Bill Gates reclaims top spot of being the world's richest man
Flickr CC By: Steve Jurvetson

If you had Bill Gates in your office pool as being the world's richest person, well congratulations! The Microsoft co-founder placed first in Forbes' annual list of billionaires after a four-year hiatus, grabbing the spot back from Mexican business mogul Carlos Slim Helu. A mere $4 billion separated the duo, with Gates' net worth estimated at $76 billion to Helu's $72 billion.
The list is full of interesting nuggets of data. For example, the average net worth of the 1,645 people on this year's list is $4.7 billion. That's up from an average of $4.2 billion the 1,426 billionaires made last year. More than 65 percent of those on the list are self-made billionaires, while the rest inherited at least a portion of their fortune.
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg saw his fortune double to $28.5 billion, notching him 21st place on the list. Sheryl Sandberg, the social network's chief operating officer, also made the list for the first time. Forbes released a full breakdown here. --Jordan Valinsky
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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
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