Forbes list of the world’s billionaires
for 2016 reflects a global economic order that has been rocked in the
last year by market turbulence and crashing oil prices, causing the
number of billionaires on earth to fall for the first time since 2009.
The magazine’s 30th annual billionaires guide,
released Tuesday, counts 1,810 billionaires in the world, down from a
record high of 1,826 last year, with total aggregate wealth of roughly
$6.5 trillion, or about $570 billion less than a year ago.
For the third year running Bill Gates
retained his top spot as the richest human, with net worth of $75
billion, down $4.2 billion from last year. Spaniard Amancio Ortega,
owner of the retail chain Zara, is the second wealthiest person on the
list, and the richest person in Europe. Warren Buffett retained his
number three spot on the list, while Carlos Slim, the Mexican owner of
the telecom América Móvil, dropped to number four, as his wealth fell by
almost a third, to $50 billion, as the share price of his company
plummeted. Presidential candidate Donald Trump is listed at #324 overall and #114 in the U.S. with a net worth of $4.5 billion, less than half the $10 billion he claims to be worth.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had his personal best showing. His wealth grew by more than $11 billion, rocketing him into the top ten list for the first time ever. Amazon owner Jeff Bezo’s also makes his first appearance in the top ten this year.
The youngest billionaire in the world is
Norwegian heiress Alexandra Andresen, 19, with $1.2 billion. The second
youngest billionaire is her sister Katharina, 20. The third youngest
billionaire Gustav Magner Witzoe, 22, is also Norwegian.
The admirable ability of young Norwegians to skillfully
inherit family fortunes notwithstanding, the United States is still
home to more billionaires than any other country, 540. Mainland China
comes in second with 251, not including the 69 billionaires in Hong
Kong.
By:
Review: Emerging Market Formulations &
Research Unit, Flagship Records.
For The #FacebookTeam