World’s Richest Lose $11.3B
By Bloomberg
The 20 richest people on Earth lost a combined $11.3 billion yesterday as global markets fell after European economic growth slowed and investors weighed Greece’s chances of getting bondholders to accept a debt swap.
Warren Buffett’s fortune fell $407.3 million, dropping his net worth to $43.9 billion. The chairman of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/B), his investment holding company, ranks third on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s richest people.
“Warren Buffett has no reason to worry and neither does Carlos Slim,” Jeffrey Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James Financial Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida, said in an interview. “It’s a buy. The world’s not going into recession.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index posted its worst drop of the year, sliding 1.5 percent as U.S. stocks declined for the third straight day. Europe’s economy shrank 0.3 percent last quarter, the European Union’s statistics office said, and the central bank’s balance sheet surged to a record 3.02 trillion euros ($3.96 trillion) last week amid crisis-fighting efforts.
Bernard Arnault and Amancio Ortega, two European retail magnates on the billionaires list, both lost about $1.2 billion. Arnault, 63, now ranks fifth on the index with a net worth of $41.2 billion after shares of his LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (MC) SA, the world’s largest luxury goods company, dropped 3.1 percent in Paris trading. Ortega, 75, who owns a 59 percent stake in fashion retailer Inditex SA (ITX), the world’s largest clothing retailer, ranks sixth with a $38.9 billion fortune. No billionaire on the index gained.
The world's billionaires: The Top 20
A list of those included in Bloomberg's new global index of billionaires
Carlos Slim, $68.4 billion, Mexico: Holdings in telecommunications, banking, mining and construction, as well as Philip Morris, Saks Fifth Avenue and The New York Times
Bill Gates, $62.1 billion, U.S.: Co-founder of Microsoft
Warren Buffett, $44.3 billion, U.S.: Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Ingvar Kamprad, $42.7 billion, Sweden: Controls Ikea Group.
Bernard Arnault, $42.5 billion, France: Owns about 46 percent of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world's largest maker of luxury goods
Amancio Ortega, $38.9 billion, Spain: Owns 59 percent of Inditex, the world's largest clothing retailer, which includes the Zara chain
Larry Ellison, $38.2 billion , U.S.: Owns 22.5 percent stake in Oracle, the world's third-largest software company by sales
Charles Koch, $33.9 billion, U.S.: Co-owner, chairman and chief executive of Koch Industries in Wichita, Kan.; oil refining, gas pipelines, commodity trading, ranching and paper pulp
David Koch, $33.9 billion, U.S.: Co-owner and executive vice president of Koch Industries
Eike Batista, $29.7 billion, Brazil: Controls five publicly traded commodity and logistics companies
Mukesh Ambani, $26.5 billion, India: Owns 44 percent of Reliance Industries, operator of the world's largest oil refinery complex; also a director of Bank of America
Li Ka-shing, $25.6 billion, China: Runs Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa, a conglomerate with interests in ports, shipping, energy, construction and mobile phones
Sheldon Adelson, $25 billion, U.S.: Majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands, the world's largest casino company
Christy Walton,$25 billion, U.S.: Widow of John Walton, the second son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton
Stefan Persson, $24.5 billion, Sweden: Single largest shareholder in Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), Europe's second-biggest clothing retailer
Jim Walton, $23.5 billion, U.S.: Youngest son of Sam Walton; heads the family's private businesses, including Arvest Bank and Community Publisher
Lakshmi Mittal, $23.2 billion, India: Owns 41 percent of ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker; also a director of Goldman Sachs
Samuel Walton, $23 billion, U.S.: Oldest son of Sam Walton; has been chairman of the world's largest retailer since his father's death in 1992
Liliane Bettencourt, $22.8 billion, France: Owns 31 percent of French cosmetics company L'Oreal, which controls the Kiehl's, Lancome and Garnier brands
David Thomson, $22.6 billion, Canada: Controls media and technology giant Thomson Reuters.