The rich list

Suppose as I'm doing lists I'd better cover the new Forbes rich list out today, the top ten are:

FORBES TOP 10 (in $bn)
Warren Buffett (US): 62
Carlos Slim (Mexico): 60
Bill Gates (US): 58
Lakshmi Mittal (India): 45
Mukesh Ambani (India): 43
Anil Ambani (India): 42
Ingvar Kamprad (Sweden): 31
KP Singh (US): 30
Oleg Deripaska (Russia): 28
Karl Albrecht (Germany): 27

10 facts about the list

1. A record 1,125 individuals with a combined net worth of $4.4 trillion made it into Forbes' 2008 list of billionaires.

2. Never before in human history have so many people in so many parts of the world advanced so quickly economically

3. Two-thirds of those on the list are classified as self-made billionaires, and 50 of them are under the age of 40.

4. Mark Zuckerberg, 23, the founder of the social networking site Facebook, joins the list as the world's youngest billionaire.

5. Bill Gates was the world's richest man for 13 years - but no more
His $1.5bn fortune makes him the world's 785th richest person, Forbes reports.

6. Patrice Motsepe joins the list as South Africa's first black billionaire with a net worth of $2.4bn.

7. The world's richest woman is the French L'Oreal chief, Liliane Bettencourt, 17th on the Forbes list with a net wealth of $22.9bn.

8. Other inclusions in the ultra-rich list include US chat-show host Oprah Winfrey, ($2.5bn), property mogul Donald Trump ($3bn), and Harry Potter author JK Rowling ($1bn).

9. If the top 100 hundred on this list clubbed together they could clear the entire national debt of the third world and still make it onto the list next year

10. I've run out of facts so here's the link to the forbes site to find out more for yourself - http://www.forbes.com/