Mexico’s Carlos Slim remains richest man in world, Forbes
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim (L) walks in a street of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, on October 26, 2012. Slim is the World’s richest man and has benefited from the left-wing governments of Latin American nations.
Forbes magazine has released its annual rich list, and Mexico's Carlos Slim is again at the top.
The telecom mogul's net worth increased from $69 billion last year to $73 billion after he expanded his empire into Europe through an acquisition of a Dutch telecom company and a majority stake in Spanish soccer club Real Oviedo, AP reported.
It is the fourth year in a row the 74-year-old has topped the list.
Bill Gates, of Microsoft, held on to second place with a net worth of $67 billion, but others, including Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, slipped in ranking, dropping 31 spots as his net worth decreased by $4.2 billion.
There were 138 women on the list, an increase of 14 since last year. The richest woman is Liliane Bettencourt whose family owns a 30 per cent stake in L'Oreal. She is worth $30 billion.
According to Forbes, a record 1426 people made the magazine's annual list of billionaires, a 16 per cent increase from last year. There were 210 new addition to the list, with Forbes stating many were boosted by rebounding equity markets and strong consumer brands.
The US continued to boast the most billionaires, acquiring 442 of them, followed by Asia-Pacific and then Europe.
Warren Buffett dropped out of the top three for the first time since 2000. He slipped to the fourth spot with a $53.5 billion net worth, Fox News reported.