The three richest persons last year are still the three richest in 2019, but only much richer, for two of them, at least.
Jeff Bezos saw his net worth balloon by $19 billion in one year to $131 billion, according to the 33rd annual ranking of the Forbes World's Billionaires list. A rise in Amazon's stock price increased Bezos' net worth, further, widening the gap between Bezos and Bill Gates, which is now the largest since 2001.
Despite giving billions to charity, Gates' net worth jumped to $96.5 billion compared to $90 billion in 2018. Investment guru Warren Buffett, 88 and the oldest of the three, saw his fortune fall by $1.5 billion to $82.5 billion.
Frenchman Bernard Arnault remained the fourth-wealthiest person in the world by increasing his fortune to $76 billion, up $4 billion from 2018. 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 rose two places on the list despite a decrease in net wealth of over $3 billion. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg dropped three places to No. 8, as his fortune fell by $8.7 billion
By the way, Donald Trump placed 715th with a wealth pile of $3.1 billion (the same as last year's). Trump actually improved his standing as he was 766th last year.
There are 2,153 billionaires on the 2019 list, which is lower than the 2,208 in 2018. The total combined net worth of this year's billionaires is $8.7 trillion, down from $9.1 trillion in 2018.
This massive wealth is the first decrease in billionaires and their combined wealth since 2016. Forbes also said this was only the second decrease over the past decade.
The report also shows a record 994 individuals are worth less than a year ago comnpared to last year when 360 members got poorer. The average net worth of this year's billionaires is $4 billion, down from $4.1 billion in 2018. Of the total, 1,450 billionaires and millionaires are self-made.
"The billionaire ranks prove that even the world's richest are not immune to economic forces and the volatility of world markets," said Luisa Kroll, Assistant Managing Editor of Wealth, Forbes. "Yet, even with strong headwinds, resourceful and relentless entrepreneurs find new ways to get rich."
Notable this year was the large number of drop-offs in China, and the weakening of the euro vs. the dollar, which trimmed the dollar value of European fortunes, according to Kerry Dolan, Assistant Managing Editor of Wealth at Forbes.
At 21 years old, Kylie Jenner made the list for the first time. She is the youngest billionaire in the world and the youngest self-made billionaire of all time.
Jenner owns 100% of Kylie Cosmetics, a three-year-old beauty business with some $360 million in sales in 2018. Most of the company's revenue is derived from e-commerce. Jenner was ranked number 2,057 on this year's list.
The Top 20 billionaires have a combined net worth of $1.2 trillion. Forbes said this is unchanged from 2018 but is the highest amount ever. Their aggregate wealth represents 14% of all billionaires. The minimum net worth to make the Top 20 was $38.8 billion, $200 million less than 2018.
There are 252 women on this year's billionaires list, down from 256 in 2018. This number (252) includes 9 women who share their fortunes with their husband, son or brother.
There are also 195 billionaires new to the list. China has the most newcomers with 44. The U.S. has 39 newcomers while 18 are from Brazil. China also had the most drop-offs with 102.
