Bill Gates turns third richest

The wealth of Ethiopian born Saudi business tycoon Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi reaches nine billion birr, while his rank amongst world billionaires dropped 20 places to stand at 97th, according to Forbes, a monthly business magazine publishing the list of world billionaires every year.

Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi made his fortune in construction and real estate before betting on energy, according to Forbes. Currently the business tycoon operates some 35 companies in Ethiopia under the name of MIDROC where he is the single largest foreign investor.

He owns Swedish refinery Preem as well as Svenska Petroleum, which made big plays in Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria and Angola this year, according to Forbes.

After 13 years on top, Bill Gates is no longer the richest man in the world, that honor presently belonging to Warren Buffett, who was ranked the third richest last year. "Riding the surging price of Berkshire Hathaway stock, Buffett has seen his fortune swell to an estimated $62 billion, up $10 billion from a year ago," Forbes stated.

Gates is now worth $58 billion and is ranked third richest in the world. He is up $2 billion from a year ago, but would have been as rich--or richer--than Buffett, had Microsoft not made an unsolicited bid for Yahoo! at the beginning of February, the magazine reported. Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helú now ranks as the world's second richest person with a net worth of $60 billion.

The 22nd annual rankings of the World's Billionaires reflect all sorts of upheavals in the list's makeup, according to the magazine. "Two years ago, half of the world's 20 richest were from the U.S. Now only four are. India wins bragging rights for having four among the top 10, more than any other country," the magazine reported.

For the first time ever, the number of billionaires Forbes could identify crossed into four figures, reaching 1,125. The total net worth of the group is $4.4 trillion, up $900 billion from last year, according to Forbes. Americans account for 42% of the world's billionaires and 37% of the total wealth; those shares are down two and three percentage points, respectively, from last year.

Sixteen years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia, with 87 billionaires, is the new No. 2 country behind the U.S., easily overtaking Germany, with 59 billionaires, which held the honor for six years, the magazine reported.

The rankings include 226 newcomers, including four of those from Africa. Seventy-seven of the new faces come from the U.S., half of whom made their fortunes in finance and investments, according to Forbes.

By Hayal Alemayehu