Forbes: The Rich Got Richer in 2010
According to Forbes magazine, the number of billionaires in the world rose to 1,210 in 2010, up from 1,011 the year before. These 1,210 billionaires have a total combined wealth of $4.5 trillion, which is up nearly $1 trillion ($900 billion to be exact) from 2009. Of this $4.5 trillion figure, $1.5 trillion is controlled by people in the United States.
An interesting note - according to Forbes, more than half of the world's newly-minted billionaires came from BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China. China alone now can now lay claim to nearly 10% of the world's billionaire population.
Of the 1,210 billionaires on Forbes' list, 648 saw their fortunes increase in 2010, while 160 saw their net worths decline.
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According to Forbes, the richest man in the world is once again Carlos Slim Helu (and family). Helu, 71, currently has a net worth of $74 billion.
Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft, is second on the list with a total net worth of $56 billion. It should be noted that Bill Gates, who is now a full-time philanthropist, would still have the #1 spot if he hadn't given away $30 billion of his wealth to his charitable foundation over the past number of years. Forbes estimates that Bill Gates is currently worth $56 billion.
The rest of the top 10 looks like this:
3. Warren Buffett, $50 billion
4. Bernard Arnault, $41 billion
5. Larry Ellison, $39.5 billion
6. Lakshmi Mittal, $31.1 billion
7. Amancio Ortega, $31 billion
8. Eike Batista, $30 billion
9. Mukesh Ambani, $27 billion
10. Christy Walton and Family, $26.5 billion
Source: Forbes.com - The 2011 Billionaire List
Filed under: General Knowledge
