Ireland’s three billionaires worth €4.9bn, Forbes reveals
The three are John Dorrance III, who is the heir to the Campbell’s soup fortune, businessman Sean Quinn and media magnate Anthony O’Reilly.
Forbes magazine yesterday revealed the globe has 691 billionaires who together were worth $2.2 trillion. At number one is Microsoft computer wizard Bill Gates.
Dublin-based John Dorrance III, aged 61, was Ireland’s richest billionaire and was placed at number 243 in the world with a reputed fortune of $2.5bn - or €2.1bn.
Businessman Sean Quinn, 58, of Co Fermanagh, was ranked 548 and is worth $1.2bn or €1bn.
Dublin’s Anthony O’Reilly, 68, is in 584th place with a fortune of $1.1bn.
However, Mr O’Reilly would be excluded from a list of euro billionaires as his fortune is worth just €923m - €77m short of the magic number in Europe’s currency.
Forbes said the world’s richest moguls come from 47 countries - and most of the top 10 are from the United States.
For the first time, Poland, Ukraine and even Kazakhstan have billionaires on the list, a testament to the changing global economy.
More than half of the newcomers are self-made billionaires.
The wealthiest newcomer was American gas pipeline tycoon Daniel Duncan, who is worth a cool $5.1 billion. Over in China, Wong Kwong Yu, at the age of just 35 is the youngest new self-made billionaire.
He runs a chain of 100-plus appliance stores catering to China’s burgeoning middle class, said Forbes.
The world’s richest person was Bill Gates, who has occupied pole position for the 11th year in a row.
He is reportedly worth $45.5bn compared to second placed Warren Buffet, the American worth $44bn.
The third-richest person in the world is Indian-born steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, who lives in Britain and is worth $25bn.
Forbes said the rankings represent a snapshot of wealth taken on February 11 and were worked out using the values of stocks and shares.
The magazine pinned the rising numbers of billionaires on a bullish world stock markets, a weak dollar and surging commodity and real estate prices.
THE world’s Top 10 billionaires in terms of US dollars, according to Forbes Magazine, are:
1) Bill Gates, US computer entrepreneur worth $45.5 billion
2) Warren Buffet, US investor worth $44bn
3) Lakshmi Mittal, Indian-born steel magnate worth $25bn
4) Carlos Slim Helu, Mexican telecoms investor worth $23.8bn
5) Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Saudi investor worth $23.7bn
6) Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish IKEA founder $23bn
7) Paul Allen, US computer ace worth $21bn
8) Karl Albrecht, German Aldi supermarkets pioneer worth $18.5bn
9) Lawrence Ellison, US computer entrepreneur worth $18.4bn
10) S Robson Walton, US Wal-Mart supermarkets boss worth $18.3bn.
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