Bill Gates remains richest man in world in 2016 list of billionaires

Mark Zuckerberg rises 10 spots to number six

WASHINGTON: Bill Gates topped the list of the world’s richest billionaires for the 17th time in 22 years, it has been revealed.

Though the 60-year-old Microsoft head is $4.2 billion poorer than 2015, his net worth of $75 billion has put him in the top spot on Forbes' World Billionaires list for the third year in a row, after overcoming Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helu in 2014.

Helu came in fourth in Forbes’ 2016 list of 1,810 billionaires, behind Gates, Zara’s Amancio Ortega and business mogul Warren Buffett, respectively. Others who made the top 10 include Amazon’s Jeff Bezos at fifth on the list, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook at sixth, Oracle’s Larry Ellison at seventh, Michael Bloomberg at eighth, and tied for ninth are David and Charles Koch.

Zuckerberg, 31, had the best year of all billionaires, having added $11.2 billion to his fortune and moving up from number 16 to six on the list. This is Zuckerberg's and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos’ first appearance in the top ten of Forbes’ annual ranking. The top 10 billionaires rake in a net worth of approximately $505.4 billion.  

Forbes found 1,810 billionaires this year, down from last year’s record of 1,826. The aggregate net worth of the billionaires was $6.48 trillion, $570 billion less than last year. The average net worth of a billionaire dropped for the first time since 2010 and sits at $3.6 billion, down $300 million from last year.

While 221 people fell off the billionaires list this year, 198 people joined the ranks. Twenty-nine from the 2015 list died, while another 29 rejoined the list after having fallen off. Noteable drop-offs include fashion designer Tory Burch, Sam Adams head Jim Koch and Dick’s Sporting Goods chief Edward Stack.

Of those billionaires who made it on to this year and last year’s list, 892 are poorer while only 501 have increased their fortunes. Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, whose company owns AMC Theaters climbed into the top 20.

Notable newcomers to the list include Cameron Mackintosh, the first theater producer to enter the ranks, WeWork’s Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey and Pinterest’s Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp.

Neumann, Silbermann and Sharp are three of 66 billionaires under 40 years old, a record for the Forbes list. The youngest on the list is 19-year-old Norwegain heiress Alexandra Andresen, who holds a 42 per cent stake in her family’s business. Her 20-year-old sister is the second youngest on the list.

Andreson, a professional dressage competitor, and her sister are ranked the 1,475th richest people in the world after their father Johan F Andresen transferred his stake in Norway's biggest company, Ferd Holdings, to his daughters in 2007. 

Zhou Qunfei is the richest self-made woman in the world, holding a $5.9billion fortune from smartphone screens. She is one of 190 women to make the list, down from 197 last year. US billionaires hold 540 spots on the list, more than any other country in the world. In second is China with 251 and German with 120.