How Rich Are America's Richest And Presidential Candidates?

Who are America's richest people, and just how rich are they? The newly released Forbes 400 list details that, and Forbes' 2016 Presidential Candidates Wealth List also shows the net worth of everyone campaigning for the Oval Office.

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On Tuesday, Forbes unveiled its annual Forbes 400, which it describes as "The definitive ranking of the richest people in America." The list, started in 1982, does its ranking by net worth.

A spot on this year's Fortune 400 required a minimum net worth of $1.7 billion, which Pew Research shows is 20,000 times the wealth of the typical American household. Last year it took $1.55 billion to make the list. Forbes noted that 145 U.S. billionaires did not make the cut. $3 billion, like that of Cargill heirs Austin and James Cargill II and media tycoon Marc Cuban, still doesn't crack the top half at a tie for No. 211.

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It takes at least $5 billion for inclusion in the top 100, starting with a 13-way tie for No. 94 that includes Star Wars creator/director George Lucas and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. You need at least $9 billion to crack the top 50, where Cox Enterprises heir Blair Perry-Okeden and Jim Kennedy are found on the list. Ninety five-year-old Anne Cox Chambers starts the top 25 at $18 billion, while Google co-founder Sergey Brin came in just outside the top 10 at 11th with $31.3 billion.

To no surprise, Microsoft founder Bill Gates leads the list for the 22nd year in a row, with his $76 billion leading Warren Buffet by $14 billion.

Here are the top 10 richest Americans:

Rank/Name Net Worth Age Source
1. Bill Gates $76 Billion 59 Microsoft
2. Warren Buffet $62 Billion 85 Berkshire Hathaway
3. Larry Ellison $47.5 Billion 71 Oracle
4. Jeff Bezos $47 Billion 51 Amazon.com
5. Charles Koch $41 Billion 79 Diversified
5. David Koch $41 Billion 75 Diversified
7. Mark Zuckerberg $40.3 Billion 31 Facebook
8. Michael Bloomberg $38.6 Billion 73 Bloomberg LP
9. Jim Walton $33.7 Billion 67 Wal-Mart
10. Larry Page $33.3 Billion 42 Google

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Read more: Grainger Leads Industrial Distributors On 2015 Fortune 500

Both Bezos and Zuckerberg made the top 10 for the first time. Bezos was the biggest mover on the list, gaining $16.5 billion since last year. 

Forbes noted that its list reflects Americans' net worth as of Sept. 11.

Similarly, Forbes also released its 2016 Presidential Candidates Wealth List on Tuesday. The list estimates net worth for the top 20 Presidential Candidates for 2016 from both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Donald Trump's estimated $4.5 billion net worth is far more than the other 19 candidates combined. Martin O'Malley bookends the other end of the spectrum at no net worth, as Forbes notes the former Maryland governor took on debt to send his kids to college.

Here is Forbes list of the net worth of the 2016 Presidential Candidates as of Tuesday:

Rank/Name Net Worth Political Party
1. Donald Trump $4.5 Billion Republican
2. Carly Fiorina $58 Million Republican
3. Hillary Clinton $45 Million Democratic
4. Lincoln Chafee $32 Million Democratic
5. Ben Carson $26 Million Republican
6. Jeb Bush $22 Million Republican
7. George Patacki $13 Million Republican
8. John Kasich $10+ Million Republican
9. Mike Huckabee $9 Million Republican
10. Jim Gilmore $7 Million Republican
11. Jim Webb $6 Million Democratic
12. Bobby Jindal $5 Million Republican
13. Ted Cruz $3.5 Million Republican
14. Chris Christie $3 Million Republican
15. Rand Paul $2 Million Republican
16. Rick Santorum $2 Million Republican
17. Lindsey Graham $1 Million Republican
18. Bernie Sanders $700,000 Democratic
19. Marco Rubio $100,000 Republican
20. Martin O'Malley Zero Democratic

Read More: The 2015 Industrial Distribution Big 50 List

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