Bill Gates leads Forbes rich list
Bill Gates earned his $59bn fortune from Microsoft
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has been ranked as the wealthiest person in America for the 14th year in a row.
Forbes magazine put Gates' fortune at $59bn, with investment guru Warren Buffet in second place with a net worth of $52bn.
Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and software tycoon Larry Ellison remained at third and fourth place on Forbes' list of the 400 richest Americans.
It took a net worth of at least $1.3bn to earn a spot in the rankings.
For the first time since 1989 there were no members of Walton family, which established Wal-Mart Stores, in the top 10.
They were displaced by Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who came in joint fifth place, with fortunes of $18.5bn apiece.