The Rich Get Less Richer
By Anna Johnson on March 15th, 2009Last week Forbes released its list of the world’s billionaires. Sad to say, billionaires have been hit by the recession just like everyone else.
The average billionaire’s net worth dropped by 23 percent in 2008 to be $3 billion. And 332 of the 2008 list of billionaires are no longer billionaires. Last year there were 1,125 billionaires; this year there are 793.
Among the very top, however, not much has changed – Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Carlos Slim Helú are still the world’s three richest individuals.
Here are the top 10 with their estimated wealth, along with the main source of their fortune:
- William Gates III: $40 billion (software – Microsoft)
- Warren Buffett: $37 billion (investments – Berkshire Hathaway)
- Carlos Slim Helú: $35 billion (telecommunications – Telmex)
- Lawrence Ellison: $22.5 billion (software – Oracle)
- Ingvar Kamprad: $22 billion (retail – Ikea)
- Karl Albrecht: $21.5 billion (retail – Aldi)
- Mukesh Ambani: $19.5 billion (manufacturing – Reliance)
- Lakshmi Mittal: $19.3 billion (steel – ArcelorMittal)
- Theo Albrecht: $18.8 billion (retail – Aldi)
- Amancio Ortega: $18.3 billion (retail – Inditex)
Source: Luisa Kroll, Matthew Miller and Tatiana Serafin, “The World’s Billionaires,” Forbes, March 11, 2009
