Forbes magazine released its annual ranking of the world’s billionaires on Monday, which includes 100 Latin Americans and 29 Canadians. The group of 1,426 billionaires featured this year has an aggregate wealth of $4.5 trillion, concentrated primarily in the United States (home of 442 billionaires) and followed by Asia-Pacific (386) and Europe (336).
Brazil leads the Latin American region with 46 billionaires in the list, followed by Chile (14), Peru (10), Argentina (5) Colombia (5), Venezuela (3), St. Kitts and Nevis (1) and Belize (1).
The top-two spots on the list are the same as last year, with Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim ranked number one and Microsoft founder Bill Gates in the second spot. These two billionaires have recently partnered to perform research on agricultural productivity by donating new infrastructure for Mexico’s International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will support the Center’s Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa initiative.
Besides Slim, 14 other Mexicans made Forbes list this year, while Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán—whose whereabouts are unknown—was dropped due to difficulties to calculate his assets.
