Bad Year For Billionaires
Not even a $5.9 billion loss could topple Bill Gates as the richest man on the planet.
The Microsoft co-founder topped Forbes magazine's ranking of the world's richest billionaires for the 8th straight year, even as his net worth fell 10 percent from a year ago to $52.8 billion.
Gates remained comfortably ahead of Warren Buffett, who held the No. 2 spot with $35 billion, according to the 16th annual ranking released Thursday.
It was a list most notable for its losers.
The number of billionaires dropped by 83 this year to 497 as recession and fallout from the terrorist attacks reduced their wealth. The group's combined worth fell to $1.54 trillion, from $1.73 trillion last year.
Among the missing: AOL Time Warner Chairman Steve Case, whose company's stock has declined by about half since last year, and Gary Winnick, chairman of Global Crossing, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January.
It was the second year of decline in the number of billionaires since a downturn in the technology sector began pressuring the world economy. The largest drop - 91 - came last year.
"Talk about churn, creation and destruction at work," said Louisa Kroll, who edited Forbes' March billionaires issue, which was to hit the newsstands Friday. "For two years in a row, it's been falling fortunes."
German retailers Theo and Karl Albrecht climbed two notches to No. 3, with a net value of $26.8 billion. They pushed Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, ranked third last year with a value of $30.4 billion, to No. 4. He lost $5.2 billion, partly in the stock market bust.
Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison had the fifth spot, while five heirs of the Wal-Mart fortune created by founder Sam Walton rounded out the top 10.
Only 25 people on the list are under 40, led by 37-year-old computer founder Michael Dell at No. 18. The highest-ranking woman was No. 8, Alice Walton, with assets of $20.5 billion.
The list was set using stock prices and exchange rates as of Feb. 4.
The United States had more people on the list than any other country, with 243 billionaires, down from 272 last year. Their combined net worth fell by $111 billion. One of the bigger losers was CNN founder Ted Turner, now a vice chairman at AOL Time Warner, whose net worth was cut in half to $3.8 billion. He dropped 62 places on the list to No. 97.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of the financial information company that bears his name, saw his ranking move up 10 places to No. 72, with $4.4 billion in assets. He moved up despite spending $70 million of his own money to win his first political campaign last fall, and losing a total of $100 million during the year.
Europe had 121 billionaires, headed by the Albrechts and Germany's Johanna Quandt and family, whose 46 percent ownership of automaker BMW helped put them at No. 12.
Japan's Yasuo Takei and family dropped 14 places to No. 51, with their country battling deflation and a decade-long economic slowdown. Japan accounted for five of Asia's 15 former billionaires who dropped from the list this year.
Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud was No. 11.
Of the 497 total billionaires from 43 countries, 260 inherited some or all of their wealth, and the rest made their money themselves. Twenty-seven are college dropouts.
Here's the Forbes list. Listings include rank, name, home country, age where known, wealth in billions of dollars and source of the money.
