Bill Gates no longer the World's richest man, Mexican telecom tycoon grabs the title
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is no longer the world’s richest man according to the annual Forbes magazine list released Tuesday, but it’s not like he’s going to have to go crawling back for his old job either.
Mexican telecom tycoon Carlo Slim Helu beat out Gates, last year’s top billionaire, with a fortune worth $53.5 billion. Slim’s rise this past year was fueled by growth in mobile telecom giant America Movil, which saw a 35% share price increase over the past year. Slim owns a $23 billion stake in the company, according to Forbes.
Gates, who has refocused his career on charitable endeavors, is now worth $53 billion. While he slipped a notch on the Forbes list, his fortune actually rose by $13 billion on the strength of a climbing Microsoft stock price.
