Ng Zhi Tao 4P2 March 2009

B I L L G AT E S R I C H E S T M A N N O W
Believe it or not, the economic recession has not only affected our lives but
also billionaires’.

The number of billionaire has decreased from 1,125 to

793 this year. That is a 30% drop from last year. 355 lost
huge amounts of money,18 died and 38 newbies made into
the list. The average net worth of billionaires dropped 23%
to US$3 billion. This has never been seen since 2003. Why?
This is because of the outcome of this economic recession.

Previously world’s richest mexican

man, Carlos Slim Helu, who’s certainly
not slim, has dropped to No. 3. His main
sources of income are Telmex and
America Movil. Both are mexican
companies, one is Mexico’s
Telecommunications and the other is
Mexico’s largest mobile network
operator, respectively. He lost US$25
billion due to the turn out of events.
Ouch!

Warren Buffet now rises to No. 2, although he has lost his

own share of fortune. He, too, lost US$ 25 billion. He owns
Berkshire Hathaway which deals with insurance and investments.

And now, Bill Gates. Whose real name in fact is, William Henry Gates III. No
one will ever be surprised that
Gates is the richest man again.
This genius with an IQ of 170, lost
US$18 billion during a period of 12
months. Still, he manages to clinch
World No. 1 as the richest man on
Earth. How does this man still get
so rich even when he’s not
working? Well, he still has shares in
Microsoft and more than half of his
fortune is invested outside
Microsoft, thus, making his money
work for him.

Now that’s what i call rich.