Bill Gates has once again topped Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of global billionaires.
It’s the second time in a row that the Microsoft founder has been crowned the world’s richest person, and the 16th time in the past 21 years.
Mr Gates’ net worth rose to $79.2bn (£51bn) from $76bn a year earlier, after he unloaded one third of his remaining stake in the tech firm he co-founded in the 1970s.
That sale included a gift of shares worth $1.5bn to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in November 2014, which brought his lifetime giving up to $29.5bn, Forbes said. Most of Mr Gates’ work is now focused on philanthropy through his charity foundation.
Mexico telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim ranked second, worth $77.1bn, while Berkshire Hathaway chief Warren Buffett was third, with $72.7bn.
Mr Buffett’s fortune grew $14.5bn from a year earlier, more than anyone’s else, despite having donated $2.8bn to several charities last July.