![Michael Bloomberg]()
• Returned to lead Bloomberg LP less than a year after ending tenure as mayor of New York
• Owns 88% of Bloomberg LP, which will pass $9 billion in revenue in 2014
• Got his start working on Wall Street at Salomon Brothers in 1966
• Has given away $3.3 billion in his lifetime
• Reportedly spending $50 million this year battling the NRA, which has launched an attack ad taking direct aim at Bloomberg personally.
7. Jim Walton
Net worth: $36 billion, up $2.2 billion
Source: Wal-Mart
Age: 66
![Jim Walton]()
• Largest individual shareholder of Wal-Mart
• Youngest child of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton
• CEO of family-founded Arvest Bank, which has branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri
6. Christy Walton and family
Net worth: $38 billion, up $2.6 billion
Source: Wal-Mart
Age: 59
![Christy Walton]()
• Richest woman in the world
• Married into the richest family in the world, worth over $150 billion
• Former husband John Walton died in a plane crash in 2005
• Richest member of the Walton family thanks to a side investment in solar company First Solar. Its shares are up 87% since last year’s Forbes 400
4. Charles Koch
Net worth: $42 billion, up $6 billion
Source: diversified
Age: 78
![Chalres Koch]()
• Chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, second-largest private company in America, with sales of $115 billion
• He took over for his father Fred in 1967 and grew the company into the giant it is today
• He and his brother David are pouring money toward a Republican effort to take control of the Senate in 2014
• This year Koch Industries acquired inkmaker Fling Group for a reported $3 billion and PetroLogistics for $2.1 billion.
4. David Koch
Net worth: $42 billion, up $6 billion
Source: diversified
Age: 74
![David Koch]()
• Richest man in New York City
• He and his brother Charles share control of Koch Industries, second-largest private company in America
• Koch Industries’ interests include oil pipelines, refineries, building materials, paper towels and even Dixie cups
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York dedicated the David H. Koch Plaza in September after he funded a $65 million renovation
3. Larry Ellison
Net worth: $50 billion, up $9 billion
Source: Oracle
Age: 70
![Larry Ellison]()
• Shocked business world when he announced he would step down as Oracle CEO in September, but will remain chief technology officer
• Richest man in Silicon Valley
• Built databases for the CIA before founding Oracle in 1977
• Continuing to add to his real estate portfolio by buying up the Hawaiian island of Lanai.
• He bought nearly the entire Hawaiian island of Lanai in 2012 and continues to add to his holdings there
• 86% of his net worth is tied up in Oracle stock.
2. Warren Buffett
Net worth: $67 billion, up $8.5 billion
Source: Berkshire Hathaway
Age: 84
![Warren Buffett]()
• Has been the second-richest man in America, behind Gates, every year since 2001
• Net worth up $8.5 billion thanks to surging stock in Berkshire Hathaway
• Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway are the most expensive shares of any public company, over $200,000 apiece
• Has given away nearly $23 billion in his lifetime, to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and to foundations run by his 3 children
• His company has dozens of subsidiaries, including Dairy queen, Geico insurance, See’s Candies and Heinz ketchup.
1. Bill Gates
Net worth: $81 billion, up $9 billion
Source: Microsoft
Age: 58
![Bill Gates]()
• Richest man in America for the 21st straight year
• His Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given away $30 billion since 2000
• As America’s top philanthropist, he picks and chooses which of the world’s biggest issues to tackle. This year he pledged $50 million to fight the Ebola outbreak in Africa and $1 million to advocate for gun control in Washington.
• Net worth is up $9 billion, helped by rising shares of Microsoft, Canadian National Railway and trash company Republic Services
• Cofounded Microsoft with childhood friend Paul Allen. Harvard hallmate Steve Ballmer served as longtime CEO. All three are among top 30 richest in America.
• Bulk of his fortune is in private investment vehicle Cascade, which holds stakes in Canadian National Railway, tractor maker Deere & Co., and South American McDonald’s franchisee Arcos Dorados (golden arches in Spanish.)
Thanks to a buoyant stock market, the richest people in the U.S. just keep getting richer. That has made it harder than ever to join the ranks of the 400 wealthiest Americans. The price of entry to The Forbes 400 this year is $1.55 billion, the highest it’s been since Forbes started tracking American wealth in 1982. Last year it took $1.3 billion to score a spot. Because the bar is so high, 113 U.S. billionaires didn’t make the cut.
Bill Gates is the richest American for the 21st year in a row, with a net worth of $81 billion. (He’s the world’s second richest person, behind Mexico’s Carlos Slim.)
Facebook cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now the 11th richest person in the U.S., and the biggest dollar gainer on the list. His fortune soared to $34 billion, up $15 billion since last year, due to a sharp rise in the price of the social network’s shares.
