BIGGEST BILLIONAIRE LOOSERS
1. Anil Ambani
2009 net worth: $10.1 billion
Lost: $31.9 billion
Last year's biggest billionaire gainer is this year's biggest loser. His fortune is down $32 billion, as shares in his
Reliance Communications fell by two-thirds. Number of telecom customers increased, but people used fewer
minutes amid worldwide recession and India's economic slowdown; margins squeezed due to expensive
expansion and increased competition. Company also took a hit when estranged brother Mukesh helped derail its
merger with South Africa's MTN last July. His Reliance Power and Reliance Capital holdings fell too.
2. Lakshmi Mittal
2009 net worth: $19.3 billion
Lost: $25.7 billion
Steel titan has lost his shine. With steel prices down 75% since last summer and heavy fines from a French
antitrust investigation that found 10 companies guilty of price fixing in European steel markets, ArcelorMittal
stock, which makes up bulk of his fortune, is at four-year low. Group posted $2.6 billion loss in most recent
quarter; announced plans to slow acquisitions, cut capital expenditures and pay down its debts. Recently halved
its dividend to 75 cents.
3. Warren Buffett
2009 net worth: $37 billion
Lost: $25 billion
Oracle of Omaha's Berkshire Hathaway suffered worst year in its 44-year-history; book value down $11.5 billion,
or 9.6%, since last March. Share price of Berkshire nearly halved. Made large investments in preferred shares of
Goldman Sachs and General Electric. Admittedly "did some dumb things": cites $244 million investment in
ConocoPhillips at top of oil market as one of them. Believes "the economy will be in shambles throughout 2009,"
but "America's best days lie ahead."
4. Carlos Slim Helú
2009 net worth: $35 billion
Lost: $25 billion
Fortune of Latin America's richest person fell more than 40% since last March, as his assets were hit by worldwide
recession and plunging peso. Shares of wireless company America Movil, his biggest holding, are down 60%.
Hasn't stopped him from investing: made $250 million loan to New York Times Co. in January, already owns
nearly 7%; stock down almost 80% over last year. Increased his stake in Saks, but luxury retailer's stock off nearly
90% since last winter.
5. K.P. Singh
2009 net worth $5.0 billion
Lost: $25 billion
Former army officer was briefly world's richest real estate baron. But shares of his property firm DLF sank 80%
over last year, as earnings were hit by slowdown of once red-hot Indian economy and plunging real estate values.
Attempt to boost stock price through a share buyback was unsuccessful. Plans to list its real estate investment
trust in Singapore fell through. Cut prices on new homes in bid to revive sales.
6. Oleg Deripaska
2009 net worth: $3.5 billion
Lost: $24.5 billion
Russian oligarch squeezed between world manufacturing slowdown and credit crunch. Net worth plunged as
world demand for aluminum, nickel, copper slowed. Russia's one-time richest man recently received a $4.5 billion
loan from a state-controlled bank in order to keep his 25% stake in Norilsk Nickel, which faced a margin call by
Western banks. Other margin calls forced him to divest a $1.5 billion stake in Canadian carmaker Magna
International and a $500 million stake in German construction company Hochtief.
7. Mukesh Ambani
Net worth $19.5 billion
Lost: $23.5 billion
Becomes India's richest person, just passing Lakshmi Mittal, despite losing a bundle. Shares of his petrochemicals
giant, Reliance Industries, plunged 40% over the last year as financial slowdown dampened oil demand; price of
crude oil down 55% since last March. It is still India's most valuable company.
8. Sheldon Adelson
Net worth: $3.4 billion
Lost: $22.6 billion
Third-richest American in 2008 falls to 73rd place, as casino industry crapped out. Shares of Las Vegas Sands
down 98% this past year as gamblers walked away from table. Massive debt is pressuring operations. Diluted
stock and ownership in November offering that raised $2.1 billion; stake down from 65% to 51%. Injected $1
billion of his own cash in same offering to strengthen balance sheet. Suspended construction of billion-dollar
casinos in Macau; laid off nearly 11,000 workers last November in China alone.
