Skip navigation
Watchlist Sponsored By :


Current DateTime: 12:19:10 15 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24355697

FEATURED QUIZZES


Current DateTime: 12:19:10 15 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33793611
  • The Billionaire BFF's

      Philanthropists. Bridge partners. Hockey players. Which responses are based on facts from Buffett's and Gates' real lives?

  • The Many Myths of Coca-Cola

      Can you tell which statements are true, and which ones are just rumors?

  • Think You Understand Markets?

      We've selected some questions from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's test of investor knowledge. See how you do ...


Current DateTime: 12:19:10 15 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24890560
  • Winterizing Your Portfolio

      If 2009 was the winter of our discontent, will 2010 be a winter wonderland for investors? A lot depends on the recovery—or lack thereof.

  • Investor's Guide to Real Estate

      Some even say the long-awaited recovery is here. Regardless, buyers and sellers alike can profit from our guide.

  • Alternative Investing

      Stocks and bonds? Sure. But it's a big world out there for investors.

powered by digg
Meet the World's New 'Richest Person' -- For Now
By: CNBC.com | 29 Oct 2007 | 05:02 PM ET
Text Size

Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries chairman, in file photo from 2002.
AP
Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries chairman, in file photo from 2002.

Mexico's Carlos Slim and Microsoft's Bill Gates have been overtaken in the race to be the "World's Richest Person," at least for today, according to reports from India's news media.

The Economic Times and the Press Trust of India reported Monday that Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and largest shareholder of India's Reliance Industries, surpassed Slim, Gates and the well-known investor Warren Buffett, due to a strong rally in Reliance shares. Ambani owns almost half of Reliance's outstanding stock.

Here's how the Indian reports rank the top five as of today:

  • Mukesh Ambani - $63.2 billion
  • Carlos Slim Helu - $62.2993 billion
  • William (Bill) Gates - $62.29 billion
  • Warren Buffett - $55.9 billion
  • Lakshmi Mittal - $50.9 billion

The ranking appears to be the result of calculations by the Indian news media based on Ambani's and Slim's holdings in publicly traded companies.  Gates' total wealth is more difficult to estimate because he has many private holdings.

Determining who is the world's richest person at any given point in time is not an exact science, although Forbes Magazine publishes a list that is closely followed.  It is updated once a year in the spring, but a magazine spokesman tells us that its India's 40 Richest list will be published in mid-November.  It will include the magazine's current valuation of Ambani's wealth.

Earlier this month, when it published its list of the richest people in the United States, Forbes estimated that Slim and Gates were in a virtual tie for the title of world's richest person.

© 2009 CNBC.com
Tools:
Print EmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Warren Buffett and Bill Gates spoke to Columbia students, and Buffett made the students a startling offer.
  • Brian L. Roberts
  • For the chief of cable company Comcast, growth has been about making deals – generally very large deals.
  • Some companies may start using insurance to shift carbon risk from their balance sheets to maybe... yours?
  • The president and founder of Genesis Today wants to improve America’s health, and thinks Wal-Mart can help.
  • Switzerland's privacy watchdog is taking legal action to force Google to make changes to its Street View service.
  • A wealthy, distracted Texas driver crashed his million-dollar Bugatti Veyron sports car into a salt marsh, say police.
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 01:02:03 15 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 01:02:04 15 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 01:02:04 15 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 01:02:04 15 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters