Billionaire Bill Gates continues to be the richest person in the world in 2017

With a total fortune of 86 billion USD, the founder of Microsoft software company, Bill Gates, once again tops the list of billionaires in the world. This is the 4th consecutive year that Mr. Bill Gates has held this position.

Billionaire Bill Gates. Photo: Reuters

According to the list of billionaires in the world published by Forbes magazine on March 20, behind the "father" of Microsoft is American investment expert Warren Buffet with an estimated net worth of 75.6 billion USD.

The top 10 richest people in the world in 2017 are dominated by American billionaires with familiar names such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (3rd), Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (5th), Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison (7th), brothers Charles and David Koch (8th and 9th) and former New York City Mayor and Bloomberg news agency founder Michael Bloomberg (10th).

Additionally, Forbes' top 10 includes Spanish clothing retailer and founder of the Zara chain Amancio Ortega (4th) and Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim (6th).

The global billionaire community "expanded" by 13% compared to the 2016 list, to 2,043 people. Forbes said this was also the most impressive increase since the magazine began compiling the list of the world's richest people 31 years ago. The United States continues to lead the number of billionaires with 565 people on the list.

China followed with 319 billionaires and Germany with 114. Forbes said this year a billionaire needed at least $3.7 billion to make the list.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump's ranking on the list of world billionaires has dropped sharply. He has lost 220 places compared to last year and is now at 544th place. Forbes estimates President Trump's net worth at $3.5 billion./

According to VNA