By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: For the second year running, Russian mining magnate Alisher Usmanov retained his position as the wealthiest man in the country on the Forbes magazine’s 2013 list of the world’s richest people.
Tycoon Usmanov is Russia’s wealthiest person on the list, with a net worth of $17.6 billion.
He is ranked 34th on the magazine’s list of the world’s richest people, which includes 1,426 billionaires.
Usmanov, owner of the Metalloinvest metals giant and a major shareholder in London’s Arsenal Football Club, also topped the Forbes magazine’s annual list of Russia’s richest people back in April 2012, with a net worth of $18.1 billion. He was earlier number 28 on the billionaires list.
Mikhail Fridman, who chairs Russia’s Alfa Group, ranks second on the list of richest Russian billionaires, having increased his wealth to $16.5 billion from $13.4 billion last year.
Russia’s third-richest man, according to the Forbes list, is Leonid Mikhelson, who controls Russia’s largest private gas-producing company Novatek, with a net worth of $15.4 billion.
The total net worth of the world’s richest people on the Forbes magazine’s 2013 list is $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion in the previous ranking.
Mexican magnate Carlos Slim was once again named the world’s richest person, followed by Bill Gates.