The World’s Fifty Richest
WANT TO JOIN the planet’s most exclusive club? Better start saving: This year it takes a fortune of$18.1 billion to get past the doorman. In total the world’s 50 richest
People are worth an aggregate $1.6 trillion, up 8% from 12 months ago. Bill Gates, with a fortune of $79.2 billion,remain the richest man in the world, a spot he has the held 16 items since first attaining that ranking in 1995.
The most prominent newcomer to this upper echelon? China’s Jack Ma, who vaulted into the ranks after Alibaba’s boffo September IPO lifted his net worth by 127%. Two of his countrymen, Wang Jianlin and Lihejun, are new to the top50 as well. The club’s youngest member is Face book’s Mark Zuckerberg, who has built a $33 billion fortune by age 30; the richest women is Wal-Mart heiress Christy Walton, worth $41.7 billion.