The bid by Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) for Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) probably cost Bill Gates the title of "richest man in the world," as Warren Buffett took over that spot for the first time in 13 years. Buffett has an estimated worth of $62 billion, according to the annual ranking of Forbes.
Most of that is through his holdings in Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A).
Bringing up the second spot this year, is the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who has made the majority of his fortune through privatizing Mexican telecom Telmex. His foundational business is now America Movil, which is a spin-off of Telmex. Slim's net worth is estimated at around $60 billion. Earlier in the year it was suggested he was the wealthiest in the world, although it wasn't confirmed.
Bill Gates dropped to third, and I can't remember when he wasn't either first or second. Don't be overly concerned though, he's still worth a hefty $58 billion.
The U.S. still holds the No. 1 spot for billionaires, as they have 469 at this time, with a combined net worth of $1.6 trillion. On the other hand, the rest of the world has 656 billionaires worth $2.8 trillion.
Altogether there are now 1,125 billionaires worldwide, with a net worth of 4.4 trillion.
The country in second place behind the U.S., is Russia, which now is home to 87 billionaires, with Moscow having more than any other city in the world.
Other countries with a fast growing number of billionaires are Turkey, India and China.
The youngest on the list is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who at the age of 23 is the youngest to ever make the cut.
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