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The founder of Microsoft Corp, Bill Gates has regained his spot at the list of the richest man in the world, again. Gates has overtaken investor Warren Buffett, as the global financial meltdown wiped out $2 trillion from the net worth of the world’s billionaires, Forbes Magazine said on Wednesday.

This year, the number of billionaires in the world fell by nearly a third to 793 in the past year, with large numbers dropping off the list in Russia, India and Turkey.

Bill Gates regained his title as the richest man in the world, with $40 billion after triping to third last year when he was worth $58 billion. Buffett, last year’s richest man, fell to second place with $37 billion, down from $62 billion. Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim took third place with $35 billion, down from $60 billion.

Overall, the top three billionaires lost $68 billion in the year to February 13, when Forbes took a snapshot of wealth around the world to bring together its annual list of billionaires.

The Chief Executive of Forbes Magazines Steve Forbes said that, while few would shed a tear for the difficulty of a billionaire, it was bad for the economy when entrepreneurs were in trouble. He told the reporters,

Billionaires don’t have to worry about their next meal, but if their wealth is declining and you’re not creating numerous new billionaires, it means the rest of the world is not doing very well.

and added that

“The typical billionaire is down at least one third on their net worth.”