TOP 5 Richest people in the planet 2014

5. Larry Ellison According to Forbes’ list, Ellison is worth $48 billion, $8 billion more than the Koch brothers. He was named the third wealthiest man in America last year. Aside from his focus on Oracle and several other corporations he has stakes in, including Salesforce.com, NetSuite, Quark Biotechnology, and Astex Pharmaceuticals, Ellison has been recognized for his commitment to philanthropic efforts, and was also one of the billionaires in 2010 to sign the “The Giving Pledge,” a campaign that emboldens the wealthiest people in the world to make a commitment to give most of their wealth to philanthropic causes. The campaign was made public by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.


4. Warren Buffett Speaking of Buffett, he is next as the fourth-richest billionaire on Forbes’s list, coming in at a net worth of $58.2 billion and easily upsetting Ellison’s figure. Long known as one of the world’s wealthiest people, Buffet is best known for his impressive prowess in investing in the 20th century, and now he is still riding out that success. The business magnate and investor is chairman, CEO, and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway , and he has not only been recognized as one of the richest people in the world, but also the most influential, thanks to the power he wields over the companies he maintains stakes in. Buffett is also a philanthropist and has pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune, especially evidenced by his efforts to establish the aforementioned “Giving Pledge.”

3. Amancio Ortega

Holding his ground in third is a Spanish businessman, Amancio Ortega, who is worth $64 billion thanks to his success in retail. Ortega is founding chairman of the Inditex fashion group, the Spanish clothing company headquartered in Arteixo, Spain, that is made up of almost a hundred companies. Inditex is best known for its chain of Zara clothing and accessories retail shops. Last year, Ortega was was ranked the third richest person in the world by Forbes with a net worth of $57 billion, but that figure has increased by $7 billion now, and he holds his own as the third richest billionaire, despite having announced his retirement from Inditex in 2011.

2. Carlos Slim Helu

Sorry, Carlos Slim Helu, close but no cigar. The billionaire who just misses the first-place distinction is the business magnate who held the title of richest person in the world from 2010 to 2013, but surrendered it this year. The Mexican businessman and philanthropist has his hand in a number of Mexican companies via his conglomerate, Grupo Carso, SA de CV, and Helu is the chairman and chief executive of telecommunications companies Telmex and América Móvil . As for his philanthropic efforts, the billionaire established Fundación Telmex, a broad-ranging philanthropic foundation, in 1995 and has since contributed significantly to that organization, alone with a number of other charities. His contributions earned him a spot on Forbes’s 2011 list of World’s Biggest Givers.

1. Bill Gates  And Bill Gates reclaims his title as the world’s richest man in 2014 after running the second spot for the previous three years. It’s safe to say this American investor, programmer, inventor, and philanthropist is known world-wide, and no one is exactly surprised he has regained the top spot on Forbes’s list. The former CEO and chairman of Microsoft  is now worth $76 billion, $4 billion more than his closest competitor, and that wealth likely isn’t going anywhere, despite what reports say about Microsoft. Though Gates is known for his technological prowess at Microsoft, the tech company he co-founded, he is also widely hailed for his commitment to philanthropy and the large sums of money he has committed to a wide variety of charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000. In addition, although Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft in 2000, it’s safe to say he still has a big say in the running of the business.