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An Open Letter to the Leaders of Silicon Valley:

The world needs you.

You, more than anyone else, have the track record of rejuvenating an economy in dire straits.

We have, today, an economy Washington will not be able to handle--and that Wall Street certainly can't handle. It is you, Silicon Valley, who needs to step up to the plate.

Remember the Clinton years? Sure, Bill Clinton takes credit for the prosperity, but anyone who pays attention knows that '90s boom was Silicon Valley's doing. Valley-inspired entrepreneurship washed away most of the $300 billion deficit that haunted the U.S. economy early in the decade.

The Internet created millions of jobs through active entrepreneurship, and Silicon Valley gave life to the Internet through bold and visionary investing. John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers set the Internet bonanza in motion with his investment in Marc Andreessen's Netscape, followed by Jeff Bezos' Amazon.com. Sequoia's Mike Moritz followed by putting money into the hands of Jerry Yang and his fellow Yahoos. The guys at Benchmark backed Pierre Omidyar's eBay (nasdaq: EBAY - news - people ) in 1997. And eBay alone, as John McCain reminded us this week in the presidential debate, today supports the livelihood of 1.3 million people (see "Stimulus Package For Entrepreneurs").

Soon, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists were rushing to build companies around e-commerce and search. Many failed, and the market collapsed in 2000--but not before it spawned yet another milestone venture: Larry Page and Sergey Brin's Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) in 1998.

The early years of the 21st century might have seemed dry as the economy tried to recover from the dot-com collapse and the tragedy of 9/11. But during those early years a group of entrepreneurs led by Marc Benioff of Salesforce.com (nyse: CRM - news - people ) laid the foundation for a whole new movement now known as Software as a Service (SaaS), which has more recently broadened its scope to cloud computing. (See "'SaaS-ing' Back At The Economy.")

Most of Silicon Valley's VCs missed this trend in the beginning--with one notable exception. Brian Jacobs, Jason Green and Gordon Ritter started a firm called Emergence Capital at a time when Silicon Valley companies stuck to business models built around "products." Emergence Capital would, instead, invest in "services" companies. Today, its leadership has played a pivotal role in creating a thriving eco-system that supports numerous entrepreneurs building ventures aligned with this trend, and funding is abundantly available for them to move forward. (See my account of Brian Jacobs here.)

John Doerr's remark, in the middle of the '90s boom, that the Internet was "underhyped" provoked more than a few snarky comments. But he was right. Now we have SaaS, Web 2.0 and cloud computing--with the prospect of Web 3.0 on the horizon.

Doerr and his former Kleiner colleague Vinod Khosla also provided exemplary leadership in jump-starting the clean-tech industry. T.J. Rogers, then chief executive of Cypress Semiconductor (nyse: CY - news - people ), spotted the trend early as well and invested in SunPower (nasdaq: SPWR - news - people ), which has become one of the darlings of the solar-energy boom. From electric cars to alternative energy and clean air to clean water, those early successes are validating the industry's potential to create wealth. Entrepreneurship is active, jobs are being created and problems will get solved.

In all this, leaders of Silicon Valley, you have identified problems, found technology-leveraged solutions and built industries, not just companies.

I ask you, then, to rise up to the challenge again. Education, health care, social security: These domains need your voices, your intellect, your credibility, your time and your money.

In each of these domains, there are some early successes. Edward Fields is breaking through the morass of education problems with his start-up, HotChalk (see "A Technological Fix For Education"). Kirk Loevner is cracking health care with Epocrates. Their experiences offer some insight into alternative business models, marketing models and approaches to problem solving--most notably using advertising dollars to fund resources for teachers, students, doctors and patients.

In education and health care, a tremendous amount of inefficiencies can be tackled with technology. Barack Obama, if he wins, will need help figuring out how to reform health care and education from within the system without further ballooning the deficit.

In 2007, the U.S. spent about $2.26 trillion on health care, or $7,439 per person. It spends $1,000 per year per person in administrative costs, which puts the cost of the system at over $250 billion. This jaw-dropping number stares at me like a bottomless sewage pit of wasted resources, yet it's also an indicator of where technology can make huge improvements.

Education faces similar problems. Administrative costs eat up budgets, leaving little left over for teachers.

As the smart-phone movement marches on, led by Steve Jobs' iPhone, can we not create seamless bridges between doctors, patients and insurance providers that can reduce the $250 billion expenditure in health care administration?

And on the Internet, can we not create a body of standardized content and methodology for teachers all over the U.S.--or the world--that includes parents in the process and engages children via "edutainment," the same way MySpace and "World of Warcraft" engage kids?

