The richer continue to get richer

Forbes came out with their 2008 list of richest people in the world. The combined list of 1,125 people have a combined net worth of $4.4 trillion, and the man that sits at top is none other then Bill Gates… oops my bad… actually it is Warren Buffett.

During the 2007, it was estimated that he increased his value by $10 billion, while Bill Gates just made a pathetic $2 billion. Gates was even knocked down another position by Mexican monopoly man, Carlos Slim, whose $60 billion net worth has doubled in the past two years. Insane? Yes it is. Apparently Gates would of been top spot had Microsoft not made a bid to buy Yahoo. The stock plummeted 15% and that means he lost more then $4 billion dollars… how much did you lose.. right.

Although it was pretty obvious those three would be at the top, what was more interesting was the “new” rich. Never before has the Forbes list seen such a huge climb of wealth by individuals. Just take a look at the luckiest man in the world, Mark Zuckerburg. At 23, the founder of Facebook is the world’s youngest billionaire. I am now officially convinced that, in order to make loads of money, you need to drop out of Harvard. I guess you got to get in first. Zuckerburg sits at 785, with his cool $1.5 billion.

Other big names include Oprah ($2.5 billion) and Donald Trump ($3 billion), who insists that Forbes is wrong and he is worth $7 billion.

In all, the 2008 list marked a period of change. Two-thirds of the individuals are classified as self-made billionaires, and 50 of them are under 40. Don’t worry guys, expect to see me on the 2009 edition.

image source – nicholsoncartoons.com.au