MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are the world's wealthiest persons

According to Forbes list, the riches of Bezos, 55, have swelled by US$19 billion in one year and he is now worth US$131 billion. Bezos, holds 16% of Amazon

Jeff Bezos remains the world's richest person, ahead of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, according to the latest Forbes list of the ultra wealthy, while far behind President Donald Trump jumped 51 spots in the ranking.

While things are largely stable up on top of the list, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg dropped three spots and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg rose by two.

Bloomberg rose from 11th to ninth place as his fortune increased to US$55.5 billion, from US$50 billion, said Forbes.
Americans still dominate the list with 14 of the top 20 billionaires from the US.

Non-Americans among the top 20 include India's Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, in 13th place, and China's Ma Huateng, head of the Chinese internet giant Tencent, who rounds out the top 20.

Forbes estimates Trump's wealth at US$3.1 billion, unchanged from last year.

While 994 people from last year's ranking saw their wealth drop - a record, according to Forbes - Trump rose in the Forbes ranking from 766 last year to 715 this year.

Trump's nine New York skyscrapers, including the famous Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, account for nearly half of his wealth, while his clubs and golf courses are valued at US$550 million.

However, one of Trump's Florida golf clubs, the National Doral Miami, took a hit and has been depreciated by US$26 million following a sharp drop in bookings attributed to disagreements with the president's policies, Forbes said.

Trump is not the richest US elected official: That honor goes to JB Pritzker, a Democrat who took office as governor of Illinois in January. Pritzker, heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, was estimated to be worth US$3.2 billion.