newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Defending his title as the wealthiest person in the world on Forbes’ billionaire list for the second straight year in 2011 is Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim.

Forbes says Slim, who owns a large stake in The New York Times and America Movil, made the most money in the past year, growing his fortune by $20.5 billion to $74 billion.

Bill Gates comes in at number two, with Forbes listing his net worth at $56 billion.

Reuters reports that Gates would have $88 billion if he weren't so philanthropic. Forbes backs that up, noting that Gates has given $30 billion to his foundation.

Warren Buffett is third on the billionaires' list. He has also given away billions of dollars to charity. He has donated $6 billion to Bill Gates' foundation since 2006.

According to Forbes, the richest man in New Jersey, whose net worth was calculated at $5.8 billion in March 2011, was Donald Newhouse, checking in at number 173 on Forbes’s overall list.

Newhouse, from Somerset County, oversees the newspaper portion of Advance Publications, which runs local papers in more than 25 American cities. His fortune rose $400 million since last year thanks to the stock performance of media and entertainment network Discovery Communications, and he is the owner of Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC and others. Newhouse is also a Syracuse University dropout.

Hedge fund manager David Tepper, from Milburn, came in at number 208, and is worth $5 billion. Tepper’s $16 billion Appaloosa Management fund was up 34% gross of fees in 2010. It returned 132% in 2009, thanks to timely purchases of financial stocks.

For the record, Tepper never got an A in high school.

Short Hills resident Peter Kellogg was number 362, earning $3.1 billion.

His father, James, founded the specialist firm that became Spear, Leeds & Kellogg. The New Jersey native went to work at dad's firm early 1970s; turned outfit into dominant marketmaker.

Leon G. Cooperman, also from Short Hills, earned $1.8 billion, finishing at number 692. Cooperman started his career as a Xerox quality control engineer in 1965. He received his MBA from Columbia, where he used to carpool with former billionaire Mario Gabelli. Headed Goldman Sachs Asset Management prior to starting his own hedge fund, Omega Advisors, in 1991, and now manages over $5 billion.

The last New Jersey billionaire on Forbes’ list was Michael Price of Far Hills, who wound up at number 833, and is worth $1.5 billion.

Considered an expert in value investing, the money manager increased the value of his mutual funds to more than $17 billion before selling Heine Securities to Franklin Securities for $670 million in 1996. Price now runs MFP, whose top holdings include Citigroup and ConocoPhilips.

CBS News reports the United States has the most billionaires on the list, with 413.

Fox Business reports the number of the world’s billionaires also continues to grow, with 199 new additions to the list that now totals 2,210.