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Mukesh Ambani again tops Indias 55 billionaires

By:  Tupaki Desk   |   4 March 2013 6:03 PM GMT
Fifty-five Indians, led by Reliance India chairman Mukesh Ambani, figure in the Forbes annual list of a record 1,426 billionaires, topped by Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim Helu for the fourth year in a row.

Ambani, 55, with a net worth of $21.5 billion is 22nd on the US business magazine's 27th annual ranking released Monday.

He is followed by steel moghul Lakshmi Mittal, 62, with a net worth of $16.5 billion. Mittal is 41st in the world ranking with Wipro chairman Azim Premji, 67, with $11.2 billion taking the third place among Indians with a world ranking of 91.

While Helu's net worth up has gone up to $73 billion from $69 billion in 2012, Bill Gates retains the number 2 spot with a net worth of $67 billion.

Zara's Amancio Ortega (No. 3) moves up two spots from 2012, with a net worth of $57 billion, ahead of Warren Buffett (No. 4) with a net worth of $53.5 billion. This marks the first year Buffett has not been in the Top 3 since 2000, in spite of being the second biggest gainer this year, up $9.5 billion.

Kumarmangalam Birla, 45, with a net wealth of $7.9 billion is the sixth richest Indian with a world ranking of 150. Real estate tycoon Kushal Pal Singh, with a net worth of $6.3 billion, rounds up the list of India's top ten with a world ranking of 191.

Mukesh Ambani's brother Anil Ambani, 53, chairman of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group with a net wealth of $5.2 billion is eleventh on the India list and 233rd in the world rankings.

This year 210 billionaires are new to the list, while 60 dropped off (still more died or split their fortunes with a family). A record 1,426 billionaires (up 200 from 1,226 in 2012) made the list, with an average net worth of $3.8 billion (up from $3.7 billion in 2012).

Added together, the total net worth for this year's billionaires is $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion last year. The US leads the list, with 442 billionaires, followed by Asia-Pacific (386), Europe (366), The Americas (129) and the Middle East & Africa (103).

A total 138 women made the list this year, an increase of 34. With a net worth of $30 billion, Liliane Bettencourt (# 9) is now the richest woman in the world.