Forbes 2010 Ranking of Richest People in World - Carlos Slim At Top

Forbes came out with their rankings of the richest people in the world. Mexican magnate Carlos Slim took the top spot, the first time since 1994 that either Bill Gates or Warren Buffet didn't top the list. He has a net worth estimated at $55.3 billion.

Slim owns a bunch of companies including:

• American Movil - Wireless carrier in Mexico, South America, and US. In the US it is the biggest carrier of prepaid phone service.
• Telefonos de Mexico SAB - Mexico's largest land-line carrier.
• The NY Times, Sanborn's department stores, as well as other retail and industrial companies.

The top 10 wealthiest people in the world according to Forbes are:

1. Carlos Slim - $55.3 billion - Mexico
2. Bill Gates - $53 billion - US
3. Warren Buffet - $47 billion - US
4. Mukesh Ambani - $29 billion - India
5. Lakshmi Mittal - $28.7 billion - India
6. Larry Ellison - $28 billion - US
7. Bernard Arnault - $27.5 billion - France
8. Eike Batista - $27 billion - Brazil
9. Amancio Ortega - $25 billion - Spain
10. Karl Albrecht - $23.5 - Germany

What's interesting is that despite all the hype of a surving China, there were no Chinese on the list. The US had the most in the Top 10 with three. Some othe interesting facts from the list:

"This year the World's Billionaires have an average net worth of $3.5 billion, up $500 million in 12 months. The world has 1,011 10-figure titans, up from 793 a year ago but still shy of the record 1,125 in 2008. Of those billionaires on last year's list, only 12% saw their fortunes decline.

U.S. billionaires still dominate the ranks--but their grip is slipping. Americans account for 40% of the world's billionaires, down from 45% a year ago.

The U.S. commands 38% of the collective $3.6 trillion net worth of the world's richest, down from 44% a year ago."

And while China may not have cracked the Top 10, China has the most billionairres on the list after the US with 89.