GASP, I know. But you shouldn’t feel sorry for the man who once famously claimed “I’m CEO, bitch.” Coming in at #36 among this crowd is nothing to scoff at. According to Forbes’ annual list, Zuckerberg still holds a net worth of $9.4 billion.

That ties him with Richard Kindler and News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch.

Last year, Zuckerberg joined the ranks of America’s top 20 for the first time. On that list, he ranked 14th with a net worth of $17.5 billion, which put him ahead of Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page, as well as Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer.

This year, Sergey Brin and Larry Page come in at #13 (tied), with net worths of $20.3 billion. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos takes the 11th spot, with $23.2 billion.

But among all of these insanely rich people, there is still one king. Microsoft cofounder and badass philanthropist Bill Gates takes 2012′s crown with a net worth of $66 billion. Here’s what the rest of the top 10 looks like:

Nipping at his heels is the always-bubbly Rachael Ray, who managed to snag $25 million in just twelve months. Ray, too, has a number of accomplishments under her belt, including a daytime chat show, a well-circulated magazine, and several best-selling cookbooks. Although she’s in the number two spot this year, $25 million is nothing to complain about. Her empire is doing quite well, especially when you stop to consider she’s selling “garbage bowls” to suburban housewives. If she can make a mint off of such ridiculous items, I say go for it, girl.

Also on this year’s list is Wolfgang Puck, who netted a cool $20 million from his 20 restaurants and various business endeavors. Paula Deen, who was recently criticized for hiding her Type 2 Diabetes from the public eye, managed to rake in $17 million from her restaurants, cookbooks, and merchandise. Rounding out the top five is Mario Batali, star of “The Chew” and owner of over a dozen eateries. He managed to grab $13 million from his various ventures.

“They are very diversified,” Forbe’s Dorothy Pomerantz explaiined. “There is nobody who just has restaurants. TV is a huge factor in making this list because they make so much more money from television than they can from their restaurants.”

For a complete list of the top-earning chefs and restaurants in the United States, then have a look at the original Forbes article. As always, it’s definitely an interesting read, particularly if you’re obsessed with celebrity food moguls and their ilk.

Also on the list is Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star many people love to hate. Despite what you may think of the Kardashian clan and their dysfunctional lifestyle, they’ve managed to transform their peculiar behavior into a well-oiled empire. Although it’s a little insane to consider Kim an “actress” — after all, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” is barely a TV show — you cannot deny the impact she’s had on popular culture, for better or for worse.

In addition to Kardashian, other non-acting television celebrities who made the list include Bethenny Frankel and Khloe Kardashian Odom, both of whom are positioned towards the top of the heap. However, don’t get down in the dumps just yet; talented actresses such as Tina Fey, Mariska Hargitay, Zooey Deschanel, and a number of “Desperate Housewives” stars also made quite a bit of money from their various endeavors over the past twelve months.

If you’re curious to see the Top 20 highest paid actresses on television and how much they’ve made, take a look at the list below. Regardless of whether or not you like those who made the cut, you cannot deny that they’ve made the most of their respective careers. And be sure to swing by Forbes for a breakdown of how each lady made their dough. It’s an entertaining read.

Sofia Vergara – $19 million
Kim Kardashian – $18 million
Eva Longoria – $15 million
Bethenny Frankel – $12 million
Khloe Kardashian Odom – $11 million
Tina Fey – $11 million
Mariska Hargitay – $10 million
Zooey Deschanel – $9 million
Felicity Huffman – $9 million
Ellen Pompeo – $9 million
Kate Walsh – $8 million
Teri Hatcher – $8 million
Marcia Cross – $8 million
Kaley Cuoco – $8 million
Alyson Hannigan – $7 million
Marg Helgenberger – $7 million
Melissa McCarthy – $6 million
Julianna Margulies – $6 million
Kyra Sedgwick – $6 million
Courteney Cox – $5 million

These sorts of predictions might be a little hasty, for two reasons. First, Facebook has not yet been able to get a firm foothold in the mobile realm. Though Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has promised investors a greater focus on mobile (and might deliver on that promise with a Facebook phone), the company still has a long way to go before mobile ads begin taking in the type of revenue Google is seeing from mobile.

Second, Google Glass is by no means a guaranteed hit. Though smartphones are beginning to proliferate into every corner of the U.S. market, wearable computers will take quite a while to catch on. Perhaps Apple could market a Glass-type device and make it seem “cool,” but I suspect Glass will be to mobile devices what early Android was to mobile OS’s: the more functional alternative for early-adopter techies. Plus, there is still a stigma hanging over wearable devices that was created by bluetooth earpieces early last decade.

There is a point to be made about the connection of Google Glass and social networks, though it was missed in the Forbes article. The first time a Googler allowed a non-Googler to wear one of the Glass headsets in public was last week, when Sergey Brin allowed a handful of photographers to don the device and walk through downtown San Francisco. This was no spur-of-the-moment decision. One of the few niche communities to embrace Google+ fully has been the photography community. The well-designed gallery views and Picasa integration are just two of the reasons photographers have adopted Google+ as their own.

By allowing professional photographers to preview the device, Google is signaling that Project Glass is not simply a mobile device, but also as a social device. Photos are a key part of modern human social interaction, and Glass will provide a way for users to share their first-hand experiences, to allow others to see things from their perspective. Facebook wants users to fill their Timelines with a record of their life. However, if all of those experiences are filtered through the view of a Google product, will Facebook ever be able to get ahead?

