Forbes' list of billionaires includes 10 from Westchester

Monday March 4, 2013 7:30 PM By Jillian Sederholm

Photo credit: Getty Images | Forbes magazine announces the list world billionaires. Here are some on the list from the Hudson Valley. (March 4, 2013)

Only 1,426 people in the entire world can call themselves billionaires, and fewer than 1 percent of the richest of the rich call or have called Westchester home, according to the list-loving Forbes magazine, which released its latest tabulation of wealth, "The 2013 Billionaires List," on Monday.

Topping the list of the wealthy from the Hudson Valley is 82-year-old George Soros of Katonah, who ranked No. 30 on the Forbes list and is worth a staggering $19.2 billion.

Forbes found that members of the exclusive list aggregate a net worth of $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion last year. The increase is due mainly to 210 people joining this year's billionaire's club.

Heading the list for the fourth year is telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu, valued at $73 billion, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates remained the richest American with a fortune of $67 billion.

The United States continued to be home to more billionaires than any other country with 442 total, 10 of whom have ties to Westchester County. The youngest and oldest billionaires on the list both have Hudson Valley ties: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, 28, was born in White Plains and raised in Dobbs Ferry, and Standard Oil heir David Rockefeller, 97, resides in Sleepy Hollow.

Below are the affluent with Hudson Valley ties, in order of rank:

Billionaire: George Soros, 82
Forbes rank: 30th
Net worth: $19.2 billion
Source of wealth: Hedge funds
Local ties: Lives in Katonah

Billionaire: Mark Zuckerberg, 28
Forbes rank: 66th
Net worth: $13.3 billion
Source of wealth: Facebook
Local ties: Raised in Dobbs Ferry

Billionaire: Ralph Lauren, 73
Forbes rank: 166th
Net worth: $7 billion
Source of wealth: Fashion design
Local ties: Lives in Bedford

Billionaire: David Shaw, 61
Forbes rank: 395th
Net worth: $3.4 billion
Source of wealth: Hedge funds
Local ties: Building mansion in Hastings-on-Hudson

Billionaire: Donald Trump, 66
Forbes rank: 423rd
Net worth: $3.2 billion
Source of wealth: Real estate, television
Local ties: Graduate of Cornwall’s New York Military Academy, owns Trump National golf clubs in Briarcliff Manor and Hopewell Junction

Billionaire: Daniel Och, 52
Forbes rank: 490th
Net worth: $2.9 billion
Source of wealth: Hedge funds
Local ties: Lives in Scarsdale

Billionaire: David Rockefeller Sr., 97
Forbes rank: 527th
Net worth: $2.7 billion
Source of wealth: Standard oil
Local ties: Lives in Sleepy Hollow

Billionaire: David Gottesman, 86
Forbes rank: 922nd
Net worth: $1.65 billion
Source of wealth: Investments
Local ties: Lives in Rye

Billionaire: Thomas Secunda, 58
Forbes rank: 1,031st
Net worth: $1.4 billion
Source of wealth: one of the founders of Bloomberg L.P.
Local ties: Lives in Croton-on-Hudson

Billionaire: Nelson Peltz, 70
Forbes rank: 1,175th
Net worth: $1.2 billion
Source of wealth: Investments
Local ties: Lives in Bedford