Forbes' Richest: Mobile Beats Microsoft
NEW YORK (
) -- According to
Forbes' annual billionaire list
, Mexican telecom tycoon
out-valued
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
co-founder
as the richest person in the world, further illustrating the shift in tech fortunes derived from PCs to mobile.
Carlos Slim Helu |
Slim's score was $53.5 billion, out-riching Gates by a mere half billion dollars. Slim built his personal wealth and that of his family on the privatization of Mexico's phone industry and the rise of
America Movil
(AMX) - Get Report
, the largest wireless company in Latin America and fourth-largest in the world.
Slim's wealth hit $59 billion in 2007, when
Fortune
handed him the crown as the world's richest man. But like many investors, the financial crisis dragged down the value of his portfolio. There were times in 2008 when Slim had to get by on less than $50 billion in assets.
Bill Gates |
Until this year, Gates had topped the fat cat list for 14 of the past 15 years, even as he donated billions to his Gate Foundation charity.
Forbes
says Gate's asset value grew by $13 billion over the past year as Microsoft shares have risen 70%.
No. 3 on
Forbes'
richest list is
Berkshire Hathaway
(BRK.A) - Get Report
chief Warren Buffett, who benefitted from huge bets on
Goldman Sachs
(GS) - Get Report
and
GE
(GE) - Get Report
during the 2008 market crash.
And for those keeping score,
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Report
chief Steve Jobs ranked 136th on the
Forbes
list with $5.5 billion, thanks to the rise of Apple shares and his large
Disney
(DIS) - Get Report
holdings.
--Written by Scott Moritz in New York.
RELATED STORY
>>Carlos Slim Tops Bill Gates, Warren Buffett
>>>Also see: Carlos Slim Helu's Holdings
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