There are 1,226 billionaires around the globe this year, marking an “all-time high,” according to Luisa Kroll of FORBES. At a “record $4.6 trillion, the group’s combined net worth is up 2%.” The U.S. is “still home to more billionaires than any other nation, with 425, a dozen more than a year ago.” In total, “there was a net increase of 16 billionaires, up from 1,210 in 2011.” Mexico’s CARLOS SLIM HELU tops the list for the third year in a row. Among those with sports interests who are newcomers to the list are Under Armour Chair, President & CEO KEVIN PLANK and Jaguars Owner SHAHID KHAN. There were 12 members from the ’11 list who passed away, including IMG CEO TED FORSTMANN. Listed below are notable billionaires with sports interests (FORBES.com, 3/7).
| NOTABLE SPORTS INTERESTS AMONG FORBES' GLOBAL BILLIONAIRES |
| RK | NAME | COUNTRY | WORTH | SPORTS INTERESTS |
| 3 | Warren Buffet | U.S. | $44.0B | Triple-A PCL Omaha
Storm Chasers co-Owner |
| 6 | Larry Ellison | U.S. | $36.0B | BNP Paribas Open,
Indian Wells Tennis Garden Owner |
| 21 | Lakshmi Mittal | India | $20.7B | EPL club Queens Park Rangers co-Owner |
| 28 | Alisher Usmanov | Russia | $18.1B | EPL club Arsenal investor |
| 47 | Phil Knight | U.S. | $14.4B | Nike Chair |
| 48 | Paul Allen | U.S. | $14.2B | Trail Blazers, Seahawks Owner |
| 58 | Mikhail Prokhorov | Russia | $13.2B | Nets Owner |
| 68 | Roman Abramovich | Russia | $12.1B | EPL club Chelsea Owner |
| 106 | Steve Cohen | U.S. | $8.3B | Mets investor (Dodgers bidder) |
| 106 | Lee Kun-Hee | South Korea | $8.3B | IOC Member |
| 106 | Rupert Murdoch | U.S. | $8.3B | News Corp. Owner (Fox Sports) |
| 106 | Charles Ergen | U.S. | $8.3B | EchoStar Chair |
| 127 | Patrick
Soon-Shiong | U.S. | $7.2B | Lakers investor |
| 133 | Phil Anschutz | U.S. | $7.0B | AEG Chair |
| 157 | Jim Kennedy | U.S. | $6.3B | Cox Enterprises Chair |
| 169 | Silvio Berlusconi | Italy | $5.9B | Serie A club AC Milan Owner |
| 193 | Dietrich Mateschitz | Austria | $5.3B | MLS Red Bulls,
F1 Red Bull Racing Owner |
| 199 | David Tepper | U.S. | $5.1B | Steelers investor |
| 199 | John Malone | U.S. | $5.1B | Liberty Media Chair (Braves) |
| 205 | Rich DeVos | U.S. | $5.0B | Magic Owner |
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WELCOME TO THE CLUB: The “unlikely tales of the world’s newest billionaires” were profiled on ABC’s "Nightline" Wednesday night, with ABC's John Donvan noting Plank ranked 1,075 on Forbes' billionaire list with $1.1B “with a business he only started in 2006." Donvan: "That’s getting rich awfully quick, isn’t it?” Forbes' CALEB MELBY said of the new billionaires on the list, “They are creating new product categories and they continue to dominate those product categories. In many cases, they’re taking those companies public and people are excited about the products and they’re investing in them” (“Nightline,” ABC, 3/7). Click for a list of additional billionaires with sports interests.
