Gates still richest; Jordan joins club

NEW YORK – The world’s richest person got even richer this year. And a basketball superstar-turned-owner made the list for the first time.

Forbes said Monday that Bill Gates’ net worth rose to $79.2 billion in 2015 from $76 billion last year. That put him at the top of the magazine’s list of the world’s billionaires for the second consecutive year. The co-founder of Microsoft Corp. has topped the list for 16 of the last 21 years.

In second place is Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu, with a net worth of $77.1 billion. He had topped the list in 2013.

Next is investor Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, who moved up one slot this year with a net worth of $72.7 billion. Buffett’s fortune grew $14.5 billion from a year earlier, more than anyone else, despite his having donated $2.8 billion to several charities last July.

In fourth place was Amancio Ortega, the Spanish co-founder of clothing retail chain Zara, with a net worth of $64.5 billion. Rounding out the top five was Larry Ellison, founder of technology company Oracle Corp., with $54.3 billion.

Forbes said there were 1,826 billionaires on its list this year, up from 1,645 in 2014. Added together, they were worth a combined $7.05 trillion, up from $6.4 trillion last year.

Most of those on the list were men. But there were 197 women, up from 172 a year ago. The highest-ranking woman at eighth was Christy Walton, the widow of John Walton, a son of the founder of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. She has a net worth of $41.7 billion, according to Forbes.

France’s Liliane Bettencourt, who got much of her wealth from cosmetics company L’Oreal SA, was 10th at $40.1 billion.

The world’s youngest billionaire was 24-year-old Evan Spiegel, the CEO and co-founder of mobile messaging company Snapchat, with a net worth of $1.5 billion. Snapchat’s other co-founder, 25-year-old Bobby Murphy, had the same net worth as Spiegel. Other tech billionaire newcomers were two co-founders of taxi-ordering app Uber and one of its executives. Three co-founders of Airbnb, the vacation-home rental website, also made the list.

Basketball legend Michael Jordan joined the list for the first time this year, thanks to his ownership in basketball team Charlotte Hornets and payouts from his Nike brand. Jordan had a net worth of $1 billion and ranked 1,741st, the magazine said.

The 52-year-old is majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets basketball team, but is better known for his Hall of Fame playing days with the Chicago Bulls and endorsement contract with Nike Inc., which makes Air Jordan shoes.

Jordan’s business manager did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, on the other hand, joined the top 20. Zuckerberg, 30, rose to 16th place from 21st last year, as his net worth grew to $33.4 billion.

Aliko Dangote, a Nigerian who became Africa’s richest man through cement manufacturing and commodities such as flour and sugar, was the biggest loser, falling $10.3 billion to $14.7 billion.

The United States had the most billionaires, with 536, followed by China at 213, Germany at 103 and India at 90. – AP, Reuters