Satellite-TV mogul Charlie Ergen's $10 billion personal fortune placed him in the No. 1 orbit among Colorado's billionaires for the sixth straight year.

Qwest Communications founder Phil Anschutz once again ranked second among Colorado's eight billionaires, with a $7.9 billion fortune, according to Forbes magazine's 2007 list of billionaires. His wealth has been rebounding since it was in the $18 billion range at the height of the Qwest years.

Liberty Media Chairman John Malone snagged the No. 3 spot in the state, with an estimated $2 billion fortune.

They were followed, in order, by: medical device heiress Pat Stryker; mozzarella cheese magnate James Leprino (photo unavailable); cable-TV heir Gary Magness; Janus mutual fund founder Thomas Bailey; and TeleTech Holdings CEO Kenneth Tuchman.

Thanks to Magness and Tuchman, Colorado's eight billionaires are up from six in 2006.

The tally of billionaires from around the globe reached a high of 946. Their combined wealth grew 35 percent, to $3.5 trillion, according to the Forbes annual rankings.

The super rich cashed in on strong stock markets, real estate and commodity prices worldwide.

Leading the global list were two men who manage to keep getting richer as they give more and more money away. Microsoft founder Bill Gates ranked No. 1 for the 13th straight year, beating out friend and fellow philanthropist Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Gates' fortune rose $6 billion, to $56 billion last year, while Buffett garnered an additional $10 billion to boost his net worth to $52 billion.

Ergen's $10 billion - up 49 percent from 2006 - placed him No. 62 worldwide. That's up from No. 80 last year.

Ergen capitalized on a surge in EchoStar's stock over the past year. It jumped 42 percent. The company's Dish Network is the second-largest provider of satellite-TV service in the nation after DirecTV.

Anschutz - whose far-flung holdings include sports teams and arenas, newspapers, movie theaters and Hollywood studios - saw his fortune climb 23 percent last year, or $1.5 billion. Worldwide, he was No. 93, slipping from No. 89 a year ago.

He recently sold his remaining holdings in Qwest.

Malone's personal fortune of $2 billion was up from $1.6 billion last year. He was No. 488 worldwide.

Stryker's wealth is listed as $1.8 billion, up from $1.5 billion in 2006. Her ranking worldwide was 557.

The Fort Collins philanthropist and liberal activist is heir to a family fortune amassed by her grandfather, Dr. Homer Stryker, who founded Stryker Corp.

Leprino's $1.5 billion in wealth put him at No. 664. His privately held company is the nation's biggest producer of mozzarella, used on Pizza Hut and Domino's pizzas.

Magness, the sole surviving son of the late cable-TV titan Bob Magness, rejoined the billionaires club this year after dropping out in 2006. He was No. 754 worldwide, with wealth estimated at $1.3 billion.

Bailey - who cashed in his big stake in Janus Capital and walked away from the business in 2002 - had a personal fortune listed at $1.2 billion. He ranked 799th worldwide.

TeleTech's Tuchman vaulted onto the list this year thanks to his business outsourcing company's skyrocketing stock. The Douglas County company's shares surged 102 percent last year. Tuchman's wealth was put at $1.2 billion, the same as Bailey's.

The world's richest

The ranking of the world's richest people as estimated by Forbes magazine. Listings include rank, name, home country or state, age where known, wealth in billions of dollars and source of the money.

Forbes says the research that went into compiling the rankings began in early 2006 and ended on Feb. 9, 2007.

Rank, name Home* Age Wealth** Source

1. Bill Gates Washington 51 $56 Software

2. Warren Buffett Nebraska 76 $52 Berkshire Hathaway

3. Carlos Slim Helu Mexico 67 $49 Telecom

4. Ingvar Kamprad Sweden 80 $33 Ikea

5. Lakshmi Mittal India 56 $32 steel

6. Sheldon Adelson Nevada 73 $26.5 Casinos, hotels

7. Bernard Arnault France 58 $26 LVMH

8. Amancio Ortega Spain 71 $24 Zara

9. Li Ka-shing Hong Kong 78 $23 Diversified

10. David Thomson Canada 49 $22 inheritance

• Bill Gates spends his downtime in a 66,000-square-foot spread built into a hillside on the edge of Lake Washington, near Seattle. It has a 60-foot swimming pool with an underwater music system and a 1,000-square-foot dining room.

• Warren Buffett is the proud owner of a Gulfstream IV, which he jokingly named The Indefensible after having once mocked corporate jet ownership. These planes, which can accommodate as many as 16 passengers, usually sell for about $16 million and up.

• And while Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen may not have made Forbes' top 10 billionaire list, that doesn't stop him from sporting a $200-plus million megayacht with a permanent crew of 60, two helicopters, a 10-man submarine and seven boats. Allen has dubbed his his private ship The Octopus.

• So where are these billionaires heading on their jets and yachts? To their private islands, of course. Billionaires Richard Branson, Ted Turner and David Murdock have laid claim to their own water-locked terrains, inhabiting Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, St. Phyllis Island in South Carolina and Lanai Isle in Hawaii, respectively. Want an island of your own? The 20-acre Sandy Island, located off the coast of Grenada, is on the market for $20 million. It is one of only four for sale in the Windward Islands and includes a coconut grove, forested hills and a quarter mile of untarnished beach.* Home Country Or State **Wealth Shown In Billions Source: Forbes How To Live Like A Billionaire Source: Forbes

fillionr@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2467. Rocky reporters Joyzelle Davis, David Milstead and James Paton, and wire services contributed to this report.

Back to Top