Forbe's Magazine Rich List 2010: Carlos Slim 1st, Bill Gates 2nd

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Forbe's Magazine Rich List: Carlos Slim 1st, Bill Gates 2nd [news.bbc.co.uk]

Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim has topped Forbes magazine's billionaire's list - the first time since 1994 that an American has not led the rankings.

Mr Slim's fortune rose by $18.5bn (£12.4bn) last year to $53.5bn.

That beat Microsoft founder Bill Gates ($53bn) into second place, with US investor Warren Buffett ($43bn) third.

In first by half a billion!

[MatthewHSE]

Funny, my first instinct is to look at those numbers and think how close they are. But on second thought, $0.5 billion is $500 million, which, being several lifetimes away from what I will ever earn, suddenly puts the massive wealth of these individuals beyond my imagination.