Indian billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani, 50, became the world’s richest man yesterday, overtaking Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helu, as the value of his stake in refinery-to-textiles giant Reliance Industries and two other group companies swelled, a direct result of the strong performance witnessed in the Indian stock markets recently.
Only last month, he overtook steel czar Lakshmi Mittal to become the richest Indian in the world.
The list of the five richest people in the world and their net worths is as follows now:
1. Mukesh Ambani ($63.2 billion)
2. Carlos Slim Helu ($62.2993 billion)
3. Bill Gates ($62.29 billion)
4. Warren Buffett ($55.9 billion)
5. Lakshmi Mittal ($50.9 billion)
How long he’ll be able to hold onto the title of ‘Richest man in the world’ is another matter that remains to be seen. Poor Carlos Slim didn’t hold on to it for too long.