1. William Gates III
2. Warren Buffett
3. Sheldon Adelson
4. Lawrence Ellison
5. Sergey Brin
5. Larry Page
7. Kirk Kerkorian
8. Michael Dell
9. Charles Koch
9. David Koch
11. Paul Allen
12. Jim Walton
12. Christy Walton & Family
12. S. Robson Walton
15. Alice Walton
16. Steven Ballmer
17. Abigail Johnson
18. Carl Icahn
19. Jack Crawford Taylor & Family
19. Forrest Mars Jr.
19. John F. Mars
19. Jacqueline Mars
So what! If I had that money I’d start fabulous Utopian cities.
Being wealthy enough not to have creditors at your door is definitely desirable. Being able to own a six room house, have a little income, health insurance, own a car, and have some electronic toys is desirable. Rumor has it that Bill Gates will leave his children only 3 million each. That is optimal! Even 1 million is plenty!
Having “lost” a few times by government perturbation, I have lost the desire for opulent wealth. Opulence is not a status symbol for me. The Forbes 400 have at least 1.3 billion dollars each. Does that bring them happiness? I doubt it. See the gilded mansions of Newport RI some day. The billionaires of that era lived in gold gilded museums that had art imported from Paris and Italy. I am fascinated by their opulent lifestyle. But it would not be for me.
Let me use a billion to build a utopian city state for you all to enjoy. That! That would make me happy! I might fail. But what if I succeeded!?