Forbes estimated Buffetts worth at $62 billion, and noted that his fortune grew by $10 billion last year.
Even though he is giving away a piece of his fortune each year, the stock of Berkshire Hathaway, the source of Warren Buffett's wealth, has been rising very rapidly, said Steve Forbes, CEO of Forbes.
In June 2006, Buffett said he plans to give away 85% of his fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four other family charities.
Gates held the No. 1 spot since 1995, after unseating Japanese real estate tycoon Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, who has been sentenced to prison for falsifying financial statements and insider trading. Gates held the top spot for 13 years, but dropped to third place this year, with an estimated worth of $58 billion.
In second place is Carlos Slim, a Mexican telecom tycoon, with an estimated worth of $60 billion.
The magazine said there are 469 billionaires in the U.S., with a combined worth of $1.6 trillion. There are 656 billionaires living outside the U.S., with a combined worth of $2.8 trillion. The rise in billionaires outside the U.S. is partly due to the decline of the U.S. dollar, and the Forbes list is tabulated in U.S. dollars.
