13 Israelis on world's billionaires list
Forbes magazine's annual global billionaires ranking shows record high number of wealthy individuals. Ofer brothers top Israeli list, followed by Beny Steinmetz, Stef Wertheimer and Shari Arison
There are a total of 1,226 billionaires in the world – 13 of them are Israelis. Financial magazine Forbes published on Wednesday its annual list of the world's richest people, placing Mexican businessman Carlos Slim Helu at the top of the list with an estimated fortune of $69 billion.
This is the third year in a row that the 72-year-old communications tycoon has topped the list, bypassing Microsoft Founder Bill Gates ($61 billion) and Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffet, who bought Israeli metalworking company Iscar, Ltd. in 2006 and has an estimated fortune of $44 billion.
One of the youngest to make it onto the list is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who at the age of 27 has an estimated wealth of $17.5 billion, placing him in the 35th spot.
Shari Arison. The wealthiest woman in Israel
Despite the global economic crisis, a record high number of 1,226 billionaires were recorded this year, including 13 Israelis.
Idan Ofer, director of Ofer Group, leads the list of Israeli billionaires in the 161st spot, with an estimated fortune of $6.2 billion. Beny Steinmetz of Steinmetz Business Group ranked eight spots bellow Ofer, with a net worth of $5.9 billion. Another Ofer brother, Eyal, came in 173rd on the list, with $5.8 billion.
Iscar founder Stef Wertheimer and his family ranked 255th with some $4.2 billion, while Bank Hapoalim's Shari Arison was placed in the 288th spot with $3.9 billion.
Other Israelis included on the list were film producer Arnon Milchan (290th, $3.8 billion); Kazakh-Israeli tycoon Alexander Machkevich (418th, $2.8 billion); Check Point founder Gil Shwed (683, $1.9 billion); Delek Group owner Yitzhak Tshuva (683, $1.9 billion);Lev Leviev (764, $1.7 billion); Marius Nacht (1015, $1.2 billion); Teddy Sagi (1015, $1.2 billion) and Moris Kahn (1153, $1 billion).
