Facebook founder drops off of Forbes list

Bambi Francisco Roizen · March 12, 2009 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/753

Bill Gates regains No. 1 title; 38 new billionaires added

The financial downturn has taken a toll on the world's billionaires. And, those who made the Forbes' billionaire list - at least on paper - last year, like Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have been bumped off. 

Last year, Zuckerberg's net worth, as noted by Forbes, was $1.5 billion. He lost at least $600 million. Now Zuckerberg, who was the youngest in the world a year ago, is now a super rich youth. It's not a bad showing for Zuckerberg, it just underscores how Facebook lacks a killer revenue model. 

The 2009 billionaire's club as measured by Forbes, have an average net worth of $3 billion, down 23% from last year. The number of billionaires stand at 793, down 30% from 1,125 a year ago.

 Warren Buffett, who ranked No. 1 last year, saw his holdings slashed in half, or $25 billion.

Bill Gates regained his title as richest man, lost $18 billion.

But while others lost money or their ranking, new faces appeared on the list.

Thirty eight new billionaires were added to the list. Only 11 of whom inherited all or part of their fortunes. The other self-made men/women became wealthy in businesses ranging from hospitals to fertilizer. Others have made their fortune from illegal drugs, like Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka "Shorty." According to Forbes, he's also one of the world's most wanted men, as heads a top-drug trafficking syndicate.

Larry Page, co-founder of Google, remains on the list, with a net worth of $12 billion. Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, is also on the list. Microsoft's Steve Ballmer is on the list with $11 billion in net worth.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is on the top 50 list, even though he lost 65% of his net worth in the last 12 months.

 
Image Description

Bambi Francisco Roizen

Founder and CEO of Vator, a media and research firm for entrepreneurs and investors; Managing Director of Vator Health Fund; Co-Founder of Invent Health; Author and award-winning journalist.

All author posts