Family business owners dominate list of billionaires

Carlos Slim, who controls Mexican conglomerate Grupo Carso, is the richest person in the world, with a fortune of about $68.5 billion (€51.9 billion).

That’s according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index – a new list that looks at how the fortunes of the world’s 20 richest people are faring every day.

Although Slim lost $478.4 million on 2 March, he still ranked ahead of Bill Gates ($62.4 billion) and Warren Buffett ($43.8 billion), respectively second and third on the list.

Family businesses are largely responsible for the fortunes of many of those on the list, including three descendants of Sam Walton, the man who founded supermarket giant Walmart. Christy, Jim and Samuel Walton are among the 20 richest people in the world, according to Bloomberg.

Ingvar Kamprad, the man behind Ikea, is currently ranked fourth, while brothers Charles and David Koch have another family business, Koch Industries, to thank for their inclusion.

Liliane Bettencourt, whose father founded Paris-based cosmetics company L’Oréal, also made the top 20, as did LVMH’s Bernard Arnault, H&M’s Stefan Persson and Inditex’s Amancio Ortega.

Mukesh Ambani, who controls Reliance Industries, was named as the richest in Asia, while Lakshmi Mittal, behind family-controlled business ArcelorMittal, is also being tracked by Bloomberg.

Bloomberg will update the ranking every day, using changes in markets and the economy, as well as estimates, to ascribe wealth. Shares in publicly traded companies are valued at the most recent closing trading price, using dollar conversions.