400 Richest People in America 2014 by Forbes - Full List

Bill Gates remains the richest person in US for 21 consecutive years. The 400 Richest People in America 2014 - list revealed by Forbes.

Bill Gates is the richest American for the 21st year in a row, with a net worth of $81 billion. (He’s the world’s second richest person, behind Mexico’s Carlos Slim.) The Microsoft chairman’s stake in the software company he cofounded accounts for just under 20% of his total net worth. His friend Warren Buffett, chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, occupies the number two spot on the 400 (he’s been number 2 since 2001) with a net worth of $67 billion. Larry Ellison, who just announced that he was giving up the CEO role at Oracle, the software firm he founded, comes in at number three, with a net worth of $50 billion.

Thanks to a buoyant stock market, the richest people in the U.S. just keep getting richer. That has made it harder than ever to join the ranks of the 400 wealthiest Americans. The price of entry to The Forbes 400 this year is $1.55 billion, the highest it’s been since Forbes started tracking American wealth in 1982. Last year it took $1.3 billion to score a spot. Because the bar is so high, 113 U.S. billionaires didn’t make the cut.

Net worth: $81 billion, up $9 billion
Source: Microsoft
Age: 58

Richest man in America for the 21st straight year

His Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given away $30 billion since 2000

As America’s top philanthropist, he picks and chooses which of the world’s biggest issues to tackle. This year he pledged $50 million to fight the Ebola outbreak in Africa and $1 million to advocate for gun control in Washington.

Net worth is up $9 billion, helped by rising shares of Microsoft, Canadian National Railway and trash company Republic Services

Cofounded Microsoft with childhood friend Paul Allen. Harvard hallmate Steve Ballmer served as longtime CEO. All three are among top 30 richest in America.

Bulk of his fortune is in private investment vehicle Cascade, which holds stakes in Canadian National Railway, tractor maker Deere & Co., and South American McDonald’s franchisee Arcos Dorados (golden arches in Spanish.)

2. Warren Buffett

AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Jessica J. Trevino

Net worth: $67 billion, up $8.5 billion
Source: Berkshire Hathaway
Age: 84

Has been the second-richest man in America, behind Gates, every year since 2001

Net worth up $8.5 billion thanks to surging stock in Berkshire Hathaway

Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway are the most expensive shares of any public company, over $200,000 apiece

Has given away nearly $23 billion in his lifetime, to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and to foundations run by his 3 children

His company has dozens of subsidiaries, including Dairy queen, Geico insurance, See’s Candies and Heinz ketchup.

3. Larry Ellison

REUTERS/Noah Berger

Net worth: $50 billion, up $9 billion
Source: Oracle
Age: 70

Shocked business world when he announced he would step down as Oracle CEO in September, but will remain chief technology officer

Richest man in Silicon Valley

Built databases for the CIA before founding Oracle in 1977

Continuing to add to his real estate portfolio by buying up the Hawaiian island of Lanai.

He bought nearly the entire Hawaiian island of Lanai in 2012 and continues to add to his holdings there

86% of his net worth is tied up in Oracle stock.

4. Charles Koch

Getty Images

Net worth: $42 billion, up $6 billion
Source: diversified
Age: 78

Chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, second-largest private company in America, with sales of $115 billion

He took over for his father Fred in 1967 and grew the company into the giant it is today

He and his brother David are pouring money toward a Republican effort to take control of the Senate in 2014

This year Koch Industries acquired inkmaker Fling Group for a reported $3 billion and PetroLogistics for $2.1 billion.

4. David Koch

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

Net worth: $42 billion, up $6 billion
Source: diversified
Age: 74

Richest man in New York City

He and his brother Charles share control of Koch Industries, second-largest private company in America

Koch Industries’ interests include oil pipelines, refineries, building materials, paper towels and even Dixie cups

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York dedicated the David H. Koch Plaza in September after he funded a $65 million renovation

6. Christy Walton & family

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Net worth: $38 billion, up $2.6 billion
Source: Wal-Mart
Age: 59

Richest woman in the world

Married into the richest family in the world, worth over $150 billion

Former husband John Walton died in a plane crash in 2005

Richest member of the Walton family thanks to a side investment in solar company First Solar. Its shares are up 87% since last year’s Forbes 400.

7. Jim Walton

Rob Walton (L) looks at his brother Jim Walton (R) (AP Photo/Sarah Bentham)

Net worth: $36 billion, up $2.2 billion
Source: Wal-Mart
Age: 66

Largest individual shareholder of Wal-Mart

Youngest child of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton

CEO of family-founded Arvest Bank, which has branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri

8. Michael Bloomberg

AP Photo/Thibault Camus

Net worth: $35 billion, up $4 billion
Source: Bloomberg LP
Age: 72

Returned to lead Bloomberg LP less than a year after ending tenure as mayor of New York

Owns 88% of Bloomberg LP, which will pass $9 billion in revenue in 2014

Got his start working on Wall Street at Salomon Brothers in 1966

Has given away $3.3 billion in his lifetime

Reportedly spending $50 million this year battling the NRA, which has launched an attack ad taking direct aim at Bloomberg personally.

9. Alice Walton

Jim Walton and Alice Walton (AP Photo/April L. Brown)

Net worth: $34.9 billion, up $1.4 billion
Source: Wal-Mart
Age: 64

Daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton

Opened her Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas in 2011, which has works from Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell and Mark Rothko.