Microsoft's Gates reclaims title as world's richest

Bill Gates answers questions during an interview on January 21, 2014 in New York

The surging price of Microsoft shares returned US tech tycoon Bill Gates back to the top of Forbes's world's billionaires list, with his $76 billion beating out Mexico's Carlos Slim's $72 billion.

The annual list, released Monday, counted 1,645 men and women as billionaires, with an average wealth of $4.5 billion and a collective wealth of $6.4 trillion, up $1 trillion from a year ago.

Gates, co-founder of the US software firm, showed his staying power at the top—the world's richest man for 15 of the past 20 years, according to Forbes—despite spending recent years giving away large sums of money to global health and anti-poverty programs.

Gates owns about 4.4 percent of Microsoft, making up less than 20 percent of his total fortune.

But the company's share price has risen 25 percent over the past year, and, along with gains in other assets, he has added $7 billion to his fortune since a year ago, according to Forbes.

Slim, with a hand in everything from telecommunications (America Movil) to mining, finance and industry (Grupo Carso), to retailing and real estate across the Americas region, was worth $1 billion less than a year ago, hit in part by sagging markets in South America.

Graphic showing key moments in the life of Bill Gates

In third was Spain's Amancio Ortega, whose pockets have filled with profits from fashion: his hugely successful Inditex garment empire, parent of popular chains Zara, Pull & Bear, and Bershka. More recently, Ortega heavily invested in real estate in Europe and the United States; his worth was put at $64 billion.

A familiar cast of mega-wealthy filled out the rest of the top ten: US investment guru Warren Buffett ($58.2 billion); software group Oracle's founder and chief executive Larry Ellison ($48 billion); US industrialists and brothers Charles and David Koch (each with $40 billion); Las Vegas casino king Sheldon Adelson ($38 billion); Walmart heiress Christy Walton ($36.7 billion) and her brother Jim Walton ($34.7 billion).

Together the $507 billion held by the top ten is larger than the entire size of the economy of Norway, or Belgium or Poland in 2012.

Explore further:Tech sector rides on rich list

© 2014 AFP

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not rated yet25 minutes ago

What about the other richest families that hide away from the spotlight, such as bilderberg, rothschilds, rockefeller, etc? If 1% of the population has 99% of the wealth, then the numbers presented in this article don't add up.

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Bill Gates answers questions during an interview on January 21, 2014 in New York

The surging price of Microsoft shares returned US tech tycoon Bill Gates back to the top of Forbes's world's billionaires list, with his $76 billion beating out Mexico's Carlos Slim's $72 billion.

The annual list, released Monday, counted 1,645 men and women as billionaires, with an average wealth of $4.5 billion and a collective wealth of $6.4 trillion, up $1 trillion from a year ago.

Gates, co-founder of the US software firm, showed his staying power at the top—the world's richest man for 15 of the past 20 years, according to Forbes—despite spending recent years giving away large sums of money to global health and anti-poverty programs.

Gates owns about 4.4 percent of Microsoft, making up less than 20 percent of his total fortune.

But the company's share price has risen 25 percent over the past year, and, along with gains in other assets, he has added $7 billion to his fortune since a year ago, according to Forbes.

Slim, with a hand in everything from telecommunications (America Movil) to mining, finance and industry (Grupo Carso), to retailing and real estate across the Americas region, was worth $1 billion less than a year ago, hit in part by sagging markets in South America.

Graphic showing key moments in the life of Bill Gates

In third was Spain's Amancio Ortega, whose pockets have filled with profits from fashion: his hugely successful Inditex garment empire, parent of popular chains Zara, Pull & Bear, and Bershka. More recently, Ortega heavily invested in real estate in Europe and the United States; his worth was put at $64 billion.

A familiar cast of mega-wealthy filled out the rest of the top ten: US investment guru Warren Buffett ($58.2 billion); software group Oracle's founder and chief executive Larry Ellison ($48 billion); US industrialists and brothers Charles and David Koch (each with $40 billion); Las Vegas casino king Sheldon Adelson ($38 billion); Walmart heiress Christy Walton ($36.7 billion) and her brother Jim Walton ($34.7 billion).

Together the $507 billion held by the top ten is larger than the entire size of the economy of Norway, or Belgium or Poland in 2012.

Explore further:Tech sector rides on rich list

© 2014 AFP

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Mar 04, 2013

America's technology sector remained a driving force for the world's billionaires, led by Microsoft's Bill Gates and other familiar names, a Forbes survey showed Monday.

Zuckerberg tops US donations with $1 bn

Feb 10, 2014

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was America's most generous donor in 2013, giving nearly $1 billion of his fortune to charity, according to a magazine report on Monday.

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Jun 15, 2012

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Sandberg a billionaire as Facebook shares hit new high

Jan 22, 2014

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Feb 04, 2014

As a geeky-looking teenager, he started in a garage and created the world's biggest software company. He then became the world's richest man and the world's most prominent philanthropist.

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May 02, 2013

Investment guru and mega-billionaire Warren Buffett took a new plunge Thursday: He sent his first message on Twitter—and within a short time had more more than 100,000 followers.

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User comments : 1

Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank

Display comments: newest first

not rated yet25 minutes ago

What about the other richest families that hide away from the spotlight, such as bilderberg, rothschilds, rockefeller, etc? If 1% of the population has 99% of the wealth, then the numbers presented in this article don't add up.

More news stories

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(Phys.org) —Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz, has posted job ads looking for software engineers to help implement a system for allowing integration between dashboard technology and user smartphones ...

Instant messaging will get Tor treatment in TIMB

The Tor Foundation which has made it possible for privacy-bent Tor users to anonymously browse the web is now turning to enabling people to autonomously do instant messaging with a Tor-enabled service, dubbed ...

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Emergency services benefit from a high-speed wireless technology

When disaster strikes – such as January's bushfire in Victoria or the recent cold spell that froze much of north America – it's vital for emergency services to get the latest information.

Bitcoin exchange looks into criminal complaint (Update)

The Tokyo bitcoin exchange that filed for bankruptcy protection blamed theft through hacking for its losses Monday, and said it was looking into a criminal complaint.

House panel discuses Mars 2021 manned flyby mission

(Phys.org) —The U.S. House of Representative's Science, Space and Technology Committee has met to discuss the virtues and possibility of asking NASA to assist a private foundation in conducting a manned ...

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Vaccines prevent millions of infections, save billions in costs: CDC

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CT scans don't interfere with cardiac rhythm devices

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© Phys.org™ 2003-2013, Science X network