Bill Gates is the richest man in the world, with a net worth of $85 billion, followed by Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, with $83 billion, and Warren Buffett, with $76 billion, according to
a study by Hurun Research Institute of China.
Spanish fashion mogul Amancio Ortega, with $55 billion, and Larry Ellison with $54 billion rounded out the top five.
The report said that the number of billionaires worldwide increased 222 last year to a record 2,089.
In terms of the numbers of billionaires per country, the United States is far and away No. 1, with 537 billionaires. China placed second, with 430. India made the top three for its first time with 97, and Russia fell to fourth, with 93. The United Kingdom came in fifth, with 80.
As for the industries in which the fat cats scored their fortunes, technology topped the list, followed by real estate, manufacturing, investments and retail.
New York was the city with the most billionaires, at 91, followed by Moscow (73), Hong Kong (71), Beijing (68) and London (49).
The rising number of billionaires brings the issue of growing income inequality to the fore. A key point to remember there is that the goal is to help those who aren't well off, not to hurt the wealthy, says former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
"Unless one regards envy as a virtue, the primary reason for concern about inequality is that lower- and middle-income workers have too little, not that the rich have too much," the Harvard professor writes in the
Financial Times.
"So in judging policies relating to inequality, the criterion should be what their impact will be on the middle class and the poor." On that score, we need to provide better healthcare and education to the non-wealthy, Summers argues.