(Forbes) It keeps getting harder and harder to make The Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America. The cutoff for this year’s list climbed to a record $2.9 billion (up from $2.1 billion last year), knocking 51 people—including some of the most famous faces in American business—off the list.
Of the 51 moguls to fall out of the ranks, 31 are actually richer than they were in 2020.
That includes tobacco billionaire Brad Kelley and Columbia Sportswear CEO Timothy Boyle. Both got hundreds of millions of dollars wealthier over the past year—but were outpaced by newcomers like Brian Armstrong, of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and George Kurtz, of cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
Seven drop-offs saw no change in their fortune since last year; 13 are poorer.
An additional five members of last year’s list passed away, making the turnover for this year’s list 14%. That’s more than twice what it was last year, as established business behemoths lost spots to up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
For the first time in 25 years, Donald Trump doesn’t appear on The Forbes 400. His fortune currently stands at an estimated $2.5 billion, $400 million below the cutoff.
Oprah first appeared on The Forbes 400 in 1995, with a net worth of $340 million. Today she owns $2.6 billion worth of real estate, Weight Watchers stock, the Oprah Winfrey Network and other assets — making her one of the richest American entertainers, but $300 million short of the cutoff for this year’s Forbes 400.
