NEW YORK, March 9: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is still the richest man in the world, but his lead over other entrepreneurs is narrowing, according to Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires published on Thursday.

Despite Gates leading the rich list for a 13th straight year with $56 billion, US investment guru Warren Buffett’s personal fortune climbed to $52 billion, halving the software mogul’s lead.

Some 36 Indian billionaires led by steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal now featured on the list boasting a total wealth of $191 billion between them, knocking out Japan after two decades as the leading Asian power on the list.

There were now a record 946 billionaires in the world, up more than 150 from last year, with then magazine attributing the increase to a commodities boom, the march of technology and the relative weakness of the US dollar.

The list’s net worth grew 35 per cent from last year to $3.5 trillion, with Mexican telecoms mogul Carlos Slim Helu jumping into third place with a $19 billion increase in his net worth.

“This growth in the billionaires list is a mere reflection of a dynamic global economy. More people are better off on this Earth than ever before,” said Steve Forbes, the magazine’s editor in chief, unveiling the list.

“This boom goes beyond commodities. One of the things that has facilitated this global boom, bringing hundreds of millions of people into the global economy is, of course, technology,” he said.

“This is the richest year in human history.”

While the 20th annual list was dominated as usual by US businessmen, Russian oligarchs and Asian entrepreneurs -- especially those from India and China -- were increasingly making their presence felt.

Japanese businessman Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, whose real estate assets once made him the richest man in the world, slid off the list, with Softbank chief Masayoshi Son taking the top Japanese spot with $5.8 billion.

But India’s dominance would be overturned if China and Hong Kong were lumped together with their total of 41 billionaires, led, respectively, by Hong Kong property magnate Li Ka-shing and China’s paper manufacturer Yan Cheung.

“It was a sizzling year in Asia. Both India and China saw huge gains,” said Forbes associate editor Luisa Kroll, who oversaw the report. “It seems we just can’t get away from billionaires.”

In Europe, the most excitement came from Russia and Spain, Kroll explained, with 10 new Spanish names on the list and 19 Russian newcomers.

“The Russians are, on average, 46 years old. That’s 16 years younger than the average 62-year-old billionaires,” she said.

Forbes, however, urged some caution, saying some of the fortunes in the former Soviet Union did not appear sustainable in the long term. “If there is a fall-off of commodity prices... does it have the breadth and depth to take up the slack?” he asked of the Russian economy.

Oil kingpin and Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich remained on top in Russia with $18.7 billion, with his 52 billionaire countrymen owing their fortunes mainly to oil, steel, mining and metals.The richest woman on the list was Liliane Bettencourt, 84, of France, the daughter of L'Oreal founder Eugene Schueller, who ranked at number 12 with $20.7 billion.

The youngest billionaire was a German, Albert von Thurn Und Taxis, 23, who inherited his wealth that includes 30,000 hectares of woodland. He lives with his mother and older sisters in a family castle in Regensburg.

Another of the youngest billionaires was self-made, China's William Ding, 36, who started his company, NetEase, as an Internet portal and then shifted the focus to online gaming.

In the Middle East, Turkey emerged with the most billionaires, beating Saudi Arabia into second place and Israel into third.

Howard Schultz of Starbucks was a new entrant to the list. Former Disney chief Michael Eisner also made his debut, thanks mostly to his rising stock in the company.

Other familiar faces were Google executives Larry Page and Sergey Brin, now worth $16.6 billion each, Dell founder Michael Dell worth $15.8 billion and former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi with $11.8 billion. Google’s rise was emblematic of the rapid growth in fortunes of more than just a handful of entrepreneurs in recent years.

“In the last five years... despite all the turmoil in the world, all the conflict in the world, the global economy in real terms expanded over 25 per cent. Never in history has there been such an advance,” said Steve Forbes.—AFP