9. William Gates III
Net worth $40 billion
Lost: $18 billion
Reclaimed title of world's richest person despite the fact that his fortune fell by more than 30% over past year.
Shares of Microsoft dropped 40% since last March as consumers and corporations slow spending on information
technology. Company's second-quarter earnings disappointed analysts; warned of revenue drop in 2009.
Attributed weakness to soft PC market, consumers' move to cheaper netbooks.
10.Vladimir Potanin
Net worth: $2.1 billion
Lost: $17.2 billion
Split from his longtime partner, Mikhail Prokhorov, in 2007 hurt his pocketbook. Fortune has fallen by billions in
past year, as shares of his biggest holding--world's biggest nickel producer--Norilsk Nickel collapsed by threefourths.
Stake in Norilsk not as large as he'd hoped, as Prokhorov sold out to billionaire Oleg Deripaska instead of
to Potanin. As part of division of assets, Potanin still has a stake in Rosbank. Sold 20% stake in Polyus Gold to
another billionaire, Suleiman Kerimov, in late 2008.
TOP BILLIONAIRES LIST
RANK NAME CITIZENSHIP AGE NET WORTH ($BIL) RESIDENCE
1 William Gates III United States 53 40.0 United States
2 Warren Buffett United States 78 37.0 United States
3 Carlos Slim Helu & family Mexico 69 35.0 Mexico
4 Lawrence Ellison United States 64 22.5 United States
5 Ingvar Kamprad & family Sweden 83 22.0 Switzerland
6 Karl Albrecht Germany 89 21.5 Germany
7 Mukesh Ambani India 51 19.5 India
8 Lakshmi Mittal India 58 19.3 United Kingdom
9 Theo Albrecht Germany 87 18.8 Germany
10 Amancio Ortega Spain 73 18.3 Spain
11 Jim Walton United States 61 17.8 United States
12 Alice Walton United States 59 17.6 United States
12 Christy Walton & family United States 54 17.6 United States
12 S Robson Walton United States 65 17.6 United States
15 Bernard Arnault France 60 16.5 France
16 Li Ka-shing Hong Kong 80 16.2 Hong Kong
17 Michael Bloomberg United States 67 16.0 United States
18 Stefan Persson Sweden 61 14.5 Sweden
19 Charles Koch United States 73 14.0 United States
19 David Koch United States 68 14.0 United States
21 Liliane Bettencourt France 86 13.4 France
22 Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud Saudi Arabia 54 13.3 Saudi Arabia
23 Michael Otto & family Germany 65 13.2 Germany
24 David Thomson & family Canada 51 13.0 Canada
25 Michael Dell United States 44 12.3 United States
TOP 100 Companies of the World
RANK COMPANY COUNTRY INDUSTRY
SALES
($BIL)
PROFITS
( $ B IL)
ASSETS
( $BIL)
MARKET
VALUE
( $B I L)
1 General Electric United States Conglomerates 182.52 17.41 797.77 89.87
2 Royal Dutch
Shell
Netherlands Oil & Gas
Operations
458.36 26.28 278.44 135.10
3 Toyota Motor Japan Consumer Durables 263.42 17.21 324.98 102.35
4 ExxonMobil United States Oil & Gas
Operations
425.70 45.22 228.05 335.54
5 BP United Kingdom Oil & Gas
Operations
361.14 21.16 228.24 119.70
6 HSBC Holdings United Kingdom Banking 142.05 5.73 2,520.45 85.04
7 AT&T United States Telecommunications
Services
124.03 12.87 265.25 140.08
8 Wal-Mart Stores United States Retailing 405.61 13.40 163.43 193.15
9 Banco
Santander
