Billionaires list grows by a Google By Michael P. Regan | The Associated Press Posted February 27, 2004
NEW YORK -- Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and the founders of the Google search engine have landed on Forbes magazine's annual list of billionaires after a year when rallying stocks and a strong euro swelled the list to the longest it has ever been. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates remains perched atop the list for the 10th straight year but investor Warren Buffett is nipping at his heels. Gates' net worth is now estimated at $46.6 billion, still less than half the $100 billion it peaked at in 1998, but up about 13 percent from the $40.7 billion Forbes attributed to him in 2003. Buffett wins the bragging rights for reaping the best gains of the year. He increased his net worth by $12.4 billion to $42.9 billion, significantly narrowing the gap between him and Gates, with whom he competes in bridge tournaments. German supermarket magnate Karl Albrecht remained in third place, with a fortune of $23 billion. Close behind were Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, whose $21.5 billion nest egg put him just ahead of Microsoft's other co-founder, Paul Allen, who came in fifth with $21 billion. Rounding out the top 10 were Helen Walton, wife of the late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, and four members of her family. They were tied for sixth, with each worth an estimated $20 billion -- making for a Walton's mountain of money that's bigger than the holdings of Gates and Buffett combined. Billionaires with Central Florida connections include Richard DeVos, Amway founder and owner of the Orlando Magic, ranked 216 with $2.4 billion. Also on the list, William France Jr., chairman of International Speedway Corp., and James France, the company's chief executive officer. Both were ranked at 472 with $1.2 billion each. All told, it was a fabulous year to be very rich. The magazine counted some 587 billionaires around the world, up from 476 in 2003. Their total net worth jumped to $1.9 trillion from $1.4 trillion in 2003. Newcomers included Rowling and Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. All three debuted with $1 billion each. There were three billionaires behind bars, including Russia's richest man, former Yukos oil chief Mikhail Khodorkovsy ($15 billion), as well as Yukos shareholder Platon Lebedev ($1.8 billion) and Japanese tycoon Yasuo Takei ($6.2 billion).
