It's seemingly as certain as death and taxes: The richest people in America keep getting richer. The average net worth of those on The Forbes 400 has once again marched higher, hitting $7.2 billion this year. That's up from $6.7 billion last year and the ninth year in a row that the average list member's fortune has increased.



The total combined net worth for those on The Forbes 400 climbed to a record $2.9 trillion, up 7% from 2017. That is more than the total GDP of the United Kingdom. Jeff Bezos, with a fortune of $160 billion, singlehandedly controls about 5% of this sum.



Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is by far the richest person on Earth, unseating Bill Gates as No. 1 on our list of the richest Americans after a remarkable 24-year run. Bezos is also the first person to appear in the ranks with a net worth over $100 billion — he surpassed the milestone, and then some, with a fortune estimated at $160 billion.



Bezos saw his net worth shoot up by a record $78.5 billion in the past year, thanks to a 104% surge in the price of Amazon stock. The e-commerce Goliath recorded more than $100 billion in net sales in the first six months of 2018, a 41% jump from the prior year. Bezos gained more in one year than the wealth that 397 members of The Forbes 400 have been able to build in their entire lifetimes, with just Bill Gates (net worth: $97 billion) and Warren Buffett (net worth: $88.3 billion) worth more.

Source and more:
Relentlessly Rich: The 2018 Forbes 400 By The Numbers http://www.sanwomi.com/2018/10/relentlessly-rich-2018-forbes-400-by.html


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