Serwer Talk: America's Richest 40 Under 40

Sept. 4, 2001 -- When Fortune magazine launched its 40 richest Americans under 40 in 1999, many were self-made Internet millionaires.

But this year's list looks a lot different. The wheel of fortune has turned, literally in this case, and the technology stock millionaires and billionaires have drifted away.

They're still mainly 30-somethings. Their combined wealth is more than $37 billion. And some of the newest members of this exclusive club are not only super rich, they're super stars — celebrity entrepreneurs who have turned their surnames into brand names.

By becoming brands in themselves, they've taken a lot of the power that once belonged to the corporations, and have sort of become corporations themselves.

The Charmers

At number 40, Tiger Woods just makes the cut. A marketing phenomenon at the tender age of 25, he's a global brand now worth an estimated $160 million.

His trademark smile helped Tom Cruise come in at number 19, amassing a fortune worth $251 million.

And number 13 is lucky for Michael Jordan. The best known name on a pair of Nikes is the wealthiest athlete on Earth, with $398 million.

What's the secret of their success? It's not education. Only one of the 40 — Jeff Skoll, of eBay, number three on the list — has got an MBA. Nine went to college, but didn't get a degree, and two just have high school diplomas.

Lack of formal education didn't hinder high school dropout Jim Carrey. He bent over backwards in movies like "Ace Ventura", to break into the big time. With $171 million, he's number 36 on the list.

Silicon Valley Still Has “It”

If geography has anything to do with it, you'd better head West. The gold rush is still out in California, home to half of the nation's under 40 gazillionaires.

There are 12 bachelors on the list, including number 22, Sean "P.Diddy" Combs, president of Bad Boy Entertainment. His estimated worth is $231 million.

There's only one bachelorette on the list: Jennette Symons, vice president of Zhone Engineering comes in at number 22 with $374 million.

While there are some new comers to the millionaire club, the bulk of the wealth — three-quarters of it in fact — still belongs to the computer geeks we've all come to envy.

Number one on this year's list, for a third year in a row, is Michael Dell, chairman, CEO and founder of Dell Computer. At the age of 36, he's worth $16.3 billion.

Rounding out the top five are: Pierre Omidyar, 34, who along with Skoll, 36, founded eBay. Omidyar is worth $4.39 billion and Skoll comes in at $2.63 billion. Gateway Computer may be struggling, but its Chairman, CEO and co-founder Ted Waitt, 38, is worth $1.87 billion. And finally, Amazon.com's chairman, president and CEO, Jeff Bezos, 37, at number five, is worth $1.23 billion.

Honorable Mentions

Rosie O'Donnell could've made the list with $113 million, but she's too generous. She's given away a lot of her wealth to charity, including her own "4 All Kids" foundation.

Julia Roberts, at 33, is on the brink. Hollywood's "Pretty Woman" gets $20 million a movie and her estimated net worth is about $138 million.

And well on her way is Britney Spears. She's just 19 years old and worth $46 million.