The Incredible Life Of Bill Gates, Who Is Still America's Richest Man

With a net worth of approximately $81 billion, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates is one of the wealthiest people in the world.

He topped Forbes' list of the wealthiest people in America, released today. It's the 21st year in a row that Gates has held the top spot.

Gates has been a public fixture ever since he and Paul Allen started a computer revolution in the 1980s. He has all of the toys you would expect from the world's richest man, from a private jet to a 66,000-square-foot home he nicknamed Xanadu 2.0.

Yet as his wealth has grown, Gates has done more and more philanthropy work, donating billions of dollars to charity projects through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.