Spain Banking 96.23 13.25 1,318.86 49.75
9 Chevron United States Oil & Gas
Operations
255.11 23.93 161.17 121.70
11 Total France Oil & Gas
Operations
223.15 14.74 164.66 112.90
12 ICBC China Banking 53.60 11.16 1,188.08 170.83
13 Gazprom Russia Oil & Gas
Operations
97.29 26.78 276.81 74.55
14 PetroChina China Oil & Gas
Operations
114.32 19.94 145.14 270.56
15 Volkswagen
Group
Germany Consumer Durables 158.40 6.52 244.05 75.18
16 JPMorgan Chase United States Banking 101.49 3.70 2,175.05 85.87
17 GDF Suez France Utilities 115.59 9.05 232.71 70.46
18 ENI Italy Oil & Gas
Operations
158.32 12.91 139.80 80.68
19 Berkshire
Hathaway
United States Diversified
Financials
107.79 4.99 267.40 122.11
20 Vodafone United Kingdom Telecommunications
Services
70.39 13.30 252.08 93.66
21 Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial
Japan Banking 61.43 6.38 1,931.17 53.63
22 Procter &
Gamble
United States Household &
Personal Products
83.68 14.08 138.26 141.18
23 CCB-China
Construction
Bank
China Banking 42.98 9.45 903.35 119.03
24 Verizon
Communications
United States Telecommunications
Services
97.35 6.43 202.35 81.04
25 Petrobras-
Petróleo Brasil
Brazil Oil & Gas
Operations
92.08 14.12 120.68 110.97
26 Nippon
Telegraph & Tel
Japan Telecommunications
Services
107.02 6.36 179.95 59.07
27 EDF Group France Utilities 89.46 4.73 278.76 71.53
28 IBM United States Software & Services 103.63 12.34 109.53 123.47
29 BNP Paribas France Banking 107.96 4.20 2,888.73 29.98
30 Bank of China China Banking 40.10 7.70 817.84 105.04
31 Telefónica Spain Telecommunications
Services
80.70 10.57 129.16 85.56
32 Nestlé Switzerland Food, Drink &
Tobacco
103.01 16.91 97.12 118.99
33 Sinopec-China China Oil & Gas 154.28 7.43 100.41 93.50
Petroleum Operations
34 Crédit Agricole France Banking 107.75 5.90 2,064.17 21.91
35 Siemens Germany Conglomerates 108.76 8.05 128.46 44.18
36 Hewlett-Packard United States Technology
Hardware & Equip
118.70 8.05 109.63 69.57
37 Intesa Sanpaolo Italy Banking 50.56 10.58 835.15 31.43
38 Bank of America United States Banking 113.11 4.01 1,817.94 25.29
39 Honda Motor Japan Consumer Durables 120.27 6.01 124.98 44.32
40 BBVA-Banco
Bilbao Vizcaya
Spain Banking 56.51 6.99 747.99 27.56
41 ArcelorMittal Luxembourg Materials 124.94 9.40 133.09 26.80
42 Johnson &
Johnson
United States Drugs &
Biotechnology
63.75 12.95 84.91 138.29
43 ENEL Italy Utilities 82.92 7.37 177.21 31.00
44 UniCredit Group Italy Banking 83.72 8.70 1,482.98 18.37
45 Generali Group Italy Insurance 118.39 4.26 546.50 21.35
46 France Telecom France Telecommunications
Services
74.50 5.67 125.32 58.92
47 Samsung
Electronics
South Korea Semiconductors 104.42 7.87 99.47 45.82
48 Deutsche Bank Germany Diversified
Financials
124.78 9.47 2,946.88 14.40
49 Microsoft United States Software & Services 61.98 17.23 65.79 143.58
50 Pfizer United States Drugs &
Biotechnology
48.30 8.10 111.15 83.03
51 Wells Fargo United States Banking 51.65 2.66 1,309.64 51.28
52 BHP Billiton Australia/United
Kingdom
Materials 59.47 15.39 72.40 96.65
53 StatoilHydro Norway Oil & Gas
Operations
93.38 6.20 82.42 53.30
54 Sumitomo
