The World's Billionaires
No Name Net worth ( USD ) Age Nationality Source ( s ) of wealth
1 Carlos Slim & family $ 69.0 billion 72 Mexico América Móvil , Grupo Carso
2 Bill Gates $ 61.0 billion 56 United States Microsoft
3 Warren Buffett $ 44.0 billion 81 United States Berkshire Hathaway
4 Bernard Arnault $ 41.0 billion 63 France LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton
5 Amancio Ortega $ 37.5 billion 75 Spain Inditex Group
6 Larry Ellison $ 36.0 billion 67 United States Oracle Corporation
7 Eike Batista $ 30.0 billion 55 Brazil EBX Group
8 Stefan Persson $ 26.0 billion 64 Sweden H & M
9 Li Ka-shing $ 25.5 billion 83 Hong Kong Cheung Kong Holdings
10 Karl Albrecht $ 25.4 billion 92 Germany Aldi
Annual rankings -- 2012
Main article : The World 's Billionaires 2012 Carlos Slim topped the 2012 list , marking this third consecutive year at the top . Gates placed second but narrowed the gap from 2011 as Slim 's fortune fell $ 5 billion while Gates ' rose $ 5 billion . Warren Buffett remained in third place . Bernard Arnault of France was the top-ranking European on the list , placing fourth . [ 34 ] Ricardo Salinas Pliego was the greatest gainer in terms of dollars , adding $ 9.2 billion to his fortune and moving up to number 37 overall . [ 34 ] Making her debut on the list at age 27 , Spanx founder Sara Blakely became the youngest self-made female billionaire ever . [ 35 ] Colombia 's Alejandro Santo Domingo was the highest-ranked newcomer , inheriting a $ 9.5 billion stake in Santo Domingo Group from his father . [ 34 ] India 's Lakshmi Mittal was the largest loser as his fortune dropped from $ 31.1 billion to $ 20.7 billion as the price of steelmaker ArcelorMittal fell sharply . [ 34 ] As a result , he failed to make the top 10 for the first time since 2004 and lost his title of richest Asian to Hong Kong 's Li Ka-shing . [ 36 ] A record total of 1,226 people made the 2012 list , representing 58 countries . Of those , 126 were newcomers to the list and 104 were women . The United States had the greatest number of billionaires with 425 . Russia had 96 people on the list , while China had 95 . [ 34 ] Georgia , Morocco , and Peru were newly represented on the list . Falling stock prices in Asia contributed to 117 former billionaires falling from the list worldwide . Twelve others listed in 2011 died . Overall , net gainers ( 460 ) barely outnumbered net losers ( 441 ) . [ 36 ] To coincide with the release of the 2012 list , Forbes announced a then-new `` Billionaire Real-Time Ticker '' updating the wealth of the world 's top 50 billionaires in real time . [ 34 ]
The World's Billionaires is an annual ranking by documented net worth of the wealthiest billionaires in the world, compiled and published in March annually by the American business magazine Forbes. The list was first published in March 1987. The total net worth of each individual on the list is estimated and is cited in United States dollars, based on their documented assets and accounting for debt. Royalty and dictators whose wealth comes from their positions are excluded from these lists. This ranking is an index of the wealthiest documented individuals, excluding and ranking against those with wealth that is not able to be completely ascertained. In 2018, there was a record of 2,208 people on the list, that included 259 newcomers mostly from China and the U.S.; there were 63 people under 40 and it had a record number of 256 women. The average net worth of the list came in at US$4.1 billion, up US$350 million from 2017. Added together, the total net worth for 2018's billionaires was US$9.1 trillion, up from US$7.67 trillion in 2017. As of 2018[update], Microsoft founder Bill Gates had topped the list 18 of the past 24 years, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is ranked at the top for the first time and he became the first centibillionaire included in the ranking. In 2017, Mark Zuckerberg was the only person in the top 10 billionaires list who is under the age of 50, and the only one in the top 20 billionaires list who is under the age of 40. In 2017, 500 of the richest people in the world became richer by $1 trillion, according to a report by Bloomberg News. According to a 2017 Oxfam report, the top eight billionaires own as much combined wealth as the poorest half of the human race.