Forbes rich list: Amazon's Jeff Bezos is richest man, Mukesh Ambani ranked 19th

According to Forbes magazine, there are 2,208 billionaires in the world, up from 2,043 in 2017 who have a combined worth of $9.1 trillion, with 259 new billionaires joining the club

Forbes Magazine released its annual list of the world's richest persons on Tuesday (March 6), which was topped by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos for the first time.

Bezos is estimated to be worth $112 billion (USD) according to Forbes, up almost $40 billion from last year, the biggest one-year gain ever.

Bill Gates dropped to the number two spot, with a fortune estimated to be worth $90 billion, up from $86 billion last year.

Gates was the richest person in the world 18 out of past 24 years.

The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett is worth $84 billion and dropped to the third spot, while Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH is ranked fourth with a fortune of $72 billion, ascending 7 spots.

In the fifth spot is Facebook-founder Mark Zuckerberg with a fortune worth $71 billion.

He has maintained the same position in the list from last year.

Amancio Ortega is one of the richest men in Europe and the wealthiest retailer in the world.

A pioneer in fast fashion, he cofounded Inditex, known for its Zara fashion chain, with his ex-wife Rosalia Mera in 1975.

He owns about 60 per cent of Madrid-listed Inditex, which has 8 brands, including Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear, and 7,500 stores around the world. Ortega typically earns more than $400 million in dividends a year.

Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega saw his wealth falling by $5.2 billion to $58.8 billion, a fall of 8.17 per cent.

India's Reliance Industries' chairman Mukesh Ambani ranks number 19 valued at $40 billion, while Alibaba's Jack Ma rounds out the top 20 valued at $39 billion.

File photo of Donald Trump.