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The World's Billionaires is an annual ranking of the world's wealthiest people, compiled and published by the American business magazine Forbes in March. The total net worth of each individual on the list is estimated, in United States dollars, based on their assets and accounting for debt. Royalty and dictators whose wealth comes from their positions are excluded from the list.

The list has been published each year in March since 1987. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has topped the list 15 of the past 20 years, including the most recent 2014 edition. In 2014, there were 1,645 people on the list, including a record 172 women. Roughly two-thirds of the list were entirely self-made and only about 1 in 8 billionaires achieved their wealth through inheritance alone.

Methodology
Each year, Forbes employs a team of more than fifty reporters from a variety of countries to track the activity of the world's wealthiest individuals. Preliminary surveys are sent to those who may qualify for make the list. According to Forbes, they received three types of responses – some people try to inflate their wealth, others cooperate but leave out details, and some refuse to answer any questions. Business deals are then scrutinized and estimates of valuable assets – land, homes, vehicles, artwork, etc. – are made. Interviews are conducted to vet the figures and get a better idea of an individual's holdings. Finally, positions in publicly traded stock are priced to market on a date roughly a month before publication. Privately held companies are priced by the prevailing price-to-revenues or price-to-earnings ratios. Known debt is subtracted from assets to get a final estimate of an individual's estimated worth in United States dollars. Since stock prices fluctuate rapidly, an individual's true wealth and ranking at the time of publication may vary from their situation when the list was compiled.

Family fortunes dispersed over a large number of individuals are included only if those individuals' holdings are worth more than a billion dollars. However, when a living individual has dispersed his or her wealth to immediate family members, it is included under a single listing provided that individual is still living. Royalty and dictators whose wealth comes from their positions are excluded from the list.

Current rankings
In addition to their yearly list, Forbes maintains a top 11 list that is updated daily based on market fluctuations. As of January 22, 2015, the world's 11 wealthiest individuals were as follows:

2014
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, added $9 billion to his fortune since 2013 and topped the 2014 billionaire list. He has topped the list 15 of the previous 20 years, but was last number one in 2009. Mexican telecommunication mogul Carlos Slim came in second place after being number one the previous four years. Zara founder Amancio Ortega placed third for the second consecutive year. American investor Warren Buffett was in the top five for the 20th consecutive year, placing fourth. America's Christy Walton was the highest ranking female, placing ninth overall. Aliko Dangote of Nigeria became the first African ever to enter the top 25, with an estimated net worth of $25 billion.

A total of 1,645 people made the 2014 billionaire list, representing combined wealth of $6.4 trillion. Of those, a record 268 were newcomers, surpassing 2008's 226 newcomers. One hundred people listed in 2013 failed to make the list. The number of women on the list rose to a record 172 in 2014. Approximately 66% of the list was self-made, 13% achieved their wealth through inheritance alone, and 21% through a mixture of the two.

The United States had 492 billionaires on the list, the most of any country. The country also had the most newcomers with 50, and women with 54. China had the second most billionaires with 152, while Russia was third with 111. Algeria, Lithuania, Tanzania, and Uganda were all represented on the list for the first time. Turkey saw the most people drop off the list, 19, due to high inflation in the country.

2013
Carlos Slim topped the 2013 billionaire list, marking his fourth consecutive year at the top. Bill Gates remained in second, while Amancio Ortega moved up to third. Oretega's gain of $19.5 billion was the largest of anyone on the list. Warren Buffett failed to make the top three for the first time since 2000, placing fourth. Diesel founder Renzo Rosso was among the top newcomers, debuting with an estimate net worth of $3 billion.

A global rise in asset prices, led Forbes editor Randall Lane to declare "It [was] a very good year to be a billionaire". However, it was not a good year to be Eike Batista who fell from seventh to 100th, suffering the largest net loss of anyone on the list. Overall, net gainers outnumbered net losers by 4:1.

A record total of 1,426 people made the 2013 list, representing $5.4 trillion of assets. Of those, 442 billionaires hailed from the United States. The Asian-Pacific region had 386 billionaires and Europe 366. The list also featured a record number of newcomers, 210, representing 42 different countries. Sixty people from the 2012 list fell below a billion dollar of assets in 2013 and eight others from the 2012 list died. The Asia-Pacific region had the most drop offs, with 29, followed by the United States with 16. The 2013 list featured 138 women, of which 50 came from the United States. A majority of the list (961 individuals, 67%) was entirely self-made; 184 (13%) inherited their wealth, and 281 (20%) achieved their fortune through a combination of inheritance and business acumen.

