Who is the world's richest person? America's richest person? Once every year, Forbes magazine releases its famous list of the richest people in the world. This year, Forbes set loose a team of researchers to carefully analyze the files of more than 1,000 billionaires. The eagerly anticipated result is this list of the world's richest men as of mid-2011. Because of the volatility of the stock markets, this list could change. Although the Recession doesn't affect the super-rich like it does the rest of us, it can make changes, even among the top ten richest billionaires in the world...
The Top 10 Richest Men in the World:
10. Karl Hans Albrecht ($23.5 Billion)
This reclusive German entrepreneur founded the discount supermarket chain Aldi, with his brother Theo. Later, the brothers divided the chain into Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord. Albrecht is the richest man in his country and the tenth richest man in the world. Even though he made $2 billion dollars in 2009, he fell from his #6 position of last year.
9. Amancio Ortega ($25 Billion)
Ortega is a Spanish fashion designer and entrepreneur who has appeared on the top 10 list for a few years running. Last year he was #10, representing a slight improvement. Ortega is the richest man in Spain. He co-founded Inditex Group, and he has lately been busy exporting his Zara stores all over the world. He rarely appears in public -- when he does it makes news in the Spanish financial press.
8. Eike Batista ($27 Billion)
The richest man in Brazil was #61 last year, with a net-worth of $7.5 Billion. After studying engineering in Aachen University, Germany, Eike Batista began making his fortune mining iron-ore and in oil and gas exploration. His newest company, OGX, will start oil production in 2012, part of the reason for his meteoric rise into the Top Ten Club.
7. Bernard Arnault ($27.5 Billion)
Arnault holds his #7 position from 2009. This French business man is chairman and CEO of the French conglomerate LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods empire. Some of his brands include Louis Vuitton, Hennessey, Acqua di Parma and Christian Dior.
6. Lawrence Ellison ($28 Billion)
This American is the founder of Oracle Lawrence Corporatio, a major player in developing software. Even though he is 5.5 billion dollars richer than last year, he slips from the #4 to the #6 position. Lawrence Ellison is reported to be one of 40 billionaires who signed the Giving Pledge.
5. Lakshmi Mittal ($28.7 Billion)
Originally from India, Mittal inherited a fortune from his family. But he built that into one of the world's most astounding holdings. He is the chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaking company. He jumps from the 8th spot to claim #5.
4. Mukesh Ambani ($29 Billion)
Ambani is another Indian who has been diligently growing his inherited fortune, this time in the petrochemical industry. He is Chairman and the Managing Director of Reliance Industries Ltd, the number one private sector enterprise in India. He increased his fortune by almost $10 billion in 2009, catapulting him from #7 to #4.
3. Warren Buffett ($47 Billion)
Even though he dropped from his #2 position of last year, legendary investor, Warren Buffett, gained $10 billion dollars in 2009. He made his initial fortune by wisely investing in such stocks as General Electric, Procter & Gamble Co, Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs. As he told his investors: "When it's raining gold, reach for a bucket, not a thimble."
2. Bill Gates ($53 Billion)
William Henry Gates has held the #1 spot for 14 of the last 15 years (he briefly lost the position in 2008), but this year he drops to #2 despite increasing his fortune by nearly $13 billion. His initial fortune was due to his creative entrepreneurship in the Computer Revolution. He founded Microsoft, which made him his early fortune, and still owns 8% of the company's common stock. Considering his philanthropic efforts and the "Gates-Buffet Giving Pledge," he probably doesn't consider slipping into number two spot to be of much concern.
1. Carlos Slim Helu ($53.5 Billion)
The Mexican telecom investor and philanthropist gained a massive $18.5 billion in 2009 to barely edge out Bill Gates and to become the richest man on planet Earth. This was largely due to the bumper year experienced by his telecommunications companies Telmex and America Movil, in which Carlos holds a 23 billon dollar stake. Carlos also has extensive holdings in other Mexican companies through his Grupo Carsa SAB.
There were some surprises. Bill Gates lost his normally secure #1 position, and Eike Batista came out of Latin America to make a solid #8 showing. What's in store for next year? Only time will tell, but you might want to keep your eye on Warren Buffett, the richest man in 2008, whose investments from last year still haven't fully matured.
So now we answered the search for "richest man world." Now -- Who is the World's richest woman? Queen Elizabeth? Oprah? Lady Gaga? Stephanie Meyrs? J.K. Rowling? Barabara Taylor Bradford -- the Woman of Substance? No. The World's richest woman is Christy Walton. With an estimated personal worth of $26.5 Billion, mostly from her holdings in Wal-Mart (the retail empire founded by her father-in-law, Sam Walton), Christy has been designated by Forbes as the World's Richest Woman.
Have you ever said, "It's about time I worked for myself!" After all, the biggest increase in new jobs has been in the self-employed sector. It's the National Dream, isn't it? Be your own boss. Do it yourself. It's how our country began and became so prosperous. You CAN start your own business and make lots of money. And it's all up to you.
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