News: General

How Rich is "Bill Gates Rich"?

Answer: really, really, really, really...

by Keith R. Wheeler

2/1/2006

Here’s a new measure of how rich it is to be the wealthiest man in the world. According to Bill Gates at a conference in Europe, the Internal Revenue Service has to use a separate computer to keep track of the Gates’ file. “My tax return in the United States has to be kept on a special computer because their normal computers can't deal with the numbers.” Gates will actually receive faulty notices because the standard system can’t see what the special system can. When these faulty notices are discovered, the IRS follows that with another notice saying “how bad they feel.” With a 47 billion dollar fortune according to Forbes magazine, Gates is considered the world’s richest man. Warren Buffet is second to Gates in wealth at 44 billion. We haven’t heard yet if he, too, has his own computer at the IRS office.