The Richest People in the World 2012 - Forbes List of Billionaires

According to Forbes, a famous business magazine, Carlos Slim Helu was again hailed as the richest man in the world after losing out Bill Gates in 2010, the owner of Microsoft, by a difference of USD 500 million, for the year 2012. After Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, the owner of Berkshire Hathaway gets into the list. Their wealth is actually based on their company’s profit, and its net worth and shares in the market. Below is the top Ten list of the world’s richest people, with their net worth in billion USD.

 #1 Carlos Slim Helú & Family

Net Worth: $69 billion – As of March 2012 

Source of Wealth: Telecom, Telmex, América Móvil, Grupo Carso 

Age: 72 , Citizenship: Mexico

#2 Bill Gates

Net Worth: $61 billion – As of March 2012
Source of Wealth: Microsoft, self-made
Age: 56 , Citizenship: U.S.

 #3 Warren Buffett

Net Worth: $44 billion – As of March 2012
Source of Wealth: Berkshire Hathaway, self-made
Age: 81 , Citizenship: U.S.

 #4 Bernard Arnault

Net Worth: $41 billion – As of March 2012
Source of Wealth: Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) - inherited and growing
Age: 63 , Citizenship: France

 #5 Amancio Ortega

Net Worth: $37.5 billion – As of March 2012
Source of Wealth: Zara - self-made, Inditex Group
Age: 75, Citizenship: Spain

 #6 Larry Ellison

Net Worth: $36 billion – As of March 2012
Source of Wealth: Oracle Corporation, self-made
Age: 67 , Citizenship: U.S.

#7 Eike Batista

Net Worth: $30 billion – As of March 2012
Source of Wealth: EBX Group, Mining, oil, self-made
Age: 55 , Citizenship: Brazil

#8 Stefan Persson

 Net Worth: $26 billion – As of March 2012
Source of Wealth: Hennes & Mauritz
Age: 64 , Citizenship: Sweden

#9 Li Ka-Shing

 Net Worth: $25.5 billion – As of March 2012
Source of Wealth: Cheung Kong Holdings, Diversified, self-made
Age: 83 , Citizenship: Hong Kong

#10 Karl Albrecht

Net Worth: $25.4 billion – As of March 2012
Source of Wealth: Aldi, self-made
Age: 92 , Citizenship: Germany