NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim retained his position atop Forbes magazine’s annual list of the world’s billionaires yesterday with an estimated worth of $69 billion, while his Mexican rival Ricardo Salinas Pliego enjoyed the largest increase in wealth.
Microsoft Corp cofounder Bill Gates ranked second at $61 billion and Warren Buffett third at $44 billion. France’s Bernard Arnault, the richest person in Europe, repeated at No. 4. They were the same top four as last year.
The youngest self-made woman at age 41 was Spanx founder Sara Blakely, whose net worth of $1 billion from her business of making slimming undergarments affirmed there was profit in vanity. Blakely, ranking at No. 1,153, was among 104 women on the list.
Fifty-eight countries were represented on the list of a record 1,226 billionaires whose average fortune was $3.7 billion. Some 128 billionaires were new to the Forbes rankings this year, including Colombia’s Alejandro Santo Domingo, 35, the richest new billionaire in the world ($9.5 billion) and the face of Santo Domingo Group after last year’s death of his father.
In addition to the usual aging plutocrats and heirs, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerburg, 27, ranked 35th with a net worth of $17.5 billion. The social media heavyweight announced plans last month for an IPO that would value Facebook at a projected $100 billion.
Zuckerberg jumped 17 spots and $4 billion while the combined value of seven Facebook billionaires was $28.7 billion, including the $3.5 billion belonging to Dustin Moskovitz, 27, Zuckerberg’s former Harvard roommate who was listed as the youngest self-man man.
Notable drop-offs included “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, whose wealth fell below $1 billion due in part to Britain’s high tax rates and an estimated $150 million in charitable giving.
Also falling off was Jim Balsillie, the former co-CEO and co-chairman of Canada’s Research In Motion, the troubled maker of BlackBerry.
RUSSIA THE NEW NO. 2
The United States led the rankings with 425 billionaires, seemingly unfazed by the burgeoning “Occupy” movement which sought to shine a light on income inequality. Russia overtook mainland China as the country with the second-most billionaires, by a margin of 96 to 95. New to the list was Morocco, which had three billionaires.
Among cities, Moscow led with 78 billionaires followed by New York at 58 and London at 39. The full list can be seen at www.forbes.com/billionaires/
Slim, 72, and his family have taken the top spot for three years in a row, climbing up the list for years based largely on assets from his telecommunications empire now led by America Movil .
Slim made much of his money as a telecommunications magnate who has expanded into retail, finance, commodities and energy.