Mexico City: Mexico's Carlos Slim, the son of an immigrant shopkeeper who amassed a $53.5 billion fortune and bought a major stake in the New York Times, became the first person from a developing nation to be named the world's richest person.
Slim, a telecom magnate, edged out US billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to earn the top spot on Forbes' list of the world's richest people - the first time a non-American has topped the list since 1994.
Click here to see the top ten richest billionaires
The jump in position comes following a year in which Slim's cell phone holdings rebounded in value.
Forbes' employee Keren Blankfeld said that never before has someone from the developing world earned the top spot.
Arturo Elias Ayub - an executive at Slim's Telmex telephone company and the billionaire's son-in-law - expressed satisfaction that a Mexican businessman is now at the top of the list.
But he said the 70-year-old magnate is not breaking out the champagne.
"This is a number brought out by a magazine that doesn't concern us, or worry us," said Elias Ayub, echoing Slim's 2007 comment about the top spot that had eluded him for years: a Spanish phrase - "me es impermeable" - that roughly translates as "I'm impervious to that."
Slim is known for wearing inexpensive suits and rarely using the computers his companies sell, preferring old-style paper notebooks. A baseball fan, his indulgences are largely limited to cigars and diet soft drinks.
While he owns - either personally or through his foundations and museums - an impressive collection of art, including works by French sculptor Auguste Rodin, he works out of a set of somewhat dowdy, 1970s-style offices.
A civil engineer by training, he has bought up troubled or government-owned companies of all types, fixed them up and resold them for huge profits.
"In periods of crisis, he has always invested, and now we are beginning to see the fruits of that," Elias Ayub said.
Blankfeld said the 2010 top-ten list - which includes Slim, two billionaires from India and one from Brazil - reflects the increasing presence of developing nations.
Gates' and Buffet's donations also played a role in their decline to the number 2 and 3 spots. "A big reason for that is they are both very philanthropic," said Blankfeld.
Top 20 in the list
1. Carlos Slim Helu and family. Mexico. Telecoms. 53.5 billion dollars.
2. Bill Gates. US. Microsoft. 53 billion dollars.
3. Warren Buffett. US. Berkshire Hathaway. 47 billion dollars.
4. Mukesh Ambani. India. Oil, gas. 29 billion dollars.
5. Lakshmi Mittal. India. Steel. 28.7 billion dollars.
6. Lawrence Ellison. US. Oracle. 28 billion dollars.
7. Bernard Arnault. France. LVMH luxury goods. 27.5 billion dollars.
8. Eike Batista. Brazil. Mining, oil. 27 billion dollars.
9. Amancio Ortega. Spain. Clothing retail. 25 billion dollars.
10. Karl Albrecht. Germany. Supermarkets. 23.5 billion dollars.
11. Ingvar Kamprad and family. Sweden. Ikea. 23 billion dollars.
12. Christy Walton and family. US. Walmart. 22.5 billion dollars.
13. Stefan Persson. Sweden. Hennes and Mauritz. 22.4 billion dollars.
14. Li Ka-shing. Hong Kong. Diversified. 21 billion dollars.
15. Jim Walton. US. Walmart. 20.7 billion dollars.
16. Alice Walton. US. Walmart. 20.6 billion dollars.
17. Liliane Bettencourt. France. L'Oreal. 20 billion dollars.
18. S. Robson Walton. Walmart. 19.8 billion dollars.
19. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud. Saudi Arabia. Investments. 19.4 billion dollars.
20. David Thomson and family. Canada. Inheritance. 19 billion dollars.
Interesting facts from the Forbes rich list
* There are 1,011 billionaires around the world in 2010, up from 793 last year. Of those 89 are women, up from 72 in 2009.
* There were 611 billionaires who increased their wealth in the past year. The fortunes of 62 fell, while 77 stayed even.
* There are 403 billionaires in the United States with a net worth of $1.3 trillion; this is up from 359 in 2009 and a value of $1.1 trillion.
* There are 248 billionaires in Europe with a net worth of $1 trillion, up from 196 billionaires last year with a fortune of $665 billion.
* In the Asia-Pacific region there are 234 billionaires worth $729 billion, compared with 130 billionaires in 2009 valued at $357 billion.
* The Middle East and Africa have 65 billionaires with a fortune of $181 billion, up from 58 last year worth $156 billion.
* The Americas (excluding the United States) accounts for 61 billionaires with a net worth of $304 billion, compared with 50 billionaires last year valued at $175 billion.
* There are 97 billionaires making their debut in 2010.
* Thirty people have dropped off the list from last year, another 13 died, and 164 returned to the billionaire ranking.
The full Forbes ranking of the world's billionaires can be seen at www.forbes.com/billionaires.
