# Forbes 400 Richest Americans List **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 24, 2011, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452 "2011-09-24T13:10:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/21 "2011-09-26T21:45:34Z")
I have had lunch a few tables away from a guy in the top 50. He often eats with the regular employees. A good friend of mine works with a guy in the top 100. ---
**Author:** ![Euryphaessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Euryphaessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euryphaessa)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/22 "2011-09-26T22:30:04Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > You notice he was not in the Top Ten? CEO of a company now the most valuable on the NYSE, and he is not even in the Top Ten. I bet when the truth on him comes out he will not be a Nice Guy. I thought it was pretty widely established that Steve Jobs is kind of an asshole. And if I’m not mistaken, his salary as CEO of Apple was $1 per year, although he also had use of a private jet and lots of stock options. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/23 "2011-09-26T22:35:28Z")
And they have a combined net worth of about 1.5 trillion, roughly the combined net worth of the bottom 150 million Americans. Good times. The Kochs inherited wealth, but they seem to have grown it pretty well. I thought they originally inherited 300 million or so but turned it into 50+ billion. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/24 "2011-09-26T23:11:16Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > As **Snarky\_Kong** pointed out, it’s not just writing out a check and putting it in the mail. Assuming Gates restricts his philanthropy to the Gates Foundation, which takes care of the worthiness issue, there are still tax considerations and such. Besides, it’s not like Mr. Gates keeps his money in a checking account anyway. He’s certainly got some liquid assets – he’s gotta eat, after all. But the majority of his wealth is likely tied up in the various markets, and to liquidate those assets in those amounts would raise regulatory issues, as well as more of the aforementioned tax headaches. He could, theoretically, endow part of the Foundation with shares of Microsoft stock, and there is certainly precedent to do so; the Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania owns a lot of the stock of The Hershey Company, for example. But there is a lot more to this kind of massive philanthropy than you’d think. To clarify: Much of the funding for the Milton Hershey School is derived from income from their holdings of Hershey stock. They do have other campaigns and receive grants from other sources, but the stock is really what provides most of the school’s operating budget. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/25 "2011-09-26T23:19:35Z")
He’s not super rich but the music producer Mutt Lange does not want any pictures of him in public. He goes so far as to buy them up. He was married to Shania Twain up until a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/26 "2011-09-27T19:12:24Z")
I never like Gate’s foundation. It only deals with other established foundations that Gates approves of. It’s when Mrs Drysdale (Beverly Hillbillies) says she is going to start a charity for all the poor people in Brentwood. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/27 "2011-09-27T19:28:07Z")
> [@AndyLee](#): > > I never like Gate’s foundation. It only deals with other established foundations that Gates approves of. This is exactly the right way to run a major foundation. The alternative is to give money to anyone who asks, regardless of their knowledge about the problem they are addressing, their ability to effectively deal with it, and their basic honesty. That is a recipe for disaster (not to mention ineffective disaster relief). > [@](#): > > It’s when Mrs Drysdale (Beverly Hillbillies) says she is going to start a charity for all the poor people in Brentwood. The foundation provides major funding to fight diseases like polio, HIV/AIDs and tuberculosis in developing countries. While there has been criticism of the approach they have taken, no one is suggesting that they are providing charity to the rich, or to people who don’t desperately need it. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/28 "2011-09-27T19:39:51Z")
> [@AndyLee](#): > > I never like Gate’s foundation. It only deals with other established foundations that Gates approves of. It’s when Mrs Drysdale (Beverly Hillbillies) says she is going to start a charity for all the poor people in Brentwood. Ten people in my graduating class at my very poor high school were named Gates Millennium Scholars and, as of right now, they are all either in medical school or law school. I assure you that these kids- many of whom are from VERY poor, single parent households- would have never had the educational opportunities they have had without that scholarship. I don’t remember all the things they get with it, but it’s full tuition, living expenses, plus new computers and stuff, plus one year of travel abroad, etc. I once read that graduates that are Gates Millennium Scholars are twice as likely to finish college and go on to graduate programs than kids who aren’t, but are from similar backgrounds. So, I guess my point is that the Gates aren’t just helping their billionaire friends next door. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/29 "2011-09-27T19:56:43Z")
A few thoughts from someone who’s paid to look up rich people: [ul][li]I always knew the Mars family was reclusive but I didn’t realize that they were so reclusive that _Forbes doesn’t even have a picture of him for the list_. Wow.[/li] [li]Surprising how many sports-team owners are on this list. The last two owners of the Buffalo Sabres, of all teams, are on there (and if the Rigas family wasn’t languishing in prison, that might be the last three owners). It’s kind of funny to read the UK papers complaining about “billionaire owners” ruining soccer there, when in American sports you almost have to be a billionaire to get your foot in the door.[/li] [li]Everybody who has to deal with SAS is probably kicking their computer at #91. Or, if you’re like me and struggling through Oracle SQL, #3. Or, if you’re like everybody else, #1, I guess.[/li] [li]Maybe an interesting list would be to group by family wealth. Of course we all know about the wealth of the Koch brothers and the Walton family, but there are other families that would skyrocket up the list if their wealth was pooled, like the Mars family and the Pritzker family.[/li] I guess the saddest thing to me is that I recognized a good half of the names. Combine the families, and you’ve probably got about 300 billionaires in the US. I’m not going to make this political, but think about what power that 0.0001% of the US has got.[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/30 "2011-09-28T01:59:48Z")
My experience with Gate’s “charity” was at the National PTA. Microsoft had given them Office. But this was just one set of copies, and did NOT include updates or support. The “gift” was a cold-blooded tactical move to try to ensure that they didn’t move to an Open Source solution. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/31 "2011-09-28T02:53:40Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > My experience with Gate’s “charity” was at the National PTA. Microsoft had given them Office. But this was just one set of copies, and did NOT include updates or support. The “gift” was a cold-blooded tactical move to try to ensure that they didn’t move to an Open Source solution. I think you have confused the actions of Microsoft with Gates Foundation. Most of the activity of the Gates has been in third world countries. [http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx](http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx) Some of the goals of the Foundation, like the elimination of Polio are quite audacious. Gates really seems committed to plugging the hole instead of bailing the boat type solutions. Warren Buffet certainly thinks Bill Gates is the real deal. He is transferring most of his fortune to the Gates Foundation. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/32 "2011-09-28T09:14:08Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Melinda Gates deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. But she managed the production of clippy, the ‘helpful’ paper clip office assistant. That alone should disqualify her. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/33 "2011-09-29T19:59:28Z")
This is not the first year there were billionaires who did not make the list of the 400 richest people in America. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/34 "2011-09-30T13:47:04Z")
Why are so many rich from “pipelines”? Are they that difficult? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452/35 "2011-09-30T19:58:11Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Why are so many rich from “pipelines”? Are they that difficult? Yes, they are fairly difficult. Especially in gaining access rights to run them across the land. Also liability for leaks (but if you’re rich enough, you can get laws passed protecting you from that). And the pipeline is built once, then you continue to make money from it year after year. A high volume goes through the pipeline, so even a small fee adds up quickly. And the fee doesn’t have to stay small, because once it’s operating, it becomes tough for your customers to go elsewhere. Shipping it by truck or railroad or barge is much more expensive. And there’s not likely to be a competing pipeline. (If you’re rich, you can use your friends on the Utilities Commission to fight against allowing any competing pipeline to be built – argue that there is no ‘need’ (since there’s already your pipeline) and point out the risks to the public (listing as examples each leak from your pipeline). Pipelines come fairly close to the proverbial ‘license to print money’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forbes-400-richest-americans-list/597452.md?page=1)