Buffett topples Gates as world's richest person

sweeps · #1 (**permalink**) 03-05-2008, 04:13 PM

The last time Bill Gates didn't hold the title of world's richest man, Hillary Clinton's husband was philandering in the Oval Office, oil was trading at $18 a barrel and Warren Buffett was about to be skewered for missing out on the tech boom.

Well, move over super-rich software guy: Omaha's oracle and savvy credit-crunch opportunist now reigns supreme, according to Forbes magazine's 2008 ranking of the world's billionaires, released late Wednesday.

Link

(Whatever happened to that Carlos Slim guy? I thought he was briefly the richest guy in the world...)

DebbieL · #2 (**permalink**) 03-05-2008, 04:15 PM

Last thing I read also had Carlos Slim as the #1.

I'd be willing to trade places with any of those 3 guys though, lol. Financially speaking of course.

Broken Arrow · #3 (**permalink**) 03-05-2008, 08:20 PM

Huh... so it's finally happened?

I told my friends that it was only a matter of time before Buffett beat out Bill Gates, if only because 1) Gates had stepped down as CEO years back and 2) Microsoft had "matured" as a company, no longer relying on growth and (arguably) innovation to drive its business. Buffett's situation, on the other hand, is a matter of realizing his investments... which typically grows very slowly by comparison... but much more reliably.

I still believe Carlos Slim is #1 in the world though....

SpiderPig74 · #4 (**permalink**) 03-06-2008, 01:43 AM

When you've got that kind of money - does it really matter?

SpiderPig74 · #5 (**permalink**) 03-06-2008, 01:44 AM

Who is Carlos Slim btw?

sweeps · #6 (**permalink**) 03-10-2008, 07:29 AM

Quote from Gates on why Buffett passed him on the list:

Quote:

Since both Warren and I have committed the bulk of our wealth to charity, we probably don't belong on the list at all. However, I couldn't be happier to cede this position to Warren. This weekend when we played golf he saved money by not buying a golf glove and using Band-Aids instead. It didn't work too well but he saved a few bucks. I suppose that was the key here rather than the increase in Berkshire's stock price. When we play this weekend I may have to try playing even without Band-Aids to get an edge on him.

Link

Broken Arrow · #7 (**permalink**) 03-10-2008, 08:22 AM

Haha, that's hilarious!

I've lost the link, but it would appear that Carlos Slim has slipped down to #3.... The exact details I am not sure yet....