The world’s richest people in 2014
Forbes has listed the 500 richest people in the world, with Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates, topping the list as the wealthiest man on earth.
In its billionaire listing for 2014, Forbes reported a total of 1,645 billionaires across the globe who carry a hefty total net worth of US$6.4 trillion.
This means that the world’s richest people are US$1 trillion richer than they were in 2013 – with the top 500 billionaires in the pile representing a total of US$4.4 trillion.
In 2013, Gates overtook the world’s previous richest man, telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helu – a position the former Microsoft head retains with a massive net worth of US$76 billion.
Helu, conversely, saw his fortune shrink by US$1 billion in the past year to US$72 billion.
The two figures, who top the list for yet another year, lead the rest of the familiar technology and telecoms billionaires who once again make an appearance in 2014.
Notably, on the back of a successful year for Facebook, social media king Mark Zuckerberg saw a resurgence on the list, narrowly missing a top 20 spot with a net worth of US$28.5 billion (21st).
Zuckerberg lead Facebook in its acquisition of chat app, WhatsApp, for a historic US$19 billion in cash and stock.
Thanks to the deal, WhatsApp’s founders Jan Koum (202nd) and Brian Acton (551st) joined the league of billionaires with a net worth of US$6.8 billion and US$3 billion, respectively.
Also joining the billionaires’ club for the first time from the Facebook crowd is COO, Sheryl Sandberg, with a net worth of US$1.05 billion, and VP of infrastructure software, Jeff Rothschild (1,372th, US$1.3 billion).
Sandberg is one of 40 new females faces listed amongst the billionaires.
Bill Gates and Carlos Slim Helu
The top 20 richest people
| # | Name | Company/Industry | Net Worth |
| 1 | Bill Gates | Microsoft | $76 billion |
| 2 | Carlos Slim Helu & family | Telecoms | $72 billion |
| 3 | Amancio Ortega | Zara | $64 billion |
| 4 | Warren Buffett | Berkshire Hathaway | $58.2 billion |
| 5 | Larry Ellison | Oracle | $48 billion |
| 6 | Charles Koch | Diversified | $40 billion |
| 6 | David Koch | Diversified | $40 billion |
| 8 | Sheldon Adelson | Casinos | $38 billion |
| 9 | Christy Walton & family | Wal-Mart | $36.7 billion |
| 10 | Jim Walton | Wal-Mart | $34.7 billion |
| 11 | Liliane Bettencourt & family | L’Oreal | $34.5 billion |
| 12 | Stefan Persson | H&M | $34.4 billion |
| 13 | Alice Walton | Wal-Mart | $34.3 billion |
| 14 | S. Robson Walton | Wal-Mart | $34.2 billion |
| 15 | Bernard Arnault & family | LVMH | $33.5 billion |
| 16 | Michael Bloomberg | Bloomberg LP | $33 billion |
| 17 | Larry Page | $32.3 billion | |
| 18 | Jeff Bezos | Amazon.com | $32 billion |
| 19 | Sergey Brin | $31.8 billion | |
| 20 | Li Ka-shing | Diversified | $31 billion |
The top 10 richest people in tech
| # | Name | Company/Industry | Net Worth |
| 1 | Bill Gates | Microsoft | $76 billion |
| 2 | Carlos Slim Helu & family | Telecoms | $72 billion |
| 5 | Larry Ellison | Oracle | $48 billion |
| 17 | Larry Page | $32.3 billion | |
| 18 | Jeff Bezos | Amazon.com | $32 billion |
| 19 | Sergey Brin | $31.8 billion | |
| 21 | Mark Zuckerberg | $28.5 billion | |
| 36 | Steve Ballmer | Microsoft | $19.3 billion |
| 42 | Lee Kun-Hee | Softbank | $18.4 billion |
| 48 | Michael Dell | Dell | $17.5 billion |
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