Gates tops Forbes' billionaires list

For the first time, everyone on Forbes magazine's just-released annual list of the 400 richest Americans are worth at least US$1 billion.

The collective net worth of the country's wealthiest rose US$120 billion to US$1.25 trillion.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates landed at No. 1 on the list with a net worth of $53 billion. Warren Buffett, who runs the holding company Berkshire Hathaway Inc., came in No. 2 with US$46 billion.

Buffett in June agreed to donate 85 percent of his fortune, valued then at US$37 billion, to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities.

Oracle's chief executive Larry Ellison with US$19.5 billion came in at No. 4, and another Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen with US$16 billion followed at No. 5.

Even Dell's Michael Dell, which had a rocky year, came in at No. 9 with US$15.5 billion. Shares of Dell dropped 60 percent in past 12 months, putting his 9.4 million stock options underwater, Forbes said.

Moody's Economy.com economist Zoltan Pozsar attributes some increases to accumulative gain on wealth, but said globalization and mergers and acquisitions have contributed to more people becoming billionaires, rather than millionaires.

"Tech spending remains good, but not as good in 2000 before the dot-com bust because there's no killer app," Pozsar said. "For consumers, there are many new gadgets people want to buy like iPods and PlayStations, but on the capital equipment side there's not really new blockbuster capital equipment companies think they need to buy to enhance their productivity."

Pozsar said routers and other Internet equipment has been bought, for the most part. Most of the spending next year will go toward replacing old technology.

US companies are forecast to spend US$670 billion in 2007, up from US$600 billion this year, on software and business equipment, such as computers, servers, and BlackBerry devices, estimates Moody's Economy.com.

Still, nearly 20 in the top 50 of the richest billionaires this year are in technology, telecommunications, music, movies or publishing, estimates Forbes.

"Companies in the tech sector, publishing, or anything related to music or movie downloads are in a good position because they truly tap into the global market, whereas it could take many years for manufacturers to the build plans that get them into strategic markets," Pozsar said. "Once you have a portal, you have access to the global market. If you're a Yahoo or Google and have the name recognition you don't need to cross the usual geographic and physical barriers to reach people."

Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page ranked respectively No. 12 and No. 13, with respective net worths of US$14.1 billion and US$14 billion. Fifty one year old Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt ranked No. 45 with US$5.2 billion.

Apple Computer's Steve Jobs took No. 49 with US$4.9 billion, and David Geffen took No. 50 with US$4.6 billion.

Two women made the top 10. Christy Walton, the daughter-in-law of top retailer Wal-Mart Stores's founder Sam Walton, is worth US$15.6 billion, ranking No. 7, while Sam Walton's daughter Alice ranked No. 9 with US$15.5 billion.

Far, far away from the billionaire's club, the average income of the nation's 105.9 million full-time wage and salary workers is US$34,268 annually, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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