2012
Carlos Slim topped the 2012 list, marking this third consecutive year at the top. Bill Gates placed second, but narrowed the gap from 2011 as Slim's fortune fell $5 billion while Gates' rose $5 billion. Warren Buffett remained in third place. Bernard Arnault of France was the top-ranking European on the list, placing fourth. Ricardo Salinas Pliego was the greatest gainer in terms of dollars, adding $9.2 billion to his fortune and moving up to number 37 overall. Making her debut on the list at age 27, Spanx founder Sara Blakely became the youngest self-made female billionaire ever. Colombia's Alejandro Santo Domingo was the highest ranked newcomer, inheriting a $9.5 billion stake in Santo Domingo Group from his father. India's Lakshmi Mittal was the largest loser as his fortune dropped from $31.1 billion to $20.7 billion as the price of steel maker ArcelorMittal fell sharply. As a result, he failed to make the top 10 for the first time since 2004 and lost his title of richest Asian to Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing.

A record total of 1,226 people made the 2012 list, representing 58 different countries. Of those, 126 were newcomers to the list and 104 were women. The United States had the greatest number of billionaires with 425. Russia had 96 people on the list, while China had 95. Georgia, Morocco, and Peru were newly represented on the list. Falling stock prices in Asia contributed to 117 former billionaires falling from the list world-wide. Twelve others listed in 2011 died. Overall, net gainers (460) barely outnumbered net losers (441).

To coincide with the release of the 2012 list, Forbes announced a new "Billionaire Real-Time Ticker" updating the wealth of the world's top fifty billionaires in real time.

2011
Carlos Slim added $20.5 billion to his fortune, the most of anyone, and retained his number one ranking with a total fortune of $74 billion. Bill Gates remained in second place with $56 billion, while Warren Buffett was third with $50 billion. The top 10 had a combined wealth of $406 billion, up from $342 billion in 2010. According to Forbes editor Kerry Dolan, "media and technology billionaires definitely benefited from a stronger stock market and a growing enthusiasm for all things social" since the 2010 list. However, Nigerian commodity mogul Aliko Dangote was the greatest gainer on a percentage basis as his fortune increased 557% to $13.5 billion. Mark Zuckerberg was one of seven Facebook-related billionaires on the list, as he $9.5 billion to his fortune to move up to 52nd. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz was the youngest person on the list. Aged 26, eight days younger than Zuckerburg, he debuted at number 420 with an estimated fortune of $2.7 billion. Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad was the largest loser as he saw his fortune plummet from $23 billion to $6 billion, dropping him from 11th to 162nd overall.

A record 1,210 billionaires made the 2011 list, representing a combined wealth of $4.5 trillion, up from $3.6 trillion the previous year. One third of the world's billionaires, 413, came from the United States. China had the second most billionaires with 115, while Russia was third with 101. Asia moved up to 332 billionaires, passing Europe as a region for the first time since the 1990s. The 2011 list included 214 newcomers and the average net worth of those on it increased to $3.7 billion.

2010
Carlos Slim narrowly eclipsed Bill Gates to top the billionaire list for the first time. Slim saw his estimated worth surge $18.5 billion to $53.5 billion as shares of America Movil rose 35%. Gates' estimated wealth rose $13 billion to $53 billion, placing him second. Warren Buffett was third with $47 billion. Christy Walton was the highest ranking women, placing 12th overall, with an inherited fortune of $22.5 billion. At age 25, Mark Zuckerberg was the world's youngest billionaire. American Isaac Perlmutter was among the top newcomers with an estimated fortunate $4 billion acquired in his sale of Marvel Entertainment to Disney.

A total of 1,011 people made the 2010. The United States accounted for 403 billionaires, followed by China with 89 and Russia with 62. It was the first time China, which includes Hong Kong, placed second. A total of 55 countries were represented on the 2010 list, including Finland and Pakistan which claimed their first billionaires. Eighty-nine women made the list, but only 14 of them were self-made. The combined net worth of the list was $3.6 trillion, up 50% from 2009's $2.4 trillion, while the average net worth was $3.5 billion.

The 2010 list featured 164 re-entries and 97 true newcomers. Asia accounted for more than 100 of the new entrants. Overall, just 12% of the list lost wealth since 2009, and 30 people fell off the list. Thirteen others died. Of the 89 women, 12 were newcomers in 2010. Steve Forbes said the growing number of billionaires was clear sign that the world's economy was recovering from 2009's global financial crisis.

2004 Top 10

 * Each hold an essentially equal share in Wal-Mart. Had he been alive in 2004, Sam Walton would have been the world's wealthiest person.

2003 Top 10

 * Each hold an essentially equal share in Wal-Mart. Had he been alive in 2004, Sam Walton would have been the world's wealthiest person.

2002 Top 10

 * Each hold an essentially equal share in Wal-Mart. Had he been alive in 2004, Sam Walton would have been the world's wealthiest person.

2001 Top 10

 * Each hold an essentially equal share in Wal-Mart. Had he been alive in 2004, Sam Walton would have been the world's wealthiest person.

Statistics
The Internet bubble created the most paper wealth for some billionaires. However, once the dotcom bubble burst the new rich saw their fortunes disappear. Billionaires' fortunes have been hit even harder by the global financial crisis. 2009 was the first time in five years that the world had a net loss in the number of billionaires. The strong performance of the financial markets and global economic recovery have erased financial assets losses. Most of the richest people on the planet have seen their fortunes soar in the past few years.

Source: Forbes.