The 40 richest people on Earth lost a combined $6.2 billion Wednesday when stocks dropped amid disappointing US earnings, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the wealthiest people. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, Chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company, joined the index, which doubled the number of billionaires it tracks Wednesday. Alwaleed's fortune has increased 18.2 percent, or $3.2 billion, this year, as shares of his Kingdom Holding Co. (KINGDOM), a diversified investment group which is planning to build the world's tallest tower, rose 36 percent. The 57-year-old ranks 24th on the index with a net worth of $20.5 billion. “There is no secret to success,” Alwaleed said in an e-mail. “It is based on a sound investment strategy, commitment and long-term vision.” The Bloomberg Billionaires Index keeps track of the world's wealthiest people based on market and economic changes and Bloomberg News reporting. Each net worth figure is updated every business day at 5:30 P.M. in New York. The valuations are listed in US dollars. The expanded list was published with the release of new billionaires profile pages in the Bloomberg Professional service. The profiles feature a transparent analysis of how each billionaire's fortune was calculated. Alwaleed's fortune makes him richer than Google Inc. co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Page ranks 29th with $18.9 billion, while Brin ranks 32nd. He is worth $18.7 billion. The combined wealth of the index is $1.1 trillion. The 40 billionaires have gained a combined $88.2 billion since the start of the year. Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim, 72, remains the richest person in the world, with a fortune of $68.8 billion, down $572.3 million for the day. Second is Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates, 56, with $62.7 billion, followed by Warren Buffett, who is worth $44.6 billion. Buffett, 81, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) (A), said in an April 17 letter to investors that he had been diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer that is “not remotely life threatening.” Mark Zuckerberg, the 27-year-old founder of Facebook Inc. (FB), the world's largest social-networking company, is 25th on the ranking. Based on a roughly $100 billion valuation the Menlo Park, a California-based company which ceased trading April 3 in the private market, Zuckerberg may be worth $20.5 billion, or about 25 percent less than previous estimates, once Facebook holds its initial public offering. The reason: Facebook will issue more than 500 million shares of its Class B stock at the offering, diluting Zuckerberg's ownership to 21 percent after he exercises 120 million options and sells about 42 million shares to cover the tax bill associated with the gain from those options. Lee Shau Kee, who has said he would swap 99 percent of his wealth for 30 years of time, ranks 26th in the world and second in Hong Kong with a net worth of $19.8 billion. Lee, 84, has gained $2.6 billion this year after shares of Henderson Land Development Co., the developer he founded, rose 17 percent. Cheng Yu Tung, the third-richest person in Hong Kong, has a net worth of $18.8 billion. The owner of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd. and property company New World Development Co. Ltd., is ranked 30th in the world. His net worth is down 6.2 percent so far this year. Lakshmi Mittal, the India-born chairman of ArcelorMittal (MT), the world's biggest steelmaker, is in 28th place with $19 billion. In addition to his 41 percent stake in ArcelorMittal, the 61-year-old London resident owns hundreds of millions of dollars in UK real estate. Gina Rinehart, the Australian mining heiress, is worth $18.7 billion, putting her in 31st place on the index. Rinehart, 58, daughter of the man who discovered the mines that made Australia the world's biggest iron ore exporter, owns perpetual royalty rights to some of Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO)'s Hamersley mines in addition to other iron-ore and thermal coal deposits throughout the country. Three of her four children have taken legal action in an effort to remove her as guardian of the family trust. Last month, she lost a bid to keep details of the family litigation private. Newly released documents indicate her four children may have a stake worth as much as $4.7 billion in the trust. Li Ka-shing, 83, is listed as the richest person in Asia with a net worth of $23.9 billion.
