Bill Gates stands atop Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's richest people, as Facebook Inc's Mark Zuckerberg joined the top 20 and basketball star Michael Jordan ploughed new air by making the list for the first time.
Gates' net worth rose to $79.2 billion from $76 billion a year earlier, putting the Microsoft co-founder at the top for the 16th year in the last 21, Forbes said on Monday.
Mexico telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu ranked second, worth $77.1 billion, while Berkshire Hathaway chief Warren Buffett was third, at $72.7 billion.
Buffett's fortune grew $14.5 billion from a year earlier, more than anyone's else, despite his having donated $2.8 billion to several charities last July.
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Forbes identified a record 1,826 billionaires, up from 1,645 last year, worth a combined $7.05 trillion.
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France's Liliane Bettencourt, who got much of her wealth from cosmetics company L'Oreal was 10th at $40.1 billion.
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The youngest billionaires were Evan Spiegel, 24, and Bobby Murphy, 25, who co-founded mobile messaging app Snapchat, and are each worth $1.5 billion.
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Jordan's business manager did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Russia, which has struggled with currency and oil market turmoil, saw its collection of billionaires fall to 88 from 111, Forbes said.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
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