1. Gates, William H. III, United States, 46, $52.8, Microsoft
2. Buffett, Warren E., United States, 71, $35.0, Berkshire Hathaway
3. Albrecht, Karl and Theo, Germany, $26.8, retail
4. Allen, Paul G., United States, 49, $25.2, Microsoft
5. Ellison, Lawrence J., United States, 57, $23.5, Oracle
6. Walton, Jim C., United States, 54, $20.8, Wal-Mart
7. Walton, John T., United States, 56, $20.7, Wal-Mart
8. Walton, Alice L., United States, 53, $20.5, Wal-Mart
8. Walton, S. Robson, United States, 58, $20.5, Wal-Mart
10. Walton, Helen R., United States, 82, $20.4, Wal-Mart
11. Alsaud, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, Saudi Arabia, 45, $20.0, investments
12. Quandt, Johanna and family, Germany, 74, $18.4, BMW
13. Bettencourt, Liliane, France, 79, $14.9, L'Oreal
13. Thomson, Kenneth and family, Canada, 78, $14.9, publishing
15. Ballmer, Steven A., United States, 45, $14.8, Microsoft
16. Kamprad, Ingvar, Sweden, 75, $13.4, Ikea
17. Slim Helu, Carlos, Mexico, 62, $11.5, telecom
18. Dell, Michael S., United States, 37, $11.1, Dell
19. Rausing, Kirsten and family, Sweden, 49, $10.7, packaging
20. Kluge, John W., United States, 87, $10.5, media
21. Anthony, Barbara Cox, United States, 78, $10.1, media
21. Chambers, Anne Cox, United States, 82, $10.1, media
23. Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong, 73, $10.0, diversified
24. Kwok, Walter, Thomas and Raymond, Hong Kong, $9.2, real estate
25. Ortega, Amancio, Spain, 66, $9.1, apparel
26. Mars, Forrest E. Jr., United States, 70, $9.0, candy
26. Mars, Jacqueline Badger, United States, 63, $9.0, candy
26. Mars, John F., United States, 65, $9.0, candy
29. Johnson, Abigail, United States, 40, $8.6, Fidelity
29. Saji, Nobutada and family, Japan, 56, $8.6, beverages
31. Bertarelli, Ernesto and family, Switzerland, 36, $8.4, biotech
32. Redstone, Sumner M., United States, 78, $8.1, Viacom
33. Rausing, Hans, Sweden, 75, $7.7, packaging
34. Olayan, Suliman and family, Saudi Arabia, 83, $7.6, investments
35. Berlusconi, Silvio, Italy, 65, $7.2, media
36. Arnault, Bernard, France, 53, $7.0, LVMH
37. Soros, George, United States, 71, $6.9, money management
38. Grosvenor, Gerald Cavendish, Britain, 50, $6.7, real estate
39. Del Vecchio, Leonardo, Italy, 66, $6.6, eyewear
40. Otto, Michael and family, Germany, 58, $6.5, retail
41. Premji, Azim, India, 56, $6.4, software
42. Ergen, Charles, United States, 49, $6.2, satellite TV
43. Moore, Gordon Earle, United States, 73, $6.1, Intel
44. Kerkorian, Kirk, United States, 84, $5.8, investments
45. Al-Kharafi, Nasser and family, Kuwait, 58, $5.7, construction
45. Knight, Philip H., United States, 64, $5.7, Nike
45. Murdoch, Rupert, United States, 71, $5.7, News Corp.
48. Engelhorn, Curt, Germany, 75, $5.6, pharmaceuticals
48. Persson, Stefan, Sweden, 54, $5.6, Hennes & Mauritz
50. Flick, Friedrich K. Jr., Germany, 75, $5.5, investments
51. Broad, Eli, United States, 68, $5.2, real estate
51. Lee Shau Kee, Hong Kong, 74, $5.2, real estate
51. Takei, Yasuo and family, Japan, 72, $5.2, consumer finance
54. Anschutz, Philip F., United States, 62, $5.1, Qwest
55. Cisneros, Gustavo and family, Venezuela, 56, $5.0, media
55. Haefner, Walter, Switzerland, 91, $5.0, software
55. Icahn, Carl, United States, 66, $5.0, investments
55. Newhouse, Donald E., United States, 72, $5.0, media
55. Newhouse, Samuel I. Jr., United States, 74, $5.0, media
55. Pritzker, Robert A., United States, 75, $5.0, hotels, investments
55. Pritzker, Thomas J., United States, 51, $5.0, hotels, investments
62. Benetton, Luciano and family, Italy, 66, $4.9, Benetton
62. Dassault, Serge and family, France, 77, $4.9, aviation
