Shake-up at top of ‘richest’ list

Warren Buffett, the famed U.S. 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 Wednesday.

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

Mexican telecommunications 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.

Forbes said that Buffett’s rise to No. 1 was particularly noteworthy because it came at a time of great financial turmoil and as Buffett began to give 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 Buffett’s wealth, has been rising very rapidly,” Forbes Chief Executive Steve Forbes said, noting that Buffett’s fortune climbed $10 billion in the last calendar year.

Buffett in June 2006 announced plans to give away 85% of his fortune, granting it to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities. Bill Gates serves as a Berkshire Hathaway director and is a longtime bridge buddy of Buffett’s. Gates has also given a substantial amount of his fortune to the foundation.