Behind the headline — "Mexico's Slim Becomes 'World's Richest' Person" — are some pretty interesting trends in the latest Forbes rankings of the world's billionaires.
Along with the news that tycoon Carlos Slim Helu (with a $53.5 billion fortune) edged out Bill Gates (worth "just" $53 billion) for No. 1, Fortune says that:
— "U.S. billionaires still dominate the ranks — but their grip is slipping. Americans account for 40% of the world's billionaires, down from 45% a year ago. The U.S. commands 38% of the collective $3.6 trillion net worth of the world's richest, down from 44% a year ago."
— "For the first time China (including Hong Kong) has the most billionaires outside the U.S. with 89."
— "Eleven countries have at least double the number of billionaires they had a year ago, including China, India, Turkey and South Korea."
Day to Day profiled Slim in April 2007. As Alex Chadwick said, Slim " is a telecommunications magnate and a polarizing figure in Mexico":
All Things Considered is preparing a piece on the "changing face of the super-rich" for today's show. Click here to find an NPR station near you that broadcasts or streams the show. Later, the as-aired report will be posted here.
Update at 3:20 p.m. ET: All Things Considered host Michele Norris just got off the phone with Luisa Kroll, who edits the Forbes list. Kroll said that "the real story is the fact that everybody else" — the super rich from nations other than the USA — "is doing better"; not that American billionaires are somehow doing worse. Here's some of what she had to say, and as we wrote earlier, much more will be on ATC this evening:
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