It appears the rich keep getting richer, according to Forbes, which has released its annual list of the 400 wealthiest Americans. For Forbes 40th list, the group's collective fortune saw a hefty increase, up 40% over the last year to $4.5 trillion in 2021.
The minimum net worth needed to secure a spot on the list this year jumped to $2.9 billion, Forbes reported. The cutoff had been $2.1 billion for the past three years.
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To no one's surprise, the four richest people in the United States are Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. Nearly all of the members on the list are richer than they were a year ago, the magazine said.
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Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey were among 51 billionaires who dropped off the ranking, overtaken by other billionaires, including some from right here in Massachusetts.
Some local names appearing on the magazine's list -- like Patriots owner Robert Kraft -- are familiar to New Englanders, while others are newcomers to the Forbes 400.
Kraft, who has a net worth of $8.3 billion according to Forbes, is joined on the list by 15 other Bay State residents, including a trio of backers and executives of vaccine maker Moderna: early investor and Harvard professor Timothy Springer ($5.9 billion), Moderna’s cofounder and chairman Noubar Afeyan ($5 billion) and cofounder and MIT professor Robert Langer ($4.9 billion).
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Here is Forbes list of the richest people in Massachusetts:
- No. 27 — Abigail Johnson, 59, $25.2 billion
- No. 60 — Edward Johnson, III, 91, $11.5 billion
- No. 102 — Robert Kraft, 80, $8.3 billion
- No. 124 — Edward Johnson, IV, 56, $7.2 billion
- No. 134 — Jim Davis and family, 78, $6.9 billion
- No. 168 — Elizabeth Johnson, 58, $6.1 billion
- No. 176 — Timothy Springer, 73, $5.9 billion
- No. 188 — Alan Trefler, 65, $5.7 billion
- No. 212 — Noubar Afeyan, 59, $5 billion
- No. 222 — Robert Langer, 73, $4.9 billion
- No. 289 — Amos Hostetter, Jr., 84, $3.9 billion
- No. 318 — John Henry, 72, $3.6 billion
- No. 340 — Steve Conine, 49, $3.4 billion
- No. 340 — Frank Laukien, 61, $3.4 billion
- No. 340 — Niraj Shah, 47, $3.4 billion
- No. 363 — Robert Hale, Jr., 55, $3.2 billion
Click here to see who else made the list, including from nearby Connecticut.
