Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2021: Jeff Bezos Tops for Fourth, Elon Musk Ranks Second

 Microsoft founder Gates and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg rank fourth and fifth, respectively.

Forbes' annual world's billionaires list includes a record-breaking 2,755 billionaires, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos topping it for the fourth consecutive year, the media company said on Tuesday.

The ranks of the ultra-wealthy are expanding after a year during which the coronavirus pandemic upended world economies and threatened the livelihoods of individuals across the world .

This year's billionaires are worth a combined $13.1 trillion (roughly Rs. 9,70,22,800 crores), up from $8 trillion (roughly Rs. 5,92,50,560 crores) last year, Forbes said.

"The very, very rich got very, very richer," said Forbes' Chief Content Officer Randall Lane, in an interview with Reuters Video News.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk jumped into second spot on the list, up from 31st last year.

Bernard Arnault, chief executive of luxury goods firm LVMH, Microsoft founder Gates and Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg round out the highest five of the world's richest billionaires.

Investor and business tycoon Warren Buffett fell out of the highest five for the primary time in over 20 years , as tech executives dominate the Forbes rankings.

This year's list has 493 newcomers, including Whitney Wolfe Herd, chief executive of dating app Bumble, which went public this year.

© Thomson Reuters 2021

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