Following is a list of the 20 richest individuals and their estimated net worth in billions of dollars, according to an annual ranking by Forbes Magazine.

1. William Gates III US 46.5 (Microsoft)

2. Warren Buffett US 44.0 (investments)

3. Lakshmi Mittal India 25.0 (steel)

4. Carlos Slim Helu Mexico 23.8 (telecom)

5. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Saudi Arabia 23.7 (investments)

6. Ingvar Kamprad Sweden 23.0 (Ikea)

7. Paul Allen US 21.0 (Microsoft)

8. Karl Albrecht Germany 18.5 (supermarkets)

9. Lawrence Ellison US 18.4 (Oracle)

10 S. Robson Walton US 18.3 (Wal-Mart)

11. Jim Walton US 18.2 (Wal-Mart)

11. John Walton US 18.2 (Wal-Mart)

13. Alice Walton US 18.0 (Wal-Mart)

13. Helen Walton US 18.0 (Wal-Mart)

15. Kenneth Thomson and family Canada 17.9 (pubishing)

16. Liliane Bettencourt France 17.2 (L'Oreal)

17. Bernard Arnault France 17.0 (LVMH)

18. Michael Dell US 16.0 (Dell)

19. Sheldon Adelson US 15.6 (casinos)

20. Theo Albrecht Germany 15.5 (supermarkets)