Bill Gates bumped off the top spot

Emma Hughes | Oct 13, 2008 7:50 AM

Pile of cash shrinking

Bill Gates has been the richest American on the Forbes 400 list for 15 years - well not any more, as this crown has been handed over to none other than insurance and jewellery flogger Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett.

As reported here, Bloomberg announced the sad news alongside a recalculation of the list which is to be published later this month.

Bloomberg reports in its next edition the effect of the financial crisis on the wealthiest Americans list - showing how Microsoft's net worth declined US$1.5 billion to US$55.5 billion from August 29 to October 1 this year.

However, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman added the tidy sum of US$8 billion to his net worth during the same 33-day period totaling US$58 billion.

This is a big change for Mr Gates, as he has held the number one spot on the Forbes list for 15 years in a row, but he has retired now.