Forbes Rich List 2012

Carlos Slim Helu from Mexico has once again topped the list of the richest people in the world. His businesses range from telecommunications to construction, and are at present worth $69 bn. Bills Gates takes the number two spot with a net worth of $61 bn, while Warren Buffet remains on third spot with a fortune of $44 bn. The same trio took the top three spots in the Forbes Rich List 2011.

When Forbes started the Billionaire Rich List around 25 years ago, there were 140 individuals who made it to the coveted list. As of today, there are 1,226 billionaires worldwide, with a combined net worth of $4.6 trillion. 128 made it to the list for the first time, 17 made a re-entry, 12 from the list of 2011 passed away, 117 got knocked off the list, 460 billionaires upped their net worth, 441 became poorer, and around 175 remained as rich as they were a year ago. The United States is home to the most number of billionaires, with 425.

Here are the top 10 richest people as of 2012.

Rank	2011	Name	Age	Country	Net Worth in USD
1	1	Carlos Slim	72	Mexico	$69.0 bn
2	2	Bill Gates	56	USA	$61.0 bn
3	3	Warren Buffet	81	USA	$44.0 bn
4	4	Bernard Arnault	63	France	$41.0 bn
5	7	Amancio Ortega	75	Spain	$37.5 bn
6	5	Lawrence Ellison	67	USA	$36.0 bn
7	8	Eike Batista	55	Brazil	$30.0 bn
8	13	Stefan Persson	64	Sweden	$26.0 bn
9	11	Li Ka-shing	83	Hong Kong	$25.5 bn
10	12	Karl Albrecht	92	Germany	$25.4 bn

Stefan Persson, Li Ka-shing, and Karl Albrecht move into the top 10 this year. Mukesh Ambani and Christy Walton have dropped out of the top 10 group. But one of the biggest fall in positions is that of India's steel boss Lakshmi Mittal, who with a net worth of $20.7 bn, has fallen from last year's sixth place to the twenty-first spot in the Forbes Rich List 2012. His net worth reduced by over $10 bn as a result of steeper costs of steel, combined with lower demand.