Bermuda can claim to be home to two of the world?s billionaires, according to the latest list of the world?s billionaires published by Forbes. There are however a number of other billionaires on the list who either reside on the Island part-time or have interests here.

All told, Forbes found 793 billionaires in the world today, a steep rise over previous years. In its its inaugural ranking of the world?s richest people 20 years ago, the magazine uncovered just 140 billionaires. Just three years ago Forbes found 476.

Forbes lists Bermuda as home to just two billionaires in 2006 ? Ernest Stempel, 89, and Marion MacMillan Pictet, 74.

Mr. Stempel comes in at 428th on the list with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion. Mr. Stempel began working for American International Group in 1938 and was later recruited by AIG founder Cornelius Vander Starr to run the subsidiary?s general insurance operations. He became AIG president in 1963 and chairman in 1979