There is a new list of the world’s richest man and the co founder of Microsoft Bill Gates is not leading it, for the third time in three years we will see a new richest man. This time leading the list is the Mexican tycoon from mobile industry America Movil “Carlos Slim Helu” who has beaten Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to become the richest person on the planet and the top position in the 2010 Forbes list of richest men.
Slim’s fortune has swelled to an estimated $53.5 billion, up $18.5 billion in 12 months. Shares of América Móvil, of which Slim owns a $23 billion stake, were up 35% in the period. That massive pile of scratch puts him ahead of Gates, the Microsoft co-founder who had held the title of world’s richest for 14 of the previous 15 years.
Gates, now worth $53 billion, is ranked second in the world. He is up $13 billion from a year ago, as shares of Microsoft rose 50% in 12 months. Gates’ holdings in his personal investment vehicle, Cascade Investments, also soared with the rest of the markets. Buffett’s fortune jumped $10 billion, to $47 billion, on rising shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, news, msgs). He ranks third.
The Oracle of Omaha shrewdly invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs and $3 billion in General Electric during the 2008 market collapse. His company also recently acquired railroad giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $26 billion.
Last month, in his annual shareholder letter, Buffett wrote: “We’ve put a lot of money to work during the chaos of the last two years. When it’s raining gold, reach for a bucket, not a thimble.”
U.S. billionaires still dominate the ranks, but their grip is slipping. Americans account for 40% of the world’s billionaires, down from 45% a year ago. The U.S. commands 38% of the collective $3.6 trillion net worth of the world’s richest, down from 44% a year ago.
Of the 97 new billionaires on the list, only 16% are from the U.S. By contrast, Asia made big gains, adding 104 moguls. The region now has just 14 fewer billionaires than Europe, thanks to several large public offerings and swelling stock markets.
Among the new billionaires are American Isaac Perlmutter, who flipped Marvel Entertainment (MVL, news, msgs) to Disney (DIS, news, msgs) for $4 billion in December. The “Spider-Man” mogul netted nearly $900 million in cash and 20 million Disney shares in the transaction.
{HTML}
<script type={quot}text/javascript{quot}><!–
google_ad_client = {quot}pub-3371920293199917{quot};
/* 468×15 neeshulink created 3/13/10 */
google_ad_slot = {quot}3265805332{quot};
google_ad_width = 468;
google_ad_height = 15;
//–>
</script>
<script type={quot}text/javascript{quot}
src={quot}http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js{quot}>
</script>
{/HTML}
| Rank | Name | Source of wealth | Citizenship | Age | Net worth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
12 |
Christy Walton and family |
Wal-Mart |
U.S. |
55 |
$22.5 billion |
|
16 |
Alice Walton |
Wal-Mart |
U.S. |
60 |
$20.6 billion |
|
17 |
Liliane Bettencourt |
L’Oreal |
France |
87 |
$20 billion |
|
40 |
Birgit Rausing and family |
Packaging |
Sweden |
86 |
$13 billion |
|
44 |
Savitri Jindal |
Steel and power |
India |
60 |
$12.2 billion |