Zuckerberg tops California’s wealthiest
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has been slipping in recent election polls, has lost ground in another measure of success — his ranking on the annual Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans.
Trump’s net worth was pegged at $3.7 billion, an $800 million decline from last year, according to Forbes. The real estate developer and presidential candidate’s ranking fell 35 spots to No. 156 on the gilded list, released Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was California’s richest man, with a net worth of $55.5 billion, allowing him to crack the top 5 for the first time. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, announced in December they would give away 99 percent of their wealth over their lifetime.
Overall, the rich got richer this year, with the Forbes 400 representing a record-breaking combined net worth of $2.4 trillion. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates retained the top spot for the 23rd consecutive year with a net worth of $81 billion.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, moved past Warren Buffett for the No. 2 slot with a net worth of $67 billion, up $20 billion from last year.
Forbes said a softening of the New York real estate market contributed to Trump’s decline. The value of Trump Tower in Chicago also declined, dropping $39 million, to $169 million. The property carries $50 million in debt, according to Forbes.
Other Californians on the list include Larry Ellison of Oracle at No. 5 ($49.3 billion); Larry Page ($38.5 billion) and Sergey Brin ($37.5 billion) of Google at Nos. 9 and 10; Laurene Powell Jobs of Apple and Disney at No. 23 ($17.7 billion); Donald Bren, a Newport Beach real estate developer, at No. 27 ($15.2 billion); and Elon Musk of Tesla at No. 34 ($11.6 billion). The list also includes No. 36 Eric Schmidt of Google ($11.3 billion), No. 44 Dustin Moskovitz of Facebook ($10.4 billion) and Jan Koum of WhatsApp in Santa Clara at No. 50 ($8.8 billion).
The complete Forbes 400 list can be found at www.forbes.com/400.