Forbes lists Steve Jobs as 42nd richest American

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, with a net worth $6.1 billion, came in 42nd place on Forbes' annual list of the 400 wealthiest Americans.

As Apple stock continues to soar, hitting a record closing high of $287.75 on Wednesday, the news came that Jobs had climbed one spot on Forbes' 2010 list. Jobs' net worth last year was $5.1 billion, down from $5.7 billion the previous two years.

Forbes calculated this years' results in August.

Much of Jobs' wealth comes from being the primary stockholder of Walt Disney Co. According to Forbes, his share of the world's largest media conglomerate is valued at approximately $4.4 billion. Disney acquired Pixar in 2006 through an all-stock transaction. At the time, Jobs owned half of Pixar's stock, which converted into 138 million shares of Disney stock and was worth over $4 billion.

Jobs is well-known for his $1 salary as CEO of Apple, although he routinely receives millions of dollars in Apple stock.

Forbes' list caused a stir this year when readers discovered that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg passed up Jobs to land at 35th place with a net worth of $6.9 billion. Although Facebook has yet to go public, the company, of which Zuckerberg has a 24 percent share, was recently valued at $23 billion. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates remained at the top of the list for the 17th year in a row with a net worth of $54 billion.