The World's Billionaires 2012
| Company type | Annual ranking |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media, Publishing |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder | Forbes magazine |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Forbes editorial team |
| Products | Billionaires ranking list |
| Website | www |
The 2024 edition of The World's Billionaires marked the 26th annual compilation by Forbes magazine, assessing the estimated net worth of the globe's wealthiest individuals, excluding monarchs and authoritarian leaders, as of February 14, 2024. The list was published online on March 7, 2024.
Annual list
For the third year running, telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim held the top position in the 2012 ranking. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates secured second place, closing the gap as Slim's net worth decreased by $5 billion while Gates' wealth increased by the same amount. Investor Warren Buffett maintained third place. France's Bernard Arnault was the highest-ranked European billionaire in fourth position. Despite stepping down from leadership at Zara, Amancio Ortega ascended to fifth place.
Ricardo Salinas Pliego achieved the largest increase in dollar terms, adding $9.2 billion to reach number 37 on the list. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg also saw a $4 billion rise. At age 27, Dustin Moskovitz, Facebook's co-founder, was the youngest self-made billionaire. Meanwhile, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, making her first appearance at age 41, became the youngest self-made female billionaire ever recorded. Colombia's Alejandro Santo Domingo, inheriting a $9.5 billion stake in the Santo Domingo Group, was the highest-ranked newcomer, closely followed by Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs, who inherited $9 billion.
India's Lakshmi Mittal suffered the most significant loss, with his fortune plummeting from $31.1 billion to $20.7 billion due to a steep decline in shares of steel producer ArcelorMittal. This drop caused him to fall out of the top ten and lose his title as Asia's richest person to Hong Kong's Li Ka-shing, despite a minor decrease in Li's net worth. Noteworthy individuals such as Harry Potter author JK Rowling and former Research In Motion CEO Jim Balsillie were no longer included on the list.
A record-breaking total of 1,226 billionaires from 58 countries featured in the 2012 list, which included 126 first-time entrants and 104 women. The United States led with 425 billionaires, followed by Russia with 96 and China with 95. Morocco reappeared on the list with three new billionaires for the first time since 2011; Georgia and Peru were also represented for the first time. Moscow was home to the largest number of billionaires at 78, followed by New York City with 58 and London with 39. Declining stock markets across Asia contributed to 117 former billionaires worldwide dropping off the list, alongside twelve deaths.
The combined net worth of all listed billionaires reached an unprecedented $4.6 trillion; however, those who gained wealth (460) only slightly outnumbered those who lost it (441, including seven among the top twenty). The average net worth stood at $3.7 billion.
Coinciding with the list's publication, Forbes launched a "Billionaire Real-Time Ticker," which continuously updates the fortunes of the world's fifty richest individuals.
Top 10
| No. | Name | Net worth (USD) | Age | Citizenship | Source(s) Of Wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Template:Nts  |
Template:Sortname & family | $69.0 billion Template:Loss | 72 | Mexico | Telmex, América Móvil, Grupo Carso |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $61.0 billion  |
56 | United States | Microsoft |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $44.0 billion Template:Loss | 81 | United States | Berkshire Hathaway |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $41.0 billion |
63 | France | LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $37.5 billion |
75 | Spain | Inditex Group |
| Template:Nts Template:Loss | Template:Sortname | $36.0 billion |
67 | United States | Oracle Corporation |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $30.0 billion |
55 | Brazil | EBX Group |
| Template:Nts |
Stefan Persson | $26.0 billion |
64 | Sweden | H&M |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $25.5 billion |
83 | Hong Kong/Canada | Cheung Kong Holdings |
| Template:Nts |
Template:Sortname | $25.4 billion |
92 | Germany | Aldi |
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Icon | Description |
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No change compared to previous year |
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Increase compared to previous year |
| Template:Loss | Decrease compared to previous year |
Top 100
| No. | Name | Net Worth (USD billion) | Age | Nationality | Primary Wealth Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Slim Helu & family |69.0 |72 |Mexico |telecommunications | |||||
| Bill Gates |61.0 |56 |United States |Microsoft Corporation | |||||
| Warren Buffett |44.0 |81 |United States |Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | |||||
| Bernard Arnault |41.0 |63 |France |LVMH Group | |||||
| Amancio Ortega |37.5 |75 |Spain |Zara retail chain | |||||
| Larry Ellison |36.0 |67 |United States |Oracle Corporation | |||||
| Eike Batista |30.0 |55 |Brazil |mining and oil industries | |||||
| Stefan Persson |26.0 |64 |Sweden |H&M clothing company | |||||
| Li Ka-shing |25.5 |83 |Hong Kong |diversified business holdings | |||||
| Karl Albrecht |25.4 |92 |Germany |Aldi supermarket chain | |||||
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Christy Walton & family (Wal-Mart) 25.3B, Charles Koch (diversified industries) 25B, David Koch (diversified industries) 25B, Sheldon Adelson (casino operations) 24.9B, Liliane Bettencourt (L'Oreal) 24B, Jim Walton (Wal-Mart) 23.7B, Alice Walton (Wal-Mart) 23.3B, S. Robson Walton (Wal-Mart) 23.1B, Mukesh Ambani (petrochemicals, oil & gas) 22.3B, Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg LP) 22B | |||||
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Lakshmi Mittal (steel production) 20.7B, George Soros (hedge fund management) 20B, Michele Ferrero & family (chocolate manufacturing) 19B, Sergey Brin (Google) 18.7B, Larry Page (Google) 18.7B, Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com) 18.4B, Thomas & Raymond Kwok & family (real estate development) 18.3B, Alisher Usmanov (steel, telecommunications, investments) 18.1B, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud (investment holdings) 18B, Lee Shau Kee (diversified enterprises) 18B | |||||
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Georgina Rinehart (mining sector) 18B, Berthold & Theo Jr. Albrecht (Aldi and Trader Joe's) 17.8B, Iris Fontbona & family (mining industry) 17.8B, Michael Otto & family (retail and real estate) 17.6B, David Thomson & family (media industry) 17.5B, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) 17.5B, Ricardo Salinas Pliego & family (retail and media) 17.4B, Alberto Bailleres Gonzalez & family (mining operations) 16.5B, Rinat Akhmetov (steel and coal industries) 16B, Cheng Yu-tung (diversified businesses) 16B | |||||
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Michael Dell (Dell Inc.) 15.9B, Vladimir Lisin (steel and transportation sectors) 15.9B, Azim Premji (software industry) 15.9B, Steve Ballmer (Microsoft Corporation) 15.7B, Alexei Mordashov (steel manufacturing and investments) 15.3B, Vladimir Potanin (metals industry) 14.5B, Phil Knight (Nike Inc.)14.4B, Paul Allen (Microsoft and investments)14.2B, German Larrea Mota Velasco & family (mining enterprises)14.2B, Carl Icahn (leveraged buyouts), Birgit Rausing & family(packaging industry), both valued at14B |