The 10 Richest People in America
Larry Ellison
These American billionaires also share a few quirks: Microsoft founder Bill Gates  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg   Oracle founder Larry Ellison  dropped out of college. Jeff Bezos  Larry Page and Sergey Brin all went to Montessori schools  where children are encouraged to think independently and creatively rather than following traditional rules. It seems  too  that billionaires really like houses in Hawaii.
As is the case with the richest women in America  the richest people in America donate a lot of money to causes they care about. Some of the men on this list have donated hundreds of millions into research designed to improve human lifespan and eradicate dangerous diseases  such as Alzheimerâs disease and cancer. Warren Buffett  Gates  Zuckerberg  and  Ellison  have gone a step further and promised to give their fortunes away as part of The Giving Pledge  an initiative designed by Buffett and Gates to encourage billionaires to funnel their vast wealth to philanthropy.
6.  Larry Ellison
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison  speaks during an event at the company's headquarters in Redwood City  Calif. in 2014 David Paul Morris-Bloomberg via Getty Images
 Ellison   73 â another college dropout â co-founded the software firm Oracle in 1977. In addition to owning about 25% of the company  he also owns the entire Hawaiian island of Lanai  a sailing team and even an entire tennis tournament  the New York Times reports.
While known for living large (the billionaire owns a 288-foot yatch)   Ellison  started out with modest ambitions.  His  parents  who adopted  him  when  he  was nine months old  wanted  him  to be a doctor  but  he  left school when  he  realized medicine didnât interest  him .  He  moved to California and worked as a computer programmer and a rock-climbing instructor and river guide  according to the Times. At this point   Ellison  said  he  was âpretty happy with  his  life.â
But after a series of jobs   he  became part of a company working to establish a new type of software database. That company would become Oracle  now one of the largest software companies in the world.
 Ellison   like other titans on this list  is interested in extending human lifespan  and has given over $330 million for research into aging and related diseases.
Four-times divorced   Ellison  has two adult children and calls  his  $70 million Woodside  Calif. estate home. However   Ellison âs massive real estate portfolio means  he  never spends much time in one place.  He  owns additional properties in Japan  San Francisco  Malibu  Lake Tahoe and Rhode Island.
These American billionaires also share a few quirks: Microsoft founder Bill Gates  Facebook  [TGT] dropped out of college. Jeff Bezos  Larry Page and Sergey Brin all went to Montessori schools  where children are encouraged to think independently and creatively rather than following traditional rules. It seems  too  that billionaires really like houses in Hawaii.
As is the case with the richest women in America  the richest people in America donate a lot of money to causes they care about. Some of the men on this list have donated hundreds of millions into research designed to improve human lifespan and eradicate dangerous diseases  such as Alzheimerâs disease and cancer. Warren Buffett  Gates  Zuckerberg  and   [TGT] have gone a step further and promised to give  [TGT]  fortunes away as part of The Giving Pledge  an initiative designed by Buffett and Gates to encourage billionaires to funnel their vast wealth to philanthropy.
6.   [TGT] 
speaks during an event at the company's headquarters in Redwood City  Calif. in 2014 David Paul Morris-Bloomberg via Getty Images
 Ellison   73 â another college dropout â co-founded the software firm Oracle in 1977. In addition to owning about 25% of the company   [TGT]  also owns the entire Hawaiian island of Lanai  a sailing team and even an entire tennis tournament  the New York Times reports.
While known for living large (the billionaire owns a 288-foot yatch)    [TGT] started out with modest ambitions.   [TGT]   parents  who adopted   [TGT]   when   [TGT]   was nine months old  wanted   [TGT]   to be a doctor  but   [TGT]   left school when   [TGT]   realized medicine didnât interest  him .   [TGT]   moved to California and worked as a computer programmer and a rock-climbing instructor and river guide  according to the Times. At this point    [TGT]   said   [TGT]   was âpretty happy with  his  life.â
But after a series of jobs   he  became part of a company working to establish a new type of software database. That company would become Oracle  now one of the largest software companies in the world.
 Ellison   like other titans on this list  is interested in extending human lifespan  and has given over $330 million for research into aging and related diseases.
Four-times divorced   Ellison  has two adult children and calls  his  $70 million Woodside  Calif. estate home. However   Ellison âs massive real estate portfolio means  he  never spends much time in one place.  He  owns additional properties in Japan  San Francisco  Malibu  Lake Tahoe and Rhode Island.