THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 30, 1996 TAG: 9609300077
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: 68 lines
From the average Joe to the most bloated fat cat, Americans have more money. But the richest are a lot richer and their ranks have swelled by nearly a third.
The 1996 annual ranking of the 400 wealthiest Americans by Forbes magazine includes a record 135 billionaires, 41 more than last year. The ranking appears in the magazine's Oct. 14 issue, released Sunday.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett again lead the list with a combined fortune of $33.5 billion. That's nearly as much as President Clinton's proposed tax break to help middle-class parents pay for their children's college education.
The Forbes ranking came as the Census Bureau reported that the earning power of everyone in the country increased last year for the first time in six years, reducing the number of poor as wages climbed faster than inflation.
But while regular folks' salaries inched up, the coffers of the rich have ballooned, helped by the stock market's extended rally and the American fervor for computers, phones and the Internet.
For the first time, the average net worth of the Forbes 400 exceeds $1 billion.
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Gates remained No. 1 and venerable investor Buffett No. 2, for the third consecutive year.
Off the list this year: Walt Disney Co. chief Michael Eisner. ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC
THE RICHEST
From a list of the 400 richest Americans as compiled by Forbes
magazine, with estimated net worth:
1. Gates, William Henry III, Bellevue, Wash., $18.5 billion
2. Buffett, Warren Edward, Omaha, Neb. $15 billion
3. Allen, Paul Gardner, Mercer Island, Wash., $7.5 billion
4. Kluge, John Werner, Charlottesville, Va., $7.2 billion
5. Ellison, Lawrence Joseph, Atherton, Calif., $6 billion
6. Knight, Philip Hampson, Portland, Ore., $5.3 billion
7. Walton, Jim C., Bentonville, Ark., $4.8 billion
8. Walton, John T., Durango, Colo., $4.8 billion
9. Walton, Alice L., Rogers, Ark., $4.7 billion
10. Walton, Helen, Bentonville, Ark, $4.7 billion
11. Walton, S. Robson, Bentonville, Ark., $4.7 billion
12. Newhouse, Donald Edward, Somerset County, N.J., $4.5 billion
13. Newhouse, Samuel Irving Jr., New York City, $4.5 billion
14. Anthony, Barbara Cox, Honolulu, $4 billion
15. Chambers, Anne Cox, Atlanta, $4 billion
16. Perelman, Ronald Owen, New York City, $4 billion
17. Annenberg, Walter Hubert, Wynnewood, Pa., $3.7 billion
18. Ballmer, Steven Anthony, Bellevue, Wash., $3.7 billion
19. Moore, Gordon Earle, Woodside, Calif., $3.7 billion
20. Kerkorian, Kirk, Las Vegas, $3.4 billion
21. Redstone, Sumner Murray, Newton Centre, Mass., $3.4 billion
22. Perot, Henry Ross, Dallas, $3.3 billion
23. Devos, Richard Marvin, Ada, Mich., $3.2 billion
24. Murdoch, Keith Rupert, New York City, $3.2 billion
25. Van Andel, Jay, Ada, Mich. $3.2 billion
OTHER VIRGINIANS
32. Mars, Forrest Edward Jr., McLean, $3 billion
101. Mellon, Paul, Upperville, $1.2 billion
188. Batten, Frank, Virginia Beach, $780 million
341. Mills, Alice Francis du Pont and family, Middleburg, $490
million
348. Darden, Constance du Pont and family, Norfolk, $480 million by CNB