Forbes' List of 'The World's Billionaires - the Richest People on the Planet'

Forbes Magazine has published yet another list to whet our interest in the 'who's who of the world' category. Their new listing, published 3/09/11, provides a listing of "The World's Billionaires - The Richest People on the Planet."

The list indicates that billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, in second and third place respectively, have their work cut out for them if they want to rank at the top of the list. Carlos Slim Helu & family of Mexico has a pretty wide lead over both of them in net worth, besting Gates by $18 B and Buffett by $24 B.

Besides topping the billionaire list for the second year in a row, Carlos Slim Helu was ranked #21 on the most recent Forbes' list of the "World's Most Powerful People."

There are a record-breaking 1,210 billionaires on this year's list who have a total net worth of $4.5 trillion. Here are the top ten billionaires on the list including net worth, country of citizenship, and listed source of their fortune:

Carlos Slim Helu & family, $74 B, Mexico (Source: telecom, self-made)
Bill Gates, $56 B, United States (Source: Microsoft, self-made)
Warren Buffett, $50 B, United States (Source: Berkshire Hathaway, self-made)
Bernard Arnault, $41 B, France ( Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) , inherited and growing)
Larry Ellison, $39.5 B, United States (Source: Oracle, self-made)
Lakshmi Mittal, $31.1 B, India (Source: Steel, inherited and growing)
Amancio Ortega, $31 B, Spain (Source: Zara, self-made)
Eike Batista, $30 B, Brazil (Source: mining, oil, self-made)
Mukesh Ambani, $27 B, India (Source: petrochemicals, oil & gas, inherited and growing)
Christy Walton & family, $26.5 B, United States (Source: Walmart, inherited)

The World's Billionaires Complete List
Gallery: The Richest People On The Planet
The World's Youngest Billionaires 2011 (All of them are under 40)

Besides being very wealthy, these 1,210 billionaires are also powerful and are ones to watch in the coming years in the fields of technology, energy exploration, clothing and design, and marketing, to name a few. There is an old saying, "He who owns the gold makes the rules." These uber wealthy individuals may well comprise the major players who will influence the rules by which the rest of the world prospers in the coming years.

See also by R.C.:
Forbes List of 'America's Most Decadent Kitchens' - All Have High-tech Luxury Appliances
Forbes List of 'The Best Cars for Commuters, 2011': Toyota Prius Wins Top Spot
Forbes List of 'America's 20 Most Miserable Cities': a Sad Commentary on the Times
Forbes Ranks the Most Powerful People on Earth: Do You Agree?
Job Seekers: Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For; They Are Hiring
Vehix's List of '5 Best Used Cars of the 2000s' - Subjective but Interesting

Source: http://www.forbes.com/wealth/billionaires