The 10 richest Americans
Despite the stalled economy, America's richest continue to get richer. As a group, the wealthiest 400 are worth $1.5 trillion, roughly the GDP of Canada.
By Luisa Kroll and Kerry A. Dolan, Forbes.com
The 400 richest Americans saw their collective wealth grow by 12% over the past year, meaning the nation's wealthiest slightly outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) over the period.
s the nation's richest person for the 18th consecutive year; the last time he didn't rank No. 1 was 1993, when his good friend Warren Buffett eclipsed him. Buffett's fortune tumbled by $6 billion this year, making him the biggest loser among the nation's most wealthy. Buffett gave away $3.3 billion, and he was pinched by a 10% decline in the value of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) stock.
This year's headlines may belong to a younger group of entrepreneurs marching their way up the ranks, particularly those who are impacting social behavior online. Leading the pack is Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, who$10.6 billion to his fortune, making him the year's biggest gainer and pushing him into the top 20 for the first time, with a net worth of $17.5 billion. Zuckerberg came in one notch ahead of Google (GOOG) co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who added $1.7 billion apiece to their fortunes but slipped five spots in the rankings and are tied at No. 15.
Notable newcomers include Bob Stiller of s (GMCR) and TheGroup's Bob Parsons. Among those returning to the list this year are Howard Schultz of Starbucks (SBUX) and Dan Gilbert, the chairman and founder of Quicken Loans.
