New York: Bill Gates has returned to the top of Forbes magazine’s annual list of the world’s richest people, as rising stock markets swelled the ranks of billionaires, which included a record number of women.
With a net worth of $76bn, the Microsoft Corp co-founder reclaimed the top spot after a four-year hiatus, toppling Mexico’s telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu, who placed second at $72bn, Forbes said in announcing the list yesterday. Amancio Ortega, the Spanish founder of clothing conglomerate Inditex SA, which includes the Zara fashion chain, ranked third at $64bn. Investing icon Warren Buffett, who runs Berkshire Hathaway Inc and is a frequent bridge partner for Gates, was fourth at $58.2bn. Oracle Corp chief Larry Ellison came in fifth at $48bn.
Gates has topped the list in 15 of the last 20 years. A record 1,645 billionaires with a total net worth of $6.4 trillion made Forbes’ list, up from 1,426 last year.
Just over 10 percent were female, with 172 women compared with 138 a year earlier.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc heiress Christy Walton was the highest-ranking woman, in ninth place, at $36.7bn. France’s Liliane Bettencourt, who got much of her wealth from cosmetics company L’Oreal SA, was next among women at $34.5bn, and ranked 11th overall.
The Internet was well-represented. Google Inc founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin ranked 17th and 19th, worth a respective $32.3bn and $31.8bn, while Amazon.com Inc’s Jeff Bezos was between them at $32bn.
Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg, 29, more than doubled his net worth to $28.5bn, and ranked 21st.Reuters
