Gates, Buffett top record-breaking Forbes Billionaires rankings March 9, 2007, 7.46 am (Singapore time)

NEW YORK - What could a Chinese dumpling maker and Mexican telecom mogul possibly have in common? They're among a record number of wealthy people who held the title of billionaire over the past year.

The tally of billionaires around the globe reached a high of 946, their combined wealth growing 35 per cent to US$3.5 trillion (S$5.3 trillion), according to Forbes magazine's 2007 rankings of the world's richest people.

The rich cashed in on strong equity markets, real estate and commodity prices worldwide, according to Forbes billionaires co-editor Luisa Kroll.

'It's just been kind of an extraordinary year for markets worldwide,' she said.

Leading the list are two men who manage to keep getting richer as they give more and more money away.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates ranked No. 1 for the 13th straight year, beating out friend and fellow philanthropist Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.

Mr Gates' fortune rose US$6 billion to US$56 billion last year, while Mr Buffett garnered in an additional US$10 billion to boost his net worth to US$52 billion.

Only five Americans ranked in the top 20, though they account for 44 per cent of the overall list.

Breathing down Mr Buffett's neck was Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim Helu, who added US$19 billion to his existing fortune, the largest one-year gain over the past decade. With US$49 billion to his name, Mr Helu was just US$3 billion shy of the No. 2 spot.

Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner joined the ranks of the world's richest for the first time, behind new faces Mr Mike Lazaridis and Mr Jim Balsillie, Canadian co-chiefs of Blackberry maker Research In Motion.

Self-made mogul Li Wei, founder of Synear Food Holding, made the list for the first time along with a dozen other Chinese newcomers.

Her company, one of the country's largest producers of frozen food, including sweet and meat dumplings, is an official supplier to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

All bets were off for online gambling moguls Ruth Parasol, Russell DeLeon and Calvin Ayre, who dropped from the list after recent crackdowns limiting offshore gambling websites.

Bumped from the top 20 were the Wal-Mart Stores heirs, who saw their company's stock languish, and Michael Dell, founder of computer maker Dell.

Losing billionaire status entirely was Mr Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, the once-powerful Japanese industrialist who first topped the tally in 1987.

Japan surrendered its title as Asia's leading billionaire locale to India, which boasts 36 megarich on the list.

Russia contributed 53 billionaires and now challenges Germany as home to the most billionaires outside the United States.

Among three Indians in the wealthiest top 20 are Mr Mukesh and Mr Anil Ambani, feuding brothers who got even richer after dividing their fortunes in 2005.

Mr Mukesh Ambani ranked 14th with a US$20.1 billion fortune, while brother Anil came in four places lower at No. 18 with his $18.2 billion (euro13.84 billion).

The methodology of the rankings remains similar to previous years. The magazine confirmed the worth of an individual's holdings in public companies by using the Feb 9 closing stock price, and estimated the value of private companies by evaluating comparable public firms in the industry and by consulting with experts in the field. -- AP