LONDON The head of Wal-Mart, Robson Walton, has bumped
                                   Microsoft's Bill Gates from his perch as the richest person in the
                                   world, The Sunday Times reported.

                                   Mr. Walton, the eldest son of Wal-Mart's founder, Sam Walton,
                                   took the top spot on the paper's list of the world's wealthiest
                                   people. It said he was worth $65 billion, knocking Mr. Gates,
                                   whose worth was estimated at $54 billion, to second place.

                                   No. 3 on the list was the chief executive of Oracle, Larry Ellison,
                                   valued at $42.5 billion, and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, with
                                   $28.8 billion.

                                   The American investor Warren Buffett placed fifth, with a fortune
                                   estimated at $24.9 billion, followed by Paul Allen, who founded
                                   Microsoft with Mr. Gates and was reported to be worth $24.5
                                   billion. Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan al Nahyan, emir of Abu Dhabi,
                                   placed seventh, with $22 billion.

                                   The paper said the Duke of Westminster was the richest Briton,
                                   propelled into first place by rising property values in London,
                                   where he owns 300 acres (75 hectares) in the districts of Mayfair
                                   and Belgravia. The Sunday Times put his fortune at £4.4 billion
                                   ($6.3 billion).

                                   The second-richest British subject was Hans Rausing, former head
                                   of the Tetra Pak packaging operation, with a fortune £4.2 billion.

                                   Queen Elizabeth II was the 105th richest Briton. The paper said
                                   she was worth £300 million, up £25 million from last year. With
                                   £65 million, J.K. Rowling, author of the phenomenally successful
                                   "Harry Potter" children's books, was the 526th richest person in
                                   Britain, one of 69 women on the list of 1,000 people.

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