Donald Trump plummets on Forbes rich list

US President Donald Trump fell almost 100 places in the annual release of the Forbes rich list, while Microsoft founder Bill Gates remained atop the rankings.

The list from the magazine, which ranks the top 400 richest Americans, saw Trump fall 92 places to 248th, with his total wealth down $600m in comparison with last year.

While Forbes calculated Trump to be worth $3.7bn in the 2016 version, it estimated that the current President’s assets now amounted to $3.1bn.

Trump’s business empire continued to run despite his ascendancy to the White House after he beat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 elections.

Gates topped the list for the 24th consecutive year with a fortune of $89bn, followed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and investment guru Warren Buffett in second and third place, respectively.

"America’s richest are richer than ever. The minimum net worth to make the Forbes list of 400 wealthiest Americans is now a record $2bn,” said Luisa Kroll and Kerry Dolan, assistant managing editors of wealth at Forbes Media.

"But even at these new heights, entrepreneurs are breaking into the ranks for the first time as they mint fortunes in everything from Netflix and telecom to vodka and fishing."