Forbes’ World Billionaires: Did you Know?
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Image: Dinesh Krishnan
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Asia-Pacific’s richest person is Mukesh Ambani
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otal Net Worth of 2010 List: $3.6 trillion, up from $2.4 trillion in 2009.
Total billionaires: The number of billionaires on Forbes’ list is 1,011, up from 793 in 2009.
Average Net Worth of 2010 billionaires: $3.5 billion, up from $3 billion in 2009.
New: 97, representing 22 countries Drop-offs: 30
Deceased: 13
Returnees: 164
Women: 89, up from 72 last year
Total Net Worth Top 10: $342 billion, up from $254 billion last year
Total Net Worth Top 20: $551 billion, up from $416 billion last year
The list represents citizens from 55 countries.
The Top 3 two years ago still make up the Top 3 this year, however:
- Carlos Slim Helu jumps from #3 to #1. It’s the first time since 1994 that a non-American billionaire has occupied the top spot.
- Gates drops from #1 to #2.
- Buffett drops from #2 to #3.
- Collectively, these three members of the Forbes list have gained $41.5 billion over the past year. From 2008 to 2009, these three lost a collective $68 billion.
For the first time mainland China has the most billionaires outside the U.S., with 64. Including Hong Kong, it has 89. Russia has 62, a lot of them returnees who had fallen off last year’s list amid a meltdown in commodities.
Americans still dominate the superrich, occupying seven of the Top 20 spots, down from 10 last year. But four have the last name Walton.
67% of the billionaires on this year's list are considered self-made.
Where do the y Live: New York City is home to the most billionaires with 60; Moscow is second with 50, while London slips to third with 32.
Youngest billionaire: Mark Zuckerberg (#212), founder of Facebook, who returns to the list this year, with a net worth of $4 billion. He is 25.
Oldest billionaire: Switzerland’s Walter Haefner (#287) is 99 and has a net worth of $3.3 billion.
97 newcomers this year (compared to just 38 in 2009) including:
- Mian Muhammed Mansha (#937) worth $1 billion, is Pakistan’s first billionaire. His Nishat Group is now his country’s largest private employer and the biggest exporter of cotton clothes (for brands like Gap). He sold more than half his shares in a bank for $900 million in 2008
- American Isaac Perlmutter (#616) worth $1.6 billion - the Marvel chief sold his super-hero comics outfit (including Spider-Man, the Hulk, X-Men) to Disney for $4 billion in December. He netted nearly $900 million in cash, more than 20 million shares of Disney and gets to keep his day job.
- Li Shufu (#556) worth $1.8 billion, who runs Chinese automaker Geely, which announced plans to buy Swedish brand Volvo from Ford in December.
- U.S. citizen Kelcy Warren (#655) worth $1.5 billion, who co-founded natural-gas pipeline firm Energy Transfer in 1995 and bought up struggling gas assets. Today the company operates more than 17,500 miles of pipelines in ten states.
- Yoshikazu Tanaka (#721) worth $1.4 billion, is the world’s second-youngest self-made billionaire, behind Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. The Japanese 33-year-old also made his billions from social networking. His Gree, which lets subscribers play games on their mobile phones, makes money selling virtual clothes and accessories for online avatars.
- Indonesian Low Tuck Kwong (#828) worth $1.2 billion, thrived as a building contractor but hit the jackpot after moving into coal mining. He is an animal lover who rehabilitates orangutans for reintroduction into the wild.
- This year, Finland boasts its first billionaire: Antti Herlin (#773) whose $1.3 billion fortune was predominantly made through manufacturing elevators and escalators.
Of the 97 new billionaires, only 16 are from the U.S. By contrast, Asia made big gains: the region added 62 new billionaires during the past year. Asia now trails Europe in total number of billionaires by only 14, thanks to several large public offerings and swelling stock markets.
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