Leaders of Silicon Valley, your answer to all these questions should be "yes." Don't let the current miasma of fear slow you down.

You have to lead. You have to create. You have to build. You have to invest.

You, Silicon Valley, need to pull the U.S. and world economies out of the mess that Wall Street and Washington have created.

I know you can do it.

DETROIT -- First it was the outsourcing of components, and then vehicle assembly. Then gasoline prices shot up, slashing demand for trucks and sport-utility vehicles. Now, just when things seemed as if they could not get any worse here, the credit crunch and the subsequent stock market meltdown have dealt powerful new blows to the nation's already reeling car industry

Concern that tightening credit and an overall economic downturn will lead fewer people to buy new cars sent General Motors' stock price plunging 31 percent Thursday to close at $4.76, the lowest since 1950. Ford Motor fell 21 percent, closing at $2.08.

Thursday's automobile stock sell-offs sparked new concern among economists and investors that the U.S. manufacturing sector, which had been slowly constricting, may be squeezed to an unimagined degree by the turmoil on Wall Street, posing a serious new economic threat at a time when the nation is already struggling with a financial sector collapse.

Nowhere is the pain more evident than in Michigan. Falling sales of vehicles and heavy equipment have sent ripples through the manufacturing food chain. The state's unemployment rate is now 9 percent, the highest in the nation. One in 16 home mortgages is "seriously delinquent," trailing only Florida and Nevada.

"It's devastating," said Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), who added that Michigan has lost nearly 400,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000. "Companies . . . that are already slammed by globalization are being slammed by the credit crunch."

GM's market capitalization now stands at $2.69 billion. The day after the 1929 stock market crash, the company was worth seven times as much in inflation-adjusted dollars, according to market historian Bryan Taylor of Global Financial Data.

The current crisis is worsening a long-term trend for the U.S. auto industry. Over the past eight years, Michigan has lost 47 percent of its vehicle manufacturing jobs and 27 percent of other manufacturing jobs, according to a government analysis. Nationally, the losses have been about 21 percent in each category.

In an economic downturn, automobile companies are often the first to feel the pinch as consumers postpone expensive purchases. Industry sales dropped last month to levels not seen in almost 20 years. Ford fell 34.5 percent compared with the previous September; Chrysler, 32.8 percent; and General Motors, 15.6 percent. Even Toyota, known for fuel efficiency, saw sales drop by 32.3 percent.

Not since 1993 had automakers sold fewer than 1 million cars in a single month. Yet with fear ruling the marketplace and banks reluctant to lend money even to borrowers with strong credit, analysts believe next year's numbers are likely to be as bad.

That means lower revenue for automakers and less money to spend on needed innovation. It means fewer jobs beyond the factory gate. According to David E. Cole, a researcher in Ann Arbor, Mich., every auto plant job generates nine jobs among suppliers and the surrounding community -- four times the multiplier of a typical Wall Street slot.

Ford senior economist Emily Kolinski Morris, who likened an economy without credit to an engine without oil, said: "The dire warnings are not terribly overstated."

Inside a former Cadillac factory in Detroit, Frank Venegas runs Ideal Group, an array of businesses, some closely connected to the auto industry. He is accustomed to doing $100 million worth of annual construction work for GM, but he expects to see fewer construction cranes and is already shipping fewer steel beams for private homes.

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 10, 2008; Page A01

Share prices fell in every industry and for each of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average, down 7.3 percent (By Jin Lee -- Bloomberg News)

By Renae Merle, Michael A. Fletcher and Neil Irwin

Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, October 10, 2008; Page A01

Fear and foreboding took hold on Wall Street yesterday, as the stock market again plunged and investors became convinced that the nation is on the verge of a deep and prolonged recession. The rout continued in Japan, where stocks plummeted in early trading.

The government took steps toward an extraordinary public investment in U.S. banks and General Motors stock fell to its lowest price since 1950 on fears it will not be able to weather the downturn. Share prices fell across every industry and for each of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average, which was down 679 points, or 7.3 percent, to 8579.19.

But the plummeting stock market could not be blamed on any single piece of horrible news -- there were no additional bank failures or government bailouts or corporate bankruptcies.

"I've never seen a panic like this," said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's. "I've seen stock market drops, but not an overall panic."

The broad Standard & Poor's 500 fell 7.6 percent, the seventh consecutive day of misery on Wall Street. The index has now fallen 42 percent from its all-time high one year ago yesterday and 22 percent this month alone. Stocks are on track for their worst calendar year since 1937.

