Oprah Joins Forbes' List

MSN Entertainment - News: "The 222 Americans on the list hold 47 percent of the group's wealth. But U.S. billionaires collectively lost $98 billion last year. Of the 67 billionaires who left the list, there were 30 Americans, including media mogul Barry Diller, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and Sid Bass, a member of one of Texas's wealthiest families. Four of last year's billionaires were wiped out entirely — Swiss shareholder activist Martin Ebner, German media tycoon Leo Kirch, Brazilian television mogul Roberto Marinho and Turkish banker Mehmet Karamehmet.

A fifth, Swiss businessman Klaus J. Jacobs, gave it all away. Another whose net worth plummeted was Canadian cable magnate Andre Chagnon, who donated nearly his entire fortune to help fight disease and obesity among children. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen held fourth place with a net worth of $20.1 billion, down from $25.2 billion. Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Citigroup's largest individual investor, moved up to the fifth spot with a $17.7 billion fortune. He edged out software mogul Lawrence Ellison and five members of the Walton family, who rounded out the top ten.

Other newsmakers on the list include Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim Helu, who is pumping millions into an effort to rejuvenate Mexico City and has hired Rudolph Giuliani to help solve its crime problem; Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The 37 women on the list were led by Alice Walton and her mother Helen Walton, whose equal $16.5 billion portions of the Wal-Mart fortune landed them in 7th place. Oprah is the third self-made woman to ever make the list. The others are Doris Fisher of the Gap, who remains on the list, and Martha Stewart, who was on in 2000 and then lost her position."