Slim hat trick: Carlos tops Forbes list again

Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican telecommunications mogul, is the world’s richest man for a third straight year, according to the annual Forbes list.

His value is $69 billion, and he leads the top three ahead of Microsoft founder Bill Gates ($61 billion) and Berkshire Hathaway investor Warren Buffet ($44 billion).

This is the 25th year Forbes has compiled the list, Reuters reported, and it includes more than 1,200 billionaires. Those on the list boast an average worth of $3.7 billion.

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Helu's fortune also includes assets from retail, finance, commodities and energy. The 72-year-old Helu has six children and 19 grandchildren, but lost his wife to cancer in 1999.

The United States is the country with the most billionaires (425) while Moscow is the world’s richest city with 78 billionaires, Reuters said. European billionaires round out the top five.

Bernard Arnault –chief executive of the French luxury goods manufacturer LVMH – is fourth ($41 billion), while Amancio Ortego, the founder of Spanish fashion company Zara, is fifth ($37.5 billion).

Christy Walton of Wal-Mart is the first woman on the list at No. 11 ($25.3 billion), but she shares the fortune with her family.

Forbes considers Liliane Bettencourt of L’Oreal Cosmetics to be the world’s richest woman, although dementia forced to resign her post on the board. Her daughter, Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, has guardianship of the $24-billion fortune, Forbes said.

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