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Forbes? worlds? wealthiest list out

by on06 March 2008
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Gates no longer number one

Forbes magazine publishes an annual ranking of the 1,000 wealthiest people in the world, and the list was just been released. Bill Gates is no longer number one on the list, as he's slid all the way down to number three.

The Forbes list indicates that Warren Buffett is now the wealthiest person in the world. Buffett is reportedly worth $62 billion, thanks in part to his wise investment in Berkshire Hathaway and other stocks many years ago. Gates and Buffett are personal friends and reportedly play bridge together. 

Gates’ fortune is now estimated at $58 billion, a $2 billion gain over last year, but his wealth has taken a hit, thanks in part to Microsoft’s unsuccessful bid for Yahoo!. Ironically, Buffett, who is elderly and has earned more than he could ever begin to spend, announced earlier that most of his fortune will go to the charitable Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which spends its funding on large global social issues, particularly poverty, health/medical research and education projects.

Bill Gates has announced that this July he will step down from his full-time position at Microsoft to focus on the Gates Foundation efforts. Gates has been selling some 20 million of his Microsoft shares each quarter and donating the proceeds to the charity, which now has assets of almost $38 billion.

The world’s number two wealthiest ranking goes to Mexican telecommunications guru, Carlos Slim Helú, chief owner of America Movil SAB de CV ADS, a Latin America provider of wireless mobile services; his reported net worth is currently $60 billion. Helú does not apparently believe in donating his profits to charity. Michael Dell of Dell Computer is listed as number forty on the list.

You can read the full Forbes list here.

Last modified on 06 March 2008
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