So what else is new? Bill Gates is still the richest man in the world. The chairman of Microsoft Corp. has seen his personal worth rise to a cool 90 billion from $51 billion last year and at one point in April, it actually broke through the $100 billion barrier as the value of his stock holdings rose. Gates, who founded the personal computer giant in 1975, is so rich that his fortune is nearly three times of his nearest challenger, investor Warren Buffett ($36 billion), according to the latest edition of the business magazine Forbes. Gates has been the world's richest person now since 1995. Paul Allen, who founded Microsoft with Gates but is no longer with the company, is third on the list, with $30 billion, and Microsoft President Steven Ballmer is fourth with a worth of $19.5 billion. In a sign of the economic boom that is driving U. S. stock markets, the seven richest people in the world are Americans. "Each day, Gates' and Buffett's net worth changes through stock values, so this is a snapshot of one day," Forbes associate editor Kerry Dolan told reporters. "The rich really are getting richer," Dolan said. "People don't realize what a billion dollars is. The fact that Bill Gates has a billion dollars now is hard to believe, but it would have been even harder to believe 10 years ago." Justin Doebele, a writer who worked on the Forbes list, said the magazine had identified 250 billionaires outside the United States, compared to 96 just 10 years ago. "There are more billionaires out there, but it's paper wealth," Dolan said. "Not many have a billion in cash, most is tied up in stock." Forbes stressed the growth of wealth worldwide. The total wealth of the Top 200 billionaires topped $1 trillion this year — more than double the $463 billion of 1989. Also, Gates now is worth as much as the entire Top nine on the Forbes list 10 years ago. 21. Which of the following is closest to the amount of money Gates once owned according to the passage? A) 141 billion dollars. B) 110 billion dollars. C) 190 billion dollars. D) 90 billion dollars. 22. What does the word "paper" in Para. 6 refer to? A) A piece of paper on which you can write something. B) A thesis. C) Something in theory. D) Money. 23. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? A) It is not easy to believe that Bill Gates has a billion dollars. B) Warran Buffett used to have three times as much as what Bill Dates has now. C) The four richest people mentioned in the passage are all from Microsoft. D) Only rich people don't realize what a billion dollars is. 24. According to Dolan, . A) it was harder to get a billion dollars ten years ago B) the richer people get, the less they are able to know what a billion dollars is C) Gates' fortune changes stock values D) the fortunes of most billionaires change with the ups and downs of stock market 25. The passage tells us that . A) the total wealth of the 200 billionaires is more than double the $463 billion of 1989 B) Gates now owns no less than the total wealth of the top nine on the Forbes list 10 years ago C) both A and B D) none of the above