Jabhad Posted March 11, 2006 NEW YORK (AFP) - Bill Gates gained ground at the top of the megarich rankings as the world's wealthiest people added 400 billion dollars to their net worth, according to Forbes magazine's annual list. The number of people whose wealth reached 10 figures stood at a record 793, an increase of 102 from the previous year, with Microsoft founder Gates in first place for the 12th straight year. His 50 billion dollar fortune marked an increase of 3.5 billion dollars from the 2005 Forbes list. The magazine said strong markets around the world contributed to the surge in wealth, as the total net worth of the list jumped to 2.6 trillion dollars -- more than the annual GDP of Germany. "Making a billion just isn't what it used to be," observed Forbes Associate Editor Luisa Kroll, who noted that the number of billionaires had grown by more than 300 in the past three years. While US names accounted for nearly half the fortunes on the roster, this year's ranking was notable for the influx of newcomers from Brazil, India, Russia and other emerging economies. Oil baron and Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich jumped 10 places to 11th in the global ranking with a nest egg of 18.2 billion dollars. "Why is the list growing? The answer is an obvious one -- the global economy is growing," said Forbes editor-in-chief Steve Forbes. "In the last few years the global economy has grown at rates not seen since the end of World War II. It is phenomenal and it's been fuelled by a commodities boom," Forbes said. The summit of the cash mountain had a familiar look with Gates followed by investment wizard and perennial runner-up, Warren Buffett, with a 42-billion-dollar fortune. Buffett's pile has fallen by two billion dollars, however. Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim jumped a place to third with 30 billion dollars, while Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad of Sweden moved up two spots to fourth with 28 billion dollars. Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal dropped two places to fifth with 23.5 billion dollars -- down 1.5 billion dollars. Newcomers to the top 10 chart included the French luxury retailer Bernard Arnault who made seventh spot with 21.5 billion dollars, and Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing in 10th place with 18.8 billion dollars. Hind Hariri, the 22-year-old daughter of slain Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, beat out Germany's Prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis by eight months for the title of the world's youngest billionaire. At the other end of the age spectrum was American John Simplot, 96, who made his fortune processing potatoes. Thirty-nine people fell off the Forbes list, victims of market forces, dubious ethics and, in 11 cases, death. Notable disappearances included US lifestyle guru Martha Stewart, who debuted on the list last year despite serving a five-month prison term, and then found that freedom doesn't pay as her net worth declined to 500 million dollars after her release. The 2006 roster counted billionaires from 49 countries, with the Czech Republic making its first appearance, and New Zealand and Lebanon both returning after an absence of several years. The United States boasted 371 names on the list with a collective net worth of 1.1 trillion dollars, while Europe's 196 billionaires enjoyed combined wealth of 802 billion dollars. Europe's rising star was Russia, with 33 names including seven new faces. "Russia continues to astound," said Kroll. "For a long time there were questions about where they got their money ... but now the story is just the enormous wealth that is being created from strong commodities markets there." In the Asia-Pacific region -- home to 115 billionaires -- the standout was India which added 10 new faces to total 23 on the list with a combined worth of 99 billion dollars, 60 percent more than last year. China saw its presence in the rankings grow from just two billionaires last year to eight. Of the 793 who made the global list, 452 were self-made billionaires. The number of women increased by 10 from the previous year to 78 and included US talk show queen Oprah Winfrey who pulled in an extra 100 million dollars over the year to rank 562nd overal with 1.4 billion dollars. New York has the highest number of resident billionaires with 40, Moscow is second with 25 and London third with 23. William H Gates III Warren E Buffett Karl & Theo Albrecht Paul G Allen Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud Lawrence J Ellison Alice L Walton Helen R Walton Jim C Walton John T Walton http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060310/ts_alt_afp/afplifestylepeopleforbesrich_060310030758;_ylt=Ao19DZa58qeNbbbNsLGIfoqQOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA-- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Urban Posted March 11, 2006 subxanallah just imagine if each one of them donated £1m to erase poverty in places like africa and south america... a million is nothing compared to the wealth they have, it would be like giving away a grain of rice from a rice sack, wouldnt make a difference to them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted March 11, 2006 You have to be careful here. A billionaire in america is someone who has $100,000,000 (one hundred million). A billionaire in the UK is someone who has 1,000,000,000,000 (one million, million). Therefore you can have one hundred million pounds, go to america and you will be a billionaire all of a sudden. When you come back to the UK you a worthless multi-millionaire :rolleyes: Dumb americans could'nt count anymore! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
codetalker Posted March 11, 2006 ^^ LOL Yankee-hater! Did someone say "donate" to erase poverty? Poverty is a global business - NGOs, anyone? What good is a trillion dollars if its xaram? I rather be broke! Anyway, whas good with the Waltons? Alice L Walton Helen R Walton Jim C Walton John T Walton Are these rich fcukers related? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Castro Posted March 11, 2006 ^ Walmart. :rolleyes: Originally posted by the-urban-hang-suite: subxanallah just imagine if each one of them donated £1m to erase poverty in places like africa and south america... Africans (men) don't want to work (the older ones anyway). Focus on the young. Help those if you can. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Socod_badne Posted March 11, 2006 Originally posted by the-urban-hang-suite: subxanallah just imagine if each one of them donated £1m to erase poverty in places like africa and south america... First, they DO donate millions and billions to poor nations... the causes for poverty are illiteracy, bad governance, corruption, nepotism, venality, poor resource management, just to name few. In short, the causes are internal and hence can only be rectified once these countries get their houses and acts together. Since WW2 trillions of dollars have been unabatedly doled out to poor nations, much of it to no avail. Throwing more money at the problem is not gonna, miraculously, end poverty and abject under-development. Often the money falls through the cracks or is re-wired to Swiss/foriegn banks by corrupt government officials. One only needs to look at post-WW2 Asian countries and where they are today to be convinced poverty and gross under-development can be overcome by means other than hand-outs from others. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nailah Posted March 11, 2006 Originally posted by Northerner: You have to be careful here. A billionaire in america is someone who has $100,000,000 (one hundred million). A billionaire in the UK is someone who has 1,000,000,000,000 (one million, million). Therefore you can have one hundred million pounds, go to america and you will be a billionaire all of a sudden. When you come back to the UK you a worthless multi-millionaire :rolleyes: Dumb americans could'nt count anymore! You're the one who needs to learn how to count :confused: A billion = a thousand million And one million, million = a trillion Bill Gates, who is the richest man on earth is only worth about 50 thousand million, in other words, 50 billion. There isn't a person on Earth who could possibly be worth a million, million or a "trillion" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted March 11, 2006 ^^lol, i acknowledge my mistake, i was actually thinkig about on the drive home from the local take away joint (was it a thousand million or a million million??mmm) But in america its still a hundred million! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nailah Posted March 11, 2006 Lool. No in America it's a thousand million. Here's an article on the history of the word "billion" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billion "Billion" is no longer referred to as a million, million even in England. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