Fear from Wall Street flooded into Asia on Friday, where markets were dramatically lower in early trading. Japan's benchmark Nikkei average plunged more than 10 percent, Australia markets slid more than 7 percent and South Korea stocks were down about 8 percent.

ear from Wall Street flooded into Asia on Friday, where markets were dramatically lower in early trading. Japan's benchmark Nikkei average plunged more than 10 percent, Australia markets slid more than 7 percent and South Korea stocks were down about 8 percent.

Financial Crisis Tests Limits of E.U. Unity

Three weeks ago European leaders reassured citizens that their banks were safe from the financial crisis. That was then. A stock broker in London calls for prices. (Getty)

By Edward Cody

Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, October 10, 2008; Page A14

PARIS, Oct. 9 -- Three weeks ago, as the Bush administration struggled to salvage collapsing U.S. investment banks, European leaders calmly reassured their people. Banks on this side of the Atlantic are more wisely regulated, they said, and unlikely to succumb to the chaos on Wall Street.

That was then.

The continent has in the intervening 20 days awakened to discover that its financial system is so interwoven with that of the United States and the rest of the world -- and so vulnerable to shaky assets -- that the virus in New York swiftly spread through the European banking network. In so doing, it revealed that Europe's leaders face challenges just as difficult as those bedeviling Washington and exposed the limits of the European Union's much-heralded economic integration.

But European leaders, with a tradition of state intervention lacking in the United States, responded forcefully outside the E.U. umbrella once they realized the depth of the crisis, bailing out banks, pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the financial system and declaring publicly that no big financial institution would fail on their watch. Many people here feel they moved more swiftly than their counterparts in Washington. Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, for example, said Europe had nothing to be ashamed of in its response to the crisis.

As they are increasingly pushed against the wall, some European leaders have begun to say out loud what many seem to have been thinking all along: that the original fault lies with the Bush administration and a hands-off, free-market dogma that led it to stand aside when the venerable Lehman Brothers investment house started to crumble.

"From my point of view, that was a true mistake," French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said in a radio interview. "You knock over a domino," she added, "and the rest runs the risk of falling, as well." According to reports in Paris, President Nicolas Sarkozy has told associates he feels the same way but has refrained from saying so in public as he seeks to enlist President Bush for a summit to rewrite the rules of world finance.

If Lagarde or Sarkozy recognized at the time that the Lehman Brothers demise was the beginning of catastrophe, they did not sound the alarm. Neither did anyone else among leaders of the 27-nation E.U. "Well, they are human, too," said Katinka Barysch, deputy director of the Center for European Reform in London. "Nobody foresaw this."

One of the first European rescues targeted the giant Fortis group, in a joint operation by the governments of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg over the weekend of Sept. 27-28. Hardly was that fire put out when Paris and Brussels had to negotiate a bailout of Dexia, a Franco-Belgian bank specializing in lending to local governments, and Germany was forced to salvage its floundering Hypo Real Estate Group. Even Spain, whose banks were thought to be the firmest of all, announced Tuesday that government funds would be used to help liquidity.

The Dexia collapse illustrated two key aspects of Europe's financial turmoil.

First, it got in trouble through a New York subsidiary, Financial Security Assurance, a bond insurance firm that got stung in the U.S. subprime meltdown. Sarkozy was reported to be astounded to learn that what he knew as a wood-paneled institution for local financing in Europe was also a high-risk trader on Wall Street.

Second, Sarkozy and Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme made it clear in the bailout talks that their governments would not allow banks under their purview to fail, putting public money on the table at the outset. Similar pledges came from Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck in Germany and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Italy. There would, they said in effect, be no Lehman Brothers cases in Europe.

By then, the facile claims that European banks were too well regulated to have any real trouble were long gone. French Prime Minister François Fillon warned that the continent had stood on "the edge of an abyss" until its leaders stepped up to guarantee against the spread of bank failures.

. Barret, K. A. Dolan, S. Fitch, J. Muller and D. Whelan 10.02.08, 6:00 PM ET
Forbes Magazine dated October 27, 2008

In good times and bad roughly one in eight babies ends up in the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital. Prematurity, respiratory distress, infections or other conditions put them there, on average, for 18 days. Pediatrix Medical Group (nyse: PDX - news - people ) of Sunrise, Fla. employs 1,200 physicians to help smallish hospitals set up and staff these units (250 and counting). In the 12 months ended June 30, net earnings rose 34% to $174 million on revenue of $991 million, up 14.5%.

Originating as the medical practice of two South Florida neonatologists in 1979, Pediatrix survived the HMO-driven churn and shakeouts, and began expanding outside of Florida to West Virginia in 1990 and now operates in 32 states. Pediatrix has benefited from trends like older parenting; women who have kids later tend to have more complicated pregnancies, premature babies and twins. But because such care is expensive and health plans are pushing moms to get prenatal care to stay out of intensive care, Pediatrix is starting to diversify into cardiology, anesthesia and obstetrics practices. Still, says company cofounder and Chief Roger Medel, "The rate of prematurity continues to increase."

