Jeff Bezos is the world's richest person for the fourth year running, according to Forbes.
The Amazon founder is worth 177 billion dollars, says the business magazine. His fortunes are up 64 billion dollars from a year ago as a result of surging share value of Amazon.
Elon Musk, the biggest gainer in dollar terms, rocketed into the number 2 spot on Forbes' 35th annual list of the world's wealthiest people. Ranked number 31 with a 24.6-billion-dollar fortune last year, the business magnate added a whopping 126.4 billion dollars to total 151 billion dollars in 2021 with the help of a 705-per-cent rise in Tesla shares.
French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault remains at number 3 with his fortune nearly doubling to 150 billion dollars. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is the fourth richest person in the world, with a net worth of 124 billion dollars, buoyed by the strength of shares he owns in Microsoft, Canadian National Railway and tractor maker Deere & Company.
These four make up people worth 100 billion dollars or more in the list.
Rounding out the top 10 are Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, at 97 billion dollars; Warren Buffett, worth 96 billion dollars; Larry Ellison, worth 93 billion dollars; Larry Page, worth 91 billion dollars; Seregey Brin, worth 89 billion dollars; and Mukesh Ambani, worth an estimated 84.5 billion dollars.
The Indian business tycoon is also the richest person in Asia.
The top ten richest are worth 1.15 trillion dollars, up by two-thirds from 686 billion dollars last year. Altogether, Europe's billionaires are 1 trillion dollars richer than a year ago.
The US still has more billionaires - 724 - than any other country. China is closing the gap with 698 billionaires. India has the third-highest number of billionaires in the world - 140.
The richest woman this year is cosmetics heir Francoise Bettencourt Meyers of France.
Forbes used stock prices and exchange rates from March 5 to calculate the billionaires' net worth.
