Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett beat Bill Gates for the top spot on Forbes magazine's annual list of billionaires worldwide, ending a 13- year reign for Microsoft Corp.'s co-founder.

Buffett's wealth increased $10 billion to about $62 billion in the 12 months through Feb. 11, mostly from gains in his company's shares, Forbes said in a statement released yesterday.

The fortune of Gates, 52, rose $2 billion to $58 billion. The Microsoft chairman fell to third on the list behind Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim, 68, who has an estimated net worth of $60 billion.

Forbes's list shows wealth expanding in emerging markets around the globe, with Russia overtaking Germany as the second- richest country and 70 percent of newcomers from Russia, India, China and the U.S.

In 2006, half the top 20 billionaires came from the U.S. This year there were only four Americans.

Buffett, 77, is the biggest holder of Berkshire Hathaway's stock with about 32 percent of the Class A shares as of July and 18 percent of the Class B shares as of Dec. 31, according to Bloomberg data.

The company's Class A shares rose 28 percent in the 12 months ended Feb. 11. They now sell for $139,000 each, the most expensive on the New York Stock Exchange.

Buffett built Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway during the past four decades by investing premiums from insurers such as Geico Corp., National Indemnity Co. and General Reinsurance Corp. Buffett filed his first tax return at age 13, claiming a $35 deduction for the bicycle he used to deliver newspapers, Forbes said.

(SD-Agencies)