– This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on March 23, Thursday.
Welcome to CNBC Business Daily, I'm Qian Chen.
Here comes the annual Forbes billionaire list.
Overall it has been a good 12 months for the world's wealthiest individuals, with a record 233 moving into the billionaire bracket, taking the global number of people with nine-zero fortunes to 2,043 - the most in the 31-year history of the list.
The billionaires in Forbes' list are worth a combined $7.67 trillion.
The US accounts for the biggest population of billionaires with 565, up 25 on last year. But China is catching up with 319 billionaires. Germany is third with 114 billionaires.
The number of women on the list increased to 227, from 202 in 2016. A record 56 of the women are self-made billionaires - the highest ever.
Looking at the individuals, here's the top 3 list.
Reigning champ Bill Gates held onto the No.1 spot for the fourth year in a row with $86 billion, Forbes reported (up from $75 billion last year) and with the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, taking back the second spot after surging $14.8 billion to $75.6 billion.Bezos from Amazon rounded out the top three with a total of $72.8 billion.
Something interesting to notice at the same time - President Trump slid dramatically on the billionaire's list, dropping 220 spots from No. 324 to a 20-way tie for 544th place.
CNBC's Qian Chen, reporting from Singapore.