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Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates speaks at 'Launch Tour 2007' in Seattle, to tout the release of Microsoft Windows Vista in this Feb. 26, 2007 file photo. Forbes magazine releases its annual rankings of the nation's wealthiest individuals on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007. [AP]
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A billion dollars just doesn't go as far as it used to. For the first time, it takes more than $1 billion earn a spot on Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest Americans. The minimum net worth for inclusion in this year's rankings released Thursday was $1.3 billion, up $300 million from last year. The new threshold meant 82 of America's billionaires didn't make the cut.
Collectively, the people who made the rankings released Thursday are worth $1.54 trillion, compared with $1.25 trillion last year.
The very top of the list was unchanged: Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates led the list for the 14th straight year, this time with a net worth estimated at $59 billion. He was followed by Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in second place with an estimated $52 billion and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, No. 3 with an estimated worth of $28 billion.
Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp. maintained his ranking at No. 4, with an estimated net worth of $26 billion.
But the list showed some notable changes.
Joining the top 10 of the country's richest for the first time were Google Inc. founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who tied for fifth place. The 34-year-old moguls' wealth has quadrupled since 2004 to an estimated $18.5 billion this year, while their company's stock value has surged 500 percent.
And, lower down, almost half of the 45 newcomers made their millions in hedge funds and private equity investments. The youngest member of this year's list was 33-year-old hedge fund manager John Arnold, who joined the ranks at No. 317 and a net worth of $1.5 billion.
"Wall Street really led the charge this year," said Matthew Miller, editor of the Forbes list. "God only knows if they'll be on it next year. It really just depends on what the market does."
Surging oil prices also helped some members of the list. Oil baron brothers Charles and David Koch also broke into the top 10, sharing the No. 9 spot with estimated wealth of $17 billion. Their ascension bumped the Walton family, heirs to the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fortune, from the top 10 for the first time since 1989.
The discount retailer, struggling with a slowing economy and higher gasoline prices as well as merchandising mishaps, has seen its sales lag behind rivals like Target Corp.
Climbing 19 rungs to No. 7 was casino tycoon Kirk Kerkorian, who doubled his net worth to an estimated $18 billion. The 90-year-old investor is a majority shareholder in MGM Mirage - operator of the MGM Grand, Bellagio and other casinos - which saw record profits at several of its Las Vegas hotel-casinos.
Rounding out the top 10 was Michael Dell of computer maker Dell Inc., who was No. 8 with an estimated $17.2 billion.
The magazine confirmed the worth of an individual's holdings in public companies by using the August 31 closing stock price, and estimated the value of private companies by evaluating comparable public firms in the industry. The list also takes into account philanthropic donations.
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(Agencies)
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今年，10億美元身家已經(jīng)不足以登上福布斯富豪排行榜。20日公布的福布斯400富豪榜榜單將門檻首次提高到13億美元凈資產(chǎn)，較上年提高了3億美元。新標準讓82位美國億萬富翁與富豪榜失之交臂。
今年上榜的美國富豪資本總凈值達1.54萬億美元，2006年為1.25萬億美元。
榜單前幾位的富豪名單仍舊如前：微軟創(chuàng)始人比爾?蓋茨以大約590億美元的凈資產(chǎn)連續(xù)第14年蟬聯(lián)榜首。緊隨其后的分別是伯克希爾-哈撒韋公司的沃倫?巴菲特、博彩業(yè)巨頭謝爾頓?阿德爾森，分別以個人資產(chǎn)總值約520億美元、280億美元位列第二和第三位。
甲骨文公司首席執(zhí)行官拉里?埃里森以大約260億美元的個人凈資產(chǎn)值居排行榜第四位。
但排行榜也有了些新變化。
谷歌創(chuàng)始人謝爾蓋?布林和拉里?佩奇在今年的排名中首次躋身十強，這兩位34歲的業(yè)界巨頭以185億美元的個人資產(chǎn)并列第五位。自2004年來，谷歌公司股價暴漲500%，兩人的個人財富值相應(yīng)翻了四倍。
在今年的富豪榜中，共有45位新成員，其中一半以上來自對沖基金和私募資本領(lǐng)域。最年輕的上榜者為對沖基金經(jīng)理——33歲的約翰?阿諾德。他以15億美元的個人資產(chǎn)與另一位富豪并列第317位。
“是華爾街幫助他們積累了財富”，福布斯富豪榜編輯馬修?米勒感慨道，“老天爺才知道明年的排名是什么樣，一切都由市場變化決定。”
飆升的油價讓一些富豪身價暴漲，也令他們順利進入榜單。石油大亨查爾斯?科赫和戴維?科赫兄弟躋身前十名，以170億美元的個人資產(chǎn)排在第九位。他們把沃爾瑪繼承人——沃爾頓家族擠出了前十名。這也是1989年以來，該家族首次被擠出富豪榜單前十名。
緩慢發(fā)展的經(jīng)濟，飆升的油價，加上失敗的銷售使折扣零售商沃爾瑪?shù)匿N售額逐漸落后于對手，比如折扣零售商塔吉特。
博彩業(yè)巨頭柯克?科克萊排名第七，上升了十九位。今年他的凈資產(chǎn)翻了一倍，達約180億美元。已有90歲高齡的科克萊是米高梅酒店集團的大股東，旗下有米高梅大酒店、美麗湖大酒店以及其它賭場，該集團的幾家拉斯維加斯酒店博彩已獲得創(chuàng)記錄的利潤。
榮登榜單前十的還有戴爾公司創(chuàng)始人麥克爾?戴爾，以約172億美元的凈資產(chǎn)位列第八。
福布斯400富豪榜通過8月31日股市收盤價確定了富豪個人持股情況，通過評估同行業(yè)中公司情況計算出個人公司資產(chǎn)值。該排行榜的評估也將慈善事業(yè)捐助資金計算在內(nèi)。
（英語點津Celene編輯）
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