For more than a decade, Microsoft's founder Bill Gates has headed the Forbes list as the wealthiest man in the world. However, according to a Reuters report, Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim might have surpassed Gates' fortune. Reuters cites an analysis in the online financial publication 'Sentido Comun' by Eduardo Garcia, which pins down Slim's fortune at $67.8 billion, - nearly 8 percent of Mexico's Gross Domestic Product - making Slim $8.6 billion wealthier than Gates.
Garcia, a former correspondent for Bloomberg financial news service, attributes the second-quarter growth in Slim's wealth to a 26.5 percent increase in one of Slim's biggest holdings, America Movil SA, the largest wireless service provider in Latin America. Slim's bank, Inbursa, also saw its stock jump by 20%. In comparison, Microsoft saw a 5.7% stock rise over the same period.
Back in April, Forbes magazine reported on its Web site that Slim had moved past U.S. investor Warren Buffett to become the world's second-richest man. The next valuation of Forbes will appear in the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans in September, while an estimation of Slim's worth will be published in another World Billionaires list next March.