Forbes: America’s Wealthiest People 2012

by Christopher Freeburn | September 20, 2012 12:44 pm

Forbes is out with its annual list of the 400 richest Americans[1].

The millionaires and billionaires who comprise the 2012 list have a combined net worth of $1.7 trillion. That’s an increase from $1.5 trillion last year.

List members have an average net worth of $4.2 billion, up from $3.8 billion in 2011.

Fully two-thirds of the people on the list increased with wealth compared to last year. Among the top 20 richest Americans, only two saw their wealth decline.

Here are the Top 10 Richest Americans in 2012[2], according to Forbes.

  1. Bill Gates[3] – Founder of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT[4]): $66 billion
  2. Warren Buffett [5]– Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A); $46 billion
  3. Larry Ellision[6] – Founder of Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL[7]); $41 billion
  4. Charles Koch[8] – Head of Koch Industries; $31 billion
  5. David Koch[9] – Executive Vice President of Chemical Technology at Koch Industriesl $31 billion
  6. Christy Walton and Family[10] – Heirs to the Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT[11]) fortune; $27.9 billion
  7. Jim Walton[12] – Chairman and CEO at Arvest Bank; $26.8 billion
  8. Alice Walton[13] – Heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune; $26.3 billion
  9. S. Robson Walton[14] – Heir to the Wal-Mart fortune; $26.1 billion
  10. Michael Bloomberg[15] – Founder of Bloomberg News and Mayor of New York City; $25 billion

You can see the complete list of the 400 Richest Americans in 2012 [16]at Forbes.

Endnotes:

  1. annual list of the 400 richest Americans: http://www.forbes.com/sites/luisakroll/2012/09/19/the-forbes-400-the-richest-people-in-america/
  2. Top 10 Richest Americans in 2012: http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/gallery
  3. Bill Gates: http://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/
  4. MSFT: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=MSFT
  5. Warren Buffett : http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/gallery/warren-buffett#
  6. Larry Ellision: http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/gallery/larry-ellison#
  7. RCL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=RCL
  8. Charles Koch: http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/gallery/charles-koch#
  9. David Koch: http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/gallery/david-koch#
  10. Christy Walton and Family: http://www.forbes.com/profile/christy-walton/
  11. WMT: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=WMT
  12. Jim Walton: http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/gallery/jim-walton#
  13. Alice Walton: http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/gallery/alice-walton#
  14. Robson Walton: http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/gallery/s-robson-walton#
  15. Michael Bloomberg: http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/gallery/michael-bloomberg#gallerycontent
  16. 400 Richest Americans in 2012 : http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/gallery

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/09/forbes-americas-wealthiest-people-2012/