Zuckerberg knocks Buffet down rich list

NEW YORK: Mark Zuckerberg has leapfrogged Warren Buffett to become the world’s thirdrichest person.

He now trails Amazon.com chief executive Jeff Bezos and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, meaning the three wealthiest people on the planet all hail from the technology world.

The Facebook chief executive got the boost in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index after Facebook shares closed up 2.4% at a record $US203.23 ($NZ297), showing how little the social media giant’s crushing wave of negative attention has spooked investors.

How wealthy is the 34yearold Zuckerberg? He is worth a cool $US81.6 billion, about $US373 million more than Berkshire Hathaway chairman and chief executive Buffett.