Bill Gates tops Forbes rich list for 19th year

BNN

(No Ratings Yet)

September 20, 2012

Bill Gates

Technology titan Bill Gates has been listed by Forbes magazine as the wealthiest American for the 19th year in a row, with a fortune of $66bn (£41bn), up $7bn from last year.

There was no change in the order of the top five richest from a year earlier.

The total wealth of the US super-rich grew 13% to $1.7tn, with the top 400 worth an average $400m more in 2012. The group’s assets are worth as much as one eighth of the US economy, and grew much faster than the economy at large, BBC reported.

According to the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America, the average net worth of a person on the list was $4.2bn.

But the biggest drop was seen by Facebook founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, who fell from 14th to 36th place in the wake of a disappointing stock market listing of his company.

Here is the Forbes list:

1.Bill Gates, co-founder and chairman of Microsoft, $66bn

2.Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, $46bn

3.Larry Ellison, co-founder and chief executive of Oracle, $41bn

4.Charles Koch, chairman and chief executive of Koch Industries, $31bn

5.David Koch, co-owner and executive vice-president of Koch Industries, $31bn

6.Christy Walton & family, heiress to Walmart fortune, $27.9bn

7.Jim Walton, heir to Walmart fortune and chairman of Arvest Bank, $26.8bn

8.Alice Walton, heiress to Walmart fortune, $26.3bn

9.S Robson Walton, heir to Walmart fortune, $26.1 billion

10.Michael Bloomberg, founder and principal owner of Bloomberg LP, $25bn.

Ref.110.110.110.2044

Court in France questions Head of IMF

Christine Lagarde, the Head of the International Monetary Fund, has been summoned to a court in Paris for questioning about a payout to a business magnate taken place at her time as French Finance Minister.

Social ,
World

Photo

May 23, 2013

Moscow police: Cars with Baltic license plates often used in criminal activities

Moscow traffic police pay more attention to cars with foreign license plates because such vehicles are often used in crimes, according to the press office of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate for Moscow.

Baltics

May 23, 2013

12 million LVL overpaid for expensive compensated medications

Latvian residents overpaid a total of 12 million LVL when purchasing expensive compensated medications last year, as reported by the director of the National Health Service Maris Taube at the opening of the “Ārstējies nepārmaksājot” (Don't overpay for treatment) informative campaign.

Social ,
Latvia

May 23, 2013

10 million of Samsung Galaxy S4 sold in «record» time

Sales of the Galaxy S4 smartphone have reached 10 million in «record» time, Samsung announced on May 23.

Money ,
World

Photo

May 23, 2013

Latvia's producer prices up by 1.4%

Compared to March, the overall level of producer prices in Latvian industry in April 2013 increased by 0.1%. The producer prices of products sold on the domestic market rose by 1.1%, whereas prices of exported products reduced by 0.9%.

Social ,
Latvia

May 23, 2013

Latvia: one car per three residents

Estonia has the largest proportion of cars per capita among other Baltic States – 0.51. Lithuania's index reached 0.40 this year. That of Latvia is 0.33, according to the latest barometer survey data of Autoplius.

Social ,
Latvia

1 comment

May 23, 2013

Japanese climber, 80, becomes oldest atop Everest

An 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer became the oldest person to reach the top of Mount Everest on Thursday — although his record may last only a few days. An 81-year-old Nepalese man, who held the previous record, plans his own ascent next week.

World

May 23, 2013

Wife of Latvian official denies claims about his attempts to hide from the law

I deny the information that the whereabouts of the suspended director of the Customs Criminal Office of the State Revenue Service Vladimir Vaskevics are unknown, says his wife business woman Inara Vilkaste.

Social ,
Latvia

May 23, 2013

Lembergs' cheap shopping spree abroad

It's a waste of money – to buy clothing, footwear and cosmetics in Latvia, says criminally accused Latvia politician Aivars Lembergs.

Social ,
Latvia

1 comment

May 23, 2013

Ford plans to shut all Australian production by 2016

US car giant Ford Motor will shut all its Australian manufacturing plants by October 2016, after more than 85 years of making vehicles in the country.

