World’s Richest
Slim, 74, was unseated as the world’s richest man by Bill Gates in May 2013 as Mexican lawmakers started to tackle the lack of competition in the telecommunications market. Gates, 58, has a net worth of $77.7 billion, according to the ranking.
Amancio Ortega, the 77-year-old founder Inditex SA, is the world’s fourth-richest person with a $60.3 billion fortune. Inditex is the world’s largest clothing retailer and owner of the Zara chain.
The 300 billionaires on the Bloomberg ranking have a collective net worth of $3.6 trillion.
Buffett announced in 2006 that he would donate the majority of his fortune to charity. He has since given away Berkshire stock valued at more than $30 billion at yesterday’s closing price, most of which went to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The billionaire didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment left with an assistant.
“It’s fascinating that his wealth is growing and surpassing Slim’s despite the fact he’s giving away stock and will continue to give away stock,” Jim Shanahan, equity analyst at Edward Jones & Co. in St. Louis, said in a telephone interview.
“The clear differentiator here is that Buffett has a diversified portfolio of operating companies with no significant overweight status in any segment,” he said. “Even though they are in highly regulated industries like utilities and railroads, none of the investments are enough to draw attention of regulators and subject his wealth to the kind of scrutiny that Carlos Slim has been subjected to.”