$1.3B price of admission to Forbes 400

NEW YORK, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Mere billionaires no longer have sufficient net worth to make it onto Forbes magazine’s list of the 400 richest people in the United States.

The magazine released its 2007 list Thursday, reporting that the poorest person on the list has $1.3 billion. Last year, the cutoff point was $1 billion on the nose.

While the double act of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Warren Buffett -- the investment banker known as the sage of Omaha -- remain at the top of the list, there has been a lot of change lower down. Four new people entered the top 10 and the list features 45 names that were not there last year.

Seven people who were on the 2006 list have died, while 50 have dropped off because they did not have the wherewithal. They dropouts include Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, whose wealth took a hit from a sluggish stock price.

Hedge funds and private equity were a major source of new riches, contributing half of the list’s new members -- including two each from the Texas Pacific Group, the Carlyle Group and the Blackstone Group.