Bill Gates ranked richest American by Forbes, 21st time in a row

New York: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates topped Forbes' latest list of the 400 richest Americans for the 21st straight year.

The list, released yesterday, was largely unchanged for 2014 and showed the rich getting richer. The combined wealth of those on the list rose 13 per cent to USD 2.29 trillion, helped by a stronger US stock market. Gates' net worth totaled USD 81 billion, up USD 9 billion from 2013.

Investor Warren Buffett, the head of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, remained in second place at USD 67 billion. Oracle Corp co-founder Larry Ellison also kept his No 3 spot with USD 50 billion.

Brothers Charles and David Koch, co-owners of Koch Industries Inc, stay tied for fourth with USD 42 billion each. There were 27 new members of the list, including WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum in the 62nd spot. Facebook announced plans to buy the mobile messaging app for USD 19 billion in February.

The biggest gainer is Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, No 11, whose net worth grew USD 15 billion since last year to USD 34 billion.

The net worth of America's wealthiest people has risen in the years since the financial crisis, widening the gap between the exceptionally well-to-do and the rest of the country. The average net worth of a Forbes 400 member is USD 5.7 billion, up from USD 5 billion last year.