Jack Ma, the founder of online marketplace Alibaba, enjoyed a bigger increase in his wealth this year than any other billionaire in a compilation of the 100 richest people published by Bloomberg Markets magazine.
Ma, who was an English teacher before founding the company which floated in New York this year, had his wealth valued at $25.9bn, up $22.3bn since December 2013.
He ranks 49th in the index which is led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who holds the top spot ahead of Mexican businessman Carlos Slim who made his fortune in telecoms and whom Forbes has previously ranked as the world’s richest man.
Tech industry billionaires in the list added $52.9bn to their fortunes, Bloomberg said, more than those in any other industry.
Warren Buffett, the legendary investor, moved up one spot to third and is one of the 42 Americans in the ranking.
There are nine from Russia although the magazine calculates they have lost $11bn from their combined wealth as result of western sanctions.
There is only one Briton on the list – the Duke of Westminster, the landowner. Measured in dollars, the biggest loser is Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea. He has lost $10.1bn since last December, mainly due to assets being moved over to his son.
• This article was amended on 5 November 2014. An earlier version said that, measured in dollars, the biggest loser was Dieter Schwarz, the boss of Lidl, who has lost $5.9bn since last December.
