Bill Gates richer than 140 nations

NEW YORK: The economic crisis may have wiped off $300 billion from the wealth of America���s richie-rich club, but the net worth of many members such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett is still sufficient to buy ���almost anything��� that includes many a country of the world.

���Castles in France. Islands in the Caribbean. Private jets. With a collective $1.27 trillion at their disposal, the members of the Forbes 400 could buy almost anything,��� business magazine Forbes said about its annual ranking of America's 400 richest persons, whose collective wealth have declined from $1.57 trillion a year ago.

���How about a country? A quick glance at the CIA Fact Book ��� which chronicles economic, demographic and other details of all the countries ��� suggests that the individual fortunes of many Forbes 400 members are as big as some of the world���s economies,��� the magazine further noted.

���Bill Gates, America���s richest man with a net worth of $50 billion, has a personal balance sheet larger than the gross domestic product (GDP) of 140 countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Bolivia and Uruguay... The Microsoft visionary���s nest egg is just short of the GDP of Tanzania and Burma,��� it added.

Although his wealth has fallen by $7 billion in a year, Gates has retained his title as the richest American for 16th year in a row.

Gates��� friend and legendary investor Warren Buffett, ranked second richest with a wealth of $40 billion, lost $10 billion in a year and is the biggest loser on the list. Still, he has a fortune equivalent to the size of North Korea���s economy, Forbes said, but noted that ���The Oracle of Omaha probably would steer clear of that investment, though���.

The publication further said one of the Forbes 400 members actually runs ���a small chunk of a state in an official capacity: Mayor Michael Bloomberg���.

"While he is busy serving as the chief executive of New York City and grappling with its sluggish economy, his own personal balance sheet--amassed through financial information services and media company Bloomberg LP--equals the value of all the goods and services produced in South Africa's Republic of Zambia's ($17.5 billion)."

Land developer Donald Bren, whose assets throughout the vicinity of Orange County, include 475 office buildings, 115 apartment communities, 41 retail centers, resort properties and new housing, runs Orange County--he certainly owns the most of it. Bren with a net worth of $12 billion, could, in theory, buy Haiti's economy, too.

Casion mogul Sheldon Adelson's $9 billion net worth is akin to the GDP of Bahamas. Founder of the world's biggest auction marketplace eBay, Pierre Omidyar could theoretically control Somalia's market with his $5.5 billion fortune.

The famed Hollywood director George Lucas, with a net worth of $3 billion making him to buy worth as much as the GDP of Guyana. Hedge fund founder David Shaw's $2.5 billion net worth parallels Belize's marketplace.

Although Eli Broad's fortune suffered because of AIG's collapse last fall--his wealth has declined by $1.3 billion in the last 12 months and still has a bank account that "rivals Barbados' economy ($5.4 billion)."

"If this year's three poorest Forbes 400 members were to combine their wealth (a combined $2.9 billion), their amassed fortune would be worth more than the workings of Belize's entire economy," Forbes said.

The magazine said that investor John Paulson amassed much of his fortune by exploiting the real estate bubble and shorting the subprime market in 2007.

Besides, Paulson has a net worth of $6.8 billion--the equivalent of Montenegro's gross domestic product.