Bill Gates is once again the world’s richest person

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billgates

Bill Gates may never have creatively made the same impact on computing that Steve Jobs did, but we doubt he’s too upset about it, since according to Forbes‘ newly-published annual ranking of global billionaires, the former Microsoft mastermind-turned-philanthropist is once again the world’s richest person.

And you know what the crazy bit is? Gates earned more money last year from his return on capital than he ever did from Microsoft wages. Wowza!

This is the second time in a row that the Microsoft founder has been named the wealthiest individual on the planet, although he doesn’t exactly have a bad record when you look back over the decades: having topped the list 16 times over the past 21 years.

He beat Mexico telecommunications giant Carlos Slim, whose total holdings shuffled in at a measly $77.1bn, and legendary investor Warren Buffett who has savings worth $72.7bn. Steve Jobs friend and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison was fifth on the list, while Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was listed in the 16th place. Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell Jobs was valued at $19.5 billion. The two youngest billionaires were Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy (aged just 24 and 25 respectively), who co-founded a little app called Snapchat.

Kind of makes you think about how you’ve spent your last few years, doesn’t it?

 

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