Detroit Lebanese American Matty Moroun, Ranked Billionaire, by Forbes Magazine

posted on: Mar 20, 2009

Detroit Lebanese-American Manuel (Matty) Moroun, 81, was ranked as the 701st richest in America, with $1 Billion in net worth, by Forbes magazine. Moroun is the owner of the Ambassador Bridge and successful Detroit trucking magnet.

In Michigan he was ranked the 9th richest after Richard DeVos, the late William Davidson, Ronda Stryker, Frederick Meijer, Mike Ilitch, Jon Stryker, Pat Stryket, and A. Alfred Taubman.

Nationally, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates regained the title of world’s richest person on Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of billionaires worldwide, as the global recession slashed the size of the list by 30%.
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The number of billionaires fell to 793 from 1,125 last year. It was the first time since 2003 that the number of people on the list decreased, and the biggest drop since the magazine began the ranking 23 years ago.

The three wealthiest — Gates, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett and Mexican-Lebanese telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim Helu — lost a combined $68 billion in the past year.

Gates, 53, had a net worth of $40 billion, down from $58 billion in 2008. Buffett, 78 — who last year ended Gates’ 13-year reign atop the list — returned to second place. His net worth dropped to $37 billion from $62 billion.

Slim, 69, controls Telefonos de Mexico SAB, fell to third from second as his net worth dropped to $35 billion from $60 billion. Larry Ellison, 64, CEO of Redwood City, Calif.-based software maker Oracle Corp., rose to fourth from 14th, even though his net worth dropped to $22.5 billion from $25 billion.

Detroit Free Press
Bloomberg News

Picture caption:
Manuel (Matty) Moroun