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To come up with its 41st annual list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, the outlet consulted with a variety of sources, including financial advisors, Securities and Exchange Commission documents, court filings, attorneys, and news articles.
Researchers looked at assets held, including public and private companies, as well as personal property like car collections, yachts, planes, and jewelry.
Debts and charitable giving were also factored in, Forbes said.
The top 20 people on the list are worth a combined $1.6 trillion, approximately $235 billion less than a year ago, the outlet reports.
Topping the list for the first time is Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, who reportedly has a net worth of $251 billion. That’s up $60.5 billion compared to last year, Forbes reports.
Musk is now $100 billion richer than Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who falls to the number two spot on the list with a reported net worth of $151 billion.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates rounds out the top three richest Americans with an estimated net worth of $106 billion.
The Forbes 400 also includes 15 people who call New York home. The top five richest are:
- 1. Michael Bloomberg, age 80, former New York City mayor and co-founder of Bloomberg LP, is worth $76.8 billion and ranked ninth overall nationally.
- 2. Julia Koch, age 60, of Koch Industries, is worth $56 billion and ranked 13th overall.
- 3. Stephen Schwarzman, age 75, co-founder of the private equity firm, Blackstone, is worth $29.1 billion and ranked 24th overall.
- 4. Jim Simons, age 84, founder of Renaissance Technologies, is worth $28.1 billion and ranked 25th overall.
- 5. Leonard Lauder, age 89, heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics fortune, is worth $21.9 billion and ranked 27th overall.
View the complete ranking of the richest Americans on Forbes’ website.
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