Thursday, 12 September 2013
Top 10 Billionaires in 2013
The 2013 Forbes Billionaires list now boasts 1,426 names, with an aggregate net worth of $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion. We found 210 new ten-figure fortunes. Once again the U.S. leads the list with 442 billionaires, followed by Asia-Pacific (386), Europe (366), the Americas (129) and the Middle East & Africa (103).
Resurgent asset prices are the driving force behind the rising wealth of the super-rich around the globe. While last year almost as many fortunes fell as rose, this year gainers outnumbered losers by 4-to-1. Many new names made the list thanks to free-spending consumers. To name a few: Diesel jeans mogul Renzo Rosso at $3 billion, retailer Bruce Nordstrom at $1.2 billion and designer Tory Burch at $1 billion.
Carlos Slim is once again the world’s richest person, followed by Bill Gates. Amancio Ortega of Spanish retailer Zara moves up to No. 3 for the first time. He is the year’s biggest gainer, adding $19.5 billion to his fortune in one year. He moves ahead of Warren Buffett, despite the fact that the U.S. investing legend added $9.5 billion to his fortune. This is the first year since 2000 that Buffett has not been among the top 3. The year’s biggest loser is Brazilian Eike Batista, whose fortune dropped by $19.4 billion, or equivalent to about $50 million a day. His rank falls from no. 7 to no. 100 in the world.
Carlos Slim Helu
Net worth: $73 billionCountry: Mexico
Source of wealth: Telecom
Mexico's telecom mogul retains his spot as the world's richest man for the fourth year in a row. His net worth is up $4 billion from 2012 but is still $1 billion shy of his all-time record. A boost came from surging stock prices at his financial arm, Grupo Financiero Inbursa, and at his industrial and retail giant, Grupo Carso. This year he added soccer to the mix, buying into Mexico's Leon and Pachuca clubs and Spain's Real Oviedo.
Bill Gates
Net worth: $67 billionCountry: U.S.
Source of wealth: Microsoft
Bill Gates' net worth rose $6 billion from last March due to gains in his investment portfolio; his holdings include tech hygiene firm Ecolab, waste collector Republic Services and Mexican Coke bottler FEMSA. In February the first 12 non-Americans joined Bill Gates’ and Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge, in which the ultra-wealthy pledge to give away at least half their net worth to charity.
Amancio Ortega
Net worth: $57 billionCountry: Spain
Source of wealth: Zara
Amancio Ortega is this year's biggest gainer; his fortune is up $19.5 billion, pushing his fortune to a record high and moving him ahead of Warren Buffett. While he's no longer chairman of clothing retailer Inditex (he stepped down in 2011), he controls nearly 60% of the company's shares, which were up more than 50%. The company, which operates under several brand names including Zara, Massimo Dutti and Stradivarius, has nearly 5,900 stores in 86 countries.
Warren Buffett
Net worth: $53.5 billionCountry: U.S.
Source of wealth: Berkshire Hathaway
Although Buffett is the year's second biggest gainer, adding $9.5 billion to his fortune, it is the first time since 2000 that he has not been among the three richest billionaires in the world. In February, Buffett announced a deal with Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann's 3G Capital to snap up iconic ketchup producer H.J. Heinz Co. for $23.2 billion.
Larry Ellison
Net worth: $43 billionCountry: U.S.
Source of wealth: Oracle
The world's fifth-richest man is $7 billion wealthier than a year ago, thanks to a more than 20% jump in the value of his Oracle stock. In the past year, the software mogul has been on a real estate buying spree, acquiring properties in Malibu and 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai from billionaire David Murdock for a reported $500 million. He just added Hawaiian airline Island Air to his holdings.
Charles Koch
Net worth: $34 billionSource: U.S.
Source of wealth: Diversified
Koch and his brother David together own 84% of Koch Industries, the second biggest private company in America. Forbes estimates it sales at $115 billion, up from $100 billion a year ago. The company, which has big investments in refining and chemicals, is thriving amid falling natural-gas prices and recovering demand. It is also getting a boost from improving operations at Koch's Georgia-Pacific, manufacturer of Brawny paper towels, Dixie Cups and Angel Soft toilet paper. The siblings are each up $9 billion apiece.
David Koch
Net worth: $34 billionCountry: U.S.
Source of wealth: Diversified
David Koch is once again New York City's richest resident, running the chemical technology side of Koch Industries from his Manhattan base. His fortune climbed $9 billion since last year, mostly on surging refining and chemical profits as the price of natural gas, an important feedstock, fell. Things didn't go as well on the political front as they failed in their quest to oust Barack Obama. "Bitterly disappointing," he told Forbes after the election.
Li Ka-shing
Net worth: $31 billionCountry: Hong Kong
Source of wealth: Diversified
Once again, Li Ka-shing is Asia’s richest person and the only one from the region among the world’s top 20 richest. His fortune jumped $5.5 billion to $31 billion, as shares of his biggest holdings all rose 10% or more. He also received 2012 dividends of $860 million.
Liliane Bettencourt & family
Net worth: $30 billionCountry: France
Source of wealth: L'OrealLiliane Bettencourt, the 90-year-old L'Oreal heiress who suffers from dementia, is the world's richest woman, thanks to a 30% increase in the value of the French cosmetic firm's shares that drove up her net worth by $6 billion year over year. Her daughter Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers is guardian of the fortune, while her grandson Jean-Victor Meyers sits on L'Oreal's board.
Bernard Arnault
Net worth: $29 billionCountry: France
Source of wealth: LVMH
The world's most influential tastemaker -- he controls fashion companies such as Louis Vuitton and Bulgari - slips from no. 4 to no. 10 in the world, due to more information about his complex shareholdings.
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