Forbes magazine has again ranked Bill Gates as the richest person in the US, worth to $48 billion, but investor Warren Buffett has edged closer.
Forbes's ranking of the 400 wealthiest people in the US featured Microsoft co-founder Gates at the top for the 11th consecutive year. Gates's net worth increased by $2 billion from a year ago, Forbes said.
But Buffett, chairman of the Berkshire Hathaway investment group, boosted his net worth by $5 billion over the past year to $41 billion.
Ranked third was Paul Allen, who had been a co-founder of Microsoft with Gates, even though his fortune dipped by $2 billion to $20 billion. The top rankings were little changed over the past year.
As in the 2003 ranking, fourth place showed a five-way tie among members of the Walton family, owners of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retail store chain, with a net worth of $18 billion each.
