Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett – no change at top of Forbes world rich list

But while things are largely stable up top in that ranking, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg dropped three spots and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg rose by two.

According to the list announced Tuesday by Forbes, the riches of Bezos, 55, have swollen by US$19 billion in one year and he is now worth US$131 billion.

Bezos, who holds 16 per cent of Amazon and whose wealth now makes him a target of the left wing of the US Democratic Party, has widened the money gap between himself and Gates, the philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft.

Gates, 63, has seen his wealth grow to US$96.5 billion, up from US$90 billion last year, said Forbes.

Third place is held by Buffett, 88 and long considered an investment guru, although he did get stung in late February by a deep plunge in shares of US processed food maker Kraft Heinz, in which he had money.