Back in 1989, when Virginia Business started its "Virginia 100" list of the wealthiest and most influential people in the state, it reflected Old Money and the Old Economy. Heavily represented were personalities from such sectors as real estate, coal and retailing consumer goods and food. More than a few got their nest eggs through inheritances. There were plenty of old names from Richmond and the rolling horse country of Fauquier and Loudoun Counties. Only two of the 100 became rich through technology.

Fast forward to today. Some 25 of our 100 have generated incomes of more than $96 million in net worth, our limit for the list, by making it big in high technology. These are people on the cutting edge of the New Economy by investing in Internet service providers, portals, such as America Online, electronic commerce firms and cutting-edge telecommunications businesses.

There's an even bigger story here. Study this year's list and you will get an idea of just how profoundly Virginia's economy is changing. It is fast becoming another version of Silicon Valley, albeit without the fanfare. Most of the world's e-commerce flows through Virginia's fiber optic veins. It is No.1 in Internet company concentration and the volume of venture capital has increased sixfold from $127 million in 1995 to $742 million in 1999.

The wealth of our richest, tech-oriented Virginians is growing fast, too. Take Rajenda and Neera Singh of Mount Vernon, big-time players in the cellular industry. In one year, the net worth of the Singh family has more than doubled from $770 million to $2.2 billion. Or take AOL chairman and CEO Stephen M. Case of McLean. His net worth has gone in one year from $730 million to $1.5 billion. Or MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor, whose wealth is up to $3.4 billion from $435 million last year.

See if you can spot others on our list. When we give ourselves an "A" rating, it means we consider our data accurate. A "B" means we're close and a "C" warns that we might not be right. In any event, we think that you'll find our list is dramatic evidence of some profound changes in Virginia's economy.