Forbes' richest in U.S. are still feeling recession

[GG]

More than half are weathier than last year, but one-third have lost ground

The Forbes 400 regained lost ground in 2010, while most were still smarting from the recession.

It has been a year of reclamation for America's richest. The total worth of the Forbes 400 was up 8 percent to $1.37 trillion, well out-earning the 1 percent rise in the S&P over the same period of time. More than half (217) are richer than they were a year ago.

The headline number tells a partial story. Just over one-third of the 400 failed to add to their fortunes or lost ground. Still far above us is the record of $1.57 trillion in total net worth set in 2008.

But the very top of the list gained, as good friends Bill Gates and Warren Buffett were up $4 billion and $5 billion, respectively. They, too, are short of their personal highs. Gates, who in March lost his title of world's richest person to Mexico's Carlos Slim, is still America's richest person — for the 17th year in a row.

Las Vegas gambling tycoon Sheldon Adelson was the kid, or "comeback adolescent," as he calls himself. "I'm too old to be a kid," he told Forbes. The largest shareholder of Las Vegas Sands is the year's biggest dollar gainer. His casino's shares are up 1,500 percent since their 2009 low. Adelson is now the 13th richest American, worth $14.7 billion, up $5.7 billion from last year — though nowhere close to his $28 billion net worth in 2007, when he ranked third among Americans.

The biggest gainer in percentage terms is Mark Zuckerberg, who more than tripled his fortune to $6.9 billion. The more conservative private valuation of Facebook is now around $23 billion; illiquid shares in the secondary markets point to an even richer valuation. Two of his cofounders are in the ranks for the first time: Eduardo Saverin and Dustin Moskovitz, both classmates of Zuckerberg's at Harvard. Moskovitz, who is eight days younger than Zuckerberg, now has bragging rights as the world's youngest billionaire.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39308639/ns/business-forbescom/

Ah, poor babies............

[Conan71]

And somewhere there's a cabal of Democrats trying to figure out a way to confiscate a good amount of that $1.37 trillion. 

[guido911]

And somewhere there's a cabal of Democrats trying to figure out a way to confiscate a good amount of that $1.37 trillion. 

Um, in case you haven't heard, it's Democratics.