Mitsui Financial
Japan Banking 46.06 4.62 1,114.89 25.56
55 China Mobile Hong Kong/China Telecommunications
Services
47.09 11.49 76.42 175.85
56 Goldman Sachs
Group
United States Diversified
Financials
53.58 2.32 884.55 42.06
57 RWE Group Germany Utilities 66.16 3.56 127.64 33.68
58 Roche Holding Switzerland Drugs &
Biotechnology
42.75 8.41 69.77 98.47
59 Commonwealth
Bank
Australia Banking 34.98 4.58 467.83 28.01
60 Société Générale
Group
France Banking 99.25 2.80 1,572.73 17.77
61 Novartis Switzerland Drugs &
Biotechnology
42.01 8.30 73.22 82.97
62 E.ON Germany Utilities 120.74 1.76 215.15 47.44
63 Deutsche
Telekom
Germany Telecommunications
Services
85.89 2.07 162.51 52.96
64 Rosneft Russia Oil & Gas
Operations
46.99 11.12 77.40 34.07
65 Mizuho Financial Japan Banking 42.29 3.12 1,545.23 21.46
65 Sanofi-aventis France Drugs &
Biotechnology
38.40 5.36 96.01 67.84
67 National
Australia Bank
Australia Banking 41.87 3.58 515.83 21.90
68 Royal Bank of
Canada
Canada Banking 30.01 3.52 575.21 34.29
69 Cisco Systems United States Technology
Hardware & Equip
39.58 7.49 61.36 85.05
69 Rio Tinto United
Kingdom/Australia
Materials 54.26 3.68 88.25 39.42
71 Tesco United Kingdom Food Markets 93.85 4.21 59.80 37.50
72 China Life
Insurance
China Insurance 26.20 5.32 127.83 83.26
73 Mitsubishi Corp Japan Trading Companies 60.43 4.64 117.84 20.89
74 Vale Brazil Materials 30.75 9.28 79.26 66.14
75 Munich Re Germany Insurance 64.20 2.09 291.87 24.29
76 Lukoil Russia Oil & Gas
Operations
66.86 9.51 59.14 26.62
77 Barclays United Kingdom Banking 59.82 6.40 2,947.84 11.15
78 Banco Bradesco Brazil Banking 39.97 3.26 194.51 26.75
79 Unilever Netherlands/United
Kingdom
Food, Drink &
Tobacco
56.44 7.00 48.75 58.24
80 BASF Germany Chemicals 86.77 4.06 69.41 25.62
81 Nokia Finland Technology
Hardware & Equip
70.63 5.55 52.29 35.32
82 Sony Japan Technology
Hardware & Equip
88.89 3.70 124.12 17.12
83 CVS Caremark United States Retailing 87.47 3.21 60.96 37.46
83 Daimler Germany Consumer Durables 133.43 1.88 180.08 21.21
85 United
Technologies
United States Conglomerates 58.68 4.69 56.47 38.53
86 Saudi Basic
Industries
Saudi Arabia Chemicals 40.62 5.87 72.39 31.44
87 Iberdrola Spain Utilities 35.09 3.98 114.81 32.42
88 Nissan Motor Japan Consumer Durables 108.46 4.83 119.00 14.14
89 Panasonic Japan Technology
Hardware & Equip
90.87 2.82 71.85 28.93
90 MetLife United States Insurance 50.99 3.21 501.68 15.10
91 Westpac
Banking Group
Australia Banking 25.90 3.05 346.22 31.40
92 GlaxoSmithKline United Kingdom Drugs &
Biotechnology
35.55 6.72 52.67 79.06
93 Morgan Stanley United States Diversified
Financials
62.26 1.71 658.81 21.00
94 Telecom Italia Italy Telecommunications
Services
41.97 3.08 117.81 23.82
95 Intel United States Semiconductors 37.59 5.29 50.72 70.86
96 Zurich Financial
Services
Switzerland Insurance 32.35 3.04 325.04 19.60
97 Mitsui & Co Japan Trading Companies 57.50 4.11 97.15 17.12
98 Comcast United States Media 34.26 2.55 113.02 37.62
99 AXA Group France Insurance 156.95 1.28 936.92 19.47
100 Bayer Group Germany Chemicals 45.85 2.55 71.39 36.97
CAclubindia
