Washingtonpost.com has stated the following:

Bill Gates leads the list for the 9th straight year, but the Microsoft co-founder's net worth fell 23 percent from a year ago to $40.7 billion. Investment guru Warren Buffett remained in second place with $30.5 billion, a 13 percent drop from last year.

Gates' personal wealth, much of it in company stock, has diminished by 60 percent since April 1998, when it briefly reached $100 billion. His worst year was 1999, when it plunged by a third as the government pursued an antitrust case against Microsoft. Forbes notes he is also the world's biggest giver, donating $1 billion annually to charity, largely to vaccine research.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13082-2003Feb27.html

Is it time to start bashing Gates again just because he's rich? I think not! I sure wish I could donate a billion dollars!