Forbes list of Billionaires 2011

Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim grew his personal fortune by some $20 billion in one year through gains in his telecommunications and mining businesses. The value of the 71-year-old’s companies as measured by Forbes, around $74 billion, is nearly twice the projected 2011 gross domestic product of Lebanon, from where Slim’s father fled to Mexico in 1902 to escape Ottoman rule. Slim, who tops the list of Forbes’ richest people for the second year in a row, increased the gap between his nearest rivals Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, both of whom have vowed to give up much of their money to charity. Though Slim has also channeled billions of dollars into philanthropic causes, he has kept a tighter rein on his fortune, most of which is controlled by his family.
Forbes list of Top 10 Billionaires 2011:
1. Carlos Slim (Mexico) - $74 billion, telecommunications
2. Bill Gates (USA) - $56 billion, Microsoft
3. Warren Buffett (USA) - $50 billion, Berkshire Hathaway
4. Bernard Arnault (France) - $41 billion, LVMH
5. Larry Ellison (USA) - $39.5 billion, Oracle Corp
6. Lakshmi Mittal (India) - $31.1 billion, steel
7. Amancio Ortega (Spain) - $31 billion, retail
8. Eike Batista (Brazil) - $30 billion, mining, oil
9. Mukesh Ambani (India) - $27 billion, petrochemicals, oil and gas
10.Christy Walton & family (USA) - $26.5 billion, Wal-Mart