Bill Gates maintained his status as the world's richest man this year, with a net worth of $81 billion US, according to Forbes magazine.
The magazine released its annual rich list on Tuesday with many familiar names at the top.
The Microsoft founder topped the list again in 2016 despite being one of the world's most generous philanthropists through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has been in first place on the American-only list for 23 consecutive years.
There was a change for second place, however, as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos leapfrogged Berkshire Hathaway chair Warren Buffett with a $67 billion US net worth.
Buffett had been in second place 15 years, but dropped to third place this year with a net worth of $65 billion US.
Rounding out the top five are Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with $55.5 billion US and Oracle founder Larry Ellison with $49.3 billion.
Next come:
  • Michael Bloomberg at $45 billion,
  • Charles Koch and David Koch, tied for 7th place with $42 billion apiece,
  • Google co-founder Larry Page at $38.5 billion,
  • Google co-founder Sergey Brin rounds out the top 10 with $37.5 billion.
Read the full ranking of the 400 richest Americans on Forbes website here.

Trump moves down

Donald Trump made the list in 156th place, with an estimated net worth of $3.7 billion US, down $800 million from last year due largely to a slowdown in New York's real estate market.
The magazine figures that 18 of 28 assets owned by the Republican presidential nominee declined in value in the past year, including Trump Tower in Manhattan and his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump has slipped 35 spots in the ranking compared to where he was last year. He is now tied with 16 other billionaires, including Hollywood icon Steven Spielberg.


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