The world's biggest sovereign wealth fund, Norway's public pension fund, posted a 2.7-percent return in 2015 owing to real estate and the global stock market recovery.
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart had Aus$2.01 billion (US$1.89 billion) wiped off her fortune in the past year but remains Australia's wealthiest person, an annual rich list showed.
London has more billionaires than any other city in the world, and Britain has more billionaires per head of population than any other country, new data showed.
Portugal may be mired in a debt crisis, but its 25 richest people got 16 percent wealthier in 2013, with fortunes equivalent to nearly 10 percent of the country's GDP, rankings published Thursday showed.
Unwelcome spectres are coming back to haunt Czech billionaire Andrej Babis, who emerged as a power broker in recent elections but is facing allegations he collaborated with the communist-era secret police.
A Chinese suitor who gave his future bride an auspicious 8.88 million yuan ($1.5 million) in cash drew ire Thursday for the extravagant display of wealth in the still-developing country.