KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Robert Kuok Hock Nien has again made Forbes’ list of top billionaires in the world to rank 104th this year with estimated net worth of US$12.8 billion.
Despite dropping eight places from 96th place in 2018 as net worth decreased from US$14.8 billion, Robert remains Malaysia’s wealthiest person.
This is followed by Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan who was placed 149th on the list with estimated net worth of US$9.4 billion.
Other billionaires from Malaysia who are on the list include Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow who was in the 233rd spot with estimated net worth of US$6.7 billion, Ananda Krishnan (No. 261, US$6.2 billion) and Lee Shin Cheng (No. 325, US$5.4 billion).
On Forbes’ 33rd annual ranking of the world’s billionaires, there are 2,153 billionaires, down from 2,208 in 2018.
The total combined net worth of this year’s billionaires is US$8.7 trillion, down from $9.1 trillion in 2018, according to Forbes.
“This represents the first decrease in billionaires and their combined wealth since 2016 and only the second decrease in the past decade.
“A record 994 individuals are worth less than a year ago; last year only 360 members got poorer,” it said.
Forbes said the average net worth of this year’s billionaires is US$4 billion, down from US$4.1 billion in 2018. Of the total, 1,450 members are self-made.
For the second year running, centi-billionaire Jeff Bezos remained in the top spot, increasing his net worth to $131 billion, up $19 billion from 2018.
Bill Gates, who held the top spot for the longest period of time, remained in the No 2 position with a fortune of US$96.5 billion, up from $90 billion last year.
Forbes said a rise in Amazon’s stock price pushed up Bezos’ net worth, further widening the gap between the top two richest, now the largest since 2001.
Warren Buffett’s net worth fell by US$1.5 billion to US$82.5 billion but secured him the No 3 spot.
Bernard Arnault, held onto his position as the fourth-wealthiest person in the world by increasing his fortune to US$76 billion, up US$4 billion from the previous year; he remains the richest person in Europe for two years running.
Rounding out the top five is telecom magnate Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, who ascended two spots on the list despite a decrease in net wealth of over US$3 billion. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg notably dropped three places to No. 8, as his fortune fell by US$8.7 billion.
Kylie Jenner, at 21 years old, made the 2019 Forbes Billionaires list for the first time. Jenner is the youngest billionaire in the world and the youngest self-made billionaire of all time.
Forbes said Jenner owns 100 per cent of Kylie Cosmetics, the three-year-old beauty business that did an estimated US$360 million in sales last year.
Most of the company’s revenue comes from e-commerce, but the company also has a new deal with Ulta that put its goods in all the makeup retailer’s 1,163 U.S. stores. Jenner was ranked at number 2,057 on this year’s list.