The 5 richest Americans are already $67-billion richer

Since January 1, the US’s five richest people have added a combined $66.8 billion to their personal fortunes. Four of those individuals—Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Ellison—are founders of iconic technology firms. The last is legendary value investor Warren Buffett. Though each member of the top five holds a distinct portfolio, the gains are all generally attributable to excellent returns on public markets. Here is a look:

Key Takeaways:

• Overall market performance has been strong this year. The Nasdaq Composite Index has returned 18%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has leapt more than 10%

• Mark Zuckerberg, the biggest gainer of the group, enjoyed a $23.4-billion boost to his net worth since January1 

• On Thursday, Jeff Bezos briefly surpassed Bill Gates to become the world’s wealthiest individual

• Warren Buffett was impacted by a $3.2-billion charitable donation made earlier this month

• Larry Ellison's net worth rose by $13.5bn. That increase is larger than the annual GDP of Nicaragua