The Rich List

Oh , how our hearts bleed for them !!
We read that the world's richest people have failed to escape the ravages of recession with billionaires seeing their wealth shrink by almost a quarter in the last year according to the business magazine Forbes with Britons are among the biggest losers on the list .

Britain boasts 25 billionaires - down from last year's 35.

Duke of Westminster, Gerald Grosvenor, again led the way for the UK. His £8 billion - down from £10.2 billion last year - saw him placed 29th in the list of the world's richest billionaires.
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson came in at 261, with his fortune shrinking from £3.2 billion to £1.8 billion during the year.
Retailer Sir Philip Green also had a painful financial year. He lost £2.6 billion, with his wealth now estimated at £3.5 billion.
Newcastle FC owner Michael Ashley saw his fortune tumble by £1 billion over the last year to £800 million .
The loss was dwarfed by fellow football boss Roman Abramovich. The Chelsea owner lost a staggering £10.9 billion during the year, seeing his personal fortune drop to £6.2 billion. Mr Abramovich is one of 28 billionaires living in London, according to the Forbes list.
Harry Potter writer J K Rowling remained on the billionaires' list. Her £725 million - unchanged from last year - saw her come in at 701.

Worldwide , In 2008 there were 1,125 billionaires. This year, the number of uber-rich had shrunk to 793 - a drop of almost a third .

Bill Gates has regained his position as the world's richest man, with a personal fortune of £29 billion. Despite losing 18 billion dollars during the year, the Microsoft founder leapfrogged Warren Buffett who took a £18 billion hit over the same period. Mr Buffett dropped to second place with a not-so-meagre £26.8 billion.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the only person in the top 20 to see his wealth increase. His net worth went up by £3.3 billion following a re-evaluation of his financial data company.