Buffet Unseats Gates as Richest Man on Earth

He's worth $62B; Gates is now third with $58B.

By Zach Samalin, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 5, 2008 7:44 PM CST

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Buffet Unseats Gates as Richest Man on Earth — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett speaks in New York in this June 26, 2007 file photo. With an estimated valued of $62 billion, Buffett is now the richest man on earth. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano, file) (Associated Press)

Bill Gates has passed the gilded torch: Warren Buffett and Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim have ended the Microsoft founder's 13-year reign as richest man on earth, Forbes reports. Buffett's fortune grew $10 billion this year to $62 billion, while Slim weighs in with an estimated $60 billion. Gates trails with a piddling $58 billion.

Gates' total increased $2 billion since last year; that growth, however, was stymied by Microsoft's recent $45 billion bid to purchase Yahoo, which hurt the software company's share price. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway spiked to $150,000 a share in December, before leveling out at $137,000 this week. Buffett has reserved a majority of his fortune for the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, after his death. (Read more Warren Buffett stories.)

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