The rich haven't gotten richer--or poorer--this year. The price of admission to this, the 27th edition of The Forbes 400, is $1.3 billion for the second year in a row. The assembled net worth of America's wealthiest rose by $30 billion--only 2%--to $1.57 trillion.

Rising prices of oil and art paved the way for 31 new members and eight returnees, while volatile stock and housing markets forced 33 plutocrats from our rankings.

With a net worth of $57 billion, Bill Gates remains the richest man in America despite losing his crown to Warren Buffett for a few months this spring. Buffett's shares in Berkshire Hathaway have fallen 15% since February.

Newcomers to the list include fertilizer tycoon Alexander Rovt, car dealer and art collector Norman Braman and Patrón tequila founder John Paul DeJoria.

William Gates $ 57 billion Source: MS

#2 Warren Buffett

$50.0 billion
Source: Berkshire Hathaway

#3 Lawrence Ellison

$27.0 billion
Source: Oracle

#4 Jim Walton

$23.4 billion
Source: Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people )

#5 S Robson Walton

$23.3 billion
Source: Wal-Mart

#6 Alice Walton

$23.2 billion
Source: Wal-Mart

#6 Christy Walton & family

$23.2 billion
Source: Wal-Mart inheritance


#8 Michael Bloomberg

$20.0 billion
Source: Bloomberg

#9 Charles Koch

$19.0 billion
Source: manufacturing, energy

#9 David Koch

$19.0 billion
Source: manufacturing, energ
#11 Michael Dell

$17.3 billion
Source: Dell

#12 Paul Allen

$16.0 billion
Source: Microsoft, investment

#13 Sergey Brin

$15.9 billion
Source: Google

The battle for tech dominance continues. Last month the Google Guys took the fight to Microsoft with the launch of Web browser Chrome; attempting to steal some of Internet Explorer's 75% market share. Brin emigrated from Russia. Professor's son met partner Larry Page in computer science Ph.D. program at Stanford. Duo dropped out in 1998 to start Google from friend's garage. Initial financing came from angel investors K. Ram Shriram, Andy von Bechtolsheim, professor David Cheriton; then superstar venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital pitched in $25 million. Longtime tech exec Eric Schmidt brought on 2001; took company public 2004. Stock down 40% since alltime highs last November. Sales: $16.6 billion. Net margins: 25%. Brin focuses on Google's technology sector.

#14 Larry Page

$15.8 billion
Source: Google

#15 Sheldon Adelson

$15.0 billion
Source: casinos, hotels

Rough year for Sin City's richest man. America's 3rd-richest man last year has seen fortune dwindle by $13 billion; shares of his Las Vegas Sands (nyse: LVS - news - people ) casino company have fallen 65% since last October as gamblers stay home, Wall Street falls out of love with Macau. Cabdriver's son borrowed $200 from uncle to sell newspapers at age 12. Created computer industry's marquee event, Comdex, mid-1980s; sold show to Japan's Softbank for $862 million 1995. Built $1.5 billion all-suites Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the 1.2-million-square-foot Sands Convention Center 1997. Enticed conventioneers to Sin City midweek, took emphasis off gambling. In January opened $1.9 billion Palazzo resort next to nemesis Steve Wynn's Wynn Las Vegas. Unveiled $2.4 billion Venetian Macau in China last August; 10.5-million-square-foot mega-resort features 3,400 slots, 800 tables, 3,000 suites and a convention center. Owns Israeli newspaper Israel Today.

#15 Steven Ballmer

$15.0 billion
Source: Microsoft

Microsoft chief attempted to take over Yahoo for $44.6 billion in February; attempt to compete with Google on search backfired after 6-month slugfest—featuring nasty Carl Icahn proxy fight—yielded no deal, sluggish stock price. Worse: Yahoo struck ad deal with Google soon after. Gaining some traction in online advertising; ranked first in display ads this June. Sales up 18% to $60 billion in 2007; net profits rose 26%. Entertainment division—videogame console Xbox, music player Zune—finally profitable. Detroit native dropped out of Stanford M.B.A. program to join former Harvard classmate Bill Gates in 1980

#15 Abigail Johnson

$15.0 billion
Source: Fidelity

With family, runs Fidelity Investments, America's largest mutual fund company. Assets under management: $1.5 trillion. Father Edward III joined company as analyst 1957, president 15 years later. Abby ran her first diversified fund 1993. Ned reduced his ownership in 1995, Abby inherited a 24% stake; she is rumored to have sold shares back to family in recent years. Individual stakes now a secret. Family owns 49% of company. Abby became president of company's mutual fund division 2001. Today runs Personal & Workplace Investing division. Last year several top executives resigned, fueling speculation that Abby will eventually take over from Ned.

