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The World’s Billionaires 2012
By Luisa Kroll and Kerry A. Dolan |
Forbes – 11 hours ago
Record Numbers, Record Wealth: 128 new
billionaires made their debut this year,
while 117 dropped out of the ranks. The
net result is a record 1,226 billionaires,
including the creators of Spanx, Under
Armour and 5-Hour Energy.
A quarter century ago Forbes published
our first annual list of the World’s
Billionaires—and we found 140. This year
the list broke records for the most number
of billionaires (1,226) and combined net
worth, at $4.6 trillion, up from $4.5
trillion. Behind those numbers is a more
complicated story of rapid change among
the world’s wealthiest. Innovation, strong
consumer brands and a rebounding U.S.
stock market helped produce 128
newcomers and brought 17 former
members back into the ranks, while falling
stock markets, particularly in China and
Russia, were the main culprit for knocking
117 billionaires off the list. Another 12
members from the 2011 list passed away,
including buyout titan Teddy Forstmann
and Apple’s Steve Jobs, whose wife
Laurene Powell Jobs takes his spot.
Overall, 460 billionaires got richer, 441 got
poorer and another 180 held steady.
There are now billionaires from 58
countries. The U.S. is still home to more
billionaires than any other country, with
425, a gain of 12. Mainland China and
Russia were both clobbered. They have 95
and 96, respectively, down from 115 and
101 last year. The BRIC nations, which
were such a force of wealth creation a
year ago, have 26 fewer ten-figure
fortunes, with only Brazil adding to its
bounty.
[Also from Forbes.com: Full Gallery: The
World’s Billionaires]
Carlos Slim Helú of Mexico tops the ranks
for the third year in a row, but the gap
between him and Bill Gates is tightening
again. His fortune, at $69 billion, is down
$5 billion from a year ago. He was one of
7 in the top 20 whose fortunes slipped,
including Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison.
Meanwhile Gates, whose foundation
helped wipe out polio in India, was $5
billion richer at $61 billion as Microsoft
shares hit a ten-year high. Amancio
Ortega, the man behind fast fashion chain
Zara, moved into the top 5 for the first
time, despite having stepped down as
chairman the previous year. India’s
Lakshmi Mittal, who runs the world’s
largest steel company, ArcelorMittal, was
the year’s biggest loser. His fortune
plummeted by $10.4 billion, knocking him
out of the top 10 for the first time since
2004. He is ranked No. 21. In a sign that
great fortunes can come from almost
anywhere, only 3 of the top 10 richest hail
from the U.S., one fewer than last year.
There are lots of ingenious ways to make
fortunes, not the least of which is using a
popular brand to cater to a world full of
consumers. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is
worth $17.5 billion, up $4 billion from a
year ago; he may be worth far more once
Facebook goes public this spring. Notable
newcomers with stellar brands include
Kevin Plank, founder of trendy sportswear
maker Under Armour, and Sara Blakely,
with her Spanx line of newfangled girdles.
Blakely, 41, is the world’s youngest self-
made woman billionaire. Another notable
woman in the ranks is Miuccia Prada, who
returns to the list after a six-year absence.
Two American immigrants to make their
debut are the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Shahid
Khan, who came from Pakistan when he
was 16 and is the first minority immigrant
owner of an NFL team, and 5-Hour
Energy’s Manoj Bhargava, who emigrated

he World’s Top 10 Billionaires
1. Name: Carlos
Slim Helú and
family
Net Worth: $69
billion (DOWN)
Source: Telecom
Citizenship: Mexico
Carlos Slim Helú retains the title of world's
richest man for the third year in a row
despite a fortune that's $5 billion smaller
than a year ago—primarily because of a
lower share price for telecom giant
America Movil, which accounts for more
than half his net worth. In April the
company was fined $1 billion by Mexican
regulators for monopolistic practices but is
appealing the decision. Slim is spending
more time working with his Carlos Slim
Foundation and the Telmex Foundation
than he has in the past. His goal:
philanthropic work that develops human
capacity.
