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HERE ARE WORLD'S TOP 10 CURRENT BILLIONAIRES
#1 Carlos Slim Helu
Designation: Honorary Chairman, América Móvil
Worth: US$66.8 billion (2013)
Age: 73
Country: Mexico
Carlos Slim is the richest man in Mexico and was, until recently, listed as the number one in the world for fourth consecutive year by Forbes. His assets are mostly invested in publicly trading companies, the largest in America Movil. He owns 46 percent of the company. Until recently, he was worth $73 billion due to the surging stocks at his financial arm, Grupo Financiero Inbursa, and at his Grupo Carso industrial and retail giant.
#2 Bill Gates
Designation: Chairman of Microsoft and Co-Chair Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
Worth: US$ 76.8 billion (Nov 2013)
Age: 57
Country: United States
Bill Gates is not just the richest man on Earth but also the most generous. He has donated more than $28 billion to eradicate diseases like polio and malaria through Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is co-chaired by his wife Melinda Gates. He is the Chairman of Microsoft, world's biggest software maker. According to Bloomberg, Gates owns about 398 million shares, 4.8 percent of the company. He also has investments in real estate (Four Seasons Hotels), energy (Sapphire Energy) and photography (Corbis Images) through Cascade Investment.

#3 Warren Buffett
Designation: CEO, Berkshire Hathaway
Worth: $57.5 Billion
Age: 82
Country: United States
The bulk of his finances originate from the textile company, Berkshire Hathaway. He began buying shares in the company in 1962 when it was struggling to survive in the market, he called it the 'dumbest stock' he ever bought but the company has been shedding massive returns in his pockets since long. Interestingly, he bought his first stock at the age of 11 and filed his first tax return two years later. He is a close friend of Bill Gates and donates regularly to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
#4 Amancio Ortega
Designation: Retired
Worth: $54.8 Billion
Age: 77
He is Spain's richest man and his ex-wife was the country's wealthiest woman until she died recently - all due to world's largest clothing retailer Inditex, whose 59 percent of stocks are held by Ortega. He stepped down as the Chairman of Inditex, parent company of Zara, in 2011.
He quit school at the age of 13 to work in a clothing shop. In March, Ortega was at the third spot in world's richest billionaires list by Forbes for the first time.
#5 Ingvar Kamprad
Designation: Founder IKEA
Worth: $49.1 Billion
Age: 87
Country: Sweden
Ingvar Kamprad is the richest man in Sweden and for the first time is featured in the top 10 billionaires list. He stepped down as the Chairman to world's largest furniture retailer, IKEA, last month in order to hand over the seat to his youngest son. Like Ortega in 2011, Kamprad is likely to be the top gainer in 2012 as his company made more than $36 billion in revenue and $4 billion in net income through a series of trusts and foundations.
#6 Charles Koch
Designation: Chairman and CEO, Koch Industries
Worth: $44.8 Billion
Age: 77
Country: United States
Charles sticks to his sixth spot like in Forbes list of 2013 richest people. He has again tied with his brother David Koch. His financial arm gains from the 42 percent interest in the company he runs.
#7 David Koch
Designation: Executive Vice President, Koch Industries
Worth: $44.8 Billion
Age: 77
Country: United States
Like in March, David has again tied with his brother at the sixth spot of the world's richest people list. He is more active in politics than his brother and operates the chemical wing of Koch Industries from his home. He too owns 42 percent of shares in the company like Charles and derives his fortune from it.
#8 Larry Ellison
Designation: Founder and CEO, Oracle
Worth: $39 Billion
Age: 69
Country: United States
Larry Ellison has dropped another three spots since March, when he was the fifth richest person on Earth. He has been on a real estate buying spree since last year; buying 98 percent of a Hawaiian island from David Murdoch. Most of his wealth comes from Oracle, where he holds 23 percent of stocks.
#9 Christy Walton
Designation: Co-Chair, Children's Scholarship Fund
Worth: $35. Billion
Age: 58
Country: United States
Walton has made huge jump and has entered the top 10 elite club. She remains the richest woman on the planet and is known as the 'Wal-Mart widow' by Forbes. She owns 402 million shares, nearly 12.2 percent of the retail company. She inherited the wealth when her husband died in a plane crash in 2005.
#10 Jim Walton
Designation: Chairman and CEO, Arvest Bank Group, Inc.
Worth: $34.3 Billion
Age: 65
Country: United States
Jim Walton is the brother-in-law of Christy Walton. He owns nearly 12.6 percent of the world's largest retailer Wal-Mart. Jim joined the company to handle real estate transactions. He also replaced his brother John, Christy's husband, on board after his death in 2005.
He also owns Bentonville's local newspaper, Benton County Daily Record.