Bill Gates has fallen on hard times:
U.S. financier Warren Buffet, 77, has overtaken his friend and partner in philanthropy, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, as the richest man in the world according to Forbes magazine's annual list of billionaires.
Forbes reports the chief of the Berkshire Hathaway holding company experienced a $10 billion jump in net worth last year to $62 billion, enough to end Gates' 13-year streak at the top.
Gates' estimated $58 billion worth led him to a third place finish, behind Mexico's telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helú. Helú's wealth spiked from $49 billion last year to $60 billion this year.
Only third!
There are now more than 1,000 billionaires, with a net worth of nearly $4.5 trillion; 42 percent of them are Americans. Buffet and Gates give away more money than the annual budgets of many countries. You may now get back to business and quit holding on to your class envy.
Comments
Note that it's not $10 billion income, but $10 billion more net worth - that is, after all he spent this year.
But suppose it was ONLY ten billion income. If he takes 2 weeks unpaid vacation, and works a 40 hour week, that's $5 million an hour.
Suddenly, $5,500/hour doesn't seem all that much, does it?