today, the first time he has held the title since
2007. His fortune was valued at $72.7 billion at 4
p.m. in New York, according to the Bloomberg
Billionaires Index.
Gates, 57, was more than $550 million ahead of
Carlos Slim, who has a $72.1 billion net worth.
The co-founder of Redmond, Washington-based
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) has seen his fortune
climb about $10 billion this year. The software
maker's shares hit a five-year high today, and
have advanced 28 percent year-to-date.
Slim's fortune has dropped more than $2 billion
this year as Mexico's Congress passed a bill to
quash the market dominance of the 73-year-old
billionaire's America Movil SAB.
"When they're talking about reform in a country
that's generally poor, and the guy shows up No. 1
on the list — not a good thing," said Greg Lesko,
managing director at New York-based Deltec
Asset Management LLC, which oversees $750
million and has an "underweight" position in
Slim's flagship company. "He's had a pretty good
monopoly situation in Mexico, and the Mexican
cellphone user has been paying more than he
should. We applaud it for the country."
Earlier this month, a group of kazoo-playing
protesters confronted Slim when he appeared at
an event at the New York Public Library,
denouncing him for overcharging consumers to
enrich himself. He denies the accusation.
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