Each year, Forbes employs a team of more than fifty reporters from a variety of countries to track the activity of the world's wealthiest individuals.[2] Preliminary surveys are sent to those who may qualify for make the list. According to Forbes, they received three types of responses – some people try to inflate their wealth, others cooperate but leave out details, and some refuse to answer any questions.[3] Business deals are then scrutinized and estimates of valuable assets – land, homes, vehicles, artwork, etc. – are made. Interviews are conducted to vet the figures and get a better idea of an individual's holdings. Finally, positions in publicly traded stock are priced to market on a date roughly a month before publication. Privately held companies are priced by the prevailing price-to-revenues or price-to-earnings ratios. Known debt is subtracted from assets to get a final estimate of an individual's estimated worth in United States dollars. Since stock prices fluctuate rapidly, an individual's true wealth and ranking at the time of publication may vary from their situation when the list was compiled.[2] Family fortunes dispersed over a large number of individuals are included only if those individuals' holdings are worth more than a billion dollars. However, when a living individual has dispersed his or her wealth to immediate family members, it is included under a single listing provided that individual is still living.[2] Royalty and dictators whose wealth comes from their positions are excluded from the list.[4] Current rankings[edit] In addition to their yearly list, Forbes maintains a top 10 list that is updated daily based on market fluctuations. As of December 13, 2014, the world's 10 wealthiest individuals were as follows:[5] No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Citizenship Source(s) of wealth 1 Bill Gates $80.3 billion 59 United States Microsoft 3 Warren Buffett $71.6 billion 84 United States Berkshire Hathaway 2 Carlos Slim $69.5 billion 74 Mexico Telmex, Grupo Carso 4 Amancio Ortega $60 billion 78 Spain Inditex Group 5 Larry Ellison $50.2 billion 70 United States Oracle Corporation 6 Charles Koch $40.6 billion 79 United States Koch Industries 7 David Koch $40.6 billion 74 United States Koch Industries 8 Christy Walton & family $40.5 billion 59 United States Wal-Mart 9 Jim Walton $39.6 billion 66 United States Wal-Mart 10 Alice Walton $38.2 billion 65 United States Wal-Mart Annual listings[edit] 2014[edit] Main article: The World's Billionaires 2014 Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, added $9 billion to his fortune since 2013 and topped the 2014 billionaire list. He has topped the list 15 of the previous 20 years, but was last number one in 2009.[6] Mexican telecommunication mogul Carlos Slim came in second place after being number one the previous four years. Zara founder Amancio Ortega placed third for the second consecutive year. American investor Warren Buffett was in the top five for the 20th consecutive year, placing fourth.[7] America's Christy Walton was the highest ranking female, placing ninth overall.[1] Aliko Dangote of Nigeria became the first African ever to enter the top 25, with an estimated net worth of $25 billion.[4] A total of 1,645 people made the 2014 billionaire list, representing combined wealth of $6.4 trillion.[7] Of those, a record 268 were newcomers, surpassing 2008's 226 newcomers.[1] One hundred people listed in 2013 failed to make the list.[7] The number of women on the list rose to a record 172 in 2014.[1] Approximately 66% of the list was self-made, 13% achieved their wealth through inheritance alone, and 21% through a mixture of the two.[4] The United States had 492 billionaires on the list, the most of any country.[7] The country also had the most newcomers with 50, and women with 54.[1] China had the second most billionaires with 152, while Russia was third with 111.[7] Algeria, Lithuania, Tanzania, and Uganda were all represented on the list for the first time. Turkey saw the most people drop off the list, 19, due to high inflation in the country.[4] No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Citizenship Source(s) of wealth 1 Increase Bill Gates $76.0 billion Increase 58 United States Microsoft 2 Decrease Carlos Slim & family $72.0 billion Decrease 74 Mexico Telmex, América Móvil, Grupo Carso 3 Steady Amancio Ortega $64.0 billion Increase 77 Spain Inditex Group 4 Steady Warren Buffett $58.2 billion Increase 83 United States Berkshire Hathaway 5 Steady Larry Ellison $48.0 billion Increase 70 United States Oracle Corporation 6 Steady Charles Koch $40.0 billion Increase 78 United States Koch Industries 7 Steady David Koch $40.0 billion Increase 73 United States Koch Industries 8 Increase Sheldon Adelson $38.0 billion Increase 80 United States Las Vegas Sands 9 Increase Christy Walton & family $36.7 billion Increase 58-59 United States Wal-Mart 10 Increase Jim Walton $34.7 billion Increase 65 United States Wal-Mart 2013[edit] Main article: The World's Billionaires 2013 Carlos Slim topped the 2013 billionaire list, marking his fourth consecutive year at the top. Bill Gates remained in second, while Amancio Ortega moved up to third. Oretega's gain of $19.5 billion was the largest of anyone on the list.[8] Warren Buffett failed to make the top three for the first time since 2000, placing fourth. Diesel founder Renzo Rosso was among the top newcomers, debuting with an estimate net worth of $3 billion.[9] A global rise in asset prices, led Forbes editor Randall Lane to declare "It [was] a very good year to be a billionaire". However, it was not a good year to be Eike Batista who fell from seventh to 100th, suffering the largest net loss of anyone on the list.[8] Overall, net gainers outnumbered net losers by 4:1.[9] A record total of 1,426 people made the 2013 list, representing $5.4 trillion of assets.[10] Of those, 442 billionaires hailed from the United States.[8] The Asian-Pacific region had 386 billionaires and Europe 366. The list also featured a record number of newcomers, 210, representing 42 different countries. Sixty people from the 2012 list fell below a billion dollar of assets in 2013 and eight others from the 2012 list died. The Asia-Pacific region had the most drop offs, with 29, followed by the United States with 16. The 2013 list featured 138 women, of which 50 came from the United States. A majority of the list (961 individuals, 67%) was entirely self-made; 184 (13%) inherited their wealth, and 281 (20%) achieved their fortune through a combination of inheritance and business acumen.[10] No. Name Net worth (USD) Age Citizenship Source(s) of wealth 1 Steady Carlos Slim & family $73.0 billion Increase 73 Mexico Telmex, América Móvil, Grupo Carso 2 Steady Bill Gates $67.0 billion Increase 57 United States Microsoft 3 Increase Amancio Ortega $57.0 billion Increase 76 Spain Inditex Group 4 Decrease Warren Buffett $53.5 billion Increase 82 United States Berkshire Hathaway 5 Increase Larry Ellison $43.0 billion Increase 68 United States Oracle Corporation 6 Increase Charles Koch $34.0 billion Increase 77 United States Koch Industries 6 Increase David Koch $34.0 billion Increase 72 United States Koch Industries 8 Increase Li Ka-shing $31.0 billion Increase 84 Hong Kong/Canada Cheung Kong Holdings 9 Increase Liliane Bettencourt & family $30.0 billion Increase 90 France L'Oréal 10 Decrease Bernard Arnault $29.0 billion Decrease 63 France LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton LIST OF 10 RICHEST PEOPLE IMAGES