Microsoft guru Bill Gates continues to sit atop the list of the world?s richest people. Gates, who has led the list for eleven years, is worth $46.5 billion, down from $46.6 billion last year. Poor guy.

Investor Warren Buffet is in second again, with a net worth of $44 billion, according to the annual list released by Forbes magazine.

Lakshmi Mittal is a new edition to the list. The Indian steel magnate is worth $25 billion, enough to finish in third. Last year he was in 59th. Decent year, Laks.

Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican telecom leader, trails Mittal by $1.2 billion to land in fourth.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, a fixture on the list, is worth $23.7 billion to round out the top 5.

Ingvar Kamprad, the Ikea mogul, is in sixth, followed by Paul Allen of Microsoft in seventh.

The Walton Wal-Mart family holds spots 10 through 14.

Kenneth Thomson is the richest Canadian, fifteenth in the world, worth just under $18 billion.

Martha Stewart is down at number 620, but she?s worth a cool billion. Worth just over a billion is Oprah Winfrey.

In at 194 is the leading entertainer, George Lucas of Star Wars fame, who is worth $3 billion.

Forbes Billionaires List Top 100

1. William Gates III, Washington, 49, $46.5, Microsoft

2. Warren Buffett, Nebraska, 74, $44, Berkshire Hathaway

3. Lakshmi Mittal, India, 54, $25, steel

4. Carlos Slim Helu, Mexico, 65, $23.8, telecom

5. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Saudi Arabia, 48,
$23.7, investments

6. Ingvar Kamprad, Sweden, 78, $23, Ikea

7. Paul Allen, Washington, 52, $21, Microsoft,
investments

8. Karl Albrecht, Germany, 85, $18.5, supermarkets

9. Lawrence Ellison, California, 60, $18.4, Oracle

10. S. Robson Walton,
Arkansas, 61, $18.3, Wal-Mart

11. Jim Walton, Arkansas, 57, $18.2, Wal-Mart

11. John Walton, Arkansas, 59, $18.2, Wal-Mart

13. Alice Walton, Texas, 56, $18, Wal-Mart

13. Helen Walton, Arkansas, 85, $18, Wal-Mart

15. Kenneth Thomson and family, Canada, 81, $17.9, publishing

16. Liliane Bettencourt, France, 82, $17.2, L’Oreal

17. Bernard Arnault, France, 56, $17, LVMH

18. Michael Dell, Texas, 40, $16, Dell

19. Sheldon Adelson, Nevada, 71, $15.6, casinos, hotels

20. Theo Albrecht, Germany, 83, $15.5, supermarkets

21. Roman Abramovich, Russia, 38, $13.3, oil

22. Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong, 76, $13, diversified