64. Goodnight, James, United States, 59, $4.8, software
64. Landolt, Pierre and family, Switzerland, 54, $4.8, Novartis
64. von Finck, August, Germany, 71, $4.8, investments
67. Lerner, Alfred, United States, 68, $4.7, banking
68. Omidyar, Pierre M., United States, 34, $4.6, eBay
68. Tsai Wan-lin and family, Taiwan, 77, $4.6, insurance
70. Johnson, Samuel C., United States, 73, $4.5, S.C. Johnson & Son
70. Schickedanz daughters, Germany, $4.5, retail
72. Bloomberg, Michael R., United States, 59, $4.4, financial news
72. Davis, Marvin H., United States, 76, $4.4, investments
72. Mendoza, Lorenzo and family, Venezuela, 36, $4.4, beverages
72. Plattner, Hasso, Germany, 58, $4.4, SAP
76. de Carvalho, Charlene, Netherlands, 47, $4.3, Heineken
76. Gerling, Rolf, Germany, 47, $4.3, insurance
76. Johnson, Edward C III, United States, 71, $4.3, Fidelity
76. Mohn, Reinhard, Germany, 80, $4.3, media
76. Sainsbury, David and family, Britain, 61, $4.3, supermarkets
76. Wertheimer, Alain and Gerard, France, $4.3, Chanel
82. von Holtzbrinck, Dieter and family, Germany, 60, $4.2, publishing
82. Weston, Galen and family, Canada, 61, $4.2, retail
84. Irving, James, Arthur and John, Canada, $4.1, oil
84. Kuok, Robert, Malaysia, 79, $4.1, agriculture
84. Schwab, Charles R., United States, 64, $4.1, Charles Schwab
87. Al-Hariri, Rafik and family, Lebanon, 58, $4.0, construction
87. Annenberg, Walter H., United States, 93, $4.0, publishing
87. Bren, Donald L., United States, 69, $4.0, real estate
87. Geffen, David, United States, 59, $4.0, entertainment
87. Halley, Paul Louis and family, France, 67, $4.0, retail
87. Karamehmet, Mehmet and family, Turkey, 48, $4.0, finance, telecom
87. Oetker, Rudolf August and family, Germany, 85, $4.0, food
87. Safra, Joseph and Moise, Brazil, $4.0, banking
87. Warner, H. Ty, United States, 58, $4.0, Beanie Babies
96. Perot, Henry Ross, United States, 71, $3.9, investments
97. Haub, Erivan and family, Germany, 69, $3.8, retail
97. Huntsman, Jon M., United States, 64, $3.8, chemicals
97. Kinoshita, Kyosuke and family, Japan, 61, $3.8, consumer finance
97. Turner, Robert E. (Ted), United States, 63, $3.8, cable TV
101. Arango, Jeronimo, Mexico, 76, $3.7, retail
101. Khodorkovsky, Mikhail, Russia, 38, $3.7, oil
103. Arison, Micky, United States, 52, $3.6, cruise ships
103. Ermirio de Moraes, Antonio and family, Brazil, 73, $3.6, diversified
105. Iwasaki, Fukuzo, Japan, 77, $3.5, real estate
106. Crown, Lester and family, United States, 76, $3.4, General Dynamics
106. Greenberg, Maurice R., United States, 76, $3.4, AIG
106. Kipp, Karl-Heinz, Germany, 78, $3.4, real estate
106. Latsis, Spiro and family, Greece, 55, $3.4, banking
106. Mori, Akira, Japan, 65, $3.4, real estate
106. Wrigley, William Jr., United States, 39, $3.4, chewing gum
112. Arison Dorsman, Shari, Israel, 44, $3.3, cruise ships
112. Oppenheimer, Nicky and family, South Africa, 56, $3.3, De Beers
112. Sabanci, Sakip and family, Turkey, 69, $3.3, diversified
112. Simplot, John R., United States, 93, $3.3, potatoes
112. Wang, Y.C., Taiwan, 85, $3.3, chemicals
117. Sorenson, James L., United States, 80, $3.2, medical devices
118. Algosaibi, Abdulaziz Bin Hamad and family, Saudi Arabia, 68, $3.1, finance
118. Itoyama, Eitaro, Japan, 59, $3.1, golf courses
118. Kadoorie, Michael and family, Hong Kong, 61, $3.1, diversified
118. Koch, Charles D., United States, 66, $3.1, oil services
118. Koch, David H., United States, 61, $3.1, oil services
118. Ng Teng Fong and family, Singapore, 73, $3.1, real estate
118. Pinault, Francois, France, 65, $3.1, retail
118. Schmidheiny, Stephan, Switzerland, 54, $3.1, investments
118. Wurth, Reinhold, Germany, 66, $3.1, manufacturing