Top 10 Richest Americans 2009

America's super rich are getting poorer. For only the fifth time since 1982, the collective net worth of The Forbes 400, our annual tally of the nation's richest people, has declined, falling $300 billion in the past 12 months from $1.57 trillion to $1.27 trillion.
Faltering capital markets and real estate prices, along with divorce and fraud, pushed the fortunes of 314 members down and drove 32 plutocrats off the rankings

	Name	Net Worth ($mil)	Age	Residence
1	William Gates III	50,000	53	Medina
2	Warren Buffett	40,000	79	Omaha
3	Lawrence Ellison	27,000	65	Redwood City
4	Christy Walton & family	21,500	54	Jackson
5	Jim C. Walton	19,600	61	Bentonville
6	Alice Walton	19,300	60	Fort Worth
7	S. Robson Walton	19,000	65	Bentonville
8	Michael Bloomberg	17,500	67	New York
9	Charles Koch	16,000	73	Wichita
10	David Koch	16,000	69	New York