23. Amancio Ortega, Spain, 69, $12.6, Zara

24. Steven Ballmer, Washington, 49, $12.1, Microsoft

25. Silvio Berlusconi, Italy, 68, $12, media

25. Abigail Johnson, Massachusetts, 43, $12, Fidelity

27. Barbara Cox Anthony, Hawaii, 81, $11.7, Cox Enterprises

27. Anne Cox Chambers, Georgia, 85, $11.7, Cox Enterprises

29. Stefan Persson, Sweden, 57, $11.2, Hennes & Mauritz

30. John Kluge, Florida, 90, $11, Metromedia

31. Raymond, Thomas and Walter Kwok, Hong Kong, no age given, $10.9, real estate

32. Forrest Mars Jr., Virginia, 73, $10.4, candy

32. Jacqueline Mars, New Jersey, 65, $10.4, candy

32. John Mars, Virginia, 68, $10.4, candy

35. Luciano Benetton and family, Italy, 69, $9.9, Benetton

35. Pierre Omidyar, Nevada, 37, $9.9, Ebay

35. Galen Weston and family, Canada, 64, $9.9, retail

38. Lee Shau Kee, Hong Kong, 77, $9.3, real estate

38. Azim Premji, India, 59, $9.3, software

40. Nasser Al-Kharafi and family, Kuwait, 61, $9, construction

41. Kirk Kerkorian, California, 87, $8.9, investments, casinos

42. Sumner Redstone, California, 81, $8.8 Viacom

43. Leonardo Del Vecchio, Italy, 69, $8.5, eyewear

43. Michele Ferrero and family, Italy, 78, $8.5, chocolates

45. Michael Otto and family, Germany, 61, $8.3, retail

46. Susanne Klatten, Germany, 43, $8.2, BMW

46. Philip Knight, Oregon, 67, $8.2, Nike

46. Hans Rausing, Sweden, 79, $8.2, packaging

49. Serge Dassault and family, France, 80, $7.8, aviation

49. Carl Icahn, New York, 69, $7.8, leveraged buyouts

49. Keith Rupert Murdoch, New York, 74, $7.8, News Corp.

52. Rudolf August Oetker and family, Germany, 88, $7.7, food

53. Birgit Rausing and family, Sweden, 81, $7.6, packaging

54. Spiro Latsis and family, Greece, 58, $7.5, banking

55. Sergey Brin, California, 31, $7.2, Google

55. Charles Ergen, Colorado, 52, $7.2, EchoStar

55. Larry Page, California, 32, $7.2, Google

55. George Soros, New York, 74, $7.2, hedge funds

55. Reinhold Wurth, Germany, 69, $7.2, manufacturing

60. Mukesh and Anil Ambani, India, no age given, $7,
diversified

60. Mikhail Fridman, Russia, 40, $7, oil, banking

60. Vladimir Lisin, Russia, 48, $7, steel

60. Donald Newhouse, New Jersey, NJ, 75, $7, publishing

60. Samuel Newhouse Jr., New York, 77, $7, publishing

65. Adolf Merckle, Germany, 70, $6.9, drugs

66. Stefan Quandt, Germany, 39, $6.7, BMW

67. Micky Arison, Florida, 55, $6.5, Carnival Cruises

68. Philip and Cristina Green, Britain, no age given, $6.3, retail

68. Maria-Elisabeth and Georg Schaeffler, Germany, no age given, $6.3, ball bearings

68. August von Finck, Germany, 74, $6.3, investments

71. Eli Broad, California, 71, $6.1, investments

72. Curt Engelhorn, Germany, 78, $6, drugs

72. Friedrich Flick Jr., Germany, 78, $6, investments

72. Edward Johnson III, Massachusetts, 74, $6, Fidelity

72. Nicky Oppenheimer and family, South Africa, 59, $6, De Beers

76. Francois Pinault, France, 68, $5.9, retail

77. Philip Anschutz, Colorado, 65, $5.8, investments

77. Ernesto Bertarelli, Switzerland, 39, $5.8, biotech

77. Nobutada Saji and family, Japan, 59, $5.8, beverages

80. Sulaiman Bin Abdul Al Rajhi, Saudi Arabia, 85, $5.6, banking

80. Yoshitaka Fukuda and family, Japan, 57, $5.6, credit

80. Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor and family, Britain, 53, $5.6, real estate

80. Reinhard Mohn and family, Germany, 83, $5.6, media

84. Shari Arison, Israel, 47, $5.5, inheritance, cruise ships

84. Oleg Deripaska, Russia, 36, $5.5, aluminum

84. Yasuo Takei and family, Japan, 75, $5.5, credit

87. Jean-Claude Decaux and family, France, 67, $5.4, advertising

87. Antonia Johnson, Sweden, 61, $5.4, diversified

87. Johanna Quandt, Germany, 77, $5.4, BMW

90. Maersk McKinney Moller, Denmark, 91, $5.3, shipping

91. Joseph and Moise Safra, Brazil, no age given, $5.2, banking

91. Onsi Sawiris and family, Egypt, 75, $5.2, contracting

93. Dan Duncan, Texas, 72, $5.1, natural gas

94. Michael Bloomberg, New York, 62, $5, Bloomberg L.P.

94. Gustavo Cisneros and family, Venezuela, 59, $5, media

94. Rafael del Pino, Spain, 84, $5, construction

94. Robert Kuok, Malaysia, 81, $5, diversified

94. Kerry Packer, Australia, 67, $5, media

94. Hasso Plattner, Germany, 61, $5, SAP

94. Jeffrey Skoll, Canada (lives in California), 40,
$5, Ebay

94. Viktor Vekselberg, Russia, 47, $5, oil, metals

94. H. Ty Warner, Illinois, 61, $5, Beanie Babies

103. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, Netherlands, 50, $4.9, Heineken

103. Eitaro Itoyama, Japan, 62, $4.9, golf courses

103. Rahmi Koc and family, Turkey, 74, $4.9, diversified

103. Ronald Perelman, New York, 62, $4.9, leveraged
buyouts






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