the Richest Person in the World | 全球首富

Carlos Slim Tops Bill Gates as the Richest Person in the World

卡洛斯‧史林姆挤下比尔‧盖兹成为全球首富

Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim has become the world's richest person, knocking Microsoft founder Bill Gates into second, as the wealth of the world's billionaires grew by 50 percent over the last year, Forbes magazine said on Wednesday. It is only the second time since 1995 that Gates has lost the crown, the magazine said, estimating Slim's net worth at US$53.5 billion, compared to Gates' US$53 billion fortune, while investor Warren Buffett came in third with US$47 billion. The trio regained US$41.5 billion of the US$68 billion they had lost the previous year, Forbes said.

The number of billionaires around the world has nearly recovered thus far in 2010 after dropping by a third last year during the global financial crisis. There are now 1,011 billionaires, compared with 793 last year and 1,125 in 2008. The net wealth of those billionaires grew to US$3.6 trillion from US$2.4 trillion last year, but is still down from 2008's US$4.4 trillion, according to the 24th annual Forbes list, which took a snapshot of wealth on February 12 to compile its ranking. The average billionaire is now worth US$3.5 billion, up US$500 million from last year. Also, the number of women on the list rose to 89 from 72 last year.

"The global economy is recovering and it's reflected in what you see in the list this year," Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, told a news conference. "Financial markets have also made an even more impressive comeback from the lows of just about a year ago, particularly in emerging markets."

1.  In comparison to last year's, what is different about this year's Forbes list?

(A) Most billionaires lost money.

(B) Warren Buffet invested in Mexico's telecommunications market.

(C) Microsoft lost 50 percent of its value.

(D) A new tycoon dethroned the world's richest person.

2.  How much more money does Carlos Slim have than Warren Buffet?

(A) US$6.5 billion. (B) US$53.5 billion.

(C) US$26.5 billion.    (D) US$68 billion.

3.  What happened on February 12?

(A) Forbes hired new photographers.

(B) Forbes published their research.

(C) Forbes' stock rose by 500 percent.

(D) That was the date that Carlos Slim passed Bill Gates to become the world's richest person.

  《富比世》杂志于星期三公布，去年全球亿万富豪的财产成长了百分之五十，而墨西哥大亨卡洛斯．史林姆挤下微软的比尔．盖兹跃居全球首富。自 1995 年来，这仅是盖兹第二次被挤下首富的位置，《富比世》杂志估计，和盖兹 530 亿美元的财产净值相较，史林姆的财产净值为 535 亿美元，而投资大师华伦．巴菲特则以 470 亿美元位居第三。《富比世》杂志还表示，这三位富豪今年赚回了前一年所损失的 680 亿美元中的 415 亿。

　　继去年在金融危机中全球的亿万富翁少了三分之一后，2010 年的人数至今几乎全数回增。与去年的 793 位和 2008年的 1,125 位相比，目前有 1,011位亿万富翁。根据第 24 期《富比世》杂志的年度列表，以截至 2 月 12 日个人财富总额概况来统计排名，这些富豪的资产净值从去年的 2.4 兆美元增加到 3.6 兆美元，但还是少于 2008 年的 4.4 兆美元。这些富豪平均身价达 35亿美元，比去年多了 5 亿美元。此外，榜上有名的女性也从去年的 72 位增加到 89 位。

　　《富比世》杂志的主编史蒂夫‧富比士在一场记者会上表示：『全球经济开始复苏，反映在今年的富豪排行榜上。金融市场也从大约一年前的低点有了惊人的反弹，尤其是在新兴市场部分。』

1.  与去年相比，今年的《富比世》杂志富豪排行榜有何不同？

(A) 多数的亿万富翁损失金钱。

(B) 华伦‧巴菲特投资墨西哥的电信市场。

(C) 微软损失一半的财产价值。

(D) 新的大亨挤下世界的首富。

题解:   根据《富比世》杂志，今年的首富换人当，墨西哥大亨卡洛斯．史林姆挤下微软的比尔．盖兹跃居全球首富，可知应选 (D)。

2.  卡洛斯．史林姆比起华伦．巴菲特多了多少钱？

(A) 65 亿美金。 (B) 535 亿美金。

(C) 265 亿美金。    (D) 680 亿美金。

题解:   《富比世》杂志估计史林姆的财产净值为 535 亿美元，而投资大师华伦．巴菲特则为 470 亿美元，两人相差了 65 亿美金，可知 (A) 为正选。

3.  2 月 12 日发生了什么事？

(A) 《富比世》杂志雇用了新的摄影师。

(B) 《富比世》杂志出版了一项研究。

(C) 《富比世》杂志的股票上升了 5 百个百分点。

(D) 卡洛斯．史林姆在那一天超越比尔‧盖兹成为全球首富。

题解:   《富比世》杂志根据至 2 月 12 日为止，个人财富总额概况来列出全球富豪的排名，可知 (B) 应为正选。

答案：1. (D)2. (A)3. (B)

For Your Information

卡洛斯．史林姆是黎巴嫩移民，跟着母亲移居墨西哥，从小他就懂得记账，还知道投资债券利滚利，20年前更因为眼光精准，买下当时摇摇欲坠的墨西哥国营电信公司，最后经营有道，扩张成全球第四大电信龙头，让自己成为全球新首富。史林姆主导墨西哥经济，可说是富可敌国，举凡百货业、旅馆、餐饮、石油开采、建筑、金融，他通通有投资企业。（数据源：Yahoo奇摩新闻）