Hot Topics: Bill Gates Drops to No. 2 on Billionaires List

Billionaires List: Bill Gates is no longer the world's richest man because he's donated more than $30 billion to the humanitarian efforts of his namesake foundation, according to Forbes, which released its 2011 billionaires list this week. Gates, 56, also has been a driving force behind the Giving Pledge, a group of billionaires committed to donating half of their wealth to philanthropic causes. Despite his charitable contributions, Gates (now worth $56 billion) still came in No. 2 on Forbes' list, behind Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu, worth $74 billion. Warren Buffett ($50 billion) is ranked third. Browse the entire list here.

Purpose Prize Nominations Sought: On the heels of announcing winners of the first Launch Pad contest for social entrepreneurs over 45, Civic Ventures is seeking nominations for its 2011 Purpose Prizes, which award grants of $50,000 and $100,000 to community leaders and social innovators over age 60. The nomination deadline is March 31. Read more here.

From Stand-Up Comic to Podcast King: Comedian Marc Maron helped jumpstart New York's alternative-comedy scene in the mid 1990s, but when his own comedy career stalled after a move to Los Angeles, he picked up podcasting and became an iTunes star. His "WTF with Marc Maron" interview podcast is a fixture in the online music store's list of most-downloaded podcasts, according to this report in The Wall Street Journal. "I've never really been a business-minded person, but my voice and my mind kind of fit this medium," the 47-year-old told the Journal. "I'm doing exactly what I want to do, and I'm actually growing as a person because I'm talking to my peers and having conversations with other human beings at least twice a week for an hour. It's actually helping me process life and learn things and grow emotionally. And people listen to it!"

Happy 50th, Ken: He'll never look a day over 25, but Barbie's perpetual boyfriend, Ken, turns 50 today. Born on March 11, 1961, the 11 ½-inch-tall figure has been back in the spotlight in the past year -- with a star turn in Toy Story 3, a book and a web-based reality TV show to find a real-life version of "The Great American Boyfriend."

Midlife Crisis: Cartoonist and graphic designer Joe Ollmann turned his real life as a 40-year-old into a graphic novel about a 40-year-old named John. The book is called -- what else? -- Mid-Life. Says Los Angeles Times book critic David L. Ulin, "...his honesty makes John a kind of middle-aged everyman, caught somewhere between the illusions of youth and the desolation of the grave."

Her Second Encore Career: Virginia Hensen, featured in this SecondAct story of corporate executives who take bridge jobs before retiring, has a new gig. The former CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Portland went back to work recently as CEO of the nonprofit Classic Wines Auction, an annual event that this week raised $2.2 million for five Oregon and southwestern Washington charities.

Hanging Up His Sticks: Speaking of retiring, it looks like Phil Collins is leaving show biz after all. But the 60-year-old drummer/singer/composer says its not because of bad reviews, feeling unloved or any of the other reasons that have been swirling in news reports this week. "I am stopping so I can be a full-time father to my two young sons on a daily basis," Collins writes in a message on his website.