Factbox: Interesting numbers from the Forbes rich list

Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim is the richest person in the world for the second year in a row, Forbes said on Wednesday.

Rising steel and oil prices in Russia, more honest disclosure in Brazil and booming economies in China and India has fueled a spike in billionaires in the so-called BRIC countries, Forbes list of the World's Billionaires found.

Here are some statistics from the Forbes 2011 ranking of the world's billionaires:

* There are 1,210 billionaires in the world in 2011, up from 1,011 last year. Of those, 102 are women, up from 89 in 2010.

* There are 648 billionaires who increased their wealth in the past year. The fortunes of 160 fell, while 146 stayed even.

* There are 413 billionaires in the United States with a net worth of $1.5 trillion. This is up from 403 in 2010 and a value of $1.3 trillion.

* There are 300 billionaires in Europe with a net worth of $1.3 trillion, up from 248 billionaires last year with a fortune of $1 trillion.

* In the Asia-Pacific region there are 332 billionaires worth $996 billion, compared with 234 billionaires in 2010 valued at $729 billion.

* The Middle East and Africa have 89 billionaires with a fortune of $251 billion, up from 65 last year worth $181 billion.

* In the Americas (excluding the United States) there are 76 billionaires with a net worth of $419 billion, compared with 61 billionaires last year valued at $304 billion.


* There are 214 billionaires making their debut on the Forbes list. Brazil, Russia, India and China accounted for 108 of those newcomers.

* 47 people have dropped off the list from last year, another 10 died, and 42 returned to the billionaire ranking.

* Billionaires in the United States are the oldest with an average age of 66, followed by the Americas (65) and the Middle East and Africa (60). The average age is 59 in the Europe and Asia Pacific regions.

* Dustin Moskovitz of Facebook fame is the youngest billionaire in the world at 26, with a fortune of $2.7 billion.

* The oldest billionaire is Swiss tech billionaire Walter Haefner, who is 100 and worth $4 billion.

The full Forbes ranking of the world's billionaires can be seen at www.forbes.combillionaires