10. Sheldon Adelson
Net worth: $24.3 billion
Wealth source: Casinos
Residence: Las Vegas
World ranking: 19th
Mr. Adelson is the majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands
9. Alice Walton
Net Worth: $26.1 billion
Wealth source: Wal-Mart
Residence: Fort Worth, Texas
World Ranking: 16th
Ms. Walton is the youngest daughter of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. founder Sam Walton and the first of four Walton family heirs on the list
8. Rob Walton
Net Worth: $26.6 billion
Wealth source: Wal-Mart
Residence: Bentonville, Ark.
World Ranking: 15th
The eldest Walton son has been chairman of the retailer since his father Sam Walton’s death 20 years ago
7. Jim Walton
Net Worth: $27.1 billion
Wealth Source: Wal-Mart
Residence: Bentonville, Ark.
World Ranking: 13th
The younger Walton son manages the family’s private business ventures and serves as the chairman for the Walton-owned Arvest bank
6. Christy Walton
Net worth: 28.7 billion
Wealth source: Wal-Mart, First Solar
Residence: Jackson, Wyo.
World Ranking: 11th
Christy Walton is the widowed second wife of John T. Walton, who passed away in 2005. In addition to a 9.8 percent stake in Wal-Mart, she has made a fortune in shares from First Solar, the second-largest solar panel manufacturer in the world
5. Larry Ellison
Net worth: $40.3 billion
Wealth source: Oracle
Residence: Woodside, Calif.
World Ranking: 8th
Mr. Ellison holds a 23.5 percent stake in Oracle, the largest database company in the world. He also owns nearly half of NetSuite and a shares of LeapFrog, maker of educational software and tablets for children.
4. David Koch (tie)
Net worth: $41.3 billion
Wealth source: Koch Industries
Residence: New York
World Ranking: Tied for 6th
Koch co-owns Koch Industries with his brother Charles and serves as the company’s executive vice president. A Manhattan resident, he is on the board of several charitable organizations in the city, including Lincoln Center, Sloan Kettering, and the American Museum of Natural History, which named its dinosaur wing after him. He was the vice presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party in 1980
3. Charles Koch (tie)
Net worth: $41.3 billion
Wealth source: Koch Industries
Residence: Wichita, Kan.
World ranking Tied for 6th
The elder Koch brother is the CEO of Koch industries and, like his brother David, owns a 42 percent share in the company. The siblings have expanded dramatically the business they inherited from their father, Fred. Originally involved mainly in oil refining, Koch Industries is involved in a wide variety of ventures, including pollution control, minerals, and ranching.
2. Warren Buffett
Net worth: $50.2 billion
Wealth source: Berkshire Hathaway
Residence: Omaha, Neb.
World Rank: 4th
Mr. Buffett is widely considered the best investor of the past century. His investment firm Berkshire Hathaway operates a broad range of businesses, including Geico insurance and MidAmerican Energy. It also owns over $1 billion in Coca-Cola stock, as well as shares of Procter & Gamble and American Express.
Buffett has pledged to give away nearly all of his wealth to charitable causes, and is lately famous for being an outspoken advocate of higher tax rates for wealthy Americans.
1. Bill Gates
Net worth: $63.3 billion
Wealth source: Microsoft
Residence: Medina, Wash.
World rank: 2nd
He’s famous for dropping out of Harvard and founding Microsoft, the largest software company in the world. But since stepping down as Microsoft’s chief executive officer in 2000, Mr. Gates’s energies have been largely devoted to philanthropic work through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He and his wife, Melinda, had given nearly $28 billion to charity as of 2007, and reportedly plan to give away 95 percent of their wealth.
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