Bill Gates named world's richest person for 16th time

Baku. 3 March. REPORT.AZ/ Bill Gates has retained his title as the world’s richest person, an American business magazine said Monday.

The fortune of the Microsoft co-founder grew $3.2 billion since last year to $79.2 billion, according to Forbes' list of 2015's richest people. Gates has held the title for 16 of the past 21 years.

Report informs, the magazine said there is now a record 1,826 billionaires with an aggregate net worth of $7.05 trillion. The figure topped 2014's record-breaking $6.4 trillion sum by $650 billion.

The list included 290 newcomers, 71 of whom are from China.

Also in the top five are Mexican entrepreneur Carlos Slim Helu ($77.1 billion), American investor Warren Buffett ($72.7 billion), Spanish fashion mogul Amancio Ortega ($64.5 billion) and Oracle Corporation founder Lanai Larry Ellison ($54.3 billion).

At $33.4 billion, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg moved up 5 spots to number 16, his first time ranking among the world’s 20 richest.

Arguably the most renowned newcomer in the list is basketball legend Michael Jordan, with a net worth of $1 billion.

Most of Jordan’s wealth comes from his Nike subsidiary -- Brand Jordan -- and his stake in the NBA team Charlotte Hornets, according to Forbes.