Carlos Slim Richer Than Bill Gates

Move over, Bill Gates. You and your billions apparently are inconsequential compared to those of Carlos Slim Helu.

The Mexican telecom magnate, with his 53.5 billion smackers, now ranks as the world’s richest person, according to Forbes. Slim owns America Movil, among other communications investments.

This is the first time since 1994 that anyone other than Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates or investor Warren Buffet has topped the list. And what’s funny is Gates is right on Slim’s heels with $53 billion to his name.

Other tech notables on Forbes’ list include Google Inc. (GOOG) founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page at 24th place. Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) Steve Jobs, Dell’s (DELL) Michael Dell and Oracle’s (ORCL) Larry Ellison also are on the roster.

That same issue of Forbes further ranked Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) as the No. 1, in the telecom sector, most admired company in the world.