Forbes billionaires list swells to 1,826 people

The ranks of the worlds wealthiest defied falling oil prices and a global slowdown to expand to 1,826 people, including 290 new billionaires, according to Forbes.

Its list of the world's richest people is still topped by Bill Gates, who hasclaimed the top ranking for 16 years.

The former Microsoft chief saw his fortune grow to $79.2 billion US, up $3.2 billion since last year.

A raft of Silicon Valley billionaires are nipping at his heels. Mark Zuckerberg cracked the top 20 this year for the first time, with the Facebook founder coming in at No. 16 with a fortune of $33.4 billion.

The other techies in the top 10 include Jeff Bezos of Amazon with $34.3 billion and Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, with $29.7 billion and $29.2 billion, respectively.

Joining the billionaires list for the first time are the new generation of social media technology trendsetters, among them Uber founders Garrett Camp, Travis Kalanick and Ryan Graves, plus Airbnb creators Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk and Joe Gebbia, and Snapchat founders Bobby Murphy and Evan Spiegel.

Innovators are popping up on the list, saidKerry Dolan, assistant managing editor at Forbes.

"A lot of these people are providing gadgets and services that just didnt exist before. Last year we had Nick Goodman of GoPro hes still on the list this year," she said in an interview with CBCs The Exchange with Amanda Lang.

Most of the net worth of people on the list is tied up in their companies, she added.

"A lot of the value of the billionaires on the list is not money in the bank. Some of them do have $1 billion in cash, but many of them have $1 billion tied up in the value of the company that they created, and thats particularly true of people who start a private company and they own the majority of it," Dolan said.

The most prominent new billionaire is Michael Jordan, who rakes in $90 million a year from Nike and saw his stake in the Charlotte Hornets rocket up in value after ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers for a stunning $2 billion. The former athlete just scrapes into the list with net worth of $1 billion.

Among the 290 newcomers, 71 come from China and another 57 come from the U.S., which once again dominates the billionaires list. Among the new Chinese billionaires is Jack Ma, worth $22.2 billion since the listing of his Alibaba e-commerce firm in the U.S.

There are35 Canadians on the billionaires list, the wealthiest being David Thomson, the media magnate, with assets estimated at $25.5 billion.

Also on the list are Galen Weston of Weston Foods, Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz and Ted Rogers's widow, Loretta Robinson.

No. 2 on the list is Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican telecom billionaire, and No. 4 is Amancio Ortega, who founded Spanish retailer Zara.

Holding the No. 3 spot is a longtime member of the list Warren Buffett, whose value-investing style helped boost him up the list one point. His fortune increased $14.5 billion to $72.7 billion as the share value of Berkshire Hathaway increased.

Both the Koch brothers, Charles and David, who invest heavily in lobbying government, are among the top 20, as are four of the heirs to the Walmart fortune.

Top 20 richest people, Forbes.com

1. Bill Gates, Microsoft, U.S.,$79.2B
2. Carlos Slim Helu, telecom, Mexico,$77.1B
3. Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, U.S.,$72.7B
4. Amancio Ortega, Zara, Spain,$64.5B
5. Larry Ellison, Oracle, U.S.,$54.3B
6. Charles Koch, diversified, U.S.,$42.9B
7. David Koch, diversified, U.S.,$42.9B
8. Christy Walton, Walmart, U.S.,$41.7B
9. Jim Walton, Walmart, U.S.,$40.6B
10. Liliane Bettencourt, L'Oreal, France,$40.1B
11. Alice Walton, Walmart, U.S.,$39.4B
12. S. Robson Walton, Walmart, U.S.,$39.1B
13. Bernard Arnault, LVMH, France, $37.2B
14. Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg LP, U.S.,$35.5B
15. Jeff Bezos, Amazon, U.S.,$34.8B
16. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook, U.S.,$33.4B
17. Li Ka-shing, diversified,Hong Kong,$33.3B
18. Sheldon Adelson, casinos, U.S.,$31.4B
19. Larry Page. Google, U.S.,$29.7B
20. Sergey Brin, Google, U.S.,$29.2B

Forbes said 1,191 of those on the list are self-made billionaires, while just 230 inherited their wealth. Another 405 inherited at least a portion, but also worked to increase their wealth.

Collectively, these billionaires areworth a combined$7.05 trillion US, up from $6.4 trillion last year.

Forbes bases its annual list on the wealth of each member as of Feb. 13, factoring in that days stock prices and exchange rates and working from public documents.