Carlos Slim Helu is world’s richest man
Carlos Slim Helú (the world’s wealthiest man) saw his fortune jump $20,5 billion last year as he beat a record 1.209 rival billionaires, including Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and British resident Lakshmi Mittal, to the top of the Forbes global rich list.
The Mexican telecoms tycoon, topped the list for a second year with an estimated $74 billion.
Microsoft founder Mister Gates, who has given away more than a third of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was second with $56 billion.
“He would have a comfortable margin if he had never discovered philanthropy” – David Lincoln, director of global valuations at wealth research firm Wealth-X, told Reuters. “It wouldn’t be a competition.”
Berkshire Hathaway investment guru Mister Buffett was third with $50 billion.
The number of billionaires in the UK has increased to 32 with the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, again named the country’s richest man.
- Carlos Slim Helu.
When it comes to the race for money, Carlos Slim Helú (the world’s richest man) has surged even further into the lead. The Mexican billionaire accumulated an additional $20,5 billion over the last year, bringing his total fortune to $74 billion, according the Forbes annual rankings of the world’s billionaires.
Mister Slim has held the top spot since last year, when he pushed aside the two past leaders, Bill Gates and Warren E. Buffett. Still, both men added $3 billion to their wealth since the last Forbes billionaires survey. Mister Gates, the richest man in the United States, is worth $56 billion, while Mister Buffett is worth $50 billion, according to the magazine.
Forbes attributes the stunning gains in Mister Slim’s estimated wealth to 19 percent rise in the Mexican stock market, a stronger peso and successful mining and real estate spin-offs from his conglomerate, Grupo Carso. The magazine notes that his family’s stake in América Móvil (the giant Latin American wireless operator) accounts for 62 percent of his fortune. Mister Slim also owns significant stakes in other companies, including the retailer Saks and the New York Times Company.
Forbes notes that Mister Gates, a founder of Microsoft, is no longer the world’s richest man because he has already given away $30 billion to his charitable foundation. He and Mister Buffett, who runs Berkshire Hathaway, have pledged to give away a majority of their wealth by the time they die, as have 57 other wealthy people who have signed the Giving Pledge.
BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China), placing more and more representatives in the list of the richest 1.000 people in the world as the soaring economy in China and India, plus the soaring costs of steel and crude oil.
The number of China’s richest person who entered in the list had jumped to two-fold to 115. Russia and Brazil jumped 50% to respectively 101 and 30. And for the first time, the U.S. put more deputies out of 100 billionaires on the list.
Steve Forbes said that India add 6 the richest people in the list bringing the total to 55. But in the average value of property of Indians on the list is very large – $4,5 billion, compared to Chinese billionaire who just U.S. $2,5 billion.
Here’s a list of 10 richest people in the world according to Forbes magazine that was launched from its website :
1 – Carlos Slim Helu (Mexico / telecom): U.S. $74 billion
2 – Bill Gates (USA / Microsoft): U.S. $56 billion
3 – Warren Buffet (USA / Berkshire Hathaway): U.S. $50 billion
4 – Bernard Arnault (France / LVMH): U.S. $41 billion
5 – Larry Ellison (USA / Oracle): U.S. $39.5 billion
6 – Lakshmi Mittal (India / Steel): U.S. $31.1 billion
7 – Amancio Ortea (Spain / Zara): U.S. $31 billion
8 – Eike Batista (Brazil / Mine): U.S. $30 billion
9 – Mukesh Ambani (India / Petrochemicals, oil and gas): U.S. $27 billion
10 – Christy Walton & Family (USA / Walmart): U.S. $26.5 billion.