Bill Gates tops Forbes rich list

BILL GATES has topped this year’s Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans with a net worth calculated at 59 billion US dollars (€43.2bn).

Forbes said the Microsoft co-founder saw his wealth increase by $5bn from last year.

Investor, Warren Buffett, ranks second with a fortune of $39bn (€28.5bn), though Forbes said the Berkshire Hathaway chief executive’s wealth shrank by $6bn from a year ago.