Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the world’s richest billionaire, according to Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of global billionaires. With a net worth of $76 billion and helped by a bounce in Microsoft shares, Gates returns to the top of the Forbes Billionaires list for 2014. The 58-year-old Washington resident beat out Mexican media mogul Carlos Slim Helu (with a net worth of only $72 million).
Spanish clothing retailer Amancio Ortega, of the Zara fashion chain, maintained his #3 spot from 2013, but increased his net worth $7 billion for a total of $64 billion, ahead of Warren Buffett (#4) with a net worth of $58.2 billion. Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas (#8), increased his net worth by $11.5 billion, and made it back into the top ten for the first time since 2007.
The richest people in the world are now worth a combined $6.4 trillion, according to the publication. That record breaking number is up from $5.4 trillion last year. Also, as shares of Google and Facebook hit record highs, the top 15 tech billionaires attained a collective net worth of more than $382 billion, up 40% from the top 15 of last year. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who made the biggest jump on this year’s Forbes Billionaires list, moves up from ninth to sixth among the top richest in the technology industry.
