Mar 12, 2009 9:28 am US/Eastern
Bloomberg Powers Up Forbes List Of World's Richest
According To Magazine's 2009 List Of Super Wealthy, Mayor Mike Only One In Top 20 To Improve Financial Worth
Number Of Billionaires Worldwide Drops From 1,125 To 793
Mayor Got Fat Off Merrill Lynch To Tune Of $4.5 Billion
By JEFF CAPELLINI & LEE KUSHNIR, WCBSTV.com
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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If it's space and privacy Michael Bloomberg wants, it appears it's space and privacy he will have. NYC's mayor recently bought up several apartments in an adjacent building, expanding his townhouse home to approximately 12,500 square feet.
Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images
In a crippled economy that is seeing even the richest people on the planet losing large percentages of their worth, only New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been able to weather the financial storm.
According to Forbes magazine, this year there are fewer billionaires on the planet, and the richest people in the world have gotten poorer. In the magazine's 2009 list of the wealthiest people, the total number of billionaires fell to 793 from 1,125.
Not since 2003 has there been a drop from year to year.
Yet, there's Bloomberg at No. 17. The mayor makes a salary of $1 per year, but he's the only member of the Top 20 whose net worth has risen during the past year. According to Forbes, this is due to a re-evaluation of Bloomberg LP: Bloomberg bought a 20 percent stake from cash-strapped Merrill Lynch last July for $4.5 billion.
Bloomberg, the man who refused to move into Gracie Mansion after being elected mayor, is still living as large as ever. He has expanded his posh East 79th Street townhouse, quietly buying up four of the six apartments in the building next door.
The mayor's home is now 12,500 square feet. To put it in perspective, media mogul Rupert Murdoch lives on Fifth Avenue ... in 8,000 square feet.
Bloomberg also owns property in Bermuda, London, Vail and Westchester County.
The total net worth of this year's Forbes list is $2.4 trillion, down $2 trillion from last year. The average billionaire is now worth $3 billion, down from $3.9 billion in 2008.
Despite losing $18 billion over the past 12 months, Bill Gates has reclaimed his title as the richest man in the world with a total net worth of $40 billion. Warren Buffett slipped to No. 2 with $37 billion, after losing $25 billion in the past year due to the decline in value of Berkshire Hathaway stock. Mexican telecom titan Carlos Slim Helu is at No. 3 despite losing $25 billion.
In all, the top 3 on the list have lost a combined $68 billion in the past year.
The total net worth of the 2009 Top 20 is $416 billion, down from $661 billion last year.
This year's Forbes list represents citizens from 52 countries and 1 principality. Americans once again dominate the list, occupying 10 of the Top 20 spots, up from only four in 2008. The U.S. has 359 billionaires, down from 469 a year ago.
New York City has replaced Moscow as the home to the most billionaires with 55; London is second with 28, while Moscow slipped to third with 27.
Russia has lost nearly two-thirds of its billionaires during the past year and is down to 32. The 10 biggest dollar losers on this year's list lost a combined $238 billion in the past year, more than the gross domestic product of Ireland or Israel.
There were 355 billionaires who fell off the list this year, including former AIG chief executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, former head of Citigroup Sandy Weill, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. There are 38 newcomers.
Among women, there are 72 billionaires, down from 99 in 2008.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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