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Ah, the memories. Bill Gates, known for so many years to be (by far) the wealthiest person in the world, now has to settle for second place, because a Mexican tycoon came in first (and not by a small margin; Carlos Slim Helú beats him by over $8 billion).
Is this a sign that IT is yesterday's news? Actually, no: Carlos himself is a telecommunications magnate, and while the top 10 list isn't dominated by tech people, the top 100 still has its fair share of geeks. With the web growing at a miraculous pace, we're hoping to see the Google founders eventually joined by more web-based entrepreneurs, although the desktop paradigm will likely remain strong for years to come. Let's take a look at the current list of top 10 wealthiest people in IT.
Carlos Slim Helú
Net worth: $67.8 billion
Company: Telmex, América Móvil, Grupo Carso
What? Telecommunications are IT. The fact that Carlos Slim may not be as known worldwide as some other people on this list doesn't mean he doesn't pack 67.8 billion dollars. Add Rupert Murdoch's wealth to that of Bill Gates and they still barely overtake Carlos, and that says a lot. If you wonder how he got here so fast, it's due to his company América Móvil's stock jumping a whopping 27% in the second quarter of 2007.
2. William H. Gates III
Net Worth: $59.2 billion
Company: Microsoft
Now you're sorry you gave all that money to charity, eh Bill? Being number two kinda sucks, but don't worry, Microsoft's long term online strategy will...oh, wait. In any case, Bill Gates has been numero uno for so long we were kinda used to him in this spot. Frankly, we expected him to be overtaken by those two kids from Google, but the telecoms magnate instead reigned supreme. Bill is actually focused on giving away his fortune to good causes from now on, and has said previously that he doesn't care much for being the richest man in the world.
3. Lawrence Ellison
Net Worth: $21.5 billion
Company: Oracle
Oracle? Bo-ring. Ellison has been able to lurk near the top 10 overall for quite some time now, and although he's slowly slipping the ranks (at one point in time in 2000, he was the richest man in the world), he's still doing really, really well. Well, what can you do: databases are always in fashion.
4. Paul Allen
Net Worth: $18.0 billion
Company: Microsoft
There was a time when Paul and Bill were both in the overall top 10 list of billionaires, but this was a long, long time ago. Now, Paul is at the 19th place overall and only fourth in IT, with the Google guys breathing down his neck. His ties with Microsoft aren't so strong, and he sold some 68 million shares of the company, which left him with a meager sum of 138 million shares. He likes to invest in anything and anyone: real estate, sports, even space programs. He's also known for owning the Octopus, the world's fifth biggest yacht, as well as a couple of smaller ones.
5 & 6. Sergey Brin & Larry Page
Net Worth: $16.6 billion (each)
Company: Google
We've put these two rascals together because their huge wallets are the exact same size. Combine their wealth, and they jump to number 3; I hope you guys realize why it's bad to have a co-founder? If you must have one, at least stab them in the back and get rid of 'em before you get wealthy, so you don't have to share. But, we digress. The fact that these sheer billions originate from an algorithm and an almost blank white web page with a colorful logo and a single form is still astonishing.
7. Michael Dell
Net Worth: $15.8 billion
Company: Dell
When you count all the problems that Dell (the company) had, it's a wonder that it still manages to be the number one hardware company in the world (or, if you ask HP, the number two company). Michael is currently struggling to retain this position as he took control of the company once again, replacing Kevin Rollins at the beginning of this year, and the situation is not too cheery at the moment, so you can expect Michael to drop a position on this list real soon.
8. Steven Ballmer
Net Worth: $15.0 billion
Company: Microsoft
Developers developers developers! Laugh all you like (heck, take a look at that dancing video on YouTube again if you must), but he's got 15 billion dollars, and you have to choose between the iPhone and food for a month. Oh yeah, although he has money to burn, Steve has an office smaller than my bathroom. Go figure.
9. Naguib Sawiris
Net Worth: $10.0 billion
Company: Orascom Telecom Holding
Naguib Sawiris is the chairman and CEO of Egypt's Orascom Telecom, a multinational GSM mobile phone operating in the emerging markets of Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. As a good indicator of just how fast these markets grow, just look at Naguib's last year position on Forbes' list: 278.
10. Sunil Mittal
Net Worth: $9.5 billion
Company: Bharti Telecom