Forbes Billionaires: Who Are The Top 5 Richest People On The Planet?

By Joseph Orovic | March 07 2012 5:12 PM

Photo: Reuters

No. 1 Carlos Slim

Chairman, Telmex Age: 72 Net Worth: $69 billion Heru kept his title as the world's richest man for the third year in a row, despite losing $5 billion in net worth as the share price of America Movil, which makes up a substantial amount of his fortune, declined.

Photo: Reuters

Major Averages Close Higher On Late Day Strength

Stocks suffered considerable uncertainty throughout most of Friday's session, ultimately closing higher on the day. The lack of direction seen for much of the day came as traders digested weak employment data along with some positive remarks from Fed Chairman Bernanke.

On the economic front, the Labor Department said that non-farm payroll employment fell by 663,000 jobs in March following an unrevised decrease of 651,000 jobs in February. The drop in jobs came roughly in line with economists' expectations of a decrease of 658,000 levels.

With the continued decrease in jobs, the unemployment rate rose to 8.5 percent in March from 8.1 percent in the previous month, in line with expectations. The increase lifted the unemployment rate to its highest level since November of 1983.

Meanwhile, Bernanke offered encouraging news, saying that programs enacted by the Federal Reserve to unfreeze the credit markets are working. Bernanke praised the actions of policymakers as having lowered the cost and increased the availability of credit.

In the midst of extraordinarily challenging times for the financial system and economy, Bernanke stated that he is confident that growth will be restored.

The major averages had some difficulty sustaining any significant moves for much of the session but showed a notable move to the upside going into the close. The Dow closed up 39.51 points or 0.5 percent at 8,017.59, the Nasdaq closed up 19.24 points or 1.2 percent at 1,621.87 and the S&P 500 closed up 8.12 points or 1 percent at 842.50.

With the gains, the major averages closed higher for the fourth straight session and the fourth straight week. The Dow rose 3.1 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 posted weekly gains of 5 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.

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Photo: Reuters

Forex: EUR/USD finds support at 1.2970, back above 1.3000

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - After be rejected by the 1.3070 resistance, falls below the 1.3000 level and reaches the 1.2970, the EUR/USD has risen to the 1.3030 new resistance. Currently, the pair is trading around the 1.3010/30.

According to Valeria Bednarik, FXstreet.com Independent Analyst, the decline has a corrective nature: Clearly bullish, the pair seems to have found a top around 1.3065 and is correcting a bit before further continuations. Moving averages remain under the price and pointing to the upside while indicators have some signs of exhaustion, with CCI showing some bearish divergences in the hourly chart. Volume is good at the moment. Corrections should stay capped at the 1.2980/1.3000 support zone, or else, more selling pressure will be seen here.

Below 1.3000, next support levels would be at 1.2955 and 1.2870. On the upside, upside Euro could find resistance at 1.3040 (100 day SMA), and 1.3074 (Mar 10 high), above here 1.3100 and then 1.3180 (Jan 29 high).

Photo: REUTERS

No. 4 Bernard Arnault

Chairman, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy Age: 63 Net Worth: $41 billion Once again, Europe's richest man has carried his ability to cash in on extravagant taste in fashion and booze. Last year, his company's profits jumped 22 percent, after sales at Louis Vuitton took off.

Photo: REUTERS

EUR/USD - 1.5467 Daily Market Outlook - May 5

Although euro's rebound after last week's selloff to 5-week low of 1.5360 suggests correction of recent decline is under way, upside should be ltd to 1.5499 (Friday's high) and bearishness remains for a strong retreat later but below 1.5415 is needed to signal recovery is over and bring weakness towards said support level, otherwise, choppy consolidation would continue.

Above 1.5535 would risk stronger retracement towards 1.5565/70 before prospect of another fall later this week...

Forbes magazine released its list of the world's billionaires on Wednesday, a collection of 1,153 families and individuals, rife with familiar names like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Carlos Slim Helu, who topped the list with a net worth of $69 billion.

Three Americans made the top 10, while the emergence of the global economy can be found within the diversity of the list. Brazil, Sweden, Mexico, Hong Kong, Germany, Spain and France are all represented at the top. The United States still has the most billionaires, with 425. But Europe and Asia combined top the number, a trend which started three years ago and was last seen regularly in the late 1980s.

But buried under the astronomical dollar figures, names and industries they dominate is a somewhat jarring fact: During a time of global economic duress, there are more billionaires than ever.

The historic tale told by the Forbes billionaires list mirrors that of the broader market. Sectors expand and collapse, money is lost, new fortunes are made, and a some end up in handcuffs.

Forbes began its list of the world's billionaires 25 years ago. The Oct. 5, 1987, list comprised 140 individuals and families, topped by Japanese real estate king Yoshiaka Tsutsumi, with a net worth of $20 billion. Two weeks after the list's publication, the Dow Jones dropped 508 points -- a day which became known as Black Monday.

Tsutsumi remained the world's richest man for five of the next seven years, though the net worth of the world's richest person declined steadily until then-Microsoft Chief Executive Bill Gates took the top spot in 1995 with what now sounds like a paltry $12.9 billion (the same amount would put him at No. 60 on today's recent list).

It began a 12-year reign at the top for Gates, reaching as much as $90 billion in net worth in 1999. His tenure ended briefly in 2008, when the Oracle of Omaha Warren Buffett topped the list with $62 billion (a year, it should be noted, the stock market tanked). Gates was the richest man again in 2009, until Mexican telecom titan Slim began his current three-year streak as the world's richest man.

Here, for you amusement and envy, are the top five richest people according to Forbes.