Forbes 400: America's Top 15 Richest Techies
Top 15 Richest Techies In America
Forbes released its rankings of super-rich Americas Monday, with many familiar names in tech topping the list. With a net worth of $72 billion, Bill Gates holds the title as the Forbes 400 richest person in America for the 20th year in row.
The annual list of richest Americans, which Forbes began publishing in 1982, has some notable changes this year. For starters, the accumulated wealth of the Forbes 400 is $2 trillion, up from $1.7 trillion last year. Forbes also said the gold bar to entry was lifted to join the elite group from $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion in 2012.
When it comes to tech, 48 billionaires made the list. There were also some big losers as well in the tech world with Steve Case, AOL founder; Henry Nicholas, Broadcom co-founder; and Graham Weston, chairman of Rackspace, dropping off the list.
15. David Duffield
Seventy-two year old David Duffield is co-founder and former chairman of PeopleSoft. He is also co-founder of Workday along with serving as co-CEO of the company. Duffield saw his personal wealth shoot up nearly three-fold over the past year thanks largely to Workday's IPO in October 2012.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 65
Net Worth: $6.4 billion
14. James Goodnight
At age 70, James Goodnight is co-founder of SAS Institute, a business analytics software firm. For the past 30 years, he has served as the company's CEO.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 58
Net Worth: $7.2 billion
13. Eric Schmidt
Eric Schmidt, 58, is executive chairman of Google. Before joining Google, Schmidt was CEO of Novell.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 49
Net Worth: $8.3 billion
12. Pierre Omidyar
Pierre Omidyar, 46, made his fortune founding eBay and today serves as the company's chairman. He is also active running Omidyar Network, his philanthropic investment firm, according to Forbes.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 47
Net Worth: $8.5 billion
11. Laurene Powell Jobs
One of the few women techies on Forbes 400 list, Laurene Powell Jobs, age 49, is the widow of Steve Jobs. She is president of the board of College Track, founder and chair of the Emerson Collective and, notably, owns a 7.3 percent stake in the Walt Disney Co.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 35
Net Worth: $11.7 billion
10. Charles Ergen
Charles Ergen, 60, is the co-founder and current chairman of the board, and former president and CEO of the Dish Network.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 32
Net Worth: $12.5 billion
9. Paul Allen
At age 60, Paul Allen is co-founder of Microsoft. His is also founder and chairman of Vulcan, which manages his venture capital business and philanthropic efforts.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 26
Net Worth: $15.8 billion
8. Michael Dell
Michael Dell is 48 years old and is founder, chairman and CEO of Dell. He recently ponied-up a significant amount of his own personal wealth to buyback Dell and take an estimated 75 percent ownership stake in the company.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 25
Net Worth: $15.9 billion
7. Steve Ballmer
Set to retire from Microsoft next year as the company's CEO, 57-year-old Steve Ballmer was the software giant's 30th employee -- hired in 1980.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 21
Net Worth: $18 billion
6. Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg, 29, is co-founder and CEO of Facebook. According to Forbes, Zuckerberg's net worth jumped in the past 12 months landing him on the 20th spot on Forbes' list, up from No. 36 in 2012, thanks in large part to doubling the company's shares in the past year.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 20
Net Worth: $19 billion
5. Sergey Brin
While he isn't promoting Google Glass, 40-year-old co-founder of Google Sergey Brin is running the company's top-secret Google X division, developing balloon-based Internet services and driverless cars.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 14
Net Worth: $24.4 billion
4. Larry Page
Google co-founder Larry Page, age 40, has a net worth just $500 million more than his business partner Sergey Brin. In 2011, he succeeded Eric Schmidt, becoming Google's CEO.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 13
Net Worth: $24.9 billion
3. Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos, 49, is founder and CEO of Amazon. As Forbes points out, the billionaire has been on a shopping spree recently, paying $250 million for The Washington Post.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 12
Net Worth: $27.2 billion
2. Larry Ellison
Co-founder and chief executive of Oracle Corporation and a software tycoon, Larry Ellison is the third richest person in America and fifth richest individual on the planet, according to Forbes. When Ellison, 69, isn't running Oracle, he can be found battling patent suites or sailing around the world in attempt to win the America's Cup sailing race.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 3
Net Worth: $41 billion
1. Bill Gates
For the 20th year straight, billionaire Bill Gates, 57, remains the richest American. The co-founder of Microsoft is also the world's richest person, according to Forbes. Not bad for a man who has given away $28 billion of his own personal wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Forbes 400 Ranking: 1
Net Worth: $72 billion