Bill Gates is the Richest Man in America For the 18th Consecutive Year

Who’s the richest man in America? For the last 18 years, the answer to that question has been Bill Gates. Gates took the number one spot again this year on Forbes 400 list, beating out fellow billionaires Warren Buffet and Larry Ellison.

Here are the 10 richest people in America.

1. Bill Gates – Microsoft ($59 Billion)
2. Warren Buffet – Investor ($39 Billion)
3. Larry Ellison – Oracle ($33 Billion)
4. Charles Koch – Koch Industries ($25 Billion)
5. David Koch – Koch Industries ($25 Billion)
6. Christy Walton – Wal-Mart ($24.5 Billion)
7. George Soros – Hedge Funds ($22 Billion)
8. Sheldon Andelson – Casinos ($21.5 Billion)
9. Jim Walton – Wal-Mart ($21.2 Billion)
10. Alice Walton – Wal-Mart ($20.9 Billion)

MSNBC reports that the cumulative wealth of the Forbes 400 rose 13 percent to $1.53 trillion. The average income for the Forbes 400 is $3.8 billion.

Forbes explained the methodology behind the Forbes 400 list, saying:

“Our estimates are a snapshot of each list member’s wealth on Aug. 26, when we locked in net worth numbers and rankings. Some of The Forbes 400 will become richer or poorer within weeks—even days—of publication.”

Technology entrepreneurs continued to make headway on the list this year. Mark Zuckerberg moved up from 35th on the list in 2010 to 14th on the list this year. The 27-year-old Facebook founder gained more than $10 billion this year and currently has a net worth of $17.5 billion. Zuckerberg also moved ahead of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The Google duo are tied in 15th on the Forbes 400 list.

Sean Parker, Jim Breyer, and Dustin Moskovitz also made their way onto the Forbes 400 list with the help of Facebook.

Everyone on the Forbes 400 list had a net worth of at least $1.05 billion. Does the Forbes 400 list make you depressed? Amazed? Should 400 people have more than $1 trillion?