 ©AP Photo/Paul Sakuma | 11. Michael Dell Net Worth: $17.3 billion |
| More from Forbes.com: • In Pictures: Secrets of the Self-Made Billionaires • In Pictures: 25 Years of Wealth • In Pictures: Service Industry Billionaires  In Pictures: The 400 Richest Americans |
- Computer king returned to chief executive post at his P.C. outfit last year; stock down 18% since. Plunging margins and higher marketing costs pushed second-quarter profits down 17%.
- Still believes in PCs; has bought $200 million worth of Dell stock since July.
- Launched service centers in Wal-Mart to compete with Best Buy’s Geek Squad.
- Started business out of U. of Texas dorm room in 1984 with $1,000.
- Built business with direct-sales method, public 1988.
- Majority of wealth invested via MSD Capital.
- Michael & Susan Dell Foundation supports education, health initiatives; endowment exceeds $1 billion.
 | 12. Paul Allen Net Worth: $16 billion |
- Washington State dropout founded Microsoft with school chum Bill Gates in 1975.
- Left Microsoft in 1983 after Hodgkin’s disease diagnosis.
- Sold off much of his stake to lose huge sums on far-off visions through holding company Vulcan.
- Microsoft still makes up 20% of his fortune; shares down 29% since October highs amid botched buyout attempt of Yahoo, worries company can’t compete with Google.
- Stake in cable outfit Charter Communications down 45% since May.
- Dabbles in odd tech projects; donated $25 million to researchers scanning outer space for signs of intelligent alien life, millions more to create Allen Institute for Brain Science, which maps gene activity in humans and mice.
- Guitar fanatic owns a rock ’n’ roll museum, Jimi Hendrix music rights and artifacts.
- Also owns football’s Seattle Seahawks and basketball’s Portland Trailblazers; expanding into pro soccer with Seattle Sounders MLS team in 2009.
 ©AP Photo/Paul Sakuma | 13. Sergey Brin Net Worth: $15.9 billion |
- With partner Larry Page, continues to wage the battle for tech dominance.
- Last month the Google Guys took the fight to Microsoft with the launch of Web browser Chrome; attempting to steal some of Internet Explorer’s 75% market share.
- Professors’ sons met in computer science Ph.D. program at Stanford.
- Duo dropped out in 1998 to start Google from friend’s garage.
- Brin emigrated from Russia, Page raised in Michigan.
- Initial financing came from angel investors K. Ram Shriram, Andy von Bechtolsheim, professor David Cheriton; then superstar venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital pitched in $25 million.
- Longtime tech exec Eric Schmidt brought on 2001; took company public 2004.
- Stock down 40% since all-time highs last November. Sales: $16.6 billion. Net margins: 25%.
- Brin focuses on technology.
 ©AP Photo/Paul Sakuma | 14. Larry Page Net Worth: $15.8 billion |
- With partner Sergey Brin, continues to wage the battle for tech dominance.
- Last month the Google Guys took the fight to Microsoft with the launch of Web browser Chrome; attempting to steal some of Internet Explorer’s 75% market share.
- Professors’ sons met in computer science Ph.D. program at Stanford.
- Duo dropped out in 1998 to start Google from friend’s garage.
- Brin emigrated from Russia, Page raised in Michigan.
- Initial financing came from angel investors K. Ram Shriram, Andy von Bechtolsheim, professor David Cheriton; then superstar venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital pitched in $25 million.
- Longtime tech exec Eric Schmidt brought on 2001; took company public 2004.
- Stock down 40% since all-time highs last November. Sales: $16.6 billion. Net margins: 25%.
- Page heads product division.
 ©AP Photo/Kin Cheung | 15. Sheldon Adelson Net Worth: $15 billion |
- Rough year for Sin City’s richest man. America’s 3rd-richest man last year has seen fortune dwindle by $13 billion; shares of his Las Vegas Sands casino company have fallen 65% since last October as gamblers stay home, Wall Street falls out of love with Macau.
- Cabdriver’s son borrowed $200 from uncle to sell newspapers at age 12.
- Created computer industry’s marquee event, Comdex, mid-1980s; sold show to Japan’s Softbank for $862 million 1995.
- Built $1.5 billion all-suites Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the 1.2-million-square-foot Sands Convention Center 1997.
- Enticed conventioneers to Sin City midweek, took emphasis off gambling.
- In January opened $1.9 billion Palazzo resort next to nemesis Steve Wynn’s Wynn Las Vegas.
- Unveiled $2.4 billion Venetian Macau in China last August; 10.5-million-square-foot mega-resort features 3,400 slots, 800 tables, 3,000 suites and a convention center.
- Owns Israeli newspaper Israel Today.
There are no comments yet