The wealth of the world’s billionaires swelled to $5.4 trillion at the start of 2013, from $4.6 trillion a year earlier, according to the latest Forbes Billionaire list, with Asian super-rich individuals featuring prominently. 

A total of 1,426 people made the cut, with 210 new ten-figure fortunes added to this year’s list.

The US led the way, with 442 billionaires, followed by Asia-Pacific (386), Europe (366), the Americas (129) and the Middle East and Africa (103), Forbes said.  

Once again, Mexican telecoms magnate Carlos Slim topped the tables, followed by Bill Gates. In at number three was Amancio Ortega, of Spanish retailer Zara, achieving his highest ranking so far by edging out investing legend Warren Buffett. This wasn’t for a lack of success on Buffett’s part last year: he added $9.5 billion to his fortune. This wasn’t enough, however, to keep him in the triumvirate of the world’s wealthiest people, as he slipped out of the top three for the first time since 2000.

Forbes said that rising asset prices were the driving force behind the growing wealth of the super rich globally, and that gainers outnumbered losers four-to-one in the tables. In the 2012 list, by contrast, roughly the same number of fortunes fell as rose.  

Many new billionaire fortunes were made from consumer spending, the report said. These included: Renzo Rosso, of Diesel jeans wealth and worth $3 billion; retailer Bruce Nordstrom, with $1.2 billion; and designer Tory Burch, with $1 billion.

The billionaire who recorded the largest fall in fortune versus the 2012 list was Brazilian Eike Batista, whose wealth fell by a staggering $19.4 billion, which was enough to push him from seventh to 100th place in the list.

The richest woman on the list was 90-year-old Liliane Bettencourt, who along with her family owns more than 30 per cent of the company her father founded, L'Oreal. She is followed by Christy Walton, widow of John Walton of Wal-Mart wealth, who is also the richest woman in the US.