According to new research from Forbes, The 400 richest people in the U.S. are now worth a record total of $2 trillion. Entry into this prestigious group starts at a net worth of $1.3 billion, while the average net worth of the group is $5 billion. Topping the 400 Richest list for another year was Bill Gates, with a net worth of $72 billion. Warren Buffett ranks as the second wealthiest American with $58.5 billion - despite having given away about $1 billion last year.
In a recent column, CNBC Wealth reporter Robert Frank offers some perspective on how much $2 trillion really is, starting with the fact that it is “more than the combined net worth of half of all Americans. The bottom half, of course.” Here are more of Robert’s comparisons:
•$2 trillion would pay for all of the existing home sales in the U.S. in 2012 and 2013 year-to-date!
•$2 trillion is more than the annual GDP of Italy, Mexico or Canada.
•$2 trillion is equal to the Federal Reserve's holdings of publicly traded U.S. Treasuries.
•$2 trillion would fund all government spending through July of this year.
•$2 trillion is equal to about two-thirds of all taxes to be collected in the U.S. for 2013.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbespr/2013/09/16/forbes-announces-its-32nd-annual-forbes-400-ranking-of-the-richest-americans/
