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Richest people in the world

Gareth Vorster

 ·5 Mar 2012

Mexican telecoms magnate, Carlos Slim Helu, tops Bloomberg’s list of the world’s richest people – having amassed a $68.5 billion fortune, and still counting.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the world’s richest man maintains holdings in telecommunications (America Movil), banking (Grupo Financiero Inbursa) and mining (Minera Frisco), as well as Philip Morris, Saks Fifth Avenue and the New York Times.

Through his family’s holding company, Grupo Carso, Slim also plays in the Mexican construction industry.

Microsoft’s Bill Gates assumes second position on the list with a fortune of some $62.4 billion.

Gates is a co-founder of Microsoft, and owns about 6% of the technology giant – a stake that now represents about a quarter of his overall wealth. The rest of his fortune lies in Cascade Investment, Gates’s private investment vehicle.

Investment and trading guru, Warren E. Buffett, with $43.8 billion, is third on the list. Nearly all of Buffett’s fortune is held in publicly-traded holding company, Berkshire Hathaway.

Ikea owner, Ingvar Kamprad is fourth with $.42.5 billion. The Swedish company generated more than $33 billion in revenue and nearly $4 billion in net income in 2011.

Bernard Arnault, who specialises in luxury goods, is fifth with $42.3 billion. The majority of Arnault’s fortune comes from his stake in LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest maker of luxury goods.

Larry Ellison, with a 22.5% stake in Oracle, the world’s third-largest software company by sales, is seventh on the list with $38 billion. Ellison also owns a 49% stake in software maker NetSuite, as well an interest in LeapFrog Enterprises.

In fourteenth position is Christy R. Walton with $24.9 billion. “The world’s richest woman is the widow of John T. Walton, the second son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. After John’s death in 2005, Christy inherited her husband’s fortune, which consists of a 9% stake in Wal-Mart, the largest private employer in the US, and a 29% stake in First Solar, a manufacturer of solar panels,” Bloomberg said.

South Africa’s richest man is Ivan Glasenberg from Glencore International, with an estimated net worth of R61.48 billion, according to Forbes.

Bloomberg Billionaires Index:

1. Carlos Slim Helu $68.5 billion MEX
2. William Henry Gates III $62.4 billion USA
3. Warren E. Buffett $43.8 billion USA
4. Ingvar Kamprad $42.5 billion SWE
5. Bernard Arnault $42.3 billion FRA
6. Amancio Ortega Gaona $38.8 billion SPN
7. Lawrence Joseph Ellison $38 billion USA
8. Charles De Ganahl Koch $34 billion USA
9. David Hamilton Koch $34 billion USA
10. Eike Fuhrken Batista $29.8 billion BRA
11. ..
12. ..
13. ..
14. Christy R. Walton $24.9 billion  USA
15. ..
16. ..
17. ..
18. ..
19. David K.R. Thomson $22.7 billion CAN

Full list: Bloomberg