[jeffrey]

The billionaires are richer this year than last and there are more of them according to the 2005 list of billionaires released by Forbes magazine. For the 11th year in a row, Microsoft founder Bill Gates remains number one on the list with $46.5 billion (down slightly from $46.6 billion in 2004), but investor Warren Buffett is right on his heals with $44 billion (up from $42.9 billion in 2004).

The big surprise is that the Wal-Mart Waltons are no longer dominating the top ten this year. In fact, only one - S. Robson Walton at $18.3 billion - made the top ten filling out the last spot on the list. The Walton family did take the next four spots. Alice and Helen Walton once again share the title of richest woman in the world with $18 billion each tied at #13 on the list.

A total of 131 new billionaires appeared on the list this year including Martha Stewart who has wealth of $1 billion despite landing in jail. This year found 68 women billionaires on the list, an increase of 15 from 2004.

Thirty people dropped off the billionaire list from last year and another 14 billionaires died during the year.

There were 29 billionaires under the age of 40 including Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page who jumped nearly 500 places this year with their company stock going public to land tied at #55 with $7.2 billion each. The youngest billionaire was Germany's Albert von Thurn with $2 billion at the sprite age of 21 years.




Here is the list of the top 20 billionaires including their age and where the money came from:

1. William Gates III, 49, $46.5, Microsoft

2. Warren Buffett, 74, $44, Berkshire Hathaway

3. Lakshmi Mittal, 54, $25, steel

4. Carlos Slim Helu, 65, $23.8, telecom

5. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, 48, $23.7, investments

6. Ingvar Kamprad, 78, $23, Ikea

7. Paul Allen, 52, $21, Microsoft, investments

8. Karl Albrecht, 85, $18.5, supermarkets

9. Lawrence Ellison, 60, $18.4, Oracle

10. S. Robson Walton, 61, $18.3, Wal-Mart

11. Jim Walton, 57, $18.2, Wal-Mart

11. John Walton, 59, $18.2, Wal-Mart

13. Alice Walton, 56, $18, Wal-Mart

13. Helen Walton, 85, $18, Wal-Mart

15. Kenneth Thomson and family, 81, $17.9, publishing

16. Liliane Bettencourt, 82, $17.2, L'Oreal

17. Bernard Arnault, 56, $17, LVMH

18. Michael Del, 40, $16, Dell

19. Sheldon Adelson, 71, $15.6, casinos, hotels

20. Theo Albrecht, 83, $15.5, supermarkets