NEWS LITE : ROCKEFELLER TOPS ALL-TIME RICHEST LIST.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates may be the richest American now, but a new study finds that Gates ranks only No. 5 on the list of the richest men throughout U.S. history.

The survey by American Heritage, a magazine published by Forbes Inc., found that John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt and John Jacob Astor amassed far greater wealth when compared to the size of the U.S. economy of their time.

The survey in the magazine's Oct. 12 issue found that Gates' $62 billion makes up a far smaller share of today's economy than Rockefeller's was at the time of his death in 1937.

Adjusting for the tremendous growth in America's economy since then, the survey found that Rockefeller's wealth would be worth a whopping $190 billion today, including all of his charitable contributions.

In addition to Rockefeller's oil, other key industries were represented on the list of the 40 richest Americans throughout history: Carnegie's steel, Vanderbilt's railroads and Astor's real estate.

Gates is one of only three Americans on the list who are still alive: He is joined by investor Warren Buffett at No. 13 and fellow Microsoft bigwig Paul G. Allen at No. 22. Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, No. 11, died in 1992.

The list includes other well-known financiers and industrialists such as banker J.P. Morgan and automaker Henry Ford. But it also includes some figures who are lesser-known today, such as sewing machine king Edward Clark and sugar magnate Claus Spreckels.

The study by Michael Klepper and Robert Gunther grew out of research the two did for the 1996 book ``The Wealthy 100: From Benjamin Franklin to Bill Gates - A Ranking of the Richest Americans, Past and Present.'' The authors updated their data for the magazine article.

Action star Chan fighting for dogs

Known on film for zinging the bad guys, Jackie Chan has a soft spot in his heart for animals.

The Hong Kong action star is asking the Taiwanese legislature to pass the nation's first animal protection law, one that would ban the killing of stray dogs.

``I was saddened to learn recently that dogs in Taiwan are being killed cruelly by poisoning, electrocution and starvation. This treatment of dogs goes against everything that an advanced, human nation like Taiwan represents,'' Chan wrote in a Sept. 16 letter to Secretary General Liu Pi-Liang.

Chan, who stars in the new movie ``Rush Hour,'' enjoys Tom Cruiselike status in Hong Kong and Japan.

He made the appeal on behalf of the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which says there are some 2 million stray dogs on the streets of Taiwan.

Actress depressed by icon comparison

``Ally McBeal'' star Calista Flockhart was far from thrilled to see her face on the cover of Time magazine this summer.

``I won't say I was horrified, but I was quite depressed,'' Flockhart says.

That's because the June 29 Time cover displayed the actress opposite feminist icons such as Susan B. Anthony and asked in its headline: ``Is Feminism Dead?''

``I mean, this is a comedy about an exaggerated character, and to compare her to Susan B. Anthony is outrageous,'' Flockhart says in the Sept. 26-Oct. 2 issue of TV Guide.

Flockhart takes offense that people confuse her with her character, a neurotic lawyer obsessed with being single and her ticking biological clock.

``This is a woman who falls down, who throws her shoes - she's far from real,'' she says. ``I'm afraid that's all I'll be known for.''

Low comedy actor recalls low times

Ben Stiller made his name as a funny guy - a nerd, a weenie. But he thinks of himself in much darker terms.

``I, more than anyone I know, have been at the beck and call of the Mr. Meanjeans in my head for most of my life,'' Stiller says in ``Feel This Book,'' an upcoming mock self-help guide he wrote with actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo. ``I'm talking about dark, dark nights of despair and thoughts of suicide, further exacerbated by whatever drug of choice I had overindulged in that month.''

In Sunday's editions of The New York Times, Stiller talks about some of those low times, including a bad acid trip during his senior year in high school when he called his father, actor Jerry Stiller.

``I know what you're going through. When I was 12, a kid gave me a Pall Mall, and I was sick for two days,'' Ben recalls his father saying. ``My dad meant well, but his words didn't exactly comfort me.''

News Lite is compiled from Daily News staff and wire reports

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2 photos

PHOTO (1) Horsepower or people power?

An unidentified friend props up the hood on a 1940 Chevy convertible while Kent Morse, 39, details the engine cavity at the ninth annual Route 66 Rendezvous in San Bernardino, a four-day automotive street fair that drew more than 300,000 people and 2,400 vehicles.

Silvia Flores/The Press-Enterprise

(2) CHAN