Zuckerberg zooms up Forbes rankings as billionaires' riches shrink

Tech tycoons Gets, Slim, and Ellison see billions wiped from their fortunes

Mark Zuckerberg has powered up to sixth place in Forbes' Rich List as the collective fortunes of the world's 20 wealthiest people shrank for the first time since 2012.

The top 20 billionaires in the world are cumulatively more than $70bn (€65.56bn) worse off compared with last year, according to Forbes. The total number of billionaires also fell for the first time in seven years, from the record of 1,826 last year, to 1,810.

Yet Zuckerberg, the top 20's youngest representative, managed to increase his net worth by $11.2bn to $44.6bn, making him the sixth-richest person in the world, up from 16th last year.

The combined wealth of the 20 richest fell from $899bn last year to $827bn this time out, with telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim losing $27.1bn after shares in his América Móvil telecoms company plummeted in 2015 and early 2016.

Bill Gates maintains his position as the world's richest person, despite losing more than $4bn this year, with a net worth of $75bn.

Jeff Bezos of Amazon just about pipped Zuckerberg at number five with a net worth of $45.2bn while Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin hold spots 12 and 13 with $35.2bn and $34.4bn, respectively.

Oracle's founder Larry Ellison sits just above Zuckerberg with a wealth of $43.6bn, down from last year's $54.3bn. Michael Dell is only $600m richer than last year, clinging to the number 34 spot with a net worth of $19.8bn.