TOP TEN RICHEST PEOPLE OF THE WORLD

Warren Buffet

Net Worth: $62.0 billion
Fortune: self made

America's most beloved investor is now the world's richest man. Soared past friend and bridge partner Bill Gates as shares of Berkshire Hathaway (nyse: BRKA - news - people ) climbed 25% since the middle of last July. Son of Nebraska politician delivered newspapers as a boy. Filed first tax return at age 13, claiming $35 deduction for bicycle. Studied under value investing guru Benjamin Graham at Columbia. Took over textile firm Berkshire Hathaway 1965. Today holding company invested in insurance (Geico, General Re), jewelry (Borsheim's), utilities (MidAmerican Energy (other-otc: MDPWL.PK - news - people ) , food (Dairy Queen, See's Candies). Also has noncontrolling stakes in Anheuser-Busch (nyse: BUD - news - people ) Coca-Cola (nyse: KO - news - people ) Wells Fargo (nyse: WFC - news - people

Carlos Slim Helu
Net Worth: $60.0 billion
Fortune: self made

Second-richest man in the world this year; even richer than Microsoft's Bill Gates, at least for now, thanks to strong Mexican equities market and the performance of his wireless telephone company, America Movil (nyse: AMX - news - people ) The son of a Lebanese immigrant, Slim made his first fortune in 1990 when he bought fixed line operator Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) in a privatization. In December, America Movil struck a deal with Yahoo (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ) to provide mobile Web services to 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. A widower and father of six, Slim is a baseball fan and art collector. He keeps his art collection in Mexico City's Museo Soumaya, which he named after his late wife

BILL GATES
Net Worth: $58.0 billion
Fortune: self made

Harvard dropout and Microsoft visionary no longer the world's richest man. Blame Yahoo: Microsoft shares have fallen 15% since the company boldly attempted to merge with the search engine giant to better fight Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) for Internet dominance. Gates is preparing to give up day-to-day involvement in the company he cofounded 33 years ago to spend more time focused on his philanthropic endeavors. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has $38.7 billion in assets, donates to causes aimed at bringing financial tools to the poor, speeding up the development of vaccines (for AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis), bettering America's lagging high schools

LAKSHMI MITTAL
Net Worth: $45.0 billion
Fortune: inherited and growing

Heads world's largest steelmaker, $105 billion (sales) ArcelorMittal, which accounts for 10% of all crude steel production. Just delivered 580 tons to be used in construction of the World Trade Center memorial in New York. With 44% stake, is the company's largest shareholder. Longtime resident of London is Europe's richest resident

MUKESH AMBANI
Net Worth: $43.0 billion
Fortune: inherited and growing

Asia's richest resident heads petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company by market cap. His fortune is up $22.9 billion since last year, making him the world's second biggest gainer in terms of dollars. The biggest gainer was his estranged brother Anil, who ranks 6th in the world just behind his older brother. The sons inherited their fortune from their late father, renowned industrialist Dhirubhai Amba

ANIL AMBANI
Net Worth: $42.0 billion
Fortune: inherited

The year's biggest gainer, Anil Ambani, is up $23.8 billion in the past year, and is closing gap with estranged brother, Mukesh, who ranks one spot ahead of him in the world at number five. The sons inherited their fortune from their late father, renowned industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani.. A marathon runner, his biggest asset is his 65% stake in telecom venture Reliance Communications. He recently raised $3 billion from the highly anticipated initial offering of his Reliance Power, the biggest in India's history

INQYAR KAMPRAD
Net Worth: $31.0 billion
Fortune: self made

Peddled matches, fish, pens, Christmas cards and other items by bicycle as a teenager. Started selling furniture in 1947. Now his company Ikea, which sells hip designs for the cost conscious, is one of the most beloved retailers in the world, with an almost cultlike following. Ikea now has stores in 40 countries, from Sunrise, Florida, to Guangzhou in China. As egalitarian as his brand, Kamprad avoids wearing suits, flies economy class and frequents cheap restaurants

KP SINGH
Net Worth: $30.0 billion
Fortune: inherited and growing

Singh is now the world's richest real estate baron after listing his real estate development company DLF in 2007. The offering helped triple his fortune to $30 billion this year, up from $10 billion. A former army officer, known as K.P., he joined his father-in-law's Delhi Land & Finance in 1961. Singh later built DLF City in Gurgaon, his showpiece township on the outskirts of Delhi, by acquiring land from farmers. Over time, he transformed it into one of India's biggest real estate developers

OLEQ DERIPASKA
Net Worth: $28.0 billion
Fortune: self made

Former metals trader survived the gangster wars in the post-Soviet aluminum industry. His holding company, Basic Element, now owns Russian Aluminum (UC Rusal), automobile manufacturer GAZ, aircraft manufacturer Aviacor and insurance company Ingosstrakh. In 2006 Rusal, SUAL and Glencore International, of Switzerland, merged their aluminum assets into the United Company Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer. Married to a relative of Yeltsin, Deripaska has been busy expanding UC Rusal's activities in Russia and abroad

LI KA -SHING
Net Worth: $26.5 billion
Fortune: self made

Once a poor immigrant, Li got his start selling plastic flowers in Hong Kong in the 1950s. Now Hong Kong's richest person. His fortune is centered on conglomerates Cheung Kong (other-otc: CHEUY.PK - news - people ) and Hutchison Whampoa (other-otc: HUWHY.PK - news - people ) Through them, he is the world's largest operator of container terminals, world's largest health and beauty retailer, a major supplier of electricity to Hong Kong and a real estate developer. Hutchison Essar sold its stake in an Indian mobile business for $11 billion in 2007; the group still has other telecom interests. Li also has a $12 billion stake in Canadian oil company Husky Energy