Gates hasn't been the richest in years..... #1 has belonged to the Mexican guy that owns the telcos...

Of course they are the richest KNOWN people in the world, I bet the richest is some Saudi Arabian sheikh or some dude from Russia that has to do with oil...

And you really think there is "some sheikh" or "some dude from Russia" richer than the others unknown to the publicity aand press? And he is so humble that he don't boast/gossip about being a billionaire or even the richest one?

Why not? Saudi Aramco is the world's most valuable corporation, at a valuation of $1tn, with oil reserves estimated to be 10* that of Exxon Mobil. For all intents and purposes, it's essentially owned by Saudi Royal family. It's a "state-owned" company, and they own the state.

Sure he has.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2015/03/02/forbes-billionaires-full-list-of-the-500-richest-people-in-the-world-2015/

And... the poorest 2 billion people in the world lost NOTHING and didn't even notice.

Yep, I think it's possible, in the end if someone whants to keep their earning private (especially if this person is the richest in the world and thinks that they might get in trouble due to people knowing about their status) nobody stops them from doing so, plus the richest person might very well be known to the public but he might result as a multimilionare or as someone that owns a "few bilions" :v

I could easily spend $1Billion, and $1Million is pretty much nothing these days (especially if its won or something and earned all at once and then ~39+7.5 (MN State)+Social Security ($12,000 max annual)+3(medicare top tier)% is all taken in taxes).

Lol, that's so much money. To think I was extremely happy when I earned my first million... this guy is just a monster! =o