For the 11th year in a row, Bill Gates tops the Forbes magazine's 2005 billionaires list.
Microsoft founder Gates was tallied with a net worth of US$46.5 billion, slightly less than his $46.6 billion from last year.
Investor Warren Buffett is next with a net worth of $44 billion, up from $42.9 billion in 2004.
Indian steel mogul Lakshmi Mittal sits in the number three spot in 2005 as having a net forth of $25 billion.
Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim Helu came in fourth with $23.8 billion, up from number 17 in 2004; Saudi Arabian investor Prince al-Waleed Bin Talal Al Saud ranked number 5; and Sweden's Ingvar Kamprad, the Ikea magnate, rose to number 6 from number 13 last year.
The number of billionaires grew to a record 691 from 587 last year, and their total net worth rose by $300 billion to $2.2 trillion, Forbes reported.
Rounding out the top 10 were Microsoft's Paul Allen and German supermarket company owner Karl Albrecht. Oracle's Lawrence Ellison returned to the top 10 after slipping to number 12 last year.
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