The billionaire boom

MY WORD!

The line up looked familiar when Forbes Magazine announced its Billionaire list a few days ago. There at the top was the still boyish face of Microsoft's Bill Gates.

He was followed once again by the ageing Sage of Omaha Warren Buffett, who has shown that he hasn't forgotten a single trick when it comes to the art of moneymaking.

But look closely at the numbers and it's extraordinary how Buffett has closed the gap in the last four years. Back in those days, software billionaires could do no wrong and Bill G. was worth around $ 90 billion, give or take a few billion. Buffett was far behind in the $ 30 billion range. Today only $ 4 billion separates them.

Are Rich Lists always indicative of world economic trends? To a certain extent the answer must be yes and this year's Forbes List is no exception. At the top, Buffett, the consummate moneyman who plays a long hand, is catching up with Gates.

At another level, the descendants of Sam Walton are collectively worth around $ 100 billion. Even if you add up other Microsoft billionaires like Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer they fall behind the collective wealth of the Waltons.

What does it mean when retailers and moneymen zip past the techie geniuses in the billionaire stakes? Perhaps the world's economic fulcrum has shifted once again. A decade ago, the list was dominated by Japanese real estate dons who have mostly faded into relative obscurity.

Now the software kings are slipping ever so slightly from the top rungs. They aren't about to vanish from the wealth charts but their days of effortless domination could be drawing to an end. They'll need a New Big Thing to stay at the top.

What are the other trends evident from this year's Billionaire List? Firstly, it's important to note that there are more billionaires than ever before.

According to Forbes there are a record 587 billionaires. That includes 64 newcomers from 19 countries. What's more, their collective wealth has jumped to $1.9 trillion "" a sensational half a trillion dollars more than last year. Hopefully, the fact that there are more billionaires from more parts of the world bodes well for the global economy this year.

India has nine billionaires which isn't bad going. One new Indian star is Anil Aggarwal who has zoomed into the pages of Forbes after listing Vedanta on the London Stock Exchange. This has been a good year for commodities and Aggarwal is one of the beneficiaries. Another Indian Lakshmi Mittal has become a giant-sized winner as steel prices zoom.

The Russians and the Chinese have demonstrated that they are clearly the countries to be watched in coming years. There are now 25 Russian billionaires "" that's eight new ones this year. What's more, 23 live in Moscow which, therefore, becomes the No. 2 city in the world for billionaires after New York. The main reason for the sudden jump in Russian billionaires is the oil boom around the world.

By contrast, however, it should be mentioned that the Chinese are still slow off the blocks when it comes to the billionaire stakes "" mainly because of the Communist legacy. China's sole billionaire, Larry Yung made his money in real estate, one of the country's hottest sectors.

Also, he smartly invested in steel and that has pushed his net worth up in recent months. Even though mainland China doesn't have too many billionaires yet, it's safe to bet there will be more soon.

The arrival of J K Rowling in the billionaire list is indicative of the way the world has been moving for the last decade. In today's world it's the top sportsmen, comedians and TV stars who are making it big in an era of endorsement and global advertising. Another colourful newcomer is Guy Laliberte who created the Cirque du Soleil entertainment extravaganza.

When Forbes started its Billionaire List about 20 years ago, it probably didn't expect to be tracking showbiz stars like Laliberte and authors like Rowling. But the world has changed enormously in the last two decades and so have the ways of amassing wealth.