Bill Gates still second on list of world's richest
NEW YORK (AP) - Mexico's Carlos Slim remains the world's richest man for the fourth year in a row, according to Forbes, while Warren Buffett dropped out of the top three for the first time since 2000.
Bill Gates of Microsoft Corp. held on to second place with a net worth of $67 billion.
And Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg saw his ranking drop 31 spots as his net worth declined by $4.2 billion.
A record 1,426 people around the world made Forbes magazine's latest annual tally of billionaires, up 16 percent from last year. Their average net worth was $3.8 billion, rising 3 percent from 2012. The total net worth for the list's billionaires was $5.4 trillion compared with $4.6 trillion a year ago.
The U.S. continued to house the most billionaires in the world, with 442 of them. It was followed by the Asia-Pacific region, with Europe rounding out the top three.
There were 210 new faces on the list, with Forbes saying many were helped by rebounding equity markets and strong consumer brands.
Slim's net worth increased to $73 billion from $69 billion a year earlier.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Buffett slipped to the fourth spot with a $53.5 billion net worth. Buffett was surpassed by Spanish clothier Amancio Ortega, who jumped two spots from 2012 with a net worth of $57 billion.
While Buffett dropped in the rankings, he added $9.5 billion to his net worth - making him the second-biggest gainer of the year. The largest gainer was Ortega, who added $19.5 billion to his net worth.
There were 138 women on the list, up from 2012's 104. Liliane Bettencourt - whose family owns a stake in L'Oreal - is the world's richest woman with a net worth of $30 billion.
Brazil's Eike Batista had the biggest drop in his net worth, with it declining $19.4 billion from the previous year. Facebook's Zuckerberg saw his net worth fall to $13.3 billion from $17.5 billion. His ranking fell to No. 66 from No. 35 in 2012.
There were 60 people that dropped off the list entirely, including Zynga's Mark Pincus and former Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon.
Bill Gates of Microsoft Corp. held on to second place with a net worth of $67 billion.
And Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg saw his ranking drop 31 spots as his net worth declined by $4.2 billion.
A record 1,426 people around the world made Forbes magazine's latest annual tally of billionaires, up 16 percent from last year. Their average net worth was $3.8 billion, rising 3 percent from 2012. The total net worth for the list's billionaires was $5.4 trillion compared with $4.6 trillion a year ago.
The U.S. continued to house the most billionaires in the world, with 442 of them. It was followed by the Asia-Pacific region, with Europe rounding out the top three.
There were 210 new faces on the list, with Forbes saying many were helped by rebounding equity markets and strong consumer brands.
Slim's net worth increased to $73 billion from $69 billion a year earlier.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Buffett slipped to the fourth spot with a $53.5 billion net worth. Buffett was surpassed by Spanish clothier Amancio Ortega, who jumped two spots from 2012 with a net worth of $57 billion.
While Buffett dropped in the rankings, he added $9.5 billion to his net worth - making him the second-biggest gainer of the year. The largest gainer was Ortega, who added $19.5 billion to his net worth.
There were 138 women on the list, up from 2012's 104. Liliane Bettencourt - whose family owns a stake in L'Oreal - is the world's richest woman with a net worth of $30 billion.
Brazil's Eike Batista had the biggest drop in his net worth, with it declining $19.4 billion from the previous year. Facebook's Zuckerberg saw his net worth fall to $13.3 billion from $17.5 billion. His ranking fell to No. 66 from No. 35 in 2012.
There were 60 people that dropped off the list entirely, including Zynga's Mark Pincus and former Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon.
Mexico's Carlos Slim remains the world's richest man for the fourth year in a row, according to Forbes, while Warren Buffett dropped out of the top three for the first time since 2000. Mexico's Slim Shady, the worlds richest man, makes you wonder where his riches came from considering Mexico's drug problem.
Not bad for a guy that designs windows
Before you start slamming on Bill, maybe you should actually read up on what that man has done for charities and for people.
Must be terrible to be in second place. Â I'd settle for anywhere in the top hundred. Â Â Most people who say negative things about the guys on this list are just plain jealous. Â There's nothing wrong with being jealous. Â I am and admit it. Â Most of the nay-sayers are just as jealous, but, their over-blown egos won't let them say it. Â On top of that, most of these guys are deadbeats who wouldn't work even if promised a billion dollars.
@Shadow You are describing the Portlandia style of leftist thinking. Those who can, do. Those who can't blame others, demand redistribution and forced equality. If you have something of value or uniqueness you must share it with others who can't provide it for themselves. We all know how this ends.
Of all the misery to report on the news.. Why tell us that some yayhoo's net worth is 67 billion.. No wonder the society in general go to extremes to vent their frustrations.  Why can't the entire Whitehouse just implode with all the jerks who keep playing the blame game while they continue to get more benefits than we will ever ever see in our lifetime. Screw them all and let em go to hell, first class of course..
@PapaCharlieOrion You sound a little bitter about your own personal lot in life.  I could be wrong, but I fail to see a connection with this story and the White House -- it's not like President Obama doesn't want to raise personal income taxes for Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, the Koch Brothers and all the rest.
