Map of the richest people in every state. Click on image for interactive version. Source Forbes.
Map of the richest people in every state. Click on image for interactive version. Source Forbes.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has once again been declared the richest person in the U.S., with a net worth of $76 billion, according to Forbes. That’s hardly news anymore.

Bill Gates
Bill Gates

But what’s cool about this year’s list is that Forbes compiled an interactive map, which shows the richest person in every state.

Perusing the map, you can see how wealth has accumulated in certain regions of the country — banking, wealth management and media in the east; agriculture and retail in the Midwest; technology in the West.

Tech titans fared well on the map, with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (estimated net worth of $51.6 billion) taking the richest person in California title, wrestling it away from Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

James Goodnight, the pioneering CEO of software powerhouse SAS, was named the richest person in North Carolina with an estimated net worth of $8.5 billion. Dish Network co-founder Charles Ergen is the richest person in Colorado with an estimated net worth of $13.3 billion.

You won’t find Donald Trump taking the crown in his home state of New York, where another one-time politician and media titan reigns. Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York and financial news entrepreneur, is the richest person in the Empire State with a net worth of $43.6 billion.

Even more interesting, Forbes gives a shout out to Washington state, which certainly has created piles of entrepreneurial wealth in the past 40 years. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer crack the top 25 richest people in the U.S., and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos ranks third overall. In fact, Bezos would be the richest person in every other state except Nebraska, where Bill Gates’ bridge-playing investor buddy Warren Buffett has amassed an estimated fortune of $67.9 billion.

Interestingly, you don’t have to be a billionaire to make this elite club. Can you name the six states where the richest person does not have a net worth topping $1 billion? (Go here for answers).

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.