Gates retakes top spot on Bloomberg’s rich list, Slim slips to second
A surging stock market helped Microsoft founder Bill Gates retake the title of world’s richest man, according to Bloomberg’s latest tally of the world’s wealthiest. A surge in Microsoft shares—they hit a five-year high today—assisted Gates in bumping Mexico’s telecom billionaire Carlos Slim out of the top spot.
Bloomberg valued Slim’s net worth at a cool $72.1 billion. Not too shabby. But Gates’ net worth now clocks in at around $72.7 billion, by Bloomberg’s reckoning. Slim’s fortune is centered in his control of América Móvil, the dominant provider of telecom services in Mexico. And shares of the company are down roughly 24% over the last year, amid a push by the Mexican government to crack América Móvil’s influence in the Mexican market, which looks distinctly monopolistic to many. For the record, though, Gates is no stranger to accusations of anti-competitive behavior himself.
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