Gates, Buffett again top billionaires list

The world now has a record 793 billionaires, up 15 per cent from a year ago, with a rising number in India, Russia, Brazil and the Middle East as well as more women, Forbes magazine said today.

Soaring stock, oil and commodities prices increased their combined net worth to US$2.6 trillion ($5.56 trillion) as 114 individuals joined the exclusive club, including 10 more women for a total of 78.

"A billion just isn't what it used to be," said Forbes Associate Editor Luisa Kroll, presenting the 20th annual list at a New York news conference.


New Zealand brothers Richard and Christopher Chandler made it to 382nd on the list. Their placing was based on a net worth of US$2 billion ($3.13 billion).


The only other New Zealander on either list was Graeme Hart, who controls the Burns Philp food group. He was fifth on the Australia and New Zealand list and 451st in the world rankings with US$1.7 billion.


Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates topped the list for a record 12th year in a row with a net worth estimated at US$50 billion, followed by perennial No. 2 Warren Buffett, the famed investor of Berkshire Hathaway, worth US$42 billion.

Mexican industrialist Carlos Slim moved into the No 3 spot at US$30 billion, just ahead of Sweden's Ikea founder, Ingvar Kamprad, at US$28 billion.

Moving into the top 10 are French luxury goods mogul Bernard Arnault at No 7, Canadian publishing magnate Kenneth Thomson and family, and Li Ka-shing, head of the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa.

Calculations were based on asset prices and exchange rates as of February 13.

"Why is this list growing? The global economy has been growing the last two years at rates not seen since World War II, fuelled by a commodities boom with a whiff of inflation," said Forbes chief executive and editor-in-chief Steve Forbes.

The list is a source of great speculation and criticism each year, with some of those named laughing off the estimates of their net worth as wildly low or high.

Kroll acknowledged the difficulty of the task since many billionaires refuse to co-operate, but defended the information, gathered by 30 reporters in seven countries, as unrivaled.

"Some people show us their spreadsheets showing the positive side of their business, so we have to ask what motivates them. Are they going to sell a business?" Kroll said.

Others are about to divorce and want to appear as being worth less, she said. "We always try to be on the more conservative side," she added.

India added 10 names to the list for a total of 23, but only three of them based on software or technology. Their combined net worth of US$99 billion passed the net worth of Japan's 27 billionaires, estimated at US$67 billion, for the largest concentration in Asia.

Russian added seven new members to the list for a total of 33, based largely on oil and gas prices, and that list's net worth grew to US$172 billion, up from US$91 billion a year ago.

"Russia continues to astound us," Kroll said.

One Russian oil tycoon who fell off the list was Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former YUKOS chief executive imprisoned in Siberia for fraud and tax evasion.

"We figure he still has somewhere below US$500 million," Kroll said.

Brazil doubled its number of billionaires to 16 with the help of some massive public offerings.

In the Middle East and Africa, including Turkey, there were 56 billionaires, up from 29 last year, with a combined worth of US$167 billion, up from US$103 billion a year ago.

Turkey added eight new people to the list for a total of 21, based largely on telecommunications, media and banking.

Great concentration of wealth occurred in oil-rich Saudi Arabia, whose 11 billionaires were worth US$68 billion compared to US$42 billion for its seven billionaires a year ago.

The Middle East also produced the overall list's youngest billionaire, Hind Hariri, 22, who inherited US$1.4 billion from her slain father, the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

TOP 20

The Top 20 from the ranking of the world's 100 richest people as estimated by Forbes magazine. Listings include rank, name, home country, age where known, wealth in billions of US dollars, and source of the money.

1. William Gates III, US, 50, US$50, Microsoft
2. Warren Buffett, US, 75, US$42, Berkshire Hathaway
3. Carlos Slim Helu, Mexico, 66, US$30, telecom
4. Ingvar Kamprad, Sweden, 79, US$28, Ikea
5. Lakshmi Mittal, India, 55, US$23.5, steel
6. Paul Allen, Washington, 53, US$22, Microsoft, investments
7. Bernard Arnault, France, 57, US$21.5, LVMH
8. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Saudi Arabia, 49, US$20, investments
9. Kenneth Thomson and family, Canada, 82, US$19.6, publishing
10. Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong, 77, US$18.8, diversified
11. Roman Abramovich, Russia, 39, US$18.2, oil
12. Michael Dell, US, 41, US$17.1, Dell
13. Karl Albrecht, Germany, 86, US$17, supermarkets
14. Sheldon Adelson, US, 72, US$16.1, casinos, hotels
15. Liliane Bettencourt, France, 83, US$16, L'Oreal
15. Lawrence Ellison, US, 61, US$16, Oracle
17. Christy Walton, US, 51, US$15.9, Wal-Mart inheritance
17. Jim Walton, US, 58, US$15.9, Wal-Mart
19. S Robson Walton, US, 62, US$15.8, Wal-Mart
20. Alice Walton, US, 56, US$15.7, Wal-Mart

- REUTERS, NZPA