Richest people on the planet lose £406bn

Around $570bn (£406bn) has been wiped off their fortunes of the world's wealthiest people in the last year, according to the annual Forbes rich list.

"Volatile stock markets, cratering oil prices and a stronger dollar led to a dynamic reshuffling of wealth around the globe," says the magazine.

In total, Forbes identified 1,810 individuals with ten-figure dollar fortunes this year, down from 1,836 last year. Their aggregate net worth was $6.48trn, down $570bn, and the average fortune fell $300m to $3.6bn.

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The comparatively bad year comes after six years of consistent growth for the world's financial elite amid what had been a prolonged markets rally, while the total number of billionaires last year was actually a record.

There were 50 UK-based billionaires this year, three fewer than 12 months ago, with the collective wealth of the group falling by £7bn.

Gopichand and Srichand Hinduja were the top-ranked UK billionaires worth a combined £10.3bn, which the Financial Times notes is one of the few to have remain untouched since last year.

One of the biggest losers at the top of the overall list this year was Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim, who fell from second to fourth place after losing $27.1bn. Even Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who took the top spot for the third year in a row, lost $4.2bn.

Of all the world's billionaires, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg had the best year, climbing ten places to number six after seeing his wealth grow by $11.2bn.

Nick Bryer of Oxfam told The Guardian that global inequality was still soaring. "Their collective $827bn is still greater than the GDP of Turkey," he said.

"The long-term trend remains one of runaway inequality that is slowing economic growth and undermining the fight against poverty," Bryer added.