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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, September 28, 2001

Gates loses billions, still world's richest

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Bill Gates is still a multibillionaire, but not quite as wealthy as he was a year ago.

The co-founder and chairman of Microsoft Corp. remained the richest person in the world as of Aug. 27, according to the annual survey by Forbes Magazine of the 400 wealthiest Americans.

The slowing economy was reflected in the declining worth in the rankings, which were released by Forbes on its Web site last night. The magazine is scheduled to be on newsstands Oct. 1.

Super investor Warren Buffett moved into second place, followed by the other Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen. Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison dropped from second to fourth. The rest of the top 10, except for Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, was a family affair, made up of relatives of deceased Wal-Mart Stores Inc. founder Sam Walton.

Gates' net worth fell to $54 billion this year, down from $63 billion last year, largely on the strength of Microsoft's shares.

Buffett saw his net worth fall to $33.2 billion.

Newspaper heiress Barbara Cox Anthony of Hawai'i was No. 11 with $11.3 billion. Honolulu-born Steve Case of AOL Time Warner ranked 211 with $1.1 billion.

The list's average financial heavyweight is worth $2.4 billion, down $600 million from last year.

Considering the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, the magazine recalculated the financial effect on 50 of the list's more recognizable names.

Gates lost $7.2 billion from Aug. 27 to Sept. 24, leaving his net worth at $46.8 billion. Buffett lost $2.8 billion , dropping his net worth to $30.4 billion. Allen's net worth fell $4 billion.