Record-breaking Forbes Billionaires rankings

NEW YORK – What could a Chinese dumpling maker and Mexican telecom mogul possibly have in common? They’re among a record number of wealthy people who held the title of billionaire over the past year.

The tally of billionaires around the globe reached a high of 946, their combined wealth growing 35 per cent to US$3,5 trillion (N$25,55 trillion) according to Forbes magazine’s 2007 rankings of the world’s richest people. The rich cashed in on strong equity markets, real estate and commodity prices worldwide, according to Forbes billionaires co-editor Luisa Kroll.”It’s just been kind of an extraordinary year for markets worldwide,” she said.Leading the list are two men who manage to keep getting richer as they give more and more money away.Microsoft founder Bill Gates ranked No.1 for the 13th straight year, beating out friend and fellow philanthropist Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.Gates’ fortune rose US$6 billion to US$56 billion last year, while Buffett garnered in an additional US$10 billion to boost his net worth to US$52 billion.Only five Americans ranked in the top 20, though they account for 44 per cent of the overall list.Breathing down Buffett’s neck was Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim Helu, who added US$19 billion to his existing fortune, the largest one-year gain over the past decade.With US$49 billion to his name, Helu was just US$3 billion shy of the No.2 spot.Starbucks Corp.chairman Howard Schultz and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner joined the ranks of the world’s richest for the first time, behind new faces Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, Canadian co-chiefs of Blackberry maker Research In Motion Ltd.Self-made mogul Li Wei, founder of Synear Food Holding, made the list for the first time along with a dozen other Chinese newcomers.Her company, one of the country’s largest producers of frozen food, including sweet and meat dumplings, is an official supplier to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.All bets were off for online gambling moguls Ruth Parasol, Russell DeLeon and Calvin Ayre, who dropped from the list after recent crackdowns limiting offshore gambling Web sites.Bumped from the top 20 were the Wal-Mart Stores Inc.heirs, who saw their company’s stock languish, and Michael Dell, founder of computer maker Dell Inc.Nampa-APThe rich cashed in on strong equity markets, real estate and commodity prices worldwide, according to Forbes billionaires co-editor Luisa Kroll.”It’s just been kind of an extraordinary year for markets worldwide,” she said.Leading the list are two men who manage to keep getting richer as they give more and more money away.Microsoft founder Bill Gates ranked No.1 for the 13th straight year, beating out friend and fellow philanthropist Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.Gates’ fortune rose US$6 billion to US$56 billion last year, while Buffett garnered in an additional US$10 billion to boost his net worth to US$52 billion.Only five Americans ranked in the top 20, though they account for 44 per cent of the overall list.Breathing down Buffett’s neck was Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim Helu, who added US$19 billion to his existing fortune, the largest one-year gain over the past decade.With US$49 billion to his name, Helu was just US$3 billion shy of the No.2 spot.Starbucks Corp.chairman Howard Schultz and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner joined the ranks of the world’s richest for the first time, behind new faces Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, Canadian co-chiefs of Blackberry maker Research In Motion Ltd.Self-made mogul Li Wei, founder of Synear Food Holding, made the list for the first time along with a dozen other Chinese newcomers.Her company, one of the country’s largest producers of frozen food, including sweet and meat dumplings, is an official supplier to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.All bets were off for online gambling moguls Ruth Parasol, Russell DeLeon and Calvin Ayre, who dropped from the list after recent crackdowns limiting offshore gambling Web sites.Bumped from the top 20 were the Wal-Mart Stores Inc.heirs, who saw their company’s stock languish, and Michael Dell, founder of computer maker Dell Inc.Nampa-AP

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