Forbes magazine’s “rich list” of billionaires has suffered 332 casualties due to the credit crisis.

Now, only 793 people are eligible for a spot on the list, but even they have lost an average of 23% of their wealth.

Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft has reclaimed the top spot on the list, even after his overall wealth has decreased by roughly £13.06 billion.

Warren Buffet, who owns Berkshire Hathaway, knocked Bill Gates off the top spot on the list after 13 years last year, but due to a $25 billion decline in profits, and 50% share value shrinkage in that last year, Mr Gates has stolen the number-one slot again.

656 Billionaires Have Lost Money in Last Year

Another to suffer the effects of the crisis, is Indian businessman Anil Ambani, who has slipped from number 6 to number 34 in 12 months after his net worth decreased by two thirds, to  £10.1 billion.
Overall, last year, the net worth of the top 20 on the list was $21 billion last year, this year it is closer to $14 billion.

Also, the last 12 months has seen only 44 people on the list managing to increase their fortune, while 656 lost money in total.

For example, Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York is one of the few that managed to increase his wealth this year, and is in fact the only member of the top 20 to do so. His wealth is thought to have increased by about $4.5 billion.

US Flying High

Discount retailing has helped keep many of the top 20 in their places on the list.

Founder of budget retailer Uniqlo, Tadashi Yanai entered the list for the first time despite the economic depression, at number 76, and is worth $6 billion. Meanwhile Aldi owner Karl Albrecht moved up four places to number 6 despite the fact his net worth increased by $55 billion.

When it comes to world regions, regions like India and Russia lost a lot of their wealth to the US, which now claims half of the top 20 spots, and generally has the most billionaires.

Along with this, New York beat Moscow with the most names on the rich list reaching 55 billionaires. Moscow therefore came third, with London sneaking into second place with just one more billionaire, making 28 in total.

What Do You Think?

Leave your comments here.