Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates once again topped the Forbes magazine list of the world's richest billionaires, while US President Donald Trump slipped more than 220 spots, according to the Forbes magazine’s report released today.
Gates, whose wealth -is estimated at US $ 86 billion, led the list for the fourth straight year. He was followed by Berkshire Hathaway chief Warren Buffett among the top 10 billionaires, a group heavily dominated by Americans, many of whom work in the technology sector. Buffett's wealth was estimated at US $ 75.6 billion. Others in the top 5 included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos at number three; Amancio Ortega at position four with $71.3 billion; Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg at number five.
Indian businessmen who made it to the list showed up way up that US President Donald Trump. The names are as follows: Mukesh Ambani (at rank 33) with a net worth of $23.2; Lakshmi Mittal at 56th position with $16.4 billion; Azim Premji occupied 72nd position with a total net worth of $14.9 billion, next is Dilip Sanghvi at rank 84 with $13.7 billion and Shiv Nadar at 102nd position with $12.3 billion net worth.
The global billionaire population jumped 13 per cent from last year to 2,043, the biggest annual increase in the 31 years since the magazine began compiling the list, said Forbes. The US topped the list among countries with the most billionaires with 565, a product of the swelling value of the American stock market since Trump's November 2016 election. China was second with 319 billionaires, and Germany was third with 114.
However, Trump himself slipped 220 spots on the list to number 544 with an estimated US $ 3.5 billion. Forbes attributed Trump's drop to sluggishness in the Manhattan real estate market which is responsible for a disproportionate amount of his wealth.
BW Reporters
Soumya is a young writer and journalist, with bachelors in Multimedia and Mass Communication. She is an alumini of the Asian College of Journalism, and finds politics and sustainability intriguing beats to work with.
