New York: Seven Indians, led by software mogul Azim Premji, Ambani brother-duo and Kumaramangalam Birla made it to the global billionaires list, while India emerged third among the Asian countries, whose people found a place in the elite club.

Though Japan was the unbeatable Asian leader on the Forbes list, taking 19 positions, India came third after Hong Kong, which had 11 of its citizens in the exclusive group.

Wipro boss Premji, with an individual worth of $ 5.9 billion was number three in the Asia's richest individuals, topped by Hong Kong's "Superman" Li Ka-shing, with $ 7.8 billion. However, the wealthiest person in the world for the ninth straight year was predictably the Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates with $ 40.7 billion.

Reliance's Mukesh and Anil Ambani figured in the list with assets worth $ 2.8 billion, while Kumaramangalam Birla acquired the membership with $ 2.4 billion. Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal with $ 2.2 billion and Adi Godrej with $ 1.1 billion were among the other Indians.

Many of the richest people in the world witnessed their fortunes dwindling again in the last year. But Oprah Winfrey's media empire grew to place her on the billionaires list, with a net worth of $ one billion and also to be the first black woman to join the ranks.

Bill Gates' net worth plunged 23 per cent from a year ago to $ 40.7 billion. Investment guru Warren Buffett remained second with $ 30.5 billion, a 13 per cent drop from last year.

Forbes pointed out that Gates is also the world's biggest giver, giving away $ one billion annually to charity, largely to vaccine research.

Membership in the exclusive club fell by 21 this year to 476, the third year of declines since the economy weakened and stock markets started falling. The group's combined wealth also shrunk to $ 1.4 trillion from $ 1.54 trillion last year.

The 222 Americans on the list hold 47 per cent of the list's wealth. But US billionaires together lost $ 98 billion last year. The collective wealth of billionaires on the list this year is worth $ 1.4 trillion – equal to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United Kingdom, Forbes said.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen grabbed fourth place with a net worth of $ 20.1 billion, down from $ 25.2 billion. Saudi Arabia' Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Alsaud climbed to the fifth spot with a $ 17.7 billion fortune.

Among the newsmakers on the list were Italian Prime Minister and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. While Europe has 134 billionaires, Russia has 10 new billionaires, thanks to higher oil prices.

The average age on the list is 64, but there are 25 billionaires under 40. The youngest is 19-year-old German Albert von Thurn und Taxis, who inherited his $ 1.5 billion portion of one of the world's oldest fortunes, when he turned 18 last year.

The 37 women on the list were led by Alice Walton and her mother Helen Walton, whose equal $ 16.5 billion portions of the Wal-Mart fortune placed them in seventh spot.

The number of billionaires in Asia in 2003 shrank to six from 70 last year, and 14 who were on last year's list were absent in the current edition.

Premji owns 84 per cent of Bangalore-based Wipro, India's largest technology company and had beefed up business with acquisitions, paying $ 26 million for energy practice of NASDAQ listed IT consultancy, American Management System. He shelled out another $ 102 million for Spectramind, an Indian call centre firm.

Forbes said, thanks to last year's merger of Reliance Petroleum with petrochemicals flagship Reliance Industries, the family's 34 per cent stake in the combined powerhouse is worth $ 2.8 billion. Reliance paid $ 536 million to acquire nearly half of state-owned Indian Petrochemicals and $ 250 million to take control of BSES, a utility.

Considered a "worthy inheritor" of his late father Aditya's $ 4.2 billion (assets) global commodities empire, Forbes notes that Birla heads one of India's leading family conglomerates. Combining the group's metals businesses in flagship Hindalco, he bought an Australian copper mine for $ 43 million in 2003. Birla increased stake in Larsen & Toubro, an engineering and cement company, from 10 per cent to 15 per cent and wants more. He is keen to diversify into entertainment.

Forbes notes that Mittal, "steel titan," oversees LNM group, the world's second-largest steel maker. Among its holding is Ispat International, which posted $ 4.5 billion in sales in 2001. Business is booming. LNM recently acquired steel plant Nova Hut in the Czech Republic, and will up its stake in South African Iscor to 47 per cent. LNM's steel mills span 12 countries, including the US, Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Romania and Algeria.

The low-profile construction magnate and real estate developer Mistry, the magazine said, shrewdly expanded inheritance by getting lucrative contracts in India and overseas, mainly Muscat.

Mistry is also the largest individual shareholder in Tata Sons, holding company of the $ 9.4 billion Tata group, India's leading business conglomerate. With his 18.4 per cent stake, worth $ 1.6 billion, and his daughter's marriage to Tata scion Noel, is expected to have say appointing the successor of group chairman Ratan Tata, Forbes adds.

Godrej heads a privately owned third-generation family conglomerate, whose businesses range from locks and office furniture to soaps and software services. The family's biggest asset, Forbes said, is a 3,500-acre estate in suburban Mumbai, where Godrej is building a $ five million dollar hospital.

Self-made software billionaire Shiv Nadar restructured his $ 907 million (revenues) HCL Group, India's leading IT group, which fell prey to the global tech spending slowdown, Forbes said. He merged all software business into flagship HCL Technologies in a bid to shore up its stock price, off nearly three per cent last year. Nadar diluted his stake in computer education firm NIIT, a declining business, while his firm invested in IT joint ventures with British Telecom, Jones Apparel Group and Deutsche Bank.

Forbes said this year, Gates will get a little "extra pocket change" – $ 100 million – from the company first shareholder dividends.

But even in these tough times, said the magazine, 48 new billionaires made the cut, the magazine said.

PTI