Microsoft founder Bill Gates has recovered his spot at the top of the US money heap, displacing investor Warren Buffett as America's richest person, Forbes magazine's latest list reveals.

With 57 billion dollars net worth Gates again leads the list of 400 richest individuals in the world's wealthiest country.

He displaced Buffett who briefly held the position this year but who has seen his Berkshire Hathaway investment group's shares slip 15 percent since February and is now worth 50 billion.

According to Forbes, whose list was published late Wednesday, the golden 400 have 1.3 billion dollars net worth or more. However, their combined net worth rose only 30 billion dollars, or two percent, to 1.57 trillion dollars.

Forbes said that rising oil and dizzy art prices fuelled the entry of 31 new members into the ultra-rich club and the return of eight previous members.

A notable arrival was Mark Zuckerberg, 24, founder of the social networking site Facebook. Forbes estimates his worth at 1.5 billion dollars.

Newcomers ranged from fertilizer tycoon Alexander Rovt to Patron tequila founder John Paul DeJoria and Norman Braman, the car dealer and art collector.

Meanwhile, turmoil on the stock and housing markets saw 33 others drop off the list, including the former head of the troubled insurance giant AIG, Maurice Greenberg, and a former head of the online auction site eBay, Margaret Whitman.

Biggest gainers were led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg who took eighth place with 20 billion dollars worth after a transaction put a new value on his Bloomberg media and financial data network.

The biggest loser was casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, whose fortune fell 13 billion dollars over 12 months -- the equivalent to 1.5 million dollars an hour -- although he still has 15 billion dollars and occupies 15th place.

About two thirds of the list are self-made billionaires and just over 10 percent are women, led by television star Oprah Winfrey whose fortune rose 200 million dollars to 2.7 billion dollars.

 

《福布斯》杂志日前发布最新美国富豪榜，微软集团创始人比尔•盖茨取代“股神”沃伦·巴菲特，重夺首富桂冠。

在这份全球最富国家的“400大富豪榜”上，盖茨以570亿美元的净资产荣登榜首。

今年早些时候，首富交椅一度为巴菲特占据，不过他所持有的波克夏•哈萨威公司的股票的价值自今年2月以来跌了15%，目前仅值500亿美元。

据《福布斯》介绍，今年上榜的400位富豪净资产至少达13亿美元。然而，今年400位富豪的总资产达1.57万亿美元，较之去年仅增300亿美元，增幅仅为2%。《福布斯》于本周三晚些时候发布了该榜。

《福布斯》称，油价上涨和工艺品价格的走高让31位新富首次跻身该榜，曾经上榜的八位富豪也趁势回归。

其中Facebook社交网站创始人、24岁的马克•扎克伯格成为榜上最大的亮点，他的身价约达15亿美元。

其他上榜的新富包括“化肥”大亨亚历山大•罗夫特、Patron龙舌兰酒业集团创始人约翰•保尔•德约里尔和汽车经销商兼艺术收藏家诺曼•布拉曼。

同时，股市的动荡和房地产市场的不景气让33位富豪跌出榜单，其中包括濒临破产的保险业巨头AIG（美国国际集团）前总裁莫里斯•格林伯格和在线拍卖网站eBay前总裁玛格丽特•惠特曼。

而最大的赢家当属排行第八、资产达200亿美元的纽约市市长迈克尔•布卢姆伯格，此前他做的一笔交易（从美林公司回购彭博股票）使他的彭博财经传媒集团资产大增。

最大的输家则是赌博业大亨谢尔登•阿德尔森，他的个人净资产在过去一年中暴跌130亿美元（相当于1小时150万美元），不过他还是以150亿美元的身价名列排行榜第15位。

榜上约三分之二的富豪靠白手起家，此外，女富豪所占比例超过10%，其中脱口秀“名嘴”奥普拉•温芙瑞的个人财富从2亿美元增至27亿美元，成为榜上最富的女性.