Forbes has issued a new list of top billionaires from around the world. The rich are in fact getting richer for the increase in the winners to losers has been of a 1 by 3 fraction. 2017 has broken the records with 196 newcomers securing a spot on the Forbes billionaires’ list.
The first place was taken, for the fourth time a row, by Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft. Out of the past 23 years, Bill Gates has been the richest man on the planet for 18 years. From $75 billion last year to $86 billion this year, he has increased his wealth by a net worth of $11 billion.
The second spot was secured by Warren Buffett, one of the most successful investors of the world. Buffett had a monetary year benefitting him by $14.8 billion. His wealth increase helped him in claiming the number two spot from Amancio Ortega who is the mastermind behind the ever famous Spanish line of clothing, Zara. Ortega’s ranking fell two notches down his previous spot leaving him at number four.
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Out of the past 23 years, Bill Gates has been the richest man on the planet for 18 years.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos had the best year out of all the billionaires. He is now the third richest man in the world with a net worth of $72.8 billion. Last year, Bezos was unable to keep up with the “Richie Riches” of the world and had found a place at number five.
The year has brought good news to many others but for Slim Helu of Mexico, the rankings might be worrying. Helu who had been in the top five for many years has finally lent the spot to the founder of the most used social media platform, Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg had recently sold 99% of his website shares when his daughter Max was born. Surprisingly, his fortune still rose by $11.4 billion.
John Collison, age 26, and Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel are now the world’s youngest self-made billionaires. A notable fall was for Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, who fell down the ladder by 220 notches. Trump was the first billionaire president for the United States, however, tables have been turned and his net worth has only helped him secure the 544th spot in the world’s richest.
Shahid Khan, a Pakistani-born engineer residing in the United States has earned the 490th spot in the world with a net worth of $8.7 billion.
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The average worth of all the billionaires was $3.75 billion for the year, with 78 people who were pushed out of the list. However, these 78 people are not any less rich than the others. The problem for them was their wealth distributed among extended family members.
Shahid Khan, a Pakistani-born engineer residing in the United States has earned the 490th spot in the world with a net worth of $8.7 billion. Shahid had moved to America with only 500$ and his luck has been on his side, helping him become one of the richest people in the world.
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Over the past, Asif Ali Zardari, the ex-President of Pakistan had once got a position in the Forbes richest list. However, this year his net worth has only been $1.8 billion dollars even though many believe that he has yet to claim a lot of his wealth.
This year’s list saw many US citizens claiming new spots and indeed that is a possibility one cannot ignore. Around 101 Indian’s have also made their way into the list with Mukesh Ambani becoming the richest Indian yet again.