By Tia Law
Forbes: The billion Dollar Club 2013
Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helú again tops the list of the 10 wealthiest people for the fourth year in a row, but a generous American is close behind.
According to Forbes, another 200 people became billionaires in the past 12 months, bringing the planet’s total to a record 1,426 billionaires according to the latest tally.
Forbes has been assembling its annual list of the world’s wealthiest individuals since 1987; that year, the financial news magazine found 140 billionaires.
The men and women on the latest list had a net worth, on average, of $3.8 billion, an increase of $100 million from the previous year. All but 259 billionaires saw their net worth increase in the past year. Sixty people dropped off the list — including Zynga (ZNGA) founder and CEO Mark Pincus and ex-Chesapeake Energy (CHK) chief Aubrey McClendon — and another eight died during the year.
Collectively, the world’s billionaires had a net worth of $5.4 trillion, a 17% increase from the previous year.
Carlos Slim Helú of Mexico tops the list for the fourth consecutive year. Slim is followed by Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates. (Microsoft publishes MSN Money.) Amancio Ortega, the man behind fashion chain Zara, is the world’s third-wealthiest individual, with a net worth of $57 billion. That’s $19.5 billion more than Ortega was worth in 2011, making the Spaniard the year’s biggest gainer.
The fourth-wealthiest individual, legendary investor Warren Buffett slipped out of the top three for the first time since 2000.
L’Oreal (LRLCY) heiress Liliane Bettencourt moves back into the top 10 for the first time since 1999 and reclaims the title of world’s richest woman.
