A record number of billionaires make Forbes 2013 list
NEW YORK — Forbes’s 2013 list of the world’s richest people includes 1,426 billionaires, a record number, with a total net worth of $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion in the previous ranking.
There are 210 new billionaires from 42 countries, including 27 from the United States. The average net worth of those on the full list has risen to $3.8 billion from $3.7 billion. Sixty people have dropped off the list and eight have died.
The Asia-Pacific region saw the biggest number fall off the list with 29, followed by the United States, which lost 16.
Most of the billionaires — 961 — are self-made, while 184 inherited their wealth and 281 inherited part of it and are increasing it.
The oldest billionaires, on average, are in the Americas, with an average age of 67, with those in the United States slightly younger at 65.
The United States had the most billionaires with 442, followed by Asia-Pacific with 386, Europe with 366, Middle East and Africa with 103 and the Americas, excluding the United States, with 129.
The number of women billionaires rose to 138 from 104. The United States has 50 female billionaires, followed by 35 in Europe and 22 in Asia-Pacific.
Saudi Arabia’s 93-year-old Sulaiman Al Rajhi, the chairman of the Al Rajhi Bank, who’s estimated net worth is $6 billion, is tied for having the most children of those on the list: 23.
Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim is once again the world’s richest person, followed by Bill Gates.