#18 Jack Taylor & family

$14.0 billion
Source: Enterprise Rent-A-Car
#19 Anne Cox Chambers

$13.0 billion
Source: Cox Enterprises

Surviving daughter of Cox Enterprises founder James M. Cox (d. 1957); sister Barbara Cox Anthony passed away in 2007. James Sr. worked as a newspaper reporter before buying Dayton Evening News for $26,000 in 1898. Segued into politics; 3-term Ohio governor. Today media empire includes nation's third largest cable television company, 17 daily newspapers, 15 TV stations, 86 radio stations, used car retailer Manheim Auctions, Cox Auto Trader. Sales exceed $15 billion. Nephew James Kennedy runs operation.

#19 Anne Cox Chambers

$13.0 billion
Source: Cox Enterprises

Surviving daughter of Cox Enterprises founder James M. Cox (d. 1957); sister Barbara Cox Anthony passed away in 2007. James Sr. worked as a newspaper reporter before buying Dayton Evening News for $26,000 in 1898. Segued into politics; 3-term Ohio governor. Today media empire includes nation's third largest cable television company, 17 daily newspapers, 15 TV stations, 86 radio stations, used car retailer Manheim Auctions, Cox Auto Trader. Sales exceed $15 billion. Nephew James Kennedy runs operation.

#20 Carl Icahn

$12.0 billion
Source: leveraged buyouts

Another year, another slew of proxy battles for The Forbes 400's richest "shareholder activist." Appeased in August by Jerry Yang, got 3 seats on Yahoo's board after pushing the sluggish search outfit all summer to take $44.6 billion buyout offer from Microsoft. Bane of corporate ineptitude may be losing his touch; shares of holding company Icahn Enterprises (real estate, hedge funds) down 60% since January. Started Wall Street career in securities arbitrage at Dreyfus & Co. Big money in 1980s buyouts. Publishes blog about "anti-Darwinian" executives, "myth" of corporate democracy.


#20 George Kaiser

$12.0 billion
Source: oil & gas, banking

#26 Ronald Perelman

$11.5 billion
Source: leveraged buyouts

Wharton grad left dad's buyout business; bought $1.9 million stake in jewelry distributor Cohen-Hatfield 1978. Sold jewelry operation to Sam Walton 7 years later. Purchased licorice maker MacAndrews & Forbes, used as a holding company for buyouts. Bought Revlon (nyse: REV - news - people ) 1985. Sold Golden State Bancorp with Gerald Ford to Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) in 2002 for $6 billion. Owns large stakes in lottery outfit Scientific Games (nasdaq: SGMS - news - people ), military Humvee maker AM General. Agreed to sell security firm AlliedBarton this year.

#27 Kirk Kerkorian

$11.2 billion
Source: investments, casinos

Last year's biggest gainer is one of this year's biggest losers. Slumping casino industry has pushed his 52% stake in gambling giant MGM Mirage (nyse: MGM - news - people )—worth $14 billion in October—to a mere $5 billion. Company's stock fell 65% between October and June, volatile since. Another poorly performing investment: Ford. After dabbling in GM for a few years, increased Ford ownership in June; has lost $160 million so far. Eighth-grade dropout trained fighter pilots during WWII. Flew surplus Air Force planes across Atlantic after war before building charter flights company Trans International Airlines; sold for $104 million profit 1966. Sold Flamingo, International hotels to Hilton 1970. Went Hollywood: bought, sold movie studio MGM 3 times between 1986 and 1996. Bought Steve Wynn's Mirage Resorts for $6.4 billion 2000, then Mandalay Bay Resorts for $7.9 billion 4 years later. Today MGM Mirage is Vegas' largest casino by hotel rooms.



#28 Leonard Blavatnik

$11.0 billion
Source: Access Industries

Immigrated to U.S. from former Soviet Union 1978 at age 21; arrived penniless. Found way to Harvard Business School and Columbia U. Founded industrial holding company Access Industries 1986. Len partnered with school friend, now billionaire, Viktor Vekselberg, and later Mikhail Fridman. Acquired stakes in newly privatized Russian companies. Trio made first fortune merging Tyumen Oil and British Petroleum (nyse: BP - news - people ); firm became Russia's second-largest oil company. Fridman's right-hand man, German Khan, sued BP for control over lucrative business. Reinvested in chemicals (Basell), metals (Rusal), real estate (New York City). Stepped down from Warner Music board in January. Said to put in a matching $90 million bid for the Israeli daily tabloid Maariv, battling casino mogul Sheldon Adelson .

