Forbes released its list of the world’s billionaires and it looks like the U.S. tech billionaires took a pretty hefty hit from the economic crisis. The 40 tech billionaires we identified on the list collectively lost $81.5 billion compared to their standing in last year’s list. That is a drop in the bucket compared to the $1.4 trillion in net worth that disappeared from the entire Forbes’ list, which also saw the total number of billionaires drop to 793 from 1,125, the first year-to-year decrease since 2003.
The tech billionaires are still collectively worth $203.4 billion. Although Bill Gates rose to the top of the list after falling to number 3 last year, the move was bittersweet. Gates lost a massive $18 billion in the past year. Larry Ellison from Oracle lost $2.5 billion but moved up 10 spots from last year, to number 4 on the list. Larry and Sergey from Google both took a hit of over $6 billion each.
We also included some media moguls with technology-related businesses. Michael Bloomberg had a very good year. He rose nearly 50 spots on the list, with a gain of $5.5 billion. But News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch saw his net worth cut in half to $4 billion. Viacom’s Sumner Redstone plummeted down the list, from number 137 to number 701 on the list, losing $5.8 billion in the past year.
Despite these massive losses in wealth, most of the big tech titans all made the list, including, Gates’ old partner Paul Allen, Michael Dell, and Steve Jobs. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg didn’t make the list this year, however, with his estimated net worth dropping from $1.5 billion to $600 million. He’s still smiling though.
| 2009 Rank (2008) | Name (Company) | Net Worth | Change From 2008 |
| #1 (#3) | William Gates III (Microsoft) | $40.0 billion | -$18.0 billion |
| #4 (#14) | Larry Ellison (Oracle) | $22.5 billion | -$2.5 billion |
| #17 (#65) | Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg) | $16 billion | +$5 billion |
| #29 (#40) | Michael Dell (Dell) | $12.3 billion | -$4.1 billion |
| #26 (#32) | Sergey Brin (Google) | $12 billion | -$6.7 billion |
| #26 (#33) | Larry Page (Google) | $11 billion | -$4 billion |
| #29 (#43) | Steven Ballmer (Microsoft) | $11 billion | -$4 billion |
| #32 (#41) | Paul Allen (Microsoft) | $10.5 billion | -$5.5 billion |
| #68 (#110) | Jeffrey Bezos (Amazon) | $6.8 billion | -$1.4 billion |
| #119 (#142) | Eric Schmidt (Google) | $4.4 billion | -$2.2 billion |
| #132 (#109) | Rupert Murdoch (News Corp.) | $4 billion | -$4.3 billion |
| #146 (#87) | Charles Ergen (EchoStar) | $3.9 billion | -$5.6 billion |
| #156 (#120) | Pierre Omidyar (Ebay) | $3.6 billion | -$4.4 billion |
| #178 (#189) | Steven Jobs (Apple) | $3.4 billion | -$2 billion |
| #196 (#236) | John Sall (SAS Institute) | $3.1 billion | -$1.3 billion |
| #205 (#277) | George Lucas (LucasArts) | $3.0 billion | -$0.9 billion |
| #246 (#288) | Gordon Moore (Intel) | $2.6 billion | -$1.1 billion |
| #261 (#462) | David Sun (Kingston Technologies) | $2.5 billion | 0 |
| #261 (#462) | John Tu (Kingston Technologies) | $2.5 billion | 0 |
| #296 (#446) | Mark Cuban (Broadcast.com) | $2.3 billion | -$0.3 billion |
| #296 (#307) | Ray Dolby (Dolby) | $2.3 billion | -$1.2 billion |
| #397 (#286) | Jeffrey Skoll (Ebay) | $1.8 billion | -$1.8 billion |
| #430 (#503) | William Randolph Hearst III (Media, Kleiner Perkins) | $1.7 billion | -$0.7 billion |
| #468 (#652) | Thomas Siebel (Siebel Systems) | $1.5 billion | -$0.4 billion |
| #522 (#605) | Andreas von Bechtolsheim (Sun, Google investor) | $1.4 billion | -$0.6 billion |
| #522 (#533) | Omid Kordestani (Google) | $1.4 billion | -$0.8 billion |
| #559 (#652) | Henry Samueli (Broadcom) | $1.3 billion | -$0.6 billion |
| #559 (#462) | Craig McCaw (McCaw Cellular) | $1.3 billion | -$1.2 billion |
| #559 (#743) | Irwin Jacobs (Qualcomm) | $1.3 billion | -$0.3 billion | #559 (#785) | Todd Wagner (Broadcast.com) | $1.3 billion | -$0.2 billion |
| #601 (#707) | L. John Doerr (Kleiner Perkins) | $1.2 billion | -$0.5 billion |
| #601 (#677) | Henry Nicholas III (Broadcom) | $1.2 billion | -$0.6 billion |
| #601 (#461) | David Filo (Yahoo) | $1.2 billion | -$1.3 billion |
| #647 (#785) | Vinod Khosla (Kleiner Perkins) | $1.1 billion | -$0.4 billion |
| #701 (#137) | Sumner Redstone (Viacom) | $1 billion | -$5.8 billion |
| #701 (#897) | Scott Cook (Intuit) | $1 billion | -$0.3 billion |
| #701 (#897) | David Duffield (PeopleSoft) | $1 billion | -$0.3 billion |
| #701 (#897) | Barry Diller (IAC) | $1 billion | -$0.3 billion |
| #701 (#847) | Richard Egan (EMC) | $1 billion | -$0.4 billion |
| #701 (#785) | Theodore Waitt (Gateway) | $1 billion | -$0.5 billion |
| 40 names | Totals | $203.4 billion | -$81.5 billion |
Wow. Only Bloomberg had some good profit in 2008 rest just has losses. But I m amazed to see Bill Gates on the top again.