World

May 23, 2013

Builders: Castle of Light is almost finished

The total expected costs for the construction of the Latvian National Library (LNL) are estimated at 187 million LVL, including VAT.

Social ,
Latvia

Photo

May 23, 2013

Man killed in London machete attack

Vulvičas rajonā Londonā politisku iemeslu dēļ ar mačeti nogalināts cilvēks, policija sašāvusi un ievainojusi divus aizdomās turētos.

Social ,
World

Video

May 23, 2013

EU leaders see progress on lifting bank secrecy

EU leaders in Brussels for a special summit on tax evasion and fraud hailed new political momentum on the issue, but few concrete measures were agreed to recoup the estimated €1 trillion yearly in lost revenues.

World

May 23, 2013

Aircraft bomb found at Ventspils is neutralized in open sea

Bomb disposal specialists of the Latvian National Armed Forces (LNAF) successfully neutralized the 500 kg aircraft bomb that was recently found in Ventspil port.

Social ,
Latvia

May 23, 2013

U.S. stock futures advance

U.S. stocks futures were trading in a narrow range on Wednesday, May 22, morning, but with the major pre-market indexes seeing slight gains.

World

May 22, 2013

500 kg large aircraft bomb found at Ventspils port

Yesterday, May 21, a 500 kg large aircraft bomb was found on the premises of Ventspils port, 3rd Zemessardze disttict headquarters representative Zanda Tamulone reports.

Social ,
Latvia

May 22, 2013

Latvian commercial banks create joint enterprise

On Wednesday, May 22, the Enterprise Register of the Republic of Latvia registered a joint company - Kredītinformācijas Birojs – founded by a number of Latvian commercial banks – SEB bank, Swedbank, Nordea, DNB bank, Citadele bank and ABLV Bank. The goal of the newly founded enterprise is to have it function as a credit bureau.

Money ,
Latvia

May 22, 2013

Energy and taxes to be discussed in EU summit

EU heads of state and government are convening in Brussels to enhance energy market and limit tax avoidance.

Money ,
World

May 22, 2013

Latvian residents travelled more often last year

The results of the survey on the domestic trips of Latvian residents show that the number of overnight recreational and other private trips in 2012 was 3.6 million, which is 11.8% more than in 2011.

Social ,
Latvia

May 22, 2013

Average income per capita in the Baltics exceed pre-crisis peak

The Baltic States continue to come close to the average level of the European Union – in the middle of 2011, the average income per capita in the Baltic states were above the peak of the pre-crisis period.

Baltics ,
Social

1 comment

May 22, 2013

SEB: there is a 50% chance Lithuania will be eligible for Euro in 2015

The Baltic States have been the most rapidly growing economies in the European Union lately, and they can retain their positions in the future as well. Economic growth in Latvia and Lithuania is expected to slow down this year. That in Estonia will remain unchanged – 3.3% respectively.

World

May 22, 2013

Bank of Latvia: increase rate of the national economy to slow down

The general money offer index and attracted finances of credit institutions increased slightly this April. The general cash money demand, on the other hand, had reduced. There was also a moderate reduction in the general credit portfolio.

Social ,
Latvia

1 comment

May 22, 2013

Apple and other great American companies that keep mountains of cash overseas

Apple found itself in front of a Senate Subcommittee Tuesday, May 21, defending its elaborate practice of keeping cash offshore in order to minimize their tax liability. But Apple is far from the only company that does this.

World

May 22, 2013

Oklahoma tornado: a lucky mistake in death toll

Oklahoma state officials have corrected the previously announced number of storm victims down from 91 to 24.

World

Photo

May 22, 2013

Economy Minister: Russian business interest increases in Latvia

There are two scenarios available for the development of Latvia's economy – stay smart and grow naturally, or use a basis of cheap expenses – attract cheap workforce, Latvian Economy Minister Daniels Pavluts believes. The minister points to the growing interest of Russian business in Latvia, which could potentially lead toward rapid development.