AS per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world's 100 wealthiest individuals, the richest people on the planet got even richer in 2012, adding $241 billion to their collective net worth. The aggregate net worth of the world's top moguls stood at $1.9 trillion at the market close on December 31, according to the index. Retail and telecommunications fortunes surged about 20 per cent on average during the year. Of the 100 people who appeared on the final ranking of 2012, only 16 registered a net loss for the 12-month period.

Carlos Slim, the telecommunications magnate who controls Mexico's America Movil maintained his title as the richest person on Earth for the entire year with net worth rising $13.4 billion or 21.6 per cent through December 31, making him the second-biggest gainer by dollars.

According to King, one of Slim's biggest challenges will be dealing with regulation in Mexico and Colombia designed to punish or even-out the market share between America Movil and its competitors. Of the 14 analysts who cover the stock, 71 per cent have a buy rating on the company, with an average target price of 19.15 pesos per share, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

US software mogul Bill Gates, 57, ranks second on the list, trailing Slim by $12.5 billion.

Warren Buffett, 82, lost his title as the world's third- richest man to Ortega on August 6. The Berkshire Hathaway chairman gained $5.1 billion during the year, even after donating 22.3 million Berkshire Class B shares in July to charity

IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, 86, is the world's fifth- richest person with a $42.9 billion fortune, became more transparent in August after IKEA's franchisor published its financial performance publicly for the first time and his net worth rose 16.6 per cent in 2012.