Meet the top 10 richest people in the world

The world economies may be oscillating like a pendulum but billionaires of the world are laughing in the face of the recession.

Last year, the world’s billionaires with bottomless bank accounts saw an increase of $241bn to their collective wealth.

According the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 100 wealthiest individuals, Mexican infrastructure tycoon Carlos Slim remained the richest person on the planet for the third consecutive year.

The 72-year-old’s net worth rose $13.4bn by 1 January making his total bank balance $76.4bn.

But Slim wasn’t the biggest gainer in wealth last year. He was beaten by Amancio Ortega, founder of Spanish retailer Inditex. The 76-year-old tycoon’s fortune increased $22.2bn to $57.5bn as shares of Inditex, operator of the Zara clothing chain, rose 66.7%.

And of course there’s the Microsoft magnate Bill Gates who even after giving away $28m in 2012, increased his wealth by $7bn.

The other less fortunate ones include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg who lost $5.2bn in 2012 after the company’s share nosedived by 30% following its controversial IPO. However, that didn’t discourage the 28-year-old billionaire to donate almost $500m in Facebook stock to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Coming in fourth, was the “Sage of Omaha” Warren Buffett with a $49.8bn wealth pile followed by Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad with a $42.9bn fortune.