Gates tops Forbes 400 list, reclaims international top spot

SEATTLE -- Forbes put Bill Gates at the top of its list of the 400 richest Americans for the 20th year in a row.

With a net worth of $72 billion, Gates surpassed Mexican businessman Carlos Slim for the title of world's richest person.

Other names ranked near the top of the Forbes 400 list were Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett (No. 2), Larry Ellison of Oracle (No. 3), businessmen Charles and David Koch (tied for No. 4) and Christy Walton and her family, who head the Walmart empire (No. 6).

Gates was one of nine Washington tycoons to make the Forbes 400 list. Among them is Jeff Bezos of Amazon, who came in at number 12 with a net worth of $27.2 billion. Another local name on the list is Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, whose net worth is estimated at $18.8 billion, putting him in the 21st spot. Paul Allen ranked 26th on the new list, down from his 2012 spot of number 20. Allen currently has a net worth of $15.8 billion.

The entire Forbes 400 list can be found here.