"股神"巴菲特擠掉蓋茨 成全球首富

Warren Buffett, the famed US investor who heads Berkshire Hathaway Inc, replaced his friend and Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates as the richest man in the world, Forbes magazine said on Wednesday.

The magazine estimated Buffett's worth at $62 billion in its annual ranking of the world's wealthiest people.

Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim came in second with an estimated worth of $60 billion, pushing Gates to third place after 13 years of holding the No. 1 spot.

The magazine estimated Gates' worth at $58 billion.

Buffett's rise to No. 1 was particularly noteworthy, Forbes said, as it came at a time of great financial turmoil and as Buffett has begun to siphon off part of his fortune to charity.

"Even though he is giving away a piece of his fortune each year, the stock of Berkshire Hathaway, the source of Warren Buffet's wealth, has been rising very rapidly," Chief Executive of Forbes Magazines Steve Forbes said, noting Buffett's fortune climbed $10 billion in the last calendar year.

Buffett in June 2006 announced plans to give 85 percent of his fortune away, granting it to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities. Bill Gates serves on the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway and is a long-time bridge buddy of Buffett's. Gates has also given a substantial amount of his fortune to the foundation.

Buffett, often called the Sage of Omaha, has been lauded among investors for his preference for investing in larger companies with easy-to-understand businesses, large or dominant market shares, consistent earnings, and strong management.

Gates has held the No. 1 spot since 1995, when he unseated Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, a Japanese real estate tycoon. Tsutsumi fell off the billionaire's list last year after receiving a suspended prison sentence for falsifying financial statements and insider trading in 2005.

China's real estate billionaire Yang Huiyan ranked first among all the 42 Chinese richest people on the list.

《福布斯》雜誌於本週三公佈，美國著名投資大師、伯克郡-哈撒韋公司總裁沃倫•巴菲特取代其老友、微軟集團創始人比爾•蓋茨，問鼎全球首富。

根據《福布斯》發佈的年度全球富豪榜，巴菲特的個人資產總值達到約620億美元。

墨西哥通信業大亨卡洛斯•斯利姆以600億美元的資產總值名列第二，而連續13年蟬聯首富桂冠的蓋茨則首次“讓位”，屈居第三。

據《福布斯》估計，蓋茨的資產總值約爲580億美元。

《福布斯》指出，巴菲特躍至世界首富尤其令人關注，因爲目前正值金融市場大動盪，而且巴菲特開始將其部分財產捐作慈善用途。

《福布斯》執行總裁史蒂夫•福布斯說：“儘管巴菲特每年都捐出一部分財產，但他的‘搖錢樹’伯克郡-哈撒韋公司的股票價格大幅飆升。”據他介紹，巴菲特的資產總值去年增加了100億美元。

2006年6月，巴菲特宣佈將其85%的資產捐給比爾/梅琳娜•蓋茨基金會及四個家庭慈善機構的計劃。比爾•蓋茨是伯克郡-哈撒韋公司的董事，而且是巴菲特多年的橋牌牌友。蓋茨也向基金會捐了一大筆財產。

有“股神”之稱的巴菲特倍受投資者稱讚，他傾向於投資自己熟悉的行業及市場份額大、連續盈利、管理水平高的大公司。

自從1995年將日本地產大亨堤義明“拉下馬”後，蓋茨一直穩坐世界首富寶座。堤義明於去年跌出富豪榜，2005年他因僞造財務報表、進行內幕交易而被判處緩刑。

中國共有42位富豪躋身排行榜，房地產女富豪楊惠妍排名最高