#28 Edward Johnson III

$11.0 billion
Source: Fidelity

With family, runs Fidelity Investments, America's largest mutual fund company. Assets under management: $1.5 trillion. Joined father's company as analyst 1957, president 15 years later. Reduced his ownership in 1995, daughter Abigail inherited a 24% stake; she is rumored to have sold shares back to family in recent years. Individual stakes now a secret. Family owns 49% of company. Last year several top executives resigned, fueling speculation that Abby will eventually take over from Ned.


#28 George Soros

$11.0 billion
Source: hedge funds

Survived nazi occupation of hungary, studied at London School of Economics. Founded Quantum Fund 1969; one of nation's first hedge funds. "Broke" British pound in 1992 with Stanley Druckenmiller ; shorted England's currency, said to have made $1 billion in one day when Bank of England stopped fixing exchange rate. Not so lucky in Soviet Union: lost several hundred million in telecom investment when Soviet economy collapsed. Since 2000 has closed door to new investors; today the majority of Quantum Endowment Fund's $20 billion in assets are believed to be his. Sons Robert and Jonathan involved in business. Last summer made bearish bets; fund up 32% in 2007. Says U.S. on brink of prolonged recession after 25-year "superbubble." Has given away $6 billion since 1979 via Open Society Institute.

#31 Philip Knight

$10.5 billion
Source: Nike (nyse: NKE - news - people )

Nike poobah jogging away from stake in company he cofounded 44 years ago; has sold $1 billion worth of stock since last August. Donated $100 million to U. of Oregon's athletic department last year; largest gift in school history. Oregon track star teamed up with coach to start shoe company 1964; today largest sports footwear, apparel company in the world. Sales: $18.6 billion. Nike shares up 45% since new chief exec, Mark Parker, took over in 2006. Organic growth becoming difficult; acquired English soccerwear firm Umbro for $565 million in March. Spent $3.4 billion last year-half of company's marketing budget-on top endorsers, including Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Derek Jeter. Push in China helped by Beijing Olympics; Nike outfitted 22 Chinese teams in effort to capitalize on development opportunity.


#32 John Kluge

$9.0 billion
Source: Metromedia

Tough year for onetime world's richest man. His Bennigan's and Steak & Ale restaurant chains filed for bankruptcy in July as food prices continue to soar. German immigrant bought $4 million stake in Metropolitan Broadcasting Corp. 1959, renamed Metromedia 1961. Invested in independent television stations. Amassed fortune, started building restaurant empire with proceeds in 1988. Sold to WorldCom for $1.3 billion in 2001. Further diversified into medical devices, technology, peanuts. Donated $400 million to Columbia U. last year; fourth-largest gift ever to an educational institution; money put toward financial aid. Collector of aboriginal art, supports Library of Congress.

#33 Jeffrey Bezos

$8.7 billion
Source: Amazon

Quit Wall Street and hedge funds before 30th birthday to sell books online from Seattle garage with wife. Amazon.com (nasdaq: AMZN - news - people ) public 1997; survived tech bust with discount prices, free shipping. World's biggest virtual mall revolutionized shopping; today sells everything from books and toys to computers and apparel. Sales close to $15 billion this year. Stock down 18% since January. Recently acquired Fabric.com and AbeBooks. Introduced electronic book reader Kindle last November; forced to revamp manufacturing capacity, supply chain to get it to the masses after demand soared. Developing rockets on 300,000 acres of West Texas land. Currently building a vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing spacecraft.

#33 James Goodnight

$8.7 billion
Source: SAS Institute

Met partner John Sall at North Carolina State, started SAS 1976, now largest privately held software company. Firm develops business intelligence software, databases. Major clients include banks, pharmaceutical companies. Sales: $2.2 billion last year, up 15% over 2006. Provides workers with free snacks and drinks, onsite health care, subsidized child care. Goodnight created Cary Academy; school emphasizes technology and smaller class sizes.

#35 Charles Ergen

$8.1 billion
Source: EchoStar

Former pro poker player sold tv satellites from truck with wife in 1980s. Built EchoStar Communications (nasdaq: DISH - news - people ) into satellite giant; company commands 13.7 million subscribers today. Spun off cable box manufacturer EchoStar Corp. in January; shares of TV program provider Dish Network down 25% since. Still runs both companies. Suffered setback in race for high-definition TV dominance with DirecTV (nyse: DTV - news - people ) after $6 million satellite failed; launched another satellite this summer. Purchased Internet TV company Sling Media for $380 million last September.