No, just tired of hearing nothing but this sequester stuff , and how tough it's going to affect the american people.  Then the media talks about how rich these guys are. On the contrar.. I do have a job, benefits..   I'm sick of this political blame game..non partisonship rehetoric from boths sides of the fence.  They are so burried in their own rhetoric that to whose benefit is does it fall to ? Not you or me for sure, Unless your a Senator or a Congressman.   But who knows. next week I could be jobless.. lol  never can predict anymore.
Why am I more interested in Carlos Slim than I am in Bill Gates?
@randola For one thing, he has a cool name.
Be nice to geeks for they could end up being your boss.
death by gmo. thx bill
People say taking money from the rich is the answer to our problems. The total net worth for the list's billionaires was $5.4 trillion. The total US debt is 17 trillion. That means we would need to take 300% from them all to be out of the gutter.
I also don't think we can take money from people from other countries. . . our uber-wealthy are too busy hiding their money to avoid paying anything.
@The_AnnaCannard Since it wouldn't happen all at one time in one year, your comment is illogical.
Since I am nowhere on the list, and don't even know where the list might be, and have no ambition to be on the list, why do I care if he's #2? You still can't take it with you, either. LOL
Oh what i could do with his money!!!!!
@dkgiovenco Buy better cigarettes and get fatter and die?
@Pers Retiree @dkgiovenco Also, don't forget to use plastic grocery bags.
@Pers Retiree @dkgiovenco I'd just go with the 'better cigarettes' part.  I'd also buy several pair of new sox that don't have stupid little pink hearts and bows on them (it's hard to find plain black GoldToes any more), I'd pay someone to obedience train my dog, I'd buy a  nice fixer home for my eldest sibling in a foreign country to eliminate the possibility of ever seeing her again, and I'd pay for a private Bruno Mars concert for my girlfriends and I just to watch him sing "Gorilla".  My wants are meager but they'd bring me a smile or two.  =)
"The total net worth for the list's billionaires was $5.4 trillion compared with $4.6 trillion a year ago."
And that right there is the problem. Their wealth is expanding unchecked while the rest of us are seeing our income contract. I mean how many billion does one person really need? And as you can see, some of these billionaires can have a tremendous impact on the world by virtue of the projects they can fund. It's great if the projects they select are good for the world. But if they are misguided or God forbid evil, look at the harm they can do. Some people might legitimately worry that messing with the world's corn and wheat could be a biological. cultural, and financial disaster. Just ask the farmers who already know that companies like Monsanto control the corn crops and it's all about money.
I say, tax them at 99% once they reach a billion and I'm being generous. No one and I mean NO ONE needs more personal wealth than that. At that level money isn't just money anymore, it's power and that's what needs to be checked.
@ormom Some people just cannot stand to see others who work hard reap the rewards of their success. You sound like a charter member of the "entitlement" brigade. If you don't like what is happening to your income, change it. Get more education, work harder, change careers, become an entrepreneur, just do something besides whining. You are the only one who is responsible for you. Stop thinking you deserve something for nothing. Not one single person on the list earned a dime by whining about someone else's success.
I agree. We should tax you 100% on any money you have left after necessities. Pay for your food and shelter for the month, and the rest goes to the taxman. I mean, once you have necessities any money you have left is a luxury and you don't NEED it. So might as well be taxed.
@Oregon7812 I gave you a thumbs up believing that your being very sarcastic with this comment. I sincerely hope I am correct:)
@Dr. Rawdog @FreedomRocks @Oregon7812 Best I could do on short notice:  http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/1291131680_two-thumbs-up.jpg
@Oregon7812Â You are a brainwashed leftist nut job!
Thanks!
@ormom"Just ask the farmers who already know that companies like Monsanto control the corn crops and it's all about money."
It's beyond money...it's about controlling the world's food supply
@str1ngb3nd3r
Yes it is. And even someone who tries to do so for good reasons, as Gates probably is doing, can unwittingly bring about a world wide famine if something goes wrong. It's like the global economy. At some point what started out helping people becomes too big to control. Messing with Mother Nature on a global scale has disaster written all over it. I have no doubt Gates has a counterpart messing with rice too. If we lose the major grains of the world, the world will die. Diversity is what keeps seeds healthy. When all the seed is the same, or re-engineered, bad things happen.
All of you people who are against taxes or controlling wealth just haven't yet made the leap in consciousness from your own pocket to what that kind of power in the hands of a few means. Bill Gates can have so many mansions and toys that he could live in a new one every day and I wouldn't care because mansions don't effect me. But when he starts messing with the world's food supply I do object.
Are you against medical research as well, cos you know, I saw a movie once where the experiment mutated and turned everyone into zombies.
@ormom .......who are you to say what the limits on personal wealth should be? Gates is very very philanthropic with his wealth !
This comment has been deleted
@Dr. Rawdog either that or we can stop enabling entitlement believers and start operating within our means.
And here I am just working on my second million, I gave up on the first.
Second isn't too shabby !
With all that money, you would think that both he and Mark Zuckerberg could afford to get a decent hair cut.
And dress better too !!!