Buffett unseats Ortega to become world's 3rd richest person

Within weeks of publishing its annual global rich list, Forbes today said legendary investor Warren Buffett has become the world's third richest person, unseating Zara billionaire Amancio Ortega.

At the end of trading session on Monday, Buffett's net worth stood at $54.9 billion, while Ortega's market capitalisation stood at $54.5 billion.

"After Monday's markets closed, Ortega was down $2.5 billion from his net worth at the time we finalised our numbers for the 2013 Forbes billionaires list, which we published on March 4 using February 14, 2013 stock prices. Buffett, by contrast, was up $1.4 billion," Forbes said.

On Monday, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway shares rose 0.03 per cent, while Ortega's Inditex, sank 0.15 per cent on the Madrid exchange.

"Those are tiny shifts, but given the concentrated holdings each of the billionaires has in these companies, coupled with the constantly moving dollar-to-euro exchange rate, the changes were enough for the billionaires to flip- flop positions on the Forbes ranks," Forbes said.

As per the annual ranking published by Forbes on March 4, Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim was the wealthiest in the world with a networth of $73 billion, followed by Bill Gates ($67 billion), Amancio Ortega ($57 billion), Warren Buffett ($53.5 billion).

Besides, the flip flop in the rankings of Buffett and Ortega, other rankings in the Forbes list remain unchanged.

According to the latest Forbes ranking Mukesh Ambani was ranked 22nd, while the second-richest Indian Lakshmi Mittal is at 41st position with a networth of $16.5 billion.