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Gates Falls From Top Of World's Rich List
Microsoft Co-Founder Topped List For 13 Years

UPDATED: 10:01 am EST March 6, 2008

Bill Gates' run as the world's richest man has come to an end.

Slideshow: Forbes' Top 10 World's Billionaires

According to Forbes, investor Warren Buffett is the richest man on the planet at an estimated $62 billion. Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft and the man who topped the list for 13 straight years, fell to third.

Buffett, thanks to the surging price of Berkshire Hathaway stock, saw his fortune rise $10 billion from last year. Buffett, whose fortune is estimated based on his stake in Berkshire Hathaway and other assets, refused to comment on his net worth.

Gates is now worth $58 billion and is ranked third in the world. He is up $2 billion from a year ago.

In between Buffett and Gates is Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helú. His net worth is estimated at $60 billion and his fortune has risen $11 billion since last year.
Buffett began buying shares in textile firm Berkshire Hathaway in 1962 and purchased a controlling stake in 1965.

Berkshire is invested in insurance, jewelry, utilities and food, as well as non-controlling stakes in Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola and Wells Fargo. Between 1965 and 2006, Berkshire stock returned an average of 21.4 percent a year.

In the summer of 2006 he irrevocably earmarked the majority of his Berkshire shares to charity, most going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
At the time, the gift was valued at $31 billion. However, assuming that Berkshire shares continue to rise, the final amount of the donation will far exceed that sum. Buffett gives 5 percent of his shares to charity every July.

In October, Forbes reported, Buffett issued a challenge to members of the Forbes 400 richest Americans list, saying he would donate $1 million to charity if the collective group would admit they pay less taxes, as a percentage of income, than their secretaries.

Days after issuing the challenge, Buffett appeared before Congress to encourage it to keep the estate tax. Armed with a few Forbes 400 issues, he told the hearing that "dynastic wealth, the enemy of a meritocracy, is on the rise."