Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg came within a whisker of leapfrogging Warren Buffett to be the world\u2019s third-richest person this week.<\/p>\n
Zuckerberg, more than a half-century younger than the Berkshire Hathaway chairman, is now worth $81.6 billion, having gained $8.8 billion this year as Facebook shook off a data-privacy crisis that caused its stock to tumble 18%.<\/p>\n
Its rebound from a low of $152.22 on 27 March to close at a record $202 narrowed the gap with Buffett to a ‘mere’ $29 million difference<\/strong>, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.<\/p>\n The recovery in Facebook shares has rewarded other insiders as well, including chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, who\u2019s now worth $1.8 billion, and chief technology officer Michael Schroepfer, whose 0.05% holding is valued at $225 million.<\/p>\n Zuckerberg, 34, also trails Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, the world\u2019s richest person with a $144.8 billion fortune, and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, with $92.8 billion.<\/p>\n The Bloomberg index ranks the world\u2019s 500 richest people and is updated after the close of each trading day in New York.<\/p>\n Buffett, 87, once the world\u2019s wealthiest person, is sliding in the ranking thanks to his charitable giving, which he kicked off in earnest in 2006.<\/p>\n He\u2019s donated about 290 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to charities, most of it to Gates\u2019s foundation. Those shares are now worth more than $50 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Zuckerberg has pledged to give away 99 percent of his Facebook stock in his lifetime.<\/p>\n At 08h00 SAST on Thursday (21 June), these are the world’s richest people according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n Rank<\/th>\n Name<\/th>\n Total net worth<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1<\/td>\n Jeff Bezos<\/td>\n $145 billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2<\/td>\n Bill Gates<\/td>\n $92.8 billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3<\/strong><\/td>\n Warren Buffett<\/strong><\/td>\n $81.6 billion<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 4<\/strong><\/td>\n Mark Zuckerberg<\/strong><\/td>\n $81.6 billion<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 5<\/td>\n Amancio Ortega<\/td>\n $74.4 billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 6<\/td>\n Bernard Arnault<\/td>\n $74.3 billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 7<\/td>\n Larry Page<\/td>\n $57.2 billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 8<\/td>\n Carlos Slim<\/td>\n $56.9 billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 9<\/td>\n Sergey Brin<\/td>\n $55.7\u00a0billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 10<\/td>\n Larry Ellison<\/td>\n $49.4 billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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