Top 10 Forbes Billionaires 2009

The top 10 Forbes billionaires 2009 hailed from 8 different counties. A billionaire is any person that has a net worth of at least one billion units of a currency, usually the US dollar. Believe it or not, all billionaires aren't born into their money, some earn it through hard work and sacrifice. See the list below for the top 10 Forbes billionaires of 2009.

1. William Gates III. The 53 year old Gates is a US citizen, his net worth is $40,000,000,000. William Gates made his fortune in the software industry as he is the chairman of Microsoft. Even after losing $18,000,000,000 in 2009, Gates remained the world's richest person.
2. Warren Buffett. The 78 year old Buffett is worth $37,000,000,000. Warren Buffett is a US citizen and self made billionaire, he is an investor. Warren is the son of a former Nebraska politician and delivered newspapers as a boy. Warren Buffett was world's richest person in 2008 before making some self admitted dumb investments.
3. Carlos Slim Helu & family. This self made billionaire earned his billions in the telecommunications industry. Carlos is 69 years old and a citizen of Mexico. He bought Mexico's Telmex in 1990 and now controls 90% of Mexico's telephone landlines.
4. Lawrence Ellison. Lawrence is worth $22,500,000,000, he is 64 years old and a citizen of the US. Lawrence is another self made billionaire who also made his fortune in the software industry. His company, Oracle, racked up 49 acquisitions in the four years prior, one being BEA Systems for $8,500,000,000 in 2007.
5. Ingvar Kamprad & family. The 83 year old Swedish native's worth is $22,000,000,000, he made his billions in the retail industry. He opened his first Ikea store 50 years ago. Ingvar peddled as a teenager, selling matches, Christmas cards, fish, pens and other items as he rode around on his bicycle. To date, his stores are in 36 countries with more to follow.
6. Karl Albrecht. Karl is an 89 year old German citizen, his net worth is $21,500,000,000. He made his billions in the retail industry with his discount supermarket chain, Aldi Sud. 75 of his stores are due to open in the United States. He and his brother transformed their mother's corner store into Aldi after World War II.
7. Mukesh Ambani. Mukesh is an Indian citizen who's net worth is $19.5,000,000,000, he is 51 years old. He inherited his family's manufacturing business; India's most valuable company by market cap. Mukesh owns the most expensive home in the world; it is worth $1,000,000,000. 
8. Lakshmi Mittal. The 58 year old Lakshmi is an Indian living in the UK, his net worth is $19,300,000,000. He inherited his family's steel business, which is now the world's largest. Lakshmi also sits on the board of Goldman Sachs and calls a 12 room mansion in London home.
9. Theo Albrecht. Theo is the brother of Karl Albrecht, Theo is 87 years old and his net worth is $18,800,000,00. Theo is a citizen of Germany who made his fortune in the retail industry with his discount supermarket chain Aldi Nord. Theo also developed the discount food store Trader Joe's, which has over 320 stores across the US. He also owns stake in Supervalu.
10. Amancio Ortega. Amancio is a Spanish citizen, his net worth is $18,300,000,000. The 73 year old Amancio is a self made billionaire who made his fortune in the retail industry. He started off as a gopher in a shirt store. Eventually he and his then-wife, started making clothes in their living room. Their business, Inditex became one of the world's most successful apparel manufacturers. Today Inditex boasts more than 4,000 stores in 71 countries. 

Note: You don't always have to come from money to make money, sometimes you just have to be willing to take risks.