Robson Walton gallops past Bill Gates

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, APRIL 22. In a quite turn of fortunes, the Microsoft chief, Mr. Bill Gates, has been dethroned as the world's richest man by a an American retail chain owner, Mr. S. Robson Walton, and the Hinduja brothers have become poorer by a couple of millions of pounds - down from œ1.95 billion last year to just œ700 million pounds.

Down the pecking order, however, the Indian couple, Ms. Meena Pathak and her husband Mr. Kirit, have tenaciously held on to their œ55 million pickle business, according to the latest list of the world's richest men and women, published by The Sunday Times today.

Mr. Gates is a victim of the worldwide slump in hi- tech which has hit the Microsoft hard, sending his fortune crashing from œ53 billion in 2000 to œ37.5 billion this year.

``It's been the year that brought cyberspace down to earth and showed the enduring appeal of old business'', said Mr. Philip Beresford, who compiled the list. He said while Mr. Gates could still afford to live in style, many of his Microsoft companies were down to their knees. ``Some who borrowed heavily against share options now face bankruptcy''.

The emergence of a supermarket empire owner as the world's most affluent man prompted some to comment that while Britain had outgrown its image as a nation of shopkeepers, the world seemed to be on the way to becoming one.

Mr. Walton, described as a modest man whose own picture does not appear even on his company Wal-Mart's website, presides over a fortune of œ45.3 billion, nearly eight million pounds more than Mr. Gates. In Britain, Mr. Walton's public face is represented by Asda, the retail chain scattered all over the country.

``The Walton family's fortune has been amassed in less than 40 years. From starting one store in a small town in middle America, Wal-Mart now has more than 4,000 outlets worldwide'', the list says pointing out that the key to his success lies in the fact that he is in a business which is ``virtually recession- proof, selling food and consumer goods at rockbottom prices.''

Though Microsoft's shares are reported to have risen since the list was prepared, Mr. Gates still lagged behind the Walton family, Mr. Beresford said pointing out that he was only ``likely to regain the top spot if stock markets and shares in hi-tech firms recover.''

Other topnothcers include the Duke of Westminster, whose property holdings in Central London tops the rankings for Britain with œ4.4 billion - an increase of œ650 million over last year.

The fortune of Lord Sainsbury, yet another supermarket chain owner, jumped by œ700 million to œ2.9 billion. The Queen's assets, on the other hand, registered a modest increase of œ25 million.

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Section  : International
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