Bill Gates No Longer World's Richest

A Mexican billionaire has been declared the richest person in the world, the first time the title has been held by a non-American for 16 years.

Telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim Helu saw off Microsoft boss Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett to claim the top spot.

Slim Helu controls a string of companies, including Telmex and America Movil, and has a net worth of $53.5bn (£35.7bn).

Who is Carlos Slim?

In the UK the Duke of Westminster was again the wealthiest man, as he has been for much of the past decade.

Property tycoons David and Simon Reuben were second in the UK, followed by high street retail boss Sir Philip Green.

All three have increased their wealth despite the recession, with the Duke gaining $1bn (£668m) to amass a total net worth of $12bn (£8bn).

The Reubens are worth £5bn, while Sir Philip has a fortune of £4.5bn.

Gates was knocked off the top spot for only the second time since 1995 despite gaining $13bn (£8.7bn) in the past year.

Forbes' 24th list of the world's richest people sees the number of billionaires rise from 793 last year to 1,011 now. In 2008 the total was 1,125.

The ranking of more than 900 of the world's richest people includes 29 Britons and a total of 97 new billionaires from across the globe.

Of these, 62 are from Asia, and for the first time China has the most billionaires - 64 - outside the US, where there are 403.

Pakistan added its first billionaire this year, bank chairman Mian Muhammad Mansha, as did Finland with Antti Herlin from engineering company KONE Corporation.

The tally of the richest Europeans was dominated by retailers with Bernard Arnault from LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) ranked number one in the continent and seventh in the world.

Amancio Ortego from Zara was second in Europe and ninth in the world, while Karl Albrecht from Aldi was third and 10th.

Source: yahoonews