Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim retained his position atop Forbes magazine’s annual list of the world’s billionaires on Wednesday with an estimated worth of US$69 billion, while his Mexican rival Ricardo Salinas Pliego enjoyed the largest increase in wealth.
Microsoft Corp cofounder Bill Gates ranked second at US$61 billion and Warren Buffett third at US$44 billion. France’s Bernard Arnault, the richest person in Europe, repeated at No. 4. They were the same top four as last year.
The youngest self-made woman at age 41 was Spanx founder Sara Blakely, whose net worth of US$1 billion from her business of making slimming undergarments affirmed there was profit in vanity. Blakely, ranking at No. 1,153, was among 104 women on the list.
Fifty-eight countries were represented on the list of a record 1,226 billionaires whose average fortune was US$3.7 billion. Some 128 billionaires were new to the Forbes rankings this year, including Colombia’s Alejandro Santo Domingo, 35, the richest new billionaire in the world (US$9.5 billion) and the face of Santo Domingo Group after last year’s death of his father.
In addition to the usual aging plutocrats and heirs, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, 27, ranked 35th with a net worth of US$17.5 billion. The social media heavyweight announced plans last month for an IPO that would value Facebook at a projected US$100 billion.
Zuckerberg jumped 17 spots and US$4 billion, while the combined value of seven Facebook billionaires was US$28.7 billion, including the US$3.5 billion belonging to Dustin Moskovitz, 27, Zuckerberg’s former Harvard roommate who was listed as the youngest self-made man.
Notable drop-offs included Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, whose wealth fell below US$1 billion due in part to Britain’s high tax rates and an estimated US$150 million in charitable giving.
Also falling off was Jim Balsillie, the former co-CEO and co-chairman of Canada’s Research In Motion, the troubled maker of BlackBerry.
The US led the rankings with 425 billionaires, seemingly unfazed by the burgeoning “Occupy” movement, which sought to shine a light on income inequality. Russia overtook China as the country with the second-most billionaires, by a margin of 96 to 95. New to the list was Morocco, which had three billionaires.
Among cities, Moscow led with 78 billionaires followed by New York at 58 and London at 39. The full list can be seen at www.forbes.com/billionaires/.
Slim, 72, and his family have taken the top spot for three years in a row, climbing up the list for years based largely on assets from his telecommunications empire now led by America Movil.
Slim made much of his money as a telecommunications magnate who has expanded into retail, finance, commodities and energy.
His fellow Mexican, Salinas Pliego, was the world’s biggest gainer in dollar terms, adding US$9.2 billion to his net worth and ranking at No. 37 on the list. Like Slim, he has benefited from the clubby nature of Mexico’s business elite, building an empire that includes the country’s No. 2 broadcaster, TV Azteca, and retail conglomerate Grupo Elektra.
In contrast to Salinas Pliego, Forbes listed India’s Lakshmi Mittal as the biggest loser, saying Mittal lost US$10.4 billion, falling to a net worth of US$20.7 billion and out of the world’s top 10 for the first time since 2004. The drop came after shares in his ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, fell due to surging costs and soft demand in Europe.
Gates narrowed the gap with Slim this year after the Mexican’s estimated net worth fell from US$74 billion to US$69 billion. Forbes estimated Gates’ net worth rose from US$56 billion to US$61 billion.
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