The Death Of The American Billionaire

It's not easy being Bill Gates.

First, Yahoo! rejected Microsoft's $44.6 billion buyout offer. Then Gates got absolutely worked in a Guitar Hero competition with Slash. And finally, Gates lost his title as the world's richest man to his sometime bridge partner Warren Buffett. Can things possibly get any worse for the brainiac billionaire?

Actually, they can.

Many people were shocked to see Gates knocked from his No. 1 ranking after 10 years atop Forbes' list of the world's billionaires. (With a net worth of $58 billion, Gates currently ranks third behind Buffett and Mexican telecom baron Carlos Slim.)

But for those who are familiar with Forbes' rankings, the real surprise was not that Gates fell -- but that he didn't fall farther.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[SirHenryClinton]

If the story was, in fact, about Mr. Gates and his wealth, Motley Fool appears to have missed the forest for the trees.

A significant factor in the decline of Mr. Gate's relative affluence is a fundamental change over the last decade in the software development paradigm. Specifically, the rise of Open Source Software means that monopolistic tactics are becoming less effective. OSS, which allows programmers to place their work in the public domain, is free to use, copy, and modify. Development projects such as Linux, Apache, and Open Office have produced software that is superior to proprietary solutions. I am composing this comment on an OSS PC running Fedora Linux and Open Office. I've used Linux for the last twelve years and would never consider going back: I no longer dread working on my computer.

Most computer novices are unaware that Huffington Post's servers run Linux. Most of the Internet relies on Linux or BSD servers. Most animation for motion pictures is produced on Linux machines. Europe is way ahead in this area. Their governments and institutions are saving billions of dollars by employing OSS. They save time and money by avoiding the nightmare of viruses, constant upgrades that produce software incompatibilities, and the "blue screen of death".

The correct title for this article should be "America falls behind due to governmental corruption and corporate aversion to innovation".

[VivaZapata]

The death of the american billionaire: for those who made it by screwing the american worker: may they Rest In Chaos.

[leftLibertarian]

It's tearin' my achy breaky heart...sniff, sniff!

[mrdontplay]

Billy,

vista's pretty good but you gotta do something cool and new, append.

you have lost your edge and flat out became the thing as portrayed in those apple commercials.

You need to be yahoo to the google apple is now in terms of the "cool" market.

Hey Bill, YOUR IBM now, ok. Time to get out of the box and think.

DONT CHANGE, APPEND.

You need a new effort like XBOX but one that is cooler.

See faster bigger are good, but the er people want is COOL.

Thats what allowed nintendo to comeback because the WII out cooled the PS3 and XBOX with its motion sensitive controls.

xbox ps3 look awesomer than ever but over all how cool are they? more cool than controling a freaking boxer on the screen with your own hands? or a bowler or a tennis player or a golfer?

intuitivity is what you need now more than compatability.

call me i'll save your asses.

[Jason357]

Despite the media spin and collusion, Microsoft has always been built on a failed business model and Gates is not a lot more than a ruthless man. Microsoft just doesn't have the innovative energy of Apple, Google, or other tech concerns...proven by their lack of success in concerns they intitiate.

They have one product, Windows OS and versions of the same core product. For some reason th US government thinks the MS monopoly is OK, but the EU is trying to do something about it. MS bought some successful companies, but I don't know if they have built much of it on their own. Gates was just the first one to seal off a budding industry with legal papers in collusion with questionable political structure, modern US.

[kid5rivers]

Chuts! Misleading headline! Nobody died!

[dadw5boys]

How much money is enough?

There comes a point with money when you have $24 Billion or so that the simple DAILY INTEREST from that amount becomes MORE THAN ANYONE CAN SPEND, rationally, IN THEIR LIFETIME.

So like Bill Gates giving it away to help impoverished improve their lot in life is the best thing to do with the extra over the $24 Billion or so. Whay use is the extra except for bragging rights. Bragging rights and $2.00 will get you a beer or just the $2.00.

If God has blessed you with the mind and ability to make a lot of money you canbe generous or you can be ruthless. Being generous makes it a lot easier to sleep at night.

[RButler]

Whether it's Gates $58 billion or the billions that the Walton family members have, it just means that their products are overpriced. The same with movie stars getting $20 million for a couple months work and then we complain about $10 tickets. Or Starbucks coffee. It's amazing how Americans complain about the cost of necessities: food, energy, health care etc. yet are overly willing to pay top dollar for non essentials like a cup of Starbucks or a $10 movie ticket or an iPhone. I guess it's human nature not to be smart about things.

[TN]

It's not just the cash. My mother called me the other day and said she couldn't believe she saw Bill Gates on TV asking for more work visas. That does not bode well for his popularity in the US. Greed Kills!

[plainsman]

I wonder why the Rockerfellers, Warburgs, and Rothchilds are on there. Oh yeah, that would be the list of trillionaires.

[mamacat]

The world would be a better place if Gates were not so power hungry. It is not his money that bothers me, it is his megalomania and his thirst for more power.

[rikkirighteous]

The fact that other business in the world are succeeding simply shows that there is a level playing field.

However, I wouldn't put my money long-term in Mexico, India or Luxemborgh.

[drkazmd65]

Once you have more than a couple hundred million in the bank,... why is it important who is #1? It's not like if he cashed it all out now, and spent the rest of his life doing nothing else but thinking up ways to spend it all that he, or his offspring, would have to ever work for a living.

Hell - give me a cool 4-5 million and I would be set for life living off the bond interest. Then again I don't need yachts, umpteen houses, and piles of money to roll around in (Think Scrooge McDuck) as recreation.

[elpollo]

H.L. Hunt once said something to the effect that, "After the first $100M, money is just a way of keeping score."

[drkazmd65]

Accurate assessment - unfortunately elpollo