Forbes 400 richest Americans: Pandemic be damned

America's 400 richest people are worth a record $3.2trillion, up by $240 billion from a year ago. It takes at least $2.1 billion—a  figure unchanged for the past three years—to make the cut. Even in these trying times, mega-fortunes are still being minted. We welcome to the ranks 18 new members (and nine returnees) who made their pile in everything from electric trucks to the now-ubiquitous Zoom. Two from last year’s list died, and 25 dropped off as their fortunes fell; 10 of those setbacks were attributable to the Covid-19 crisis.

Aided by a stock market that has defied the pandemic, the very wealthiest Forbes 400 members are doing better than ever. The top 20 are worth a combined $1.3 trillion, up by 21 percent from a year ago, while the average Forbes 400 member’s wealth is up by 8 percent from last year. In all, these 21 ultra-rich individuals (there’s a tie at No 20) account for 42 percent of the total wealth of this year’s list. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has finally bested Warren Buffett for the No 3 spot, while Elon Musk breaks into the top 20 for the first time. Forbes calculated net worths using stock prices from July 24.

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