Top Ten Wealthiest men

Forbes has pinned down a record 2,208 billionaires from 72 countries and territories including the first ever from Hungary and Zimbabwe. This elite group is worth $9.1 trillion, up 18% since last year. Their average net worth is a record $4.1 billion. Americans lead the way with a record 585 billionaires, followed by mainland China with 373.

Bernard Arnault is the world’s fourth richest person, with wealth estimated at $82 billion. He’s the CEO of French luxury group and family business LVMH, maintaining a fine balance between creativity and commerce.

Michael Bloomberg and Mark Zuckerberg 2 of 8 World’s Wealthiest Men Worth as Much as Bottom 50% Michael Bloomberg and Mark Zuckerberg made the list of the world’s eight wealthiest people. These eight men collectively also happen to be worth as much as all the lower half of the world’s population.

Amancio Ortega is one of the richest men in Europe and the wealthiest retailer in the world. A pioneer in fast fashion, he cofounded Inditex, known for its Zara fashion chain, with his ex-wife Rosalia Mera (d. 2013) in 1975.

Both of the men's values dropped, to $40 billion and $37 billion respectively—according to Forbes, Buffett lost $25 billion over a 12-month period during 2008/2009. In October 2008, the media reported that Buffett had agreed to buy General Electric (GE) preferred stock.

Bill Gates was named the richest man in the world by Forbes's annual list of the world's billionaires. This was the 16th time that the founder of Microsoft claimed the top spot. Carlos Slim came in second for the second consecutive time.

Move over Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos is officially the richest man in the world. Amazon's CEO seized the top spot onForbes’ 32nd Annual World Billionaires List for the first time on Tuesday. Centi-billionaire Bezos’ fortune rose to $112 billion, the biggest single-year gain ever, allowing him to dethrone Gates, worth just $90 billion.

In September 2011, Ellison was listed on the Forbes list of billionaires as the fifth richest man in the world and was still the third richest American, with a net worth of about $36.5 billion. In September 2012, Ellison was again listed on the Forbes list of billionaires as the third richest American citizen, behind Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, with a net worth of $44 billion.