Melinda? Have you seen my wallet? I had $10 billion in there!

The Economist has a graph of “The World’s 12 Richest People” Bill Gates lost $10 billion dollars in 2002 and he’s still the richest man in the world.

Here's a little follow-up on Gates and author Robert X. Cringely from Wired:

Cringely was thrilled when Gates tried to disprove an anecdote from Accidental Empires. In the book, Gates goes to a convenience store in 1990 (net worth at the time: $3 billion) to get a tub of butter pecan ice cream. At the checkout counter, he can't find a 50-cents-off coupon he had brought, and as he searches and searches, a frustrated customer farther back in line finally tosses him two quarters, which Gates takes. The customer calls out, "Pay me back when you earn your first million." Gates told Cringely the story couldn't be true because coupons come in the daily newspaper, and he doesn't get a daily newspaper. "He wanted me to buy it!" Cringely marvels. "Why? Who am I to him?"

Nerd fight!