There were 1,826 billionaires this year - up from 1,645 in 2014 . Bill Gates 's net worth rose to $ 79.2 billion in 2015 from $ 76 billion the last 21 years . The co-founder of Microsoft has topped the list for 16 of last year . In second place was telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helu , with a net worth of $ 77.1 bn , third was investor Warren Buffett , with $ 72.7 billion .
There were 1,826 billionaires this year - up from 1,645 in 2014 . Bill Gates 's net worth rose to $ 79.2 billion in 2015 from $ 76 billion last year . The co-founder of Microsoft has topped the list for 16 of the last 21 years . In second place was telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helu , with a net worth of $ 77.1 bn , third was investor Warren Buffett , with $ 72.7 billion .