The 79-year-old daughter of L'Oreal founder Eugene Schueller is still the richest person in France (USD14.9 billion). Liliane Bettencourt remains adamant about keeping most of the company in private hands to ensure "stability." Despite limited pressure to reform L'Oreal's ownership structure, she will likely get her way. Bettencourt controls L'Oreal via a 51% stake in Gesparal, a holding company that owns 53.7% of L'Oreal. Nestle owns the remaining 49% of Gesparal.
Forbes Global magazine said that 497 billionaires from 43 countries made its annual list of the world's richest. Among the countries, the United States led the list with 243 billionaires, down from 272 last year, with a combined net worth of USD111 billion. Europe had 121 billionaires. Seventy are Asians, with Japan accounting for 25 and Hong Kong 12.
Their combined net worth, however, is only about one-fifth that of the world's undisputed top billionaire, software giant Microsoft Corp boss Bill Gates, who still has USD$52.8bil to his name despite the tech slump.
Billionaires had it tough last year, Forbes said. The total net worth of the world's richest fell from USD$1.73 trillion to USD$1.54 trillion.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates lost USD6 billion last year, but that didn't stop him from being the richest man in the world for the 8th year in a row. With a net worth of USD52.8 billion, Gates remained comfortably ahead of Warren Buffet, who held the No. 2 spot with USD35 billion.
German retailers Theo and Karl Albrecht climbed two notches to No. 3, with a net value of USD26.8 billion.
Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison had the fifth spot, while five heirs of the Wal-Mart fortune created by founder Sam Walton rounded out the top 10.
Only 25 on the list are under 40, led by 37-year-old computer founder Michael Dell at No. 18. The highest-ranking rich woman was No. 8, Alice Walton, with assets of dlrs 20.5 billion.
Europe, headed by the Albrechts and Germany's Johanna Quandt and family, whose 46 percent ownership of automaker BMW helped put them at No. 12.
Asia, led by Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud at No. 11, notched 70 billionaires.
But the billionaires were not all born into money - 237 are self-made. Of the others, 27 are college dropouts (including Gates) and 25 are under the age of 40.
Source from Forbes.com
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