http://www.smartbloggerz.com
I question the valuation methodology for Bloomberg. The fact of the matter is because his shares in Bloomberg are not pubicly traded, they are not being marked to market. As the primary customer base for Bloomberg terminals has imploded and evaporated, it is unrealistic to value his holdings based a a past private transaction price. It would be better to look at Thomson or Reuters data services units as a better valuation proxy.
From India,
Anjali Sen
BTW the B-Unit from Bloomberg rocks!
The estimated wealth of any billionaire is always vague.
Felix Dennis, worth $1.04 billion himself, said that if you are truly rich, then you have no idea how much you are worth because most of your worth is in intangible and fluctuating assets.
In about 10 years, these types of execs, millionaires, and billionaires may have to learn to speak English with an Indian Accent in order to be legit (unless they are already Indian and grew up in an Indian environment). Read:
“Right now, American Accent classes are very popular in India and are more or less a prerequisite for those who want to get into telephone tech support. As the web/tech world becomes more Indianize, there may be a shift. Wouldn’t it be ironic, and funny, if some day Americans have to take Indian Accent classes in order to get a job in the United States? Wouldn’t it be ironic if one day an American executive will not be considered legit unless and until he can learn to speak with an Indian accent, so as to make him more intelligible and articulate? “
@INDIAN ACCENT CLASS – Really funny! But you know what?, we already use Indian accents…. when you guys leave the room!
It is even funnier to see the puzzled look on your faces when you come back and we are all laughing, without telling you the reason….
This title made me laugh out loud. Good work TC in always having the best, most sarcastic titles.
@ Anjali
Would you please post a picture of yourself on your blog? Many of us are curious.
Here is a joke for all the wanna be Americans from India:
Indians have a very funny English accent, impossible to get rid of. Example: This is how an Indian sounds like when he tries to say: Thank you for thanking me. It would sound: Dang you for Danging me. (Picture him also shaking his head left and right like a broken pendulum while he’s saying it).
An Indian was asked: How old are you?
He replied: I’m Dirty (thirty), and my wife is Dirty too (thirty two). LOL
@Markk
Be careful my friend… the “Spammer Guru from Delhi” might reprimand you from her high throne. Yes, that “Smart Babes” retard – She seems to believe that she *owns* Techcrunch, referring to Arrington as a close friend of sorts.
Anjali, can you please stop acting like the representative of Indians? Better still, can you please stop spamming TC? Don’t pretend that you come here to have a civil conversation on Technology. You come here to spam TC to get some cheap visitors for your stupid blog.
Mr. Stupid Spammers From India (whatever your real name is), can you please stop attacking Indians for what Anjali is doing? If you are a racist, then at least have the guts to acknowledge that. Don’t hide behind Anjali’s spamming to attack all Indians.
>> Tired
Nice try “Anjali” This is precisely the reason you have to be more discreet. This “stealthy” comment is really lame…
Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg) has made a positive move from all the above listed
Hmmmm
Umm… Maybe Bloomberg should bail out NYC with his gains. He has made NYC so expensive in the couple of years that its becoming Rich City. Mind you I like Bloomberg because he has implemented good policies in some areas, but he has also policies that cater for the rich and has made things worse in terms of living expenses.
Wow great find.
wow great find
i had no idea jobs was only worth 3billion???
Kudos to Bill for regaining his #1 spot.
Did they really “lost”? That is a weird word for this “problem”.
I am surprised you would leave Peter and John Sperling of Apollo Group off the Tech Billionaires list. Apollo Group’s main asset is the University of Phoenix Online which has like 300,000 plus students now. I’d say they are at least a 90% online business.
If they haven’t sold their stock then, strictly speaking, they haven’t lost anything.
You know, sit on it for 10 years and maybe it’ll be worth 10X the current value.