2. Name: Bill Gates
Net Worth: $61
billion (UP)
Source: Microsoft
Citizenship: USA
First part of mission
accomplished: The
most generous
person on the planet
(he’s given away $28 billion already) has
helped eradicate polio in India. In January
the country announced its first polio-free
year. Gates will continue to chip in $200
million a year to rid the world of a disease
that is still endemic in Pakistan,
Afghanistan and Nigeria. He also has a
new endeavor in the works: fixing
agriculture. His foundation has committed
more than $2 billion to small farmers. Less
than one-fourth of his net worth is still
held in Microsoft, whose shares are trading
higher than they’ve been in 10 years and
helped boost his fortune, which is up $5
billion. The rest is in private equity, bonds
and stocks such as Ecolab and Mexican
broadcaster Televisa.
[Also from Forbes.com: The World’s
Billionaire Women]
3. Name: Warren
Buffett
Net Worth: $44
billion (DOWN)
Source: Berkshire
Hathaway
Citizenship: USA
Who will replace the Oracle of Omaha at
the helm of Berkshire Hathaway? Buffett
announced in February he’d finally made
the decision, but he wouldn’t give a name.
In December he chose his farmer son,
Howard, as the future nonexecutive
chairman and “guardian of the firm’s
values.” New Senate legislation requiring
the rich to pay at least a 30% tax rate has
been dubbed the “Buffett Rule” in
homage to the billionaire’s frequent public
statements that the wealthiest should pay
more than the average Joe. His net worth
is down $6 billion year on year because of
a 7% slump in Berkshire’s stock. In his
latest annual letter he confessed to some
mistakes, including being “dead wrong”
about a housing comeback.
4. Name: Bernard
Arnault
Net Worth: $41
billion (EQUAL)
Source: LVMH
Citizenship: France
The world’s ultimate
arbiter of good taste and Europe’s richest
person once again, Arnault orchestrated
another stellar year at his luxury-goods
empire, LVMH. Sales were up 16%, as
Europe, Asia and the United States all did
well. Louis Vuitton, in particular, thrived.
Arnault called 2011 “another great
vintage.” LVMH extended ties to two
major brands: first, the Bulgari family
transferred its majority stake in its
eponymous brand to LVMH in exchange
for shares and seats on LVMH's board;
second, LVMH acquired a 20% stake in
Hermes. The group also formed a JV with
one of the world’s leading tanneries of
crocodile leather, Heng Long. Arnault
hasn’t done as well with his more
pedestrian investment in supermarket
chain Carrefour, which is worth $1 billion
less than it was a year ago. Among his
personal high-end collection: He owns
yacht builder Royal Van Lent, Indigo
Island in the Bahamas (rent: $300,000 a
week) and ski chalet Cheval Blanc in
Courchevel.
5. Name: Amancio
Ortega
Net Worth: $37.5
billion (UP)
Source: Zara
Citizenship: Spain
Ortega stepped down
as chairman of his global fashion firm,
Inditex, in July 2011, but the company
hasn’t missed a beat. Shares are up one
fourth in the past year, helping boost his
fortune by $6.5 billion and pushing him
into the global top 5 ranks for the first
time. Ortega paid $536 million to billionaire
Esther Koplowitz in December for Torre
Picasso, a 43-story skyscraper in Madrid.
He also owns Epic Residences & Hotel, a
luxury 54-story waterfront condo and
hotel development in Miami. Other
personal holdings include a stake in a
soccer league and a horse-jumping circuit.
A railway worker's son, he started as a
gofer in a shirt store. With then-wife
Rosalia Mera, also a billionaire, he started
making dressing gowns and lingerie in his
living room. His daughter Marta, who
works for Inditex, married Spanish
equestrian star Sergio Alvarez Moya in
February.