Bill Gates tops Forbes Rich list for the 16th Year

Bill Gates stands atop Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's richest people, as Facebook Inc's Mark Zuckerberg joined the top 20 and basketball star Michael Jordan plowed new air by making the list for the first time.

Gates' net worth rose to $79.2 billion from $76 billion a year earlier, putting the Microsoft Corp co-founder at the top for the 16th year in the last 21, Forbes said on Monday.

Mexico telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu ranked second, worth $77.1 billion, while Berkshire Hathaway Inc chief Warren Buffett was third, at $72.7 billion.

Amancio Ortega, the Spanish founder of Inditex SA, which includes clothing retailer Zara, was fourth at $64.5 billion, while Oracle Corp Chairman Larry Ellison was fifth at $54.3 billion.

Buffett's fortune grew $14.5 billion from a year earlier, more than anyone's else, despite his having donated $2.8 billion to several charities last July.

Aliko Dangote, a Nigerian who became Africa's richest man through cement manufacturing and commodities such as flour and sugar, was the biggest loser, falling $10.3 billion to $14.7 billion.

France's Liliane Bettencourt, who got much of her wealth from cosmetics company L'Oreal SA, was 10th at $40.1 billion.

Zuckerberg, 30, rose to 16th place from 21st last year, as his net worth grew to $33.4 billion.

The youngest billionaires were Evan Spiegel, 24, and Bobby Murphy, 25, who co-founded mobile messaging app Snapchat, and are each worth $1.5 billion.

Forbes identified record 1,826 billionaires, up from 1,645 last year, worth a combined $7.05 trillion. 

Out of the 1,826 who made it to the 2015 Forbes list of the world's Billionaire,11 of them are black. The Nigerian cement tycoon Aliko Dangote is still the richest black person is the world, with a fortune estimated $15.7 Billion. He is followed by Saudi-Ethopian contruction magnate Mohammed Al-Amoudi, who is worth $10.8 Billion. This year two new moguls join the ranks of the richest black people on earth.They are American basketball legend Michael Jordan and Nigerian energy magnate Femi Otedola. Angolan investor Isabel Dos Santos, American media mogul Oprah Winfrey and Nigerian oil woman Folorunsho Alakija are still the only black female billionaires on the Forbes billionaires list.