And then Forbes can write a piece called ‘Stupid Tech Billionaires And The 25 Most Dumbass Stock Sales’.
How we will laugh! Buy high! Sell low!
Actually, that was a pretty good way to lose money! I didn’t mind to lose that and more money, if I had that revenue…
Wow. It looks like Bill Gates is the wealthiest man in the world again (he was #3 before for a few years).
Did you even read the article? Do you pay attention to anything? For a few years?? What the hell man, it was LAST YEAR, not the LAST FEW YEARS.
This isn’t make stuff up and pretend your comment is useful world.
thanks, nice list
What happened to Jerry Yang?
He foolishly turned down the acquisition offer from the #1 guy on the list.
check out this interesting comparison of Indian and US billionaires
http://www.kree...ot_in_US_ET-pr3
Thanks for sharing that link..Gotta go to chk the comparison >>>
http://www.smartbloggerz.com
I hope they’re able to get by…
What happened to Jeffrey Skoll (Ebay).
Net worth 1.7 billion – Lost 1.7 billion ?
&
David Filo (Yahoo) Net worth $1.2 billion – lost $1.3 billion
Did these guys go to the casino and bet everything on red?
No they lost 50% or more of their value so the last column represents change from last year and the column before represent the remaining value.
If you look at Ebay and Yahoo’s stock price, you will see why …
They probably would have done better at the casino
From India
Anjali Sen
would you mind cutting out the ‘from india’ signature.
just be yourself.
I guess Bill Gates is the biggest loser.
Where did the money go?
Well, you know how markets work, right? It’s not like they have all that money in the bank or in their mattresses. They invest in stock and profit when the stock value rises. But that also mean that they lose money when it doesn’t or if the prices of the stock go down.
Say for instance you buy one Microsoft share at (just a number) $10. Tomorrow your stock rises to $100 because Microsoft launches successfully Windows 7. If you where to sell said stock you would have gained $90 bucks. If Windows 7 tanks, the stock you bought does too… so you end up with a $1 Microsoft share. That would also mean that you lost 9 dollars.
So, as diverse their stock portfolios can be, this guys lost money they invested in the market because of the economic downturn. If they can manage the weather and wait for some years, their stock could get back to their feet and they could regain or even gain more.
Where’s Madoff’s scam money is an even better question.
“Lost” in that list doesnt really mean they did not have had any profits.
Zuck isn’t worth anything as facebook shares can’t be sold in an open market, as such they are only currently worth the paper the shares are written on. Every one else on the list either has cash or shares in a public company that can be easily made liquid.
I second that.
Well, they still should have enough money and probably more money than we all together in here!
I agree with you completely. It says Mark Cuban (Broadcast.com) lost $0.3 billion-does that really matter to someone who has $2.3 million?
I think losing $0.3 billion would matter quite a lot “to someone who has $2.3 million“.
bye bye zukerberg
i lost all
You tube gang will be on here next yr I bet. Sure they are working on stuff now.
I love it and I couldn’t agree more. I hope you’re one of them
Let’s go get em’!
Gosh, I hope they’ll be OK.
Forbes sources?
The same people who pretended to have an “accurate estimation” of the bank account of Fidel Castro ??? ^^
I feel their pain. Seriously, these values are large but no way would these billionaires get that much money if they sold all the shares they owned. The price would plummet immediately!!!
The numbers and stats are amazing. Carlos Slim at #2 will follow a turbulent year as his grip on the telecom market is being pulled away from him. Some say it is a monopoly he holds. With competition in Mexico and broad opening up for companies like Skype, Vonage etc., the monopolies will break in both Telecom and TV. As for Gates and the other Techies, they will be fine as the market improves.
Whether Skype and Vonage taking over Telecom is a relief or not to us really lies in what the new corporations plan to do as far as customer equity goes. I like what you pointed out, because as of now, most people see them as a segway to start building their own brand equity through Web2.0 rather than paying out to companies who could care less about them.
Does Slim own Clasilistados.org?
don’t we just love counting other peoples money?
LOL, that’s a good one. Why are people so facinated by others when they’re already facinating themselves?
I agree.
Most people spend too much time judging billionaires like this to have the time to focus on minding their own business.
Seems many miss the point of why they’re here.
It looks like Kingston Technologies was not really side-swiped by the economic crisis? Why are they noted in the list? On a seperate note, where the “leaders” fail, the “followers” come upstream and take the bait. This is a time of changes and not many corporations are taking that seriously or even listening to it. It’s like putting a shell up to your ear and hearing waves out of wind. When the wind changes, it can scare even the most ruthless tycoon out there if he/she is not prepared for it.
Someone said ‘never let a crisis go to waste’. View this as a buying opportunity.
Congrats to Billy for retaining the #1 spot
so what? do they care? I guess not…
–
http://sxsw-news.blogspot.com
One day, i will be on the #1 spot from 1 billionth spot.. Someday… Someday..
