HERE ARE WORLD'S TOP 10 CURRENT
BILLIONAIRES
#1 Carlos Slim Helu
Designation:
Honorary Chairman, América Móvil
Worth: US$66.8
billion (2013)
Age:
73
Country:
Mexico
Carlos
Slim is the richest man in Mexico and was, until recently, listed as the number
one in the world for fourth consecutive year by Forbes. His assets are mostly
invested in publicly trading companies, the largest in America Movil. He owns
46 percent of the company. Until recently, he was worth $73 billion due to the
surging stocks at his financial arm, Grupo Financiero Inbursa, and at his Grupo
Carso industrial and retail giant.
#2 Bill Gates
Designation:
Chairman of Microsoft and Co-Chair Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
Worth: US$ 76.8 billion (Nov 2013)
Age:
57
Country:
United States
Bill
Gates is not just the richest man on Earth but also the most generous. He has
donated more than $28 billion to eradicate diseases like polio and malaria
through Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is co-chaired by his wife
Melinda Gates. He is the Chairman of Microsoft, world's biggest software maker.
According to Bloomberg, Gates owns about 398 million shares, 4.8 percent of the
company. He also has investments in real estate (Four Seasons Hotels), energy
(Sapphire Energy) and photography (Corbis Images) through Cascade Investment.
#3 Warren Buffett
Designation:
CEO, Berkshire Hathaway
Worth:
$57.5 Billion
Age:
82
Country:
United States
The
bulk of his finances originate from the textile company, Berkshire Hathaway. He
began buying shares in the company in 1962 when it was struggling to survive in
the market, he called it the 'dumbest stock' he ever bought but the company has
been shedding massive returns in his pockets since long. Interestingly, he
bought his first stock at the age of 11 and filed his first tax return two
years later. He is a close friend of Bill Gates and donates regularly to the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
#4 Amancio Ortega
Designation:
Retired
Worth:
$54.8 Billion
Age:
77
He
is Spain's richest man and his ex-wife was the country's wealthiest woman until
she died recently - all due to world's largest clothing retailer Inditex, whose
59 percent of stocks are held by Ortega. He stepped down as the Chairman of
Inditex, parent company of Zara, in 2011.
He
quit school at the age of 13 to work in a clothing shop. In March, Ortega was
at the third spot in world's richest billionaires list by Forbes for the first
time.
#5 Ingvar Kamprad
Designation:
Founder IKEA
Worth:
$49.1 Billion
Age:
87
Country:
Sweden
Ingvar
Kamprad is the richest man in Sweden and for the first time is featured in the
top 10 billionaires list. He stepped down as the Chairman to world's largest
furniture retailer, IKEA, last month in order to hand over the seat to his
youngest son. Like Ortega in 2011, Kamprad is likely to be the top gainer in
2012 as his company made more than $36 billion in revenue and $4 billion in net
income through a series of trusts and foundations.
#6 Charles Koch
Designation:
Chairman and CEO, Koch Industries
Worth:
$44.8 Billion
Age:
77
Country:
United States
Charles
sticks to his sixth spot like in Forbes list of 2013 richest people. He has
again tied with his brother David Koch. His financial arm gains from the 42
percent interest in the company he runs.
#7 David Koch
Designation:
Executive Vice President, Koch Industries
Worth:
$44.8 Billion
Age:
77
Country:
United States
Like
in March, David has again tied with his brother at the sixth spot of the
world's richest people list. He is more active in politics than his brother and
operates the chemical wing of Koch Industries from his home. He too owns 42
percent of shares in the company like Charles and derives his fortune from it.
#8 Larry Ellison
Designation:
Founder and CEO, Oracle
Worth:
$39 Billion
Age:
69
Country:
United States
Larry
Ellison has dropped another three spots since March, when he was the fifth
richest person on Earth. He has been on a real estate buying spree since last
year; buying 98 percent of a Hawaiian island from David Murdoch. Most of his
wealth comes from Oracle, where he holds 23 percent of stocks.
#9 Christy Walton
Designation:
Co-Chair, Children's Scholarship Fund
Worth:
$35. Billion
Age:
58
Country:
United States
Walton
has made huge jump and has entered the top 10 elite club. She remains the
richest woman on the planet and is known as the 'Wal-Mart widow' by Forbes. She
owns 402 million shares, nearly 12.2 percent of the retail company. She
inherited the wealth when her husband died in a plane crash in 2005.
#10 Jim Walton
Designation:
Chairman and CEO, Arvest Bank Group, Inc.
Worth:
$34.3 Billion
Age:
65
Country:
United States
Jim
Walton is the brother-in-law of Christy Walton. He owns nearly 12.6 percent of
the world's largest retailer Wal-Mart. Jim joined the company to handle real
estate transactions. He also replaced his brother John, Christy's husband, on
board after his death in 2005.
He
also owns Bentonville's local newspaper, Benton County Daily Record.