Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates has retained his top spot on the list of richest Americans for the twelfth year running.
The list published on Friday in Forbes Magazine showed that US President George W. Bush's policy of tax cuts has made America's wealthiest even wealthier with the top 400 now worth US$1.13 trillion -- up US$125 billion from last year's figure. It took US$900 million to make the top 400 list, compared with US$750 billion last year.
In total, the US now has 313 billionaires -- up from 262 last year. California alone boasts 98.
Gates led the list with US$51 billion, ahead of investor Warren Buffet with US$40 billion.
Gates' former partner Paul Allen was in third place with a net worth of US$22.5 billion, followed by computer mogul Michael Dell with US$18 billion. Software titan Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, came in fifth with a net worth of US$17 billion.
The remaining five members of the top 10 are members of the Walton family that is heir to the Wal-Mart fortune, each of whom is worth more than US$15 billion, Forbes estimated.
John Walton, who died in a plane crash in June, was replaced by his wife, Christy, at number six on the list, followed by Jim Walton, S. Robson Walton, Alice Walton and Helen Walton.
Steve Ballmer, the Microsoft chief executive, was ranked 11th with an estimated US$14 billion.
The top celebrity on the list was Star Wars creator George Lucas with US$3.5 billion, followed by tycoon-turned-reality TV star Donald Trump, and director Steven Spielberg with US$2.7 billion.
TV personas Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart also made the list, with US$1.4 billion and US$970 million respectively.
Google's co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page jumped to a tie for the number 16 spot as their fortunes more than doubled to US$11 billion each, Forbes said.
Among the notables who fell off the list this year was DreamWorks cofounder Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Forbes said Gates' financial strategy means that he "diversifies methodically, selling 20 million shares every quarter, reinvesting through Cascade Investment."
In addition to his Microsoft stock that makes up the vast majority of his wealth, he has "big stakes" in Canadian National Railway, Republic Services, and interestingly Berkshire Hathaway, which is controlled by Buffett.
VALUABLE STOCK: The company closed at NT$1,005 a share, on demand for AI and HPC chips, and is expected to issue a positive report during its earnings conference Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) shares rose 2.66 percent to close at a record high of NT$1,005 yesterday. as investors expect the company to continue benefiting from strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) chips. TSMC is the 19th member of the local bourse’s NT$1,000 stock club, which includes smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) and electric transformer manufacturer Fortune Electric Co (華城電機). Yesterday’s rally swelled TSMC’s market capitalization to NT$26.06 trillion (US$802.3 billion) and contributed about 211 points to the TAIEX, which closed up 350.1 points, or 1.51 percent, to 23,522.53, another record high, Taiwan Stock
Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷汽車), a subsidiary of Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車), yesterday said it is again offering a NT$100,000 discount for its entry-level n7 electric vehicle models. The n7’s price has gone down from NT$1.099 million to NT$999,000, Luxgen said, adding that there are 25,000 preorders for the model. MG Motor’s electric hatchback, the MG4, entered the market in the middle of last month, with a starting price of NT$990,000. China Motor Corp (中華汽車), which distributes MG vehicles in Taiwan, said it aims to sell 1,600 MG4s this year. MG, originally a British brand, was acquired by China’s SAIC Motor
South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc, the world’s No. 2 memorychip maker, is to invest 103 trillion won (US$74.6 billion) through 2028 to strengthen its chips business, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), its parent SK Group said yesterday. SK Group also said it plans to secure 80 trillion won by 2026 to invest in AI and semiconductors as well as fund shareholder returns, while streamlining its more than 175 subsidiaries. The sprawling conglomerate outlined the plans following a two-day strategy meeting, aiming to revive the group after SK Hynix, its main money maker, and the group’s electric vehicle battery arm suffered heavy losses. SK
Google on Monday said it is planning to invest in New Green Power Co (NGP, 永鑫能源), a solar energy developer owned by BlackRock Inc, to build 1 gigawatt of solar capacity in Taiwan to supply clean energy for its local data center and offices. “Our investment in NGP, subject to regulatory approval, will serve as development capital toward its 1 GW pipeline of new solar projects, catalyzing critical equity and debt financing for those projects,” Google’s Data Center Energy global head Amanda Peterson Corio wrote on a company blog. It did not disclose financial details. “We expect to procure up to 300 megawatts