Eighteen people on Forbes magazine's annual list of billionaires, including Richard Branson, never finished high school.
Bill Gates, the founder and chairman of Microsoft, is the world's richest person for the 11th consecutive year, although his net worth fell slightly to $46.5 billion (R276.2 billion), according to the magazine's annual survey published in its March 28 issue.
The following is a list of facts and figures about the world's richest people:
- 691 billionaires are on the list;
- 388 are self-made, meaning they did not inherit their money;
- 68 billionaires are women, seven of whom are self-made;
- 131 are new to the list this year;
- 17 people are back on the list after dropping off;
- 30 people dropped off the list this year;
- 14 billionaires died;
- 39 billionaires in the US derive their fortunes from media, with an average net worth of $3.3 billion;
- 26 billionaires are single;
- 34 billionaires live in New York, 20 reside in Moscow, 20 live in San Francisco, 18 live in each London and Los Angeles;
- 69 new billionaires are from the US;
- Nine new billionaires are from Russia;
- 29 billionaires are under the age of 40;
- 220 billionaires are older than 70;
- The average age of billionaires on the list is 64;
- The youngest billionaire is 21 years old. Albert von Thurnund Taxis of Germany has a net worth of $2 billion;
- The youngest new billionaire is Saad Hariri, 33, with a net worth of $1.2 billion; and
- The oldest billionaire is John Simplot, 96. He has a net worth of $2.3 billion.
The fortune of India's Lakshmi Mittal rose the most, gaining $18.8 billion to a total net worth of $25 billion.
The fortune of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, in prison in Moscow, dropped $12.8 billion, more than any others on the list.
The net worth of Asian billionaires rose an average of almost $183 million a day last year.
In the past year, Sheldon Adelson increased his net worth at an average of $1.6 million an hour.
The richest new billionaire is Dan Duncan, with a net worth of $5.1 billion.
The most famous new tycoon is Martha Stewart, who became a billionaire on the rise of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Incorporated stock during her time in prison.