Forbes List Of Richest Americans

Meet The 10 Richest Americans 2009
1.  William Gates III (Microsoft) $50 Billion - Despite losing $7 billion in 12 months, software man retains his title as America’s richest person for the 16th straight year.
2.  Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway) $40 Billion – America’s favorite investor lost $10 billion in past 12 months on his Berkshire Hathaway shares.
3.  Lawrence Ellison (Oracle) $27 Billion - Oracle founder continues his spending spree: Sun Microsystems in April for $7.4 billion; deal awaiting EU approval. Database giant has bought 54 companies in the past 5 years.
4.  Christy Walton (Wal-Mart) $21,500,000,000 – Christy is the richest of the Waltons thanks to late husband’s early bet on First Solar; alternative energy stock up 510% since 2006 public offering.
5.  Jim C. Walton (Wal-Mart) $19,600,000,000 – Jim runs family’s Arvest bank. Wal-Mart’s low prices have lured repeat, new customers; shares down 10% since last August while S&P 500 has dropped 20%.
6.  Alice Walton (Wal-Mart) $19,300,000,000 – Alice funded $100 million airport in Bentonville 1990; building Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Walton family fortune down a combined $13.7 billion in 12 months.
7.  S. Robson Walton (Wal-Mart) $19 Billion – S. Robson has been chairman of Wal-Mart since 1992. Today Wal-Mart has $401 billion in annual sales, 2 million employees, 4,200 stores.
8.  Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg) $17,500,000,000 - Becomes world’s 17th richest man after a transaction put a solid valuation on Bloomberg LP: he borrowed to buy a 20% stake in his company from Merrill Lynch in July for $4.5 billion. Today he owns 88% of the financial data and news outfit he founded in 1982.
9.  Charles Koch (Manufacturing, Energy) $16 Billion – With brother David lords over Koch Industries, maker of everything from petroleum to paper towels, fertilizer to fibers. Employs 70,000 workers in 60 countries.
9. David Koch (Manufacturing, Energy) $16 Billion – Sales topped $100 billion in 2008; second-largest privately held company by revenue in the U.S. Father, Fred C. Koch, developed process of turning heavy oil into gasoline.
10.  Sergey Brin (Google) $15,300,000,000 – Emigrated from Russia, met future partner Larry Page at Stanford; duo dropped out of computer science Ph.D. program in 1998. Started Google in friend’s garage. K. Ram Shriram, Andy von Bechtolsheim, professor David Cheriton provided initial financing; venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital soon injected another $25 million.
10.  Larry Page (Google) $15,300,000,000 – Raised in Michigan. Google fortune down $500 million in 12 months. Shares of search giant up 80% since November lows. Public 2004. Sales: $21.8 billion. Recently introduced goats to Google campus lawn; animals less harmful to the environment than lawn mower.
Source: Forbes.com