Just in case you were worried that all of Bill Gates philanthropic efforts were endangering his spot on top of America's rich list, we can assure you that they're not. While Gates may not be the richest man in the world, he is most definitely still the richest man in the United States of America. In fact, the top three on the list remained in the same spots they had last year, or, in Gates' case, the same spot he's had for the last 19 years running. Funnily enough, Bill Gates, aged 56, is also the youngest person in the top 10. He's outgunned, however, by 47-year-old Jeff Bezos, who placed number 11.
Forbes reports that Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison were up $7 billion, $7 billion and $8 billion, respectively. Bill Gates now has a net work of $66 billion, while the jump to second place is a $20 billion difference. Larry Eillison comes in just behind Warren Buffet's $46 billion net worth with a net worth of $41 billion. Rounding out the top five are the Koch brothers, Charles and David Koch, who are each worth $31 billion. Spots six, seven, eight, and nine are all occupied by members of the Walton family (Wal-Mart), while number ten on the list is Michael Bloomberg with his net worth of $25 billion.
The tech industry is very well represented on this year's list. Aside from Gates, Ellison, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin also appear in the top 20, along with Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen. The top 50 includes Michael Dell, Steve Jobs' wife Laurene and her family, Mark Zuckerberg, Pierre Omidyar (eBay), and Eric Schmidt.
Interestingly, Gates and Buffett have managed to retain their titles as the first and second wealthiest people in America while also earning themselves the title of the most generous guys in the world. According to Forbes, the two have given away a combined $45 billion.