Bill Gates the richest man in the world, fourth in a row

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates once again topped the Forbes magazine list of the world's richest billionaires, while US President Donald Trump slipped more than 200 spots, the magazine said on Monday. Gates, whose wealth is estimated at $86 billion, led the list for the fourth straight year; Gates's is followed by Warren Buffett, the American magnate, and Berkshire Hathaway chief with an estimated wealth of $75.6 billion. 

Others in the top ten, which is heavily dominated by Americans in the technology sector, were Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, at number five, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison at number seven and Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos.

Forbes attributed Trump's drop to sluggishness in the Manhattan real estate market which is responsible for a disproportionate amount of his wealth. "Forty percent of Donald Trump's fortune is tied up in Trump Tower and eight buildings within one mile of it," Forbes said.

Amancio Ortega, the Spanish business tycoon best known for owning the Zara fashion label, came in fourth, making him the highest ranking non-American with an estimated fortunate of $71.3bn.

The global billionaire population jumped 13% from last year to 2,043, the biggest annual increase in the 31 years since the magazine began compiling the list. The US led countries with the most billionaires with 565, a product of the swelling value of the American stock market since Trump's November 2016 election. China was second with 319 billionaires, and Germany was third with 114. This year it took at least USD 3.7 billion in wealth to make it onto the list, but only in a tie for 501th place, a group that included Hollywood director Steven Spielberg.

Forbes' top ten:

Bill Gates: $86bn
Warren Buffet: $75.6bn
Jeff Bezos: $72.8bn
Amancio Ortega: $71.3bn
Mark Zuckerberg: $56bn
Carlos Slim: $54.5bn
Larry Ellision: $52.2bn
Charles Koch: $48.3bn
David Koch: $48.3bn
Michael Bloomberg: $47.5bn