Source

World Billionaire list gets crowded
The defacto list of billionaires published once a year by Forbes keeps growing.
Global Billionaires:
2006: 793 (combined net worth: $2.6 trillion U.S.)
2005: 691
1986: 140

Why it is growing
Quote: “”Why is the list growing? Mr. Forbes asks, “The answer is an obvious one, the global economy is growing. In the last two years, the global economy has grown at growth rates not seen since the end of the Second World War.”"

Not all rich gets richer
Quote: “28 former members of the club fell from the list, including U.S. businesswoman Martha Stewart, who spent five months behind bars for obstructing justice, and saw her net worth dip to $500 million U.S. And Russian petrol magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who spent his third year in prison for fraud and theft. His net worth once thought to be $15 billion, is now estimated to be less than $500 million U.S..”