Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, has jumped back to the top spot as the wealthiest man in the world. This was according to a data of annual ranking of the world's billionaires from Forbes magazine.

This year, Gates gained a total net worth estimated to be around GBP45.5 billion. This was higher by USD67 billion from last year. After jumping back to the top spot, Gates knocked off Carlos Slim, the Mexican telecoms tycoon and activist investor, from the top spot. Slim landed second place on the list.

According to Forbes, there were 1645 billionaires around the world. The magazine also said that for an individual to be listed among the top 20, the net worth should be at least at USD31 billion. This was higher from 2013's USD23 billion mark. In the same report, Forbes said that Gates had been in the top 20 list in the last 20 years.