Microsoft boss tops Forbes list of billionaires

March 3, 2015 9:44 AM

Forbes has listed Gates as number one for 16 of the last 21 years, and he has been in the top 10 since 1993

Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, on Monday topped Forbes Magazine’s list of richest people in the world.

Forbes said in the report that Gates, who has been number one for 16 times in the last 21 years, had an estimated fortune of $79.2bn.

It added, “That is $3.2bn more than last year’s.”

It noted that his net worth grew in spite of a gift in November of $1.5bn of shares in Microsoft to his charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Telecommunications magnate, Carlos Slim of Mexico, is in the second spot again, while star US investor, Warren Buffett, is third,” the report added.

The magazine, which compiled the list for 29 years, said it found a record 1,826 billionaires in the world in 2014 and 290 were newcomers, including 71 from China.

The average net worth of people on the list is $3.86bn, which the magazine says is down $60m from the 2014 average.