Forbes magazine released its list of the 400 Richest Americans this week, with the usual suspects Bill Gates ($66B), Warren Buffett ($46) and Larry Ellison ($41B) remaining at the top of the billionaire pack. The Koch brothers, Charles and David ($31B each), round out the top five.
Thanks mostly to rising stock values, the five richest Americans are worth $34 billion more than a year ago, and as a group, two-thirds of those on Forbes 400 added to their fortunes, increasing their average net worth by $400 million to a record $4.2 billion. All in all, the 400 saw their net worth rise by nearly 13-percent to some $1.7 trillion.
In addition to recovering stock prices, the rise in real estate values has helped the wealthiest get wealthier. According to Forbes real estate writer Morgan Brennan, 25 of the Forbes 400 have real estate to thank for their billions. And real estate’s slight rebound have helped 20 of those individuals amass larger fortunes than last year.
For the complete list of America’s 400 Richest Americans go here.