Forbes reveals annual billionaire rich list
Tech billionaires on the up as the winners and losers of the past year are revealed
The number of tech billionaires is on the increase according to Forbes’ 2013 Rich List, but some entrants continue to be hit hard in the pocket by falling share prices, particularly Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg fell from 27th place to 66th, as Facebook’s share price continues to yo-yo after the firm went public last year.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates was beaten to the top spot for the fourth year running by Mexican telecoms magnate Carlos Slim, and his net worth rose by $6bn (£4bn) to hit $67bn.
Oracle founder Larry Ellison sprang back into fifth place after dropping to sixth place last year, with a fortune of $43bn.
In total there were 1,426 billionaires, labelled an "all-time high" by Forbes.
These lucky few boast an aggregate net worth of $5.4tn, up from $4.6tn last year.
The US leads the pack with 442 billionaires, followed by Asia-Pacific (386), Europe (366), the Americas (129) and Middle East and Africa (103).
The number of tech billionaires rose from 90 to 94 year on year.
Michael Dell also dropped in the rankings to 49th place with a net worth of $15.3bn, as he completes his bid to bring Dell back under private ownership.
Amazon chief Jeff Bezos came in at 19th, with a fortune of $25.2bn, closely followed by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 20th and 21st position with $23bn and $22.8bn respectively.
Gates’ other Microsoft buddies, Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen, occupy numbers 51 and 53 respectively, with fortunes of $15.2bn and $15bn.
A third of the way down the table was Intel’s Gordon Moore (creator of Moore’s Law) with a fortune of $4.1bn and in 792nd place was HP chief executive Meg Whitman with a fortune of $1.9bn.
Heading the UK rich list was real estate behemoth Gerald Cavendish with a fortune of $11.4bn, with retail giant Sir Philip Green in 248th place with a $5bn fortune, and vacuum cleaner mogul James Dyson in 286th place with $4.4bn personal wealth. Virgin tycoon Richard Branson came in at number 272 with a fortune of $4.6bn.