Self-made tycoon Li Wei, founder of Synear Food Holdings, made the list for the first time along with a dozen other Chinese newcomers. (file  Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, March 10 -- What could a Chinese dumpling maker and Mexican telecom mogul possibly have in common?

    They're among a record number of people who held the title of billionaire over the past year.

    The tally of billionaires around the globe reached a high of 946, their combined wealth growing 35 percent to 3.5 trillion U.S. dollars, according to Forbes magazine's 2007 rankings of the world's richest people.

    The rich cashed in on strong equity markets, real estate and commodity prices globally, according to Forbes billionaires' co-editor Luisa Kroll.

    "It's just been kind of an extraordinary year for markets worldwide," she said.

    Self-made tycoon Li Wei, founder of Synear Food Holdings, made the list for the first time along with a dozen other Chinese newcomers.

    Her company, one of China's largest producers of frozen food, including sweet and meat dumplings, is an official supplier to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

    Leading the list are two men who manage to keep getting richer as they give more and more money away. Microsoft founder Bill Gates ranked No. 1 for the 13th straight year, beating out friend and fellow philanthropist Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

    Gates's fortune rose 6 billion dollars to 56 billion dollars last year, while Buffett garnered in an additional 10 billion dollars to boost his net worth to 52 billion dollars.

    Only five Americans ranked in the top 20, though they account for 44 percent of the overall list.

    Breathing down Buffett's neck was Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim Helu, who added 19 billion dollars to his existing fortune, the largest one-year gain over the past decade. With 49 billion dollars to his name, Helu was just 3 billion dollars shy of the No. 2 spot.

    Starbucks Corp Chairman Howard Schultz and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner joined the ranks of the world's richest for the first time, behind new faces Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, Canadian co-chiefs of Blackberry maker Research In Motion Ltd.

    All bets were off for online gambling moguls Ruth Parasol, Russell DeLeon and Calvin Ayre, who dropped from the list after recent crackdowns limiting offshore gambling Websites.

    Bumped from the top 20 were the Wal-Mart Stores Inc heirs, who saw their company's stock languish, and Michael Dell, founder of computer maker Dell Inc.

    Losing billionaire status entirely was Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, the once-powerful Japanese industrialist who first topped the tally in 1987.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)