Richest Man in the World Carlos Slim at $74bn Net Worth

According to Forbes Magazine, Carlos Slim outdid Bill Gates for the 2nd year in a row as the richest man in the world. His net worth is currently about $74 billion, an increase of about $20.5 billion from last year alone. There are currently 1,210 billionaires in the world, up 200 from last year, as the wealth gap continues to grow. New billionaires include Peter Thiel (Facebook investor) and Eduardo Saverin (Facebook co-founder). The collective wealth of the world's billionaires hit a new record of $4.5 tn. To put that in perspective the global hedge fund industry is only a $1.5 tn industry.
Mexico's Carlos Slim has topped the latest Forbes magazine rich list, as his wealth grew by more than a third. The telecoms magnate's fortune rose by $20.5bn (£12.65bn) to $74bn, again beating Microsoft founder Bill Gates ($56bn) into second place. More than 200 people joined the billionaires list as their numbers rose to a new record of 1,210, Forbes said. Six billionaires connected with Facebook are now on the list including, Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker. They are joined by Facebook investors Peter Thiel and Yuri Milner as well as co-founders Eduardo Saverin and Dustin Moskovitz, who is the youngest person on the list at 26. Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad was the biggest loser, down $17bn to $6bn. He fell from eleventh spot to 162 and was unusual amongst the billionaires in seeing his wealth decrease. The collective wealth of the billionaires on the list also hit a new record of $4.5tn. The world's largest economy, the US, continues to have the most billionaires, with 413. Asia, for the first time in a decade, has more billionaires on the list then Europe, with 332 against 300. China and Russia have 115 and 101 billionaires respectively, with Moscow now home to more billionaires than any other city in the world. The city has 79 billionaires, and Russia has the most billionaires in Europe. Germany is in second place with 52. Meanwhile, Europe acquired 50 new billionaires in 2011, taking it to 300 in total, with a collective worth of $1.3 trillion. The UK has 32 billionaires on this year's list, three more than last year. Despite the property slump, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor and family remain the wealthiest Britons, with a net worth of $13bn, up $1bn on a year before. (Forbes)

Forbes list of world's richest people

Name Wealth Main business
SOURCE: FORBES MAGAZINE
Carlos Slim $74bn America Movil, telecoms
Bill Gates $56bn Microsoft, software
Warren Buffett $50bn Berkshire Hathaway, investment
Bernard Arnault $41bn LVMH, luxury goods
Larry Ellison $39.5bn Oracle, software
Lakshmi Mittal $31.1bn ArcelorMittal, steel
Amancio Ortega $31bn Zara, fashion
Eike Batista $30bn Mining, oil
Mukesh Ambani $27bn Reliance Industries, Petrochemicals to oil
Christy Walton $26.5bn Wal-Mart, retail