The global club of billionaires shrank by 21 over the past year amid slumping stock markets, with Bill Gates still on top with some $40.7 billion, according to the latest survey from Forbes magazine.
In its annual list of the world's billionaires, the magazine noted that most lost money and the number of global billionaires has dropped to 476 from 497 last year and 538 in 2001. The names at the top of the list of fabulously wealthy were largely the same as a year earlier, albeit somewhat less rich.
Gates, the 47-year-old co-founder of Microsoft, had an estimated $52.8 billion a year ago, but like many others saw his fortunes melt down in the global stock market slump.
Even legendary investor Warren Buffett - number two on the Forbes list - was unable to avoid losing money, and now has an estimated net worth of $30.5 billion, down $4.5 billion from a year ago.
German brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht, the reclusive owners of the Aldi supermarket chain, were listed as the number three global fortune with $25.6 billion, down from $26.8 billion in 2002.
Microsoft accounted for two others in the 20 richest, including co-founder Paul Allen at number four ($20.1 billion) and current chief executive Steve Ballmer at number 16 ($11.1 billion).
Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud was listed as the fifth richest, with investments worth $17.7 billion, down from $20 billion a year ago.
Ranked sixth was Gates' high-tech arch-rival, Larry Ellison of Oracle, worth some $16.6 billion. Five members of the Walton family - heirs to the fortune of the Wal-Mart retail group - occupied the number seven to number 11 spots of the rirchest, each with $16.6 billion. They are Alice, Helen, Jim, John and S Robson Walton.
Next on the list at number 12 was 80-year-old Frenchwoman Liliane Bettencourt, heir to the l'Oreal fortune with some €14.9 billion.
Number 13 on the list was Canadian publishing magnate Kenneth Thomson and his family, with $14.5 billion, followed by Sweden's Ikea chief Ingvar Kamprad ($13 billion); Swedish Tetra-Pak packaging heir Birgit Rausing and family ($12.9 billion); Metromedia chairman John Kluge ($10.5 billion); Cox media tycoons Barbara Cox Anthony and Anne Cox Chambers ($10.3 billion each) and Spain's apparel entrepreneur Amancio Ortega ($10.3 billion).
