Forbes Rich List reveals record highs and some surprises

The Forbes Rich list 2013 reveals a record number of billionaires at 1,426, registering a total net worth of $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion in the previous year’s list.
 
The [almost] universally respected study also contained some further surprises along with an assembly of the usual suspects.
 
Taking the lead, as previously, is the US which is still the location of the most billionaires (442), followed by mainland China at 122, Russia at 110 and Germany at 58. But a surprisingly strong entry came from Thailand taking ten of the lists’ 1,342 spots – positive news for Thailand as not merely a destination for superyachts but a possible future generator of superyacht owners.

Overall there are 210 newcomers from 42 countries, including the first Vietnamese billionaire, Pham Nhat Vuong who enters the list of world’s richest individuals, with total assets of US$1.5 billion at number 974.


 
One of the most significant changes in the list is the stronger female quotient. There are 138 women on this year's billionaires list - up from last year's total of 104. China accounts for a healthy proportion of these, with one in every 10 billionaires in the world's fastest growing economy being women, according to Forbes’ Asian equivalent, the Hurun Report.



Fortunes moved in a positive direction this year, with wealth accumulators outstripping losers on the list by 4-to-1; the previous year had seen almost as many fortunes fall as rise. There were also strong signs the economic troubles that hit many of the largest economies in the world in 2012, did not touch the top 1 per cent of wealth. Over the past 12 months 210 brand new members made the list, three times the number of individuals who fell off it.


Not all entrants on the list were celebrating however. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia took his number 26 position as an insult, saying Forbes have undervalued him by $10bn (£6.5bn). Forbes said Alwaleed was worth $20bn, placing him a measly 26th in the magazine's billionaires list, but Alwaleed insists his worth is closer to $29.6 billion. “The ranking strikes in the face of improving Saudi-American bilateral relations and co-operation. Forbes is putting down the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and that is a slap in the face of modernity and progress," read a letter written to the wealth magazine.

Most of the billionaires are self-made – 961 - while 184 inherited their wealth, said Reuters, which has published a fascinating fact list including some of the unusual entries above mentioned.

Read more on the list at Forbes: Inside the 2013 Billionaires List

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