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Donald Trump

NEW YORK. – US President Donald Trump slipped 220 spots on Forbes 2017 Billionaires List, while Bill Gates topped the list for the forth straight year according to the list released on Monday. Trump has lost $1 billion, with his worth dropping from $4.5 billion to $3.5 billion. That was enough to see the president fall from the 324th to 554th spot on the list. Forbes pinned his wealth shrinkage on the receding real estate market. Forty percent of Trump’s wealth is tied up in Trump Tower and eight other buildings within a short distance of it.

“Midtown Manhattan real estate is down; therefore, so is Donald Trump’s fortune,” Forbes said.

Trump took issue with Forbes’ data in the past, saying it disregards his brand value. In his presidential campaign, Trump acclaimed that he was worth $8.7 billion, then “in excess” of $10 billion in a personal financial disclosure form.

“We do not give any credit for ‘brand value’ to Trump or Oprah or any other person on our list,” Forbes editor Randall Lane told the Washington Post. “We feel a person’s brand value is already reflected in income and value of the deals they cut.”

Bill Gates still ranked the richest person in the world with an estimated fortune of $86 billion. He was followed by Warren Buffet, the chief of Berkshire Hathaway, whose wealth is around $75.6 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos came third, followed by Amancio Ortega from Spanish clothing retailer Zara. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg came fifth. – Xinhua.