(via Forbes)

The researchers concluded by saying that, “The fact that sex ratio has pronounced effects on women is not surprising when one considers theory in evolutionary biology and past research on operational sex ratios in numerous species. The relative number of available mates serves as a powerful environmental cue that signals what the current local environment holds in store for a given individual, particularly in light of his or her mate
value and, therefore, future mating opportunities.”

Forbes pointed out that the study failed to take into account that there are many programs in place that encourage women to enter good-paying jobs in the medical and science fields. This would play a huge role as to why women are choosing to pursue careers instead of watching their children play and cry all day. They also highlighted that women are “out-earning men in 147 of 150 of the country’s largest metropolitan areas becuase as the number of men in the population decreases, more job opportunities become available for women.”

Does this study offend your sensibilities? Do you think that it is biased? How has the economy shaped the results of this research?

Doesn’t it depend on the type of career as well? Stripping is a lucrative career isn’t it?

Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly.The magazine is well-known for its lists, including its lists of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400) and its list of billionaires. The motto of Forbes magazine is “The Capitalist Tool.” Its editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes.

The list is comprised of social writers whose networks are most active and identifiable. This is not the same as having millions of followers on Twitter. These are people who write about social media, predicting trends, influencing where things go in the future. Some standouts from the list include:

#1 – Chris Brogan @chrisbrogan – Author of “Social Media 101: Tactics and Tips to Develop Your Business Online”.

Today, I declared war. – ow.ly/8GbuB

— Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan) January 25, 2012

#3 – Guy Kawasaki @guykawasaki – Early Apple employee who really pushed the Mac; went on to venture capital and found Alltop.

Turnover and tech should be top concerns in 2012 is.gd/OtzVRw

— Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki) January 25, 2012

#4 – Gary Vaynerchuk @garyvee – Wine connoisseur, video blogger, author of “Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on your Passion”

Wild how content lives, I got 4 separate emails about this episode in the last 6 hours! I love the world we live in plus.google.com/11131099099124…

— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) January 24, 2012

#6 – Robert Scoble @scobleizer – Uber-Blogger. Formerly with Microsoft, Fast Company. Currently with Rackspace.

Lots of great tweets from Davos are pouring in: twitter.com/#!/search/Davos

— Robert Scoble (@Scobleizer) January 25, 2012

Forbes Media and a consulting firm known as the Reputation Institute awarded Amazon that spot after surveying almost 33,000 consumers in January and February.  Amazon earned the highest score out of the 150 largest U.S. companies included in the study, which is quite an accomplishment.

Anthony Johndrow, a managing partner at the Reputation Institute, observed in a statement, “The reputation economy of 2011 is characterized by a heightened focus on three things: trust in companies and leaders rather than product brands, multiple stakeholders and their interactions, and building a connection between a company’s reputation strategy and its business strategy.”

Anyway, second and third place went to Kraft Foods and Johnson & Johnson, if you’re curious, and moving onto companies we cover on a regular basis, Google managed to place ninth.

Then Apple and Microsoft finished side by side much farther down the list in 46th and 47th places, while eBay came in 81st, not far behind Best Buy (at 78th).

Congrats to Jeff Bezos and the entire Amazon team.  Congrats to Amazon’s shareholders, too, for that matter, considering the company’s stock rose 1.28 percent today.

Google’s stock fell 3.16 percent as shareholders still appear to be nervous due to Larry Page taking over as CEO.

Atop the heap is Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helu, who added $20.5 billion to his fortune, more than any other billionaire. The telecom mogul, who gets 62% of his fortune from America Movil , is now worth $74 billion and has pulled far ahead of his two closest rivals. Bill Gates, No. 2, and Warren Buffett, No. 3, both added a more modest $3 billion to their piles and are now worth $56 billion and $50 billion, respectively. Gates, who now gets 70% of his fortune from investments outside of Microsoft, has actually been investing in the Mexican stock market and has holdings in Mexican Coke bottler Femsa and Grupo Televisa.

The top 20 are:

1. Carlos Slim Helú & family
2. Bill Gates
3. Warren Buffett
4. Bernard Arnault
5. Larry Ellison
6. Lakshmi Mittal
7. Amancio Ortega
8. Eike Batista
9. Mukesh Ambani
10. Christy Walton & family
11. Li Ka-shing
12. Karl Albrecht
13. Stefan Persson
14. Vladimir Lisin
15. Liliane Bettencourt
16. Sheldon Adelson
17. David Thomson & Family
18. Charles Koch
19. David Koch
20. Jim Walton

View the slideshow here.

While Facebook may have spawned six billionaires, as Forbes says, none of them made the top 20 – Mark Zuckerberg included. He was named the youngest self-made billionaire last year, however. He also pledged to give the majority of his wealth to charity.

The company received high ratings for its fun, relaxed work culture. CEO and Chairman Patrick M. Byrne earned a 92% employee approval rating, the highest of any retailer on this list.

"This ranking is a very nice recognition for our company culture," said Overstock.com President Jonathan Johnson.

"We focus on making Overstock.com a place that our employees look forward to coming to each day. Our motto is ‘We save people money,’ and we have a lot of fun doing it. It is great working at a place where people put aside office politics and just get the job done. This award is a reflection of how Patrick cultivates the Overstock.com culture from the top down."

Glassdoor.com compiled a list of the "Best Retailers to Work For" for Forbes. The survey ranked employers based on criteria such as "career opportunities," "communication," "compensation & benefits" and "employee morale." Collected from current and employee feedback since June 2008, the study ranked brands that had at least 20 reviews or more over the last 30 months.