The rich will keep getting richer: 300 richest people in the world are more than £300bn better off than at this time last year, and Bill Gates is back on top
The rich will keep getting richer: The world’s 300 richest people are more than $500 billion better off than this time last year, and Bill Gates is back on top
- Top 300 billionaires add $524 billion to their wealth in 2013
- The total wealth of the richest people in the world was $3.7 trillion at the end of the year
- Biggest gains for technology bosses, whose wealth increased 28 percent
- Bill Gates’ wealth increased by $15.8 billion to $78.5 billion
Back on top: Microsoft boss Bill Gates heads the world’s rich list again as he added more than $15 billion to his total wealth
The richest people in the world got even richer in 2013, adding $524 billion to their combined wealth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Indexa daily ranking of the 300 richest individuals in the world.
According to the ranking, the total worth of the world’s top billionaires was $3.7 trillion at the close of the market on December 31.
Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, was the biggest winner of the year, as he regained the title of the world’s richest man, knocking out Mexican Carlos Slim from the top spot.
The wealth of the 58-year-old chairman of Microsoft increased by $ 15.8 billion to $ 78.5 billion.
The news came as figures showed that shares of Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, were up 40 percent.
Mr. Gates’ assets are largely held in Cascade Investment LLC.
Through these investments, he owns interests in about three dozen publicly traded companies and a number of closely held companies.
Elite: Sheldon Adelson’s (left) Las Vegas Sands Corp had revenues of $13.2 billion in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, while Amancio Ortega (right) retained the title of Europe’s richest person
Company leader: 58-year-old Gates’ net worth to $78.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg index, as shares of Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, are up 40 percent
Investment: Less than a quarter of Bill Gates’ wealth comes from Microsoft
Mr. Gates’ assets have been boosted by a rally in stock holdings, including the Canadian National Railway Co. and sanitizer maker Ecolab Inc., which rose 34 percent and 45 percent, respectively.
Through investments in these companies, Gates has interests in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Corbis Corp., a photo archive company.
John Pinette, a Gates spokesman, declined to comment.
The most notable numbers came from the tech sector, which rose 28 percent over the year.
Only 70 of the 300 recorded a net loss for the 12 month period.
John Catsimatidis, the billionaire founder of real estate and energy conglomerate Red Apple Group Inc said: ‘The rich will continue to get richer in 2014.
“Interest rates remain low, stock markets continue to rise and the economy is growing at less than 2 percent.”
Microsoft accounts for less than 25 percent of Gates’ net worth.
The software mogul has donated $28 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
A rise in global equities in 2013 means last year was the best annual gain since 2009. The MSCI World Index rose 24 percent over the year to close at 1,661.07 on Dec. 31.
The Standard and Poor’s 500 index rose 30 percent to close at 1,848.36, its best annual gain since 1997.
BLOOMBERG’S TOP TEN RICHEST PEOPLE (NET WORTH)
1. Bill Gates – $78.5 billion
2. Carlos Slim – $72 billion
3. Amancio Ortega – $65.2 billion
4. Warren Buffett – $60.3 billion
5. Ingvar Kamprad – $52.8 billion
6. Charles Koch – $50 billion
7. David Koch – $50 billion
8. Larry Ellison $43.3 billion
9. Christy Walton – $39.1 billion
10. Sheldon Adelson – $37.5 billion
The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 17 percent to close at 328.26. Companies in the S&P 500 are worth $3.7 trillion today than they were 12 months ago, following a year in which Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke announced the curtailment of economic stimulus.
Born at the nadir of the credit crunch, the bull market is entering its sixth year, fueled by near-zero interest rates and investors’ belief that it is finally safe to own stocks again.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. founder Sheldon Adelson was the second-biggest winner in 2013, adding $14.4 billion to his wealth as the company’s stock rose 71 percent.
Revenues for the six gambling operators of China’s only legal casinos rose 18.6 percent last year to 360.75 billion patacas ($45.2 billion).
Las Vegas Sands had revenues of $13.2 billion in the 12 months ended September 30.
Slim lost $1.4 billion in 2013. His America Movil SAB, the largest cell phone operator in America, lost 12 percent in the first three months of the year after Mexico’s Congress passed a bill to end the billionaire’s dominance of the destroy the market.
The company finished the year up 2 percent after reining in a planned expansion into Europe, reassuring investors suspicious of the multibillion-dollar investment the strategy would require.
Billionaire: Las Vegas Sands Corp. founder Sheldon Adelson was the second-biggest winner in 2013, adding $14.4 billion to his net worth
Industry growth: Gaming revenues from the six operators of China’s only legal casinos rose 18.6 percent last year to 360.75 billion patacas ($45.2 billion)
“Billionaires are wondering what to do with their money in 2014,” said Mark Haefele, Global Head of Investment for UBS AG’s asset management unit.
“Central banks will continue to support us, so equities will likely continue to rise throughout the year.”
Bloomberg News revealed 109 new billionaires in 2013. None of them have ever appeared on an international wealth ranking.
Lynsi Torres is the youngest female billionaire in the US
The 31-year-old In-N-Out Burger heiress has inherited a family chain that grew from a single drive-through burger stand founded in 1948 in Baldwin Park, California, into a fast-food empire.
The company is now valued at over $1 billion.
One negative story to emerge from these numbers is Eike Batista, whose net worth dropped by more than $12 billion over the course of the year.
OGX Petroleo & Gas Participacoes SA, the oil company that made him Brazil’s richest man, went bankrupt in October.
Philanthropist: Gates has donated $28 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
In March 2012, Batista was the eighth richest person in the world. He now has negative equity.
Amancio Ortega retains the title of Europe’s richest person. Inditex SA, the world’s largest clothing retailer, rose 14 percent over the year.
The billionaire is said to have recently purchased an office building in London’s West End for £410 million.
Sergey Galitskiy, founder of OAO Magnit, Russia’s largest food retailer, added $5.3 billion to his net worth in 2013, more than any other Russian billionaire.
The 46-year-old has a net worth of $13.8 billion. Russia’s richest person is Alisher Usmanov, 60, with a net worth of $20.2 billion.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia is still the richest person in the Middle East, ending the year with a net worth of $32.4 billion. That’s an increase of $3.7 billion for the year.
Aliko Dangote is the richest person in Africa. The Dangote Group founder raised $9.2 billion over the year, making him the 30th richest person in the world.
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