The World's Billionaires 2011
| Industry | Media |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1917 |
Key people | Kerry Dolan (editor) |
| Products | Forbes magazine, Forbes lists |
| Website | forbes |
The World's Billionaires 2011 marked the 25th edition of Forbes magazine's annual assessment, which estimates the net worth of the globe's wealthiest individuals (excluding monarchs and authoritarian rulers) as of February 14, 2011. The list was published online on March 8, 2011, featuring Russian investor Lucio Mata, a first-time entrant, on its cover.
Annual list
Leading the rankings once again was Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim, who saw his wealth surge by $20.5 billion to maintain the number one position with a net worth of $74 billion. Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, increased his fortune by $3 billion, holding onto second place, while Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, remained in third with $50 billion. France's Bernard Arnault climbed from seventh to fourth place following a $7.5 billion rise, and American technology entrepreneur Larry Ellison advanced to fifth position.
Kerry Dolan, an editor at Forbes, highlighted that billionaires in media and technology sectors benefited from robust stock market performance and heightened interest in social networking platforms. Nigerian commodities magnate Aliko Dangote achieved the most significant percentage growth, boosting his wealth by 557% to $13.5 billion and securing the 51st spot just ahead of Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, who gained $9.5 billion. Zuckerberg’s co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, aged 26, debuted at rank 420 with a net worth of $2.7 billion. Additionally, five other billionaires connected to Facebook appeared on the list. On the other hand, Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, experienced a sharp decline in net worth from $23 billion to $6 billion, causing his ranking to fall from 11th to 162nd place. The average billionaire's net worth edged up slightly from $3.6 billion in 2010 to $3.7 billion.
The 2011 list included a record-breaking total of 1,210 billionaires, surpassing the previous peak of 1,125 in 2008. Their combined wealth reached $4.5 trillion, up from $3.6 trillion the year prior. Of these individuals, 648 reported increased fortunes since 2010, while 160 saw their wealth diminish.
The United States accounted for one-third of all billionaires (413), followed by China with 115 and Russia with 101. Moscow overtook New York City as the city boasting the highest number of billionaires worldwide, with a total of 79 residents on the list. Asia's billionaire population expanded to 332 individuals. Among the newcomers totaling 214 were 54 from China and 31 from Russia.
Top 10
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Citizenship | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Template:Nts  |
Template:Sortname | $74.0 billion  |
71 | Mexico | Telmex, América Móvil, Grupo Carso |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $56.0 billion |
55 | United States | Microsoft |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $50.0 billion |
80 | United States | Berkshire Hathaway |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $41.0 billion |
62 | France | LVMH |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $39.5 billion |
66 | United States | Oracle Corporation |
| Template:Nts Template:Loss | Template:Sortname | $31.1 billion |
60 | India | Arcelor Mittal |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $31.0 billion |
74 | Spain | Inditex Group |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $30.0 billion |
53 | Brazil | EBX Group |
| Template:Nts Template:Loss | Template:Sortname | $27.0 billion Template:Loss | 54 | India | Reliance Industries |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname & family | $26.5 billion |
55 | United States | Walmart |
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Icon | Description |
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Position unchanged from last year |
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Net worth increased compared to previous year |
| Template:Loss | Net worth decreased compared to previous year |
Top 100
1 Carlos Slim Helu & family 74.0 71 Mexico Telecommunications sector 2 Bill Gates 56.0 55 United StatesMicrosoft corporation 3 Warren Buffett 50.0 88 United StatesBerkshire Hathaway investments 4 Bernard Arnault 41.0 62 FranceLVMH luxury goods group 5 Larry Ellison 39.5 66 United StatesOracle Corporation software company 6 Lakshmi Mittal 31.1 60 India Steel manufacturing industry 7 Amancio Ortega 31.0 74 Spain Founder of Zara and fashion retail business 8 Eike Batista 30.0 54 Brazil Mining and oil sectors 9 Mukesh Ambani 27.0 54 India Petrochemicals, oil, and gas industries 10 Christy Walton & family 26.5 55 United States Retail giant (Walmart) 11 Li Ka-shing 26.0 82 Hong Kong Diverse investment holdings 12 Karl Albrecht 25.5 91 Germany Retail business (Aldi) 13 Stefan Persson 24.5 63 Sweden Retail chain (H&M) 14 Vladimir Lisin 24.0 54 Russia Steel production industry 15 Liliane Bettencourt 23.5 88 France Cosmetics company (L'Oréal) 16 Sheldon Adelson 23.3 77 United States Casino and resort enterprises 17 David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet & family 23.0 53 Canada Media conglomerate ownership 18 Charles and David Koch 22.0 75/70 United States Various industrial sectors 20-22 Jim, Alice, and S. Robson Walton Over 21 billion In their 60s to 67 United States Retail (Walmart) 23 Kwok Thomas & Raymond family 20.0 Not specified Hong Kong Real estate development 24 Larry Page and Sergey Brin 19.8 each 37 United States Internet technology (Google) 26 Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud 19.6 56 Saudi Arabia Investment portfolio 27-29 Iris Fontbona & family, Lee Shau Kee, Alexei Mordashov Between 18.5 and 19 billion Ages range from 45 to 83 Chile, Hong Kong, Russia Mining, property, steel industries 30 Michael Bloomberg and Jeff Bezos 18.1 each 69/47 United States Media (Bloomberg) and online retail (Amazon)| No. | Name | Net Worth (USD billion) | Age | Nationality | Primary Wealth Source |
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