Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates once again topped the Forbes magazine list of the world's more than 2,000 billionaires, while U.S. President Donald Trump slipped more than 200 spots, the magazine said Monday.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has once again topped the Forbes rich list, with an estimated wealth of $86 billion. Photo by AFP

Gates, whose wealth is estimated at $86 billion, led the list for the fourth straight year, and has been ranked as the richest person in the world for 18 of the past 23 years.

Amongst the top 10 billionaires, a group heavily dominated by Americans, many from the technology sector, Gates was followed by Berkshire Hathaway chief Warren Buffett, with wealth was estimated at $75.6 billion, a $14.8 billion jump from the 2016 list, despite his pledge to give away 99 percent of his wealth.

Others in the top 10 included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos who moved up to number three with the biggest gain of any person on the planet, a $27.6 billion increase to his fortune of $72.8 billion. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg was number five and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison was number seven.

There are 183 tech billionaires in all with a combined $1 trillion in wealth, Forbes said.

The global population of billionaires jumped 13 percent from last year to a record 2,043, the biggest annual increase in the 31 years since the magazine began compiling the list, Forbes said.

The U.S. had the most billionaires with 565, a product of the swelling value of the American stock market since Trump's November 2016 election.

China was second with 319 billionaires, and Germany was third with 114.

(Source: VnExpress International)