Bill Gates is once again the
richest person on the planet, a
title he’s held for 16 of the past
21 years. His fortune grew $3.2
billion since last year to $79.2
bil
lion, despite a gift of $1.5
billion in Microsoft MSFT
-0.47% shares to The Bill
&Melinda Gates Foundation in
November 2014.
Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico
comes in again at No. 2 while
revered American investor
Warren Buffett took back the
No. 3 spot from Spain’s
Amancio Ortega (now No. 4);
not even the largest IPO in
history was enough to beat the
Oracle of Omaha this year.
Buffett was the list’s biggest
gainer, up $14.5 billion to $72.7
billion, thanks to Berkshire
Hathaway’s rising share price.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg
moves up 5 spots to number 16,
his first time ranked among the
world’s 20 richest. Ma and
three other Chinese are among
the biggest gainers and appear
among the 50 richest on the
list. Zuckerberg is also the
leader in a youth revolution
that has minted 46 billionaires
under the age of 40.
The youngest billionaire on the
planet is Evan Spiegel, 24, co-
founder of photo- messaging
app Snapchat. California,
driven by Silicon Valley tech
companies, has spawned 23
new billionaires, including
cofounders of car-hailing
service Uber cofounders Travis
Kalanick and Garrett Camp,
and their first employee Ryan
Graves. Elizabeth Holmes, who
runs blood-testing firm
Theranos, debuts on the global
list as the youngest self-made
woman at age 31. The state now
has 131 individuals with 10-
figure net worths, more than
any other country besides
China and the U.S.
The year’s biggest loser in
dollar terms is Aliko Dangote of
Nigeria, whose fortune
dropped to $14.7 billion from
$25 billion last year, propelled
downward by a weaker
Nigerian currency and
shrinking demand for cement,
his largest asset. He still retains
the title of Africa’s richest man.
The country that was lost the
most ground by far was Russia,
which now has 88 billionaires
down from 111, less than not
just the U.S. and China but now
also Germany and India.
One hundred thirty-eight
people from the 2014 list
dropped out of the ranks
altogether including fashion
designer Michael Kors,
Ukrainian President Petro
Poroshenko, Zulily’s Mark
Vadon and many Russians.
Guatemala has a billionaire for
the first time, and Iceland
returns to the ranks after a
five-year absence, the result of
a comeback by Thor
Bjorgolfsson, who’s now the
only billionaire in Iceland’s
history.
Mike Adenuga, Folorunsho
Alakija, Femi Otedola and
Abdulsamad Rabiu also made
the list.
richest person on the planet, a
title he’s held for 16 of the past
21 years. His fortune grew $3.2
billion since last year to $79.2
bil
lion, despite a gift of $1.5
billion in Microsoft MSFT
-0.47% shares to The Bill
&Melinda Gates Foundation in
November 2014.
Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico
comes in again at No. 2 while
revered American investor
Warren Buffett took back the
No. 3 spot from Spain’s
Amancio Ortega (now No. 4);
not even the largest IPO in
history was enough to beat the
Oracle of Omaha this year.
Buffett was the list’s biggest
gainer, up $14.5 billion to $72.7
billion, thanks to Berkshire
Hathaway’s rising share price.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg
moves up 5 spots to number 16,
his first time ranked among the
world’s 20 richest. Ma and
three other Chinese are among
the biggest gainers and appear
among the 50 richest on the
list. Zuckerberg is also the
leader in a youth revolution
that has minted 46 billionaires
under the age of 40.
The youngest billionaire on the
planet is Evan Spiegel, 24, co-
founder of photo- messaging
app Snapchat. California,
driven by Silicon Valley tech
companies, has spawned 23
new billionaires, including
cofounders of car-hailing
service Uber cofounders Travis
Kalanick and Garrett Camp,
and their first employee Ryan
Graves. Elizabeth Holmes, who
runs blood-testing firm
Theranos, debuts on the global
list as the youngest self-made
woman at age 31. The state now
has 131 individuals with 10-
figure net worths, more than
any other country besides
China and the U.S.
The year’s biggest loser in
dollar terms is Aliko Dangote of
Nigeria, whose fortune
dropped to $14.7 billion from
$25 billion last year, propelled
downward by a weaker
Nigerian currency and
shrinking demand for cement,
his largest asset. He still retains
the title of Africa’s richest man.
The country that was lost the
most ground by far was Russia,
which now has 88 billionaires
down from 111, less than not
just the U.S. and China but now
also Germany and India.
One hundred thirty-eight
people from the 2014 list
dropped out of the ranks
altogether including fashion
designer Michael Kors,
Ukrainian President Petro
Poroshenko, Zulily’s Mark
Vadon and many Russians.
Guatemala has a billionaire for
the first time, and Iceland
returns to the ranks after a
five-year absence, the result of
a comeback by Thor
Bjorgolfsson, who’s now the
only billionaire in Iceland’s
history.
Mike Adenuga, Folorunsho
Alakija, Femi Otedola and
Abdulsamad Rabiu also made
the list.
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