You many not have been aware, but the universe had been out of whack for a short period. But now order is fully restored with Bill Gates regaining his position as the world's wealthiest man according to Forbes, a designation he lost briefly to Warren Buffet. And with an estimated fortune worth around $57 billion, Gates now enjoys a comfortable lead over No. 2 Buffet, who after a 15 percent decrease since February of this year now sits at $50 billion.

But Gates isn't the only Microsoft elite doing superbly well. Co-founder Paul Allen is ranked 12th with a net worth of $16 billion, while Ballmer claims the 16th spot with $15 billion. Between the three, that comes to $88 billion, enough to buy more than 317 million retail boxed copies of Windows Vista Ultimate.

Don't feel bad if you didn't make the list. Forbes says you "only" need $1.3 billion to qualify, so if you weren't among the 32 new entrants, it just means you're not trying hard enough.

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