Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, has held on to his crown as the world’s richest man, but Warren Buffett, the American investment guru known as the Sage of Omaha, is fast catching up, according to Forbes magazine’s annual list of billionaires.

Although Mr Gates lead the rich list for the thirteenth consecutive year with a fortune worth $56 billion (£29 billion) — up by just $6 billion — Mr Buffett’s personal fortune climbed by $10 billion to $52 billion.

There are now a record 946 billionaires in the world, up more than 150 from last year, with Forbes attributing the increase to the commodities boom, the march of technology and the relative weakness of the dollar.

The list’s total net worth grew by 35 per cent from last year to a staggering $3.5 trillion, with Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican telecoms mogul, jumping into third place with a massive $19 billion increase in his net worth.

“This growth in the billionaires list is a mere reflection of a dynamic global economy. More people are better off on this Earth than ever before,” said Steve Forbes, the magazine’s editor-in-chief. “This is the richest year in human history.”

While the list was dominated as usual by American business-men, Russian oligarchs and Asian entrepreneurs, especially those from India and China, made their presence felt.

Some 36 Indian billionaires led by Lakshmi Mittal, the steel magnate, now feature on the list, boasting a total wealth of $191 billion between them.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, the Japanese businessman whose real estate assets once made him the richest man in the world, slid off the list all together, with Masayoshi Son, the SoftBank chief, taking the top Japanese spot with $5.8 billion.

In Europe the most excitement came from Russia and Spain, with ten new Spanish names on the list and 19 Russian newcomers.

Mr Forbes, however, urged some caution, saying some of the fortunes in the former Soviet Union did not appear sustainable in the long term. “If there is a fall-off of commodity prices . . . does it have the breadth and depth to take up the slack?” he asked of the Russian economy.

Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea FC, remained top in Russia with $18.7 billion. The 52 other Russian billionaires owed their fortunes mainly to oil, steel, mining and metals.

The richest woman on the list was Liliane Bettencourt, 84, of France, the daughter of Eugene Schueller, the L’Oréal founder. She was ranked at number 12 with $20.7 billion.

Howard Schultz of Starbucks, the coffee chain, was a new entrant to the list as was Michael Eisner, the former Disney chief, who owed his place mostly to his rising stock in the company. Other familiar names were Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the Google executives, now worth $16.6 billion each, Michael Dell, the Dell founder, worth $15.8 billion, and Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian Prime Minister, on $11.8 billion.