#36 Philip Anschutz

$8.0 billion
Source: investments

Entertainment entrepreneur plans on profiting from increasing popularity of basketball in Asia. With the NBA, his AEG (other-otc: AEGXY.PK - news - people ) sports and concert outfit will market, program and operate the Olympic basketball arena in Beijing now that the games are over. First goal: sell the naming rights. Brought soccer phenom David Beckham to U.S. last year in $250 million, 5-year deal. Also owns Kodak Theatre (L.A.), Nokia (nyse: NOK - news - people ) Theatre (Grand Prairie, Tex.), stake in pro basketball's L.A. Lakers, hockey's L.A. Kings. Both teams play in his own Staples (nasdaq: SPLS - news - people ) Center. Son of oil driller bought out dad 1961, struck big in Utah, Wyoming. Holdings include railroads (Union Pacific (nyse: UNP - news - people )), movie theaters (Regal Cinemas); sold billions worth of Qwest shares in recent years.

#36 Donald Newhouse

$8.0 billion
Source: publishing

Son of Sam Newhouse, russian immigrant's son who turned Bayonne Times into Advance Publications, nation's largest privately owned newspaper chain. With brother Samuel took over after father's death 1979; expanded and diversified into cable television. Now own Bright House Cable (2.4 million subscribers). Combining stakes in Discovery Channel and Animal Planet into new publicly traded company later this year. Donald oversees battered newspaper division (New Orleans Times-Picayune, Portland Oregonian, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Newark Star-Ledger). Duo owns stunning art collection, which includes Rubens, Johannes Lingelbach.

#36 Samuel Newhouse Jr

$8.0 billion
Source: publishing
#40 Dan Duncan

$7.6 billion
Source: energy

#41 James Simons

$7.4 billion
Source: hedge funds

#42 Harold Hamm

$7.0 billion
Source: Continental Resources (nyse: CLR - news - people )

#47 Rupert Murdoch

$6.8 billion
Source: News Corp


#48 Eli Broad

$6.7 billion
Source: investments

#49 David Geffen

$6.5 billion
Source: movies, music

Hollywood's richest man cashed in on soaring art market. Sold classic drip painting by Jackson Pollock for $140 million in 2006, believed to be the largest sum ever paid for single piece. Also unloaded a Jasper Johns, Willem de Kooning. Loves cash: claims to have moved most of his fortune out of the markets before turmoil struck last summer. U. of Texas dropout sorted mail at famed William Morris Agency. Founded Asylum Records 1970, then Geffen Records. Launched DreamWorks with partners Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg in 1995. Democrat ditched the Clintons for Obama.

#49 Henry Kravis

$6.5 billion
Source: leveraged buyouts

#53 Stephen Schwarzman

$6.4 billion
Source: investments

#54 Pierre Omidyar

$6.3 billion
Source: Ebay

French-born immigrant launched online auction titan Ebay 1995. Computer programmer handed exec control to Meg Whitman 3 years later, remains chairman. Buy-and-trade giant weathered Internet boom and bust with loyal customers; today boasts 84 million users. Shares down 43% since last October. Blogger keeps busy giving away fortune; created Omidyar Network 2004. Philanthropic investment firm finances small businesses in developing economies, donates to nonprofits.

#55 Charles Schwab

$6.2 billion
Source: discount stock brokerag

#59 Eric Schmidt

$5.9 billion
Source: Google

Google's grown-up protecting search turf; signed ad deal with Yahoo after Microsoft's botched buyout attempt this summer. Market still unimpressed: shares down 40% since last November. Began career in software at Bell Labs and Xerox (nyse: XRX - news - people ) PARC. Took job at Sun Microsystems (nasdaq: JAVA - news - people ) in 1983; led development of its Java technology, rose to chief technology officer. Recruited to chief executive post by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin (see both) in 2001. Ads remain propeller of high-profit search engine.

#60 Patrick Soon-Shiong

$5.8 billion
Source: generic drugs

Dad was a village doctor in China; family immigrated to South Africa during WWII. Finished high school at age 16; was a doctor by 23. Got only half-salary because of apartheid race rules. Joined UCLA faculty 1980; developed technique for inserting islet cells into pancreas to treat diabetes. Founded VivoRx; quit after fight with brother, investors. Took American Pharmaceutical Partners public 2001. Invented cancer drug Abraxane; nanotech drug is more potent, has fewer side effects. Split company in two last year: APP Pharmaceuticals creates hospital products; Abraxis BioScience develops drugs (shares up 130% since split). Sold APP Pharmaceuticals to German dialysis-clinic operator Fresenius for $5.6 billion including debt in July; will net $3 billion when deal closes at the end of the year. Plans to use proceeds to create "the Bell Labs of health care." Will hire mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists, doctors to build database of biological markers to better identify ailments, treatments.

