WASHINGTON: Jeff Bezos is the world’s richest person for the fourth year running, according to Forbes.
The Amazon founder is worth $177 billion, says the business magazine. His fortunes are up $64 billion from a year ago as a result of surging share value of Amazon.
Elon Musk, the biggest gainer in dollar terms, rocketed into the number 2 spot on Forbes’ 35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest people. Ranked number 31 with a $24.6-billion fortune last year, the business magnate added a whopping $126.4 billion to total $151 billion in 2021 with the help of a 705 per cent rise in Tesla shares.
French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault remains at number 3 with his fortune nearly doubling to $150 billion.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is the fourth richest person in the world, with a net worth of $124 billion, buoyed by the strength of share he owns in Microsoft, Canadian National Railway and tractor maker Deere & Company.
These four make up people worth 100 billion dollars or more in the list.
Rounding out the top 10 are Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, at $97 billion; Warren Buffett, worth $96 billion; Larry Ellison, worth $93 billion; Larry Page, worth $91 billion; Seregey Brin, worth $89 billion; and Mukesh Ambani, worth an estimated $84.5 billion.
The Indian business tycoon is also the richest person in Asia.
The top ten richest are worth $1.15 trillion, up by two-thirds from $686 billion last year. Altogether, Europe’s billionaires are $1 trillion richer than a year ago.
The US still has more billionaires — 724 — than any other country. China is closing the gap with 698 billionaires. India has the third-highest number of billionaires in the world - 140.
The richest woman this year is cosmetics heir Francoise Bettencourt Meyers of France.
Forbes used stock prices and exchange rates from March 5 to calculate the billionaires’ net worth. — dpa
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