Poor little rich boys: The wealth of the world’s billionaires, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Carlos Slim, shrank by $19bn in 2015
The wealth of the world's 400 richest people shrank by $19bn (£12.7bn) in 2015, with three of the five richest people losing $34bn between them.
That's according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, falling commodities and slow growth in China caused the world's richest to lose out. The heart bleeds…
Mexican telecoms billionaire Carlos Slim, once the world's richest person, lost out on $20bn, with his company, America Movil, losing 25 per cent of its value.
Meanwhile, Warren Buffett – currently at number three on the ranking of the world's wealthiest – lost $11.3bn after Berkshire Hathaway, his investment company, made a loss for the first time since 2011.
Bill Gates' fortune shrank by $3bn.
But Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has recently made bold steps into the world of space travel, increased his fortune by $31bn – against a fall of $7.4bn in 2014. Not bad.
| Name | Loss/gain |
| Amancio Ortega | +$12.1bn |
| Jeff Bezos | +$31bn |
| Bill Gates | -$3bn |
| Warren Buffett | -$11.3bn |
| Carlos Slim | -$20bn |