Slim, 71, remains the world’s richest person for a second year with estimated assets of $74 billion. Slim, whose holdings include America Movil, the largest mobile phone operator in the Americas, added $20.5 billion to his fortune over the year, more than any other billionaire. Next down the list is the 55-year-old Bill Gates, who is now worth $56 billion after adding $3 billion to his pile. The Microsoft co-founder now gets 70 percent of his fortune from investments outside of Microsoft, including his investments in the Mexican stock market and holdings in Mexican Coke bottler Femsa and Grupo Televisa, according to Forbes.
American investor Warren Buffett, the 80-year-old primary shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, again came in third with $50 billion, up from $47 billion last year. The wealthiest European, Bernard Arnault, 62, came in fourth with $41 billion. The LVMH chairman and CEO surged by $13.5 billion.
Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison, 66, came in fifth with $39.5 billion, while the richest Asian, Lakshmi Mittal, 60, CEO of the world’s largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, fell to sixth from fifth with net worth of $31.2 billion.
The 2011 list broke two records: total number of listees, at 1,210, and highest combined wealth, at $4.5 trillion. Brazil, Russia, India, and China—the so-called BRIC countries—fueled a spike of new billionaires, producing 108 of the 214 new names.
America’s wealth still dominates the list, yet it is sliding downhill. A decade ago, nearly half of the billionaires were Americans, but today only one in three is an American.
The United States is also adding newcomers at a much slower pace. It only added 6 percent of its 413 billionaires, compared with 30 percent of Russia’s and 47 percent of China’s.
Among the notable American newcomers is Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose fortune soared 238 percent to $13.5 billion over the past year.
