Tesla CEO Elon Musk has for the first time topped Forbes' new World's Billionaires ranking while Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont has dropped from No.103 in last year's ranking to No.137.
Mr Musk tops the ranking with an estimated net worth of US$219 billion. The total net worth of the world's 2,688 billionaires is $12.7 trillion, down from $13.1 trillion last year, according to Forbes.
The number of billionaires fell from 2,755 last year. The latest number includes 236 newcomers -- far fewer than the 493 recorded last year.
Meanwhile, 329 people dropped off the list this year -- the most in a single year since the 2009 financial crisis.
Regionally, Asia-Pacific boasts the most billionaires with 1,088, followed by the United States (735) and Europe (592).
"The tumultuous stock market contributed to sharp declines in the fortunes of many of the world's richest," said Kerry A Dolan, Forbes' assistant managing editor of wealth.
"Still, more than 1,000 billionaires got wealthier over the past year. The top 20 richest alone are worth a combined US$2 trillion, up from US$1.8 trillion in 2021."
Mr Dhanin, the senior chairman of the kingdom's largest food and agriculture conglomerate Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, is believed to hold $13.5 billion in assets, down from the estimated net of $18.1 billion in 2021.
Other Thai billionaires on the list are Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, who ranked 156th with estimated total assets of $12 billion, and Sarath Ratanavadi, slightly lower at 161st with $11.8 billion in estimated assets.
