Economies may struggle from year to year, but one things stays the same. Bill Gates is still the richest person in the world. He topped Forbes’ billionaires list, beating Carlos Slim Helu and Warren Buffett.
Forbes reports that the Microsoft founder saw his fortune jump by $3.2 billion, even though he gifted $1.5 billion in Microsoft shares to his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His total fortune stands at $79.2 billion.
While Buffett came in third, behind Gates and Helu, he still saw the biggest gain in fortune over the past year. His fortune jumped $14.5 billion to $72.7 billion.
The magazine found that there are 1,826 billionaires in the world, 290 more than last year. Their total net worth is at a record $7.05 trillion, up from $6.4 trillion. Of the 290 new billionaires, 71 are from China. Forty-six billionaires are now under the age of 40.
Speaking of billionaires under 40, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg broke into the Top 20, climbing to No. 16. The youngest billionaire is Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel, who is just 24. Indeed, Silicon Valley has produced 23 new members of the billionaires club in the past year.
Here’s the Top 10:
1. Bill Gates (U.S., Microsoft) - $79.2 billion
2. Carlos Slim Helu (Mexico, telecom) - $77.1 billion
3. Warren Buffet (U.S., Berkshire Hathaway) - $72.7 billion
4. Amancio Ortega (Spain, Zara) - $64.5 billion
5. Larry Ellison (U.S., Oracle) - $54.3 billion
6. Charles Koch (U.S., diversified) - $42.9 billion
6. David Koch (U.S., diversified) - $42.9 billion
8. Christy Walton (U.S., Walmart) - $41.7 billion
9. Jim Walton (U.S., Walmart) - $40.6 billion
10. Liliane Bettencourt (France, L'Oreal) - $40.1 billion
image courtesy of INFphoto.com