Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report, and Luo Lin, President of Jin Lin Group, unveiled the Hurun Global Rich List 2012 in Lijiang, south China's Yunnan Province on March 5, 2012

China has five people on the Hurun Global Rich List 2012 according to the Hurun Research Institute, which publishes the list of individuals who have personal fortunes of $10 billion or more. Four are from Hong Kong and one is from China's Mainland.

The world's richest man is 73-year-old Carlos Slim of Mexico, who has a personal fortune of $55 billion. Despite the Mexican peso weakening 6 percent against the dollar and a 14 percent drop in the share value of his largest investment, America Movil, Central America's largest telecom, Slim's extensive holdings in mining and banking have kept him ahead of Gates and Buffett.

Second is 57-year-old Bill Gates with $50 billion. Gates has been continuing to selling off his shares in Microsoft – at a rate of 20 million shares per quarter -- to fund his charitable works. Most of his wealth is now held in his personal investment vehicle, Cascade Investment, together with a $7 billion stake in Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

Eighty-two-year-old Warren Buffet has seen the value of his Berkshire Hathaway stock fall 8 percent over the past year, but manages to hold on to third place with a $48 billion fortune.

Mark Zuckerberg, 28, of Facebook is the youngest self-made $10-billion man, followed by 39-year-old Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google with $17.5 billion each.

Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report, said, "Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin and Larry Page are inspiring a whole generation of new entrepreneurs."

Despite the eurozone's financial crisis, unrest in the Middle East and an economic slowdown across the large developing economies of China and India, the most exclusive club in the world – the 10 billion dollar club –- boasts 83 members. They have an average wealth of $18 billion and 10 are women, although all of their fortunes are inherited.

Whilst the US and Europe still boast the lion's share of the 10 billion dollar club with 27 and 17 members respectively, Russia, South America and the emerging giants of China and India are snapping at their heels.

It was a year when the price of gold jumped 21 percent, oil remained unchanged. Although the S&P 500 rose 5 percent, for most other markets it was a bad year with the Shanghai composite down a fifth, Hong Kong down 8 percent, whilst Frankfurt and London were down 3 percent and 1 percent respectively.

Rupert Hoogewerf said, "It won't be long before entrepreneurs from countries like China and India become more dominant, which is why Hurun Report –- best-known for the Hurun China Rich List – has decided to put out a Global Rich List."

Established as a research unit in 1999 by British accountant Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Inc. has grown into a leading luxury publishing group based in Shanghai, China. Hurun Report Inc. has four luxury magazines, the Hurun Research Institute and an active business events division targeting China's entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals.