Forbes announces its list of 400 wealthiest Americans
Forbes on Wednesday released its annual list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, who have a combined net worth of a staggering $2.96 trillion, according to the outlet. Amazon's founder and CEO Jeff Bezos held onto the number one spot for a second consecutive year, with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates came in second on the list.
Bezos touts a net worth of $114 billion, a significant decrease from last year's $160 billion due to the terms of his high-profile divorce with wife MacKenzie Bezos. She was awarded 25% of the couple's Amazon shares and made the list for the first time this year, clocking in at number 15, with a $36.1 billion fortune.
Gates touts a $106 billion fortune in the number two spot, having donated $35.8 billion to charity so far. Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, chair the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — the world's biggest private charitable foundation, according to Forbes.
Investor Warren Buffett, Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison round out the top five wealthiest Americans.
The youngest person to make the list is 29-year-old Snap, Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel, with the oldest being 96-year-old media magnate Sumner Redstone. Fifty-six women made the 2019 list — one less woman than listed in 2018.
MacKenzie Bezos is one 19 new people who made the list, including Anthony Wood, the founder of the streaming technology Roku, and the first Puerto Rican-born billionaire Orlando Bravo.
Two-hundred and fifty-four people on the list started their own business and almost half founded their first company before 30.
The list has a minimum net worth requirement of $2.1 billion, so a record 221 American billionaires from Jay-Z to Kylie Jenner didn't make the cutoff, according to the outlet.