The Top 10 Richest People in the World for 2013

Here are the top 10 richest people in the world in 2013 as of May 15 based on the findings and analysis of Bloomberg....

10. Jim Walton – $36.6 billion

Jim Walton is the youngest son of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, which is the largest retailer in the world. He and his siblings own 51 percent of the retail giant. He alone owns 413 million shares of Wal-Mart, equivalent to 12.6 percent of the company’s outstanding stock, thus making him the largest shareholder in the family. He is also the head of two other family businesses, namely Arvest Bank and Community Publishers. A graduate of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, he joined the family company originally to handle all its real estate transactions. His net worth has increased by 16.4 percent since the start of the year.

9. Christy Walton – $38.5 billion

Christy Walton holds the distinction of being the richest woman in the world. She is the widow of John T. Walton, the second son of the founder of Wal-Mart. She owns 12.2 percent of the retail giant, as well as 25 million shares of First Solar, a solar panel manufacturer. A resident of Jackson Hole in Wyoming, she is a member of the board of the San Diego Natural History Museum and San Diego Zoological Society. Her net worth has increased by 16.9 percent since the start of the year.

8. Larry Ellison – $41.2 billion

Larry Ellison is the founder and biggest shareholder of Oracle, the largest database company in the world. He also owns 46 percent of NetSuite and has a controlling interest in LeapFrog Enterprises, a maker of educational software. He owns practically the entire island of Lanai in Hawaii. He also has real property in Japan, Rhode Island, Malibu, San Francisco and Lake Tahoe. He has committed to giving away 95 percent of his wealth to charitable causes by signing on to The Giving Pledge in 2010. His net worth has increased by 4.9 percent since the start of the year.

7. David Koch – $45.4 billion

David Koch is the Executive Vice President of the Kansas-based Koch Industries, one of the largest closely held companies in the world. The company has interests in commodities trading, oil refining, pipelines, paper pulp and ranching. He owns 42 percent of the entire company. An avid supporter of the Republican Party, he actually once ran as Vice President of the United States as the candidate of the Libertarian Party. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was a basketball star. His net worth has increased by 11.1 percent since the start of the year.

6. Charles Koch – $45.4 billion

Charles Koch is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Koch Industries. Like his brother, he also owns 42 percent of the company. The company itself owns Georgia Pacific, a pulp and paper producer; Invista, a polymer and fiber producer; and Koch Nitrogen, a fertilizer producer. It also owns Guardian Industries, a maker of glass. He is also a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His net worth has grown by 11.1 percent since the start of the year.

5. Ingvar Kamprad – $56.5 billion

Ingvar Kamprad is the richest man in Sweden. He controls the largest furniture retailer in the world called Ikea. He is also part of his family’s investment vehicle called the Ikano Group, which owns four Ikea franchises in Asia, a credit card business and several investments in real properties. He used to be a member of a local Nazi party during World War II, a fact that he now regrets. He lived in Switzerland for 40 years to escape the progressive taxes of his native Sweden before coming back in June 2013. His net worth has grown by 31.8 percent since the start of the year.

4. Amancio Ortega – $57.3 billion

Amancio Ortega is the richest man in Spain. He owns 59 percent of the largest clothing retailer in the world called Inditex. The company also owns the fashion chain called Zara. It also controls other brands like Pull & Bear, Bershka, Massimo Dutti and Stradivarius. He has invested most of his dividend income in real estate, acquiring properties in the major cities of Spain, the United States and all over Europe. His net worth has actually gone down by 0.3 percent since the start of the year.

3. Warren Buffett – $60.2 billion

Warren Buffett is the Chairman and Chief Executive officer of the publicly traded holding company called Berkshire Hathaway. The company has a broad and diversified line of business with investments in energy through Lubrizol and MidAmerican Energy; insurance through Geico; manufacturing through Clayton Homes; and service through NetJets. It also has shares in companies like American Express, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Wells Fargo. He is one of the movers behind The Giving Pledge.  His net worth has increased by 25.8 percent since the start of the year.

2. Carlos Slim – $66.8 billion

Carlos Slim is the richest man in Mexico and in the world. He has interests in telecommunications through America Movil; banking through Inbursa; and mining through Minera Frisco. He also has investments in the construction industry. He has shares in Caixabank, the New York Times, Philip Morris and Saks. He also has a stake in YPF, an oil company based in Argentina. His net worth has gone down by 2.7 percent since the start of the year.

1. Bill Gates – $71.2 billion

Bill Gates is the man behind Microsoft, the biggest software maker in the world that is responsible for the popular Windows operating system. He owns 4.8 percent of the company. He also has a stake in Cascade Investment. He is also the largest shareholder of the biggest railroad company in Canada. Additionally, he has interests in energy through Sapphire Energy, photography through Corbis Images, and real estate through the Four Seasons Hotels. He established the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for charitable causes. His wealth has increased by 16.1 percent since the start of the year.