#61 Steven Jobs

$5.7 billion
Source: Apple Computer (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ), Pixar

Jobs dismisses health worries, but shareholders fret his pancreatic cancer has returned after gaunt pictures of the King of the iGeeks surfaced in June. Stock up more than 100% between January 2007 and January 2008; now down 16% as the market reacts to health concerns. Launched new iPhone 3G in July. Sleeker, faster gadget sells for $300, half the price of the original; sold one million units on first weekend. Original iPhone took 74 days to reach millionth sale. Founded Apple in garage. Created Macintosh 1976, fired 9 years later after power struggle with chief exec John Sculley. Bought Pixar for $10 million, transformed firm into animation darling with hits Toy Story, Finding Nemo. Sold to Disney (nyse: DIS - news - people ) 2006 for 7.3% stake in the company—now worth $4.3 billion. Returned to Apple 1996. A third of Apple's $24 billion annual revenues are from iPod. Tweaked iterations introduced last month.

#62 Robert Bass

$5.5 billion
Source: oil, investments


RICHARD SHEINWALD/BLOOMBERG NEWS /Landov

Vacation Destinations of the Forbes 400
Where the Richest Americans go for fun.
Ultra-Rich Rides
Six figures is merely the starting point for the latest crop of exclusive cars.
#62 Riley Bechtel

$5.5 billion
Source: engineering, construction

#62 Stephen Bechtel Jr

$5.5 billion
Source: engineering, construction

#62 William Davidson

$5.5 billion
Source: glass


#66 Sumner Redstone

$5.1 billion
Source: Viacom (nyse: VIA - news - people )


#66 Harold Simmons

$5.1 billion
Source: investments

#68 Micky Arison

$5.0 billion
Source: Carnival (nyse: CCL - news - people ) Cruises

#68 John Menard Jr

$5.0 billion
Source: home improvement stores

#68 Paul Milstein & family

$5.0 billion
Source: Emigrant, real estate

#68 Henry Ross Perot Sr

$5.0 billion
Source: computer services, real estate

#68 Samuel Zell

$5.0 billion
Source: real estate, private equit

#76 Ralph Lauren

$4.7 billion
Source: fashion

Clothing connoisseur grew up in the Bronx; first job at Brooks Brothers. Left business school to design ties for Beau Brummel 1967. Launched Polo later that year with $50,000. Sold 28% of company to Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ) 1994 for $138 million; public 3 years later. Shares up 40% since January. Today classic designs span men's and women's clothing, luggage, furniture, fragrances; an outfitter for U.S. Olympic team. Collects European cars, including Bugatti, Bentley, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Porsche (other-otc: PSEPF.PK - news - people ); assortment displayed at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts in 2005. Son David runs Polo advertising; daughter Dylan runs Manhattan candy store.


#78 Bradley Hughes

$4.5 billion
Source: Public Storage (nyse: PSA - news - people )

#84 Gordon Moore

$4.4 billion
Source: Intel (nasdaq: INTC - news - people )

Studied chemistry at UC, Berkeley, earned Ph.D. from Caltech. Cofounded Intel 1968; ignited PC revolution. Created Moore's Law: computing power will double every 18 months (later updated to 2 years). Today Intel microchips found in desktops, laptops, cell phones, digital cameras, GPS navigators. Shares down 20% since August 2007. Company working with Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook to upgrade social networking outfit's data servers. Has donated $5 billion worth of shares to Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation since 2000. Foundation doles out $200 million annually; supports biodiversity preservation, space exploration, Caltech.

#84 Ty Warner

$4.4 billion
Source: Beanie Babies

Salesman's son dropped out of college, took to road selling plush toys. Sold first line of stuffed animals 1986. Beanie Babies hit shelves 1993; created collecting craze. Launched Beanie Babies 2.0 in February; Ty Girlz last year. Secret code attached to toys allows kids to log on to online virtual world. Licensing deals with Nickelodeon, Wonder Pets; partnerships with Paramount. Plowed profits into real estate. Owns Four Seasons hotel in New York, home of most expensive suite ever built in the U.S. Price: $30,000 a night. Developing Connoisseur Club; membership will allow access to Four Seasons and all Warner resorts in California, Mexico. Building Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course in Montecito, Calif.

#91 George Lucas

$4.0 billion
Source: Star Wars