KEY POINTS:
Businessman Graeme Hart has rocketed 135 places up the Forbes rich list, surpassing the wealth of Richard Branson, Donald Trump and Giorgio Armani.
New Zealand's richest person - with a net worth now estimated at US$5.1 billion ($6.3 billion) - is No 201 on the American business magazine's latest list of world billionaires.
Mr Hart was the only New Zealander on last year's list, ranking at 336 and estimated to be worth US$2.7 billion.
This year, the list has three more New Zealanders, although they are well behind Mr Hart.
Investment company-owning brothers Richard and Christopher Chandler are No 707 with US$1.7 billion, and Moscow-based investment banker Stephen Jennings is No 1014 with $1.1 billion.
Mr Hart, once a tow-truck driver, owns investment company Rank Group, which runs timber and paper business Carter Holt Harvey and food manufacturing company Burns Phillip.
The 52-year-old has a $20 million clifftop mansion in Auckland's Glendowie and a $100 million luxury motor yacht called Ulysses.
On this year's list, he is two places above Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who has a net worth of US$5 billion, 35 places above aviation tycoon Sir Richard Branson, worth US$4.4 billion, and 167 places above real estate developer Donald Trump, who is worth US$3 billion.
Mr Hart also trumps movie director Steven Spielberg and talk-show host Oprah Winfrey.
American investor Warren Buffett tops the list with a net worth of US$62 billion, up $10 billion from last year.
The rise has put him ahead of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who had been the richest man in the world for 13 years.
Gates is now worth US$58 billion and ranked third in the world. He is US$2 billion up from a year ago, but critics say he could have stayed ahead of Buffett had Microsoft not made an unsolicited bid for Yahoo! at the beginning of February.
Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim Helu is the world's second-richest man, with US$60 billion. His fortune has risen $11 billion since last year.
* FORBES WORLD BILLIONAIRES
1: Warren Buffett, United States - $62 billion
2: Carlos Slim Helu, Mexico - $60 billion
3: Bill Gates, United States - $58 billion
201: Graeme Hart, New Zealand - $5.1 billion
203: Giorgio Armani, Italy - $5 billion
236: Richard Branson, United Kingdom - $4.4 billion
368: Steven Spielberg, United States - $3 billion
368: Donald Trump, United States - $3 billion
462: Oprah Winfrey, United States - $2.5 billion
