New Delhi: The richest people in the world got even richer in 2013, adding $524 billion to their collective net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world's 300 wealthiest individuals. The ranking says the aggregate net worth of the world's top billionaires stood at $3.7 trillion as on December 31.
Bill Gates, the founder and chairman of Microsoft, was the year's biggest gainer. The 58-year-old tycoon's fortune increased by $15.8 billion to $78.5 billion, the index revealed, as shares of Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, rose 40 per cent. Gates' fortunes also benefited from a rally in stock holdings that include the Canadian National Railway, which rose 34 per cent, and a maker of sanitizing products, Ecolab, which rose 45 per cent.
Second in the index is Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican telecommunications mogul, whose net worth stood at $69.6 billion. But despite his high ranking, Helu was also one of the biggest losers, with his net worth dropping $1.4 billion in the course of last year after Mexico's government tried to reduce the dominance of his América Móvil mobile phone company.
Here are the top 10 people in the list:
