Lists, Forbes World's Richest People | featured news

Mexico's Carlos Slim remains the world's richest man for the fourth year in a row, according to Forbes, while Warren Buffett dropped out of the top three for the first time since 2000. And Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg saw his ranking drop 31 spots as his net worth declined by $4.2 billion.

Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim retained his position atop Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's billionaires on Wednesday with an estimated worth of $69 billion, placing him ahead of Bill Gates at $61 billion and Warren Buffett at $44 billion.

Liang Wengen of Sany Heavy Industry is the new number one with a net worth of $9.3 billion, followed by Robin Li.

They're worth a combined $45 billion, a new record. South Korea's economy is quickly recovering from the recession thanks to rebounding domestic demand and favorable export conditions. So, too, are its wealthiest citizens, who got a boost from a strong won, which is up 20% in the past year (their fortunes are measured in U.S. dollars). The nation's 40 Richest are worth a record $45 billion, up $18 billion from last year and $4 billion from the previous 2008 record.