Bezos tops Forbes world’s rich list

Paris: Amazon chief Jeff Bezos is now the world´s richest person, having snatched the top spot from Microsoft founder Bill Gates who slips to second place, according to Forbes magazine´s annual billionaires list published Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump´s ranking on the list fell to 766th place from 544th in the last edition, his wealth now being estimated at $3.1 billion, $400 million less than a year ago.

Bezos´ fortune shot up to $112 billion, Forbes said, after a 59-percent rise in Amazon shares over the past 12 months that put him way ahead of the $90 billion listed for Gates.

After the announcement, Bezos´ worth rocketed again to $127 billion in line with a spike in Amazon stock, widening the gap between him and Gates.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett held on to his number-three ranking, followed by French industrialist Bernard Arnault, who jumped to fourth-richest person from his previous number 11 spot, mostly thanks to euro strength against the dollar, the magazine said.

Facebook´s Mark Zuckerberg was fifth on the list.

Two Chinese billionaires rose to be among the 20 richest people in the world: Ma Huateng, CEO of Chinese internet giant Tencent who is the richest person in Asia and number 17 in the world, and Alibaba founder Jack Ma.

There are now a record 2,208 billionaires in the world, Forbes counted, and their combined worth is $9.1 trillion, up 18 percent from last year.

The US has the most billionaires (585), followed by mainland China (373). Forbes´ list contains 259 newcomers, including the first-ever cryptocurrency billionaires.