Bill Gates still America's richest person

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is still America’s richest man, taking the top spot in the Forbes 400 list for the 20th-straight year with a net worth of US $72bn (€54bn).

Investor Warren Buffett, the head of Berkshire Hathaway, remains in second place with $58.5bn (€44bn), while Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison stays third with 41 billion dollars (€31bn).

Brothers Charles and David Koch, co-owners of Koch Industries, stay tied for fourth with $36bn dollars (€27bn) each.

Forbes says America’s super rich continued to increase their wealth over the past year, with the 400 people on the annual list posting a combined net worth of $2 trillion (€1.5 trillion), up from $1.7 trillion (€1.27 trillion) a year ago. That marks their highest combined value ever.

Forbes attributed the growth to strong stock and property markets.