All together the 400 wealthiest Americans are worth a staggering $2.29 trillion, up $270 billion from a year ago. The average net worth of list members is $5.7 billion, $700 million more than last year and a record high.
Check out the top 10 of the Forbes 400.
Source: Forbes
10. S. Robson Walton
Net worth: $34.8 billion, up $1.5 billion
Source: Wal-Mart
Age: 70
• Oldest son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton
• Chairman of Wal-Mart board for nearly a half century
• Also owns a stake in Hyatt Hotels
• Public face of the Walton family has had to deal with criticism over low wages and bribery scandal in Mexico
• Wal-Mart revenues have increased ninefold since he became chairman in 1992
9. Alice Walton
Net worth: $34.9 billion, up $1.4 billion
Source: Wal-Mart
Age: 64
• Daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton
• Opened her Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas in 2011, which has works from Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell and Mark Rothko.
• Fortune up $1.4 billion thanks to rising value of Wal-Mart shares
8. Michael Bloomberg
Net worth: $35 billion, up $4 billion
Source: Bloomberg LP
Age: 72
• Returned to lead Bloomberg LP less than a year after ending tenure as mayor of New York
• Owns 88% of Bloomberg LP, which will pass $9 billion in revenue in 2014
• Got his start working on Wall Street at Salomon Brothers in 1966
• Has given away $3.3 billion in his lifetime
• Reportedly spending $50 million this year battling the NRA, which has launched an attack ad taking direct aim at Bloomberg personally.
7. Jim Walton
Net worth: $36 billion, up $2.2 billion
Source: Wal-Mart
Age: 66
• Largest individual shareholder of Wal-Mart
• Youngest child of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton
• CEO of family-founded Arvest Bank, which has branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri
6. Christy Walton and family
Net worth: $38 billion, up $2.6 billion
Source: Wal-Mart
Age: 59
• Richest woman in the world
• Married into the richest family in the world, worth over $150 billion
• Former husband John Walton died in a plane crash in 2005
• Richest member of the Walton family thanks to a side investment in solar company First Solar. Its shares are up 87% since last year’s Forbes 400
4. Charles Koch
Net worth: $42 billion, up $6 billion
Source: diversified
Age: 78
• Chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, second-largest private company in America, with sales of $115 billion
• He took over for his father Fred in 1967 and grew the company into the giant it is today
• He and his brother David are pouring money toward a Republican effort to take control of the Senate in 2014
• This year Koch Industries acquired inkmaker Fling Group for a reported $3 billion and PetroLogistics for $2.1 billion.
4. David Koch
Net worth: $42 billion, up $6 billion
Source: diversified
Age: 74
• Richest man in New York City
• He and his brother Charles share control of Koch Industries, second-largest private company in America
• Koch Industries’ interests include oil pipelines, refineries, building materials, paper towels and even Dixie cups
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York dedicated the David H. Koch Plaza in September after he funded a $65 million renovation
3. Larry Ellison
Net worth: $50 billion, up $9 billion
Source: Oracle
Age: 70
• Shocked business world when he announced he would step down as Oracle CEO in September, but will remain chief technology officer
• Richest man in Silicon Valley
• Built databases for the CIA before founding Oracle in 1977
• Continuing to add to his real estate portfolio by buying up the Hawaiian island of Lanai.
• He bought nearly the entire Hawaiian island of Lanai in 2012 and continues to add to his holdings there
• 86% of his net worth is tied up in Oracle stock.
2. Warren Buffett
Net worth: $67 billion, up $8.5 billion
Source: Berkshire Hathaway
Age: 84
• Has been the second-richest man in America, behind Gates, every year since 2001
• Net worth up $8.5 billion thanks to surging stock in Berkshire Hathaway
• Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway are the most expensive shares of any public company, over $200,000 apiece
• Has given away nearly $23 billion in his lifetime, to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and to foundations run by his 3 children
• His company has dozens of subsidiaries, including Dairy queen, Geico insurance, See’s Candies and Heinz ketchup.
1. Bill Gates
Net worth: $81 billion, up $9 billion
Source: Microsoft
Age: 58
• Richest man in America for the 21st straight year
• His Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given away $30 billion since 2000
• As America’s top philanthropist, he picks and chooses which of the world’s biggest issues to tackle. This year he pledged $50 million to fight the Ebola outbreak in Africa and $1 million to advocate for gun control in Washington.
• Net worth is up $9 billion, helped by rising shares of Microsoft, Canadian National Railway and trash company Republic Services
• Cofounded Microsoft with childhood friend Paul Allen. Harvard hallmate Steve Ballmer served as longtime CEO. All three are among top 30 richest in America.
• Bulk of his fortune is in private investment vehicle Cascade, which holds stakes in Canadian National Railway, tractor maker Deere & Co., and South American McDonald’s franchisee Arcos Dorados (golden arches in Spanish.)