Gasp! Bill Gates No Longer the Richest Man in the World

We guess Forbes went back to measuring rich folks. It was announced today, courtesy of Forbes' annual billionaires list, that Bill Gates is no longer the richest man in the world. The title now belongs to U.S. financier Warren Buffett, who had a very good year in 2007. He saw his wealth jump from an estimated $52 billion to $62 billion. A $10 billion year in the midst of a recession--wow.

Interestingly, Buffett saw his wealth rise despite the fact he announced that he would be giving away the majority of his fortune to The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Guess it really is a small world, especially when it comes to multi-billionaires.

It turns out Bill Gates isn't even the second richest man in the world. He was inched out by Mexico telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helu, who's wealth has been described by the Associated Foreign Press as "a tidy little nest egg of 60 billion." Seattlest would like 1/60th of that tidy little nest egg...but we'd really take 1/600th of it, or even 1/6000th.

"Money" by Flickr User TW Collins