Itongadol/AJN.- This is the first time since 2007 that the Jewish gambling magnate has made it to the top ten.
American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has made it into the top ten of Forbes\’ annual billionaires list for the first time since 2007.
The Jewish gambling tycoon, who placed eighth, made an average of $32 million a day over the last year – the third-most of anyone in the world. Adelson\’s fortune grew by $11.2 billion last year, according to Forbes, which published the list on Monday.
Also in the top ten of the 2014 Forbes Billionaires list was Mexican media mogul Carlos Slim Helu, who slipped from first place, which he has occupied for the past four years, to second place. Slim is valued at $72 billion. Microsoft founder Bill Gates returned to the top spot after his four-year hiatus. Gates has ranked number one on the list for 15 of the last 20 years, Forbes said. Gates is worth some $76 billion, and saw his fortune increase $9 billion this past year.
The man behind Spanish clothing chain Zara, Amancio Ortega stayed at number three and. U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffett placed once again at number four.
Eighteen Israelis made it onto this year\’s list, including shipping magnates Eyal Ofer who ranked at number 191 with a net worth of $7 billion, and his brother Idan, who placed at number 244 with a net worth of $5.7 billion.
One of the 268 newcomers on the list, which is in its 28th year, was Jan Koum who recently sold his mobile messaging startup Whatsapp to Facebook for $19 billion. Koum, who placed 202, has a net worth of $6.8 billion, according to Forbes.
Facebook itself had a good year, too. The biggest dollar gainer on the list was Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who placed 21 after his fortune ballooned from $15.2 billion to $28.5 billion. The company\’s COO Sheryl Sandberg made it into the rankings for the first time, with a net worth of $1.05 billion at number 1,540. So did the company’s vice president, Jeff Rothschild, who placed 1,372 with a net worth of $1.2 billion.
Two-thirds of the billionaires on the list were self-made, 13 percent inherited fortunes and 21 percent built on their inheritances, Forbes said. However, it was a bad year for some. Turkey lost 19 billionaires, and Indonesia lost eight. 100 people dropped out of the ranking, and another 16 who on last year\’s list passed away.