Only Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg) gained. The rest are not.hehe
stop representing india
you retard babe
Interesting list. Yeah, I don’t think these guys need any sympathy….plenty of money left over!
This is a test
I wonder how much of an impact these losses really are to these rich people.
I mean, even though they lose that much, does it have an immense impact on them because they run large-scale and heavily-funded businesses?
you can look for jobs at http://www.jobstoblog.com and also blog about companies you’ve worked for… updated daily!
This survey is highly suspect. I find it hard to believe that Bill Gates is still #1 on this list. Google is worth far more than Microsoft (If this survey is accurately based on the percentage of company ownership). I think the people over Forbes did not actually work out the math and proceeded to publish the SAME OLD uninspiring, uninteresting list they publish every year.
my question is where the minus money “going”world is always the same,the money is not evaporated somewhere out of space.,where the money actually,and when money is lost to one man it should be move to another man,and my question is “where is the man who hired the lost 81,5 Billions”is there anyone can answered it
Financial crisis? Millionaires lost millions but they’re still on the list…
It’s a bit consoling to find that even billionaires were hurt by the downturn. And to look at it closely – they lost far more than we did. Billions of dollars losses in a year is a lifetime of money for lots of people.
Financial crisis…… No one can solve that crisis.
The poor is more poor, The rich is more rich.
Nobody was spared from the financial crisis. Everyone is affected even the world’s richest persons. But analysts say that this is a time where great opportunity arises for those who have a lot of cash.
this makes m thing of microserfs
Well, they still should have enough money and probably more money than we all together in here…
All of these dudes own stocks.
Their wealth is valued on the value of the stocks they own.
Cause nearly all of their stocks have nuked, they “potentially” lost money.
Doesn’t mean squat, if they keep hold on the stocks, they haven’t really lost anything, they still have them.
Seems murdoch has dug himself a hole though.
We are trying to financially stay on th”PLUS” side of things
i don’t care that.
Oh dear not again.
Can you please keep on topic instead of resorting to ad hominem attacks that have nothing to do with the topic. You attack every single post I make, not with any substantive comments on the topic of the article, but with derogatory comments on the fact that I am from India.
Anjali Sen
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
Cut it out you idiotic spammer
“From India”
BTW, I HEARD ANJALI IS ALSO VERY ATTRACTIVE PHYSICALLY.
@INDIAN ACCENT CLASS — Really? You heard? I saw her picture on her blog. Well, I think it is matter of personal preference. I am not attracted to hairy women heavier than 200 Lbs.
My buddy Vinod says that “babes” is like a sacred cow… nobody would dare to touch her!
@Chis
“Hairy Women” — Please elaborate… Where is the hair? On her head? Or on her chest?
@INFO – Man, if you see a woman with thick, dark facial hair, she is hairy *everywhere* Her chest, belly, further down below, thighs, behind the knees, etc.
Nothing wrong it you like it – I don’t [shudder!]
Whoever you are,
Yes, you are exactly right, Jerry Yang was smart to turn down Microsoft’s acquisition offer which resulted in an implosion of Yahoo’s stock price and him getting fired.
The spammer here is you.
What is problem do you have with India?
I come here to have an intelligent conversation about technology. Not to be bothered with trash talk from you.
I am proud to be Indian, BTW.
Anjali
it is not “about India” — it is about spammers like yourself, pretending to know everything and at the same time, showing your ignorance, posting “important” clueless comments on this blog!
Go away clueless spammer…. go away.
“Jerry Yang is a billionaire smart businessman” and you are what? Show a little respect for this well-known entrepreneur by not pretending to be an equal — What have you accomplished? Other than your lousy blog.
Please, wise up.
Hmm, you are really making a lot of sense.
Someone asked a question
What happened to Jerry Yang.
I replied that he lost a lot of money by turning down an offer from Microsoft.
Yes, you are right, answering a question from another poster is
definitely spam, showing your ignorance, and clueless
Of course, you who adds nothing to this blog and no substantive arguments , except ad hominem personal attacks which, quite frankly, eveyone is sick of … all while hiding behind an anonymous name whatsoever take up space on this blog.
Why don’t you reveal what your real name is? Because you are scared to show what an idiot you are. Everyone is 10 feet tall when hiding behind a pseudonym.
Proud to be Indian,
Anjali Sen
Well, well…. I see that Techcrunch has a new “Moderator” from India now, that “Babes” gal, telling people what to do and how to do it.
She comes across like someone with nothing else to do but spam TC. What a shame and waste of time.
PS “Babes”, there are no “countries” on the Internet. We all write from all over the world. You would benefit from dropping “From India” from your comments.
@Stupid Spammers From India II,
You american a$$hole, you are crossing limits. Shut up and get lost.