I don't see Aussie Pete or Laminge on this list, maybe they would be if they didn't own highly modded Fords!
Microsoft supremo Bill Gates remains the richest man on the planet, having amassed a $102.9 billion fortune, it was announced today.
Gates tops the Forbes Global magazine list of the world's billionaires for the eighth consecutive time, even though his fortune dropped last year by $11.7 billion.
In total, there were 243 Americans on the 497-strong list, with 28 new entrants emerging from countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, Israel and Australia.
News Corporation boss Rupert Murdoch is worth $11.1 billion and stands 45th in the list.
American media tycoon Ted Turner dropped to 97th in the list, with his fortune having fallen to $7.5 billion.
The AOL Time Warner boss had difficulties after stock in the company fell by nearly 60 per cent in value.
The Duke of Westminster remains the richest man in Britain, with a fortune of $13.19 billion.
The Duke is 38th on the list and other leading Britons include supermarket mogul David Sainsbury, at 76th with a fortune of $8.33 billion, and Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone, 127th with a fortune of $5.83 billion.
Virgin entrepeneur Sir Richard Branson was 327th on the list with a total wealth of $2.78 billion.
Women billionaires make up seven per cent of the list, but only Doris Fisher, who opened the first Gap store in 1969, is self-made.
Fisher is jointly listed with her husband Donald at 293rd with a value of just under $3 billion.
According to Forbes, 249 of the billionaires on the list saw their fortunes fall compared with the previous year.
The list itself has shrunk by 83, reflecting difficult economic circumstances across the globe.
In terms of the top five billionaires, a pair of reclusive German retail barons are third after Gates and American business tycoon Warren Buffet.
Karl and Theo Albrecht own more than 4,000 discount Aldi stores in ten countries and their fortune amounts to $50 billion.
In fourth spot is Paul G Allen, Microsoft co-founder, with a fortune valued at $49.9 billion.
Another software pioneer, Lawrence J Ellison, founder of Oracle, the world's second largest software company, is in fifth place with a $45.94 billion fortune.
Among billionaires who enjoyed good years was Phillip Knight, whose fortune swelled to $11 billion thanks to successful trading for shoe giant ****.
Knight's personal net worth is at an all-time high and **** trainers are being sold for more than 140 in the US.
Real estate, technology, and the media are among the most popular backgrounds for the billionaires in the chart.
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