Editor’s note: This article was first published in March 2014. It reports on the March 2014 Forbes billionaires list, and the rankings, net worths and billionaire count are all 2014 figures.
Forbes magazine has just published its ranking of the richest men and women in the world for 2014. Forbes found 1,645 people with a net worth of more than $1 billion, 219 more billionaires than in 2013, and the combined fortune of the rich club grew by close to $1 trillion. In other words, there are more rich people and their fortunes have grown.
At number 1 on the Forbes list is Bill Gates (Microsoft), followed by Carlos Slim at number 2. Amancio Ortega has consolidated his third place, widening his lead over Warren Buffett by $8 billion. As we had predicted, it was only a matter of time before, for the first time in Forbes history, a woman made it into the 10 richest people in the world. That woman is Christy Walton of Wal-Mart. The ranking looks like this.
1. Bill Gates
Net worth: $76 billion.
Company: Microsoft.
2. Carlos Slim
Net worth: $72 billion.
Company: telecommunications (Grupo Carso, Telmex…).
3. Amancio Ortega
Net worth: $64 billion.
Company: Inditex (Zara).
4. Warren Buffett
Net worth: $58.2 billion.
Company: Berkshire Hathaway.
5. Larry Ellison
Net worth: $48 billion.
Company: Oracle.
6. Charles Koch
Net worth: $40 billion.
Company: diversified.
7. David Koch
Net worth: $40 billion.
Company: diversified.
8. Sheldon Adelson
Net worth: $38 billion.
Company: casinos (Las Vegas Sands Corporation, Venetian Macao Limited…).
9. Christy Walton
Net worth: $36.7 billion.
Company: Wal-Mart.
10. Jim Walton
Net worth: $34.7 billion.
Company: Wal-Mart.
Featured image: Steve Jurvetson, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
