Rich List Topped by Mexican

The 70-year-old's $37.5billion fortune edged-out that of Microsoft owner Bill Gates, last year's richest man, by around ฃ300million.

It is only the second time Gates has been off top spot since 1995.

Helu - the first non-American to top the list for 16 years - controls a string of telecoms firms, including Telmex and America Movil.

US investor Warren Buffett, 2008's richest man, was third on US magazine Forbes' list of around 900 billionaires - with a $31.5 billion pot. In the UK, the Duke of Westminster Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor was again the wealthiest man, with ฃ8 billion.

Property tycoons David and Simon Reuben were second, with ฃ5billion, followed by Top Shop owner Sir Philip Green on ฃ4.5 billion.

There were 29 Brits on the list. The number of billionaires in the world rose from 793 last year to 1,011 - still short of 2008's 1,125. China has the most, 64, outside the US, where there are 403.