Top 10 Richest People in the World 2013

Although the United States can no longer claim to be the home to the richest man in the world, they certainly maintain good standing in the list of the top 10 richest people in the world.

Here is the list of the 10 richest people in the world for 2013.

01: Carlos Slim Helú

Once again coming in as the richest man in the world for 2013. Helú’s wealth though has increased from US$69 billion in 2012 to US$73 in 2013.

02: Bill Gates

The first of the Americans on the list of the wealthiest people in the world comes in at number 2 with US$67 billion.

03: Amancio Ortega

Ortega this year has jumped two places and is now ahead of Buffet. He is now estimated to have a wealth of US$57 billion.

04: Warren Buffet

Although Buffet dropped a place, he was still the second biggest gainer of wealth in 2012, with his wealth increasing by US$9.5 billion, to a figure for 2013 of US$53.5 billion. This is the first year since 2000, that Buffet did not make one of the top three places.

05:  Larry Ellison

Third richest American and number 5 on the world’s listing, has an estimated wealth of US$43 billion.

06: Charles Koch

Coming in at equal number six with his brother David, Charles is estimated to be worth US$34 billion.

07: David Koch

Equal with his brother Charles with US$34 billion, both of these brothers succeeded in increasing their wealth during 2012.

08: Li Ka-shing

Coming from Hong Kong, Li is the only Asian on this list coming in at number eight with US$31 billion.

09: Liliane Bettencourt

The first of two French on this list and the only woman, Bettencourt is the richest woman in the world with an estimated US$30 billion.

10: Bernaud Arnault

Coming in at number ten and the second French person on the list, Arnault is the only one on this list whose wealth dropped in 2013 and is now only considered to be worth US$29 billion.

According to Forbes, there are 1,426 billionaires in 2013, a rise from 1,226 in 2012. As you would expect with the increased number of people, their joint wealth has gone up in 2013 to US$5.4 trillion, compared to US$4.6 trillion in 2012.

The average wealth of all the billionaires is US$3.8 billion, an increase of US$0.1 billion on 2012.

Of the 1,426 billionaires, the United States has the most with 442. The Asia Pacific region comes next with 386, followed by Europe with 366. The Americas have 129 and the Middle East and Africa combined make up the last 103.

Although few names dropped off the list between 2012 and 2013, 210 new names appeared including 34 women. The biggest gainers for the year were Ortega and Buffet but New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was also a great gainer, increasing his wealth by US$5 billion to US$27 billion in 2013 moving him from the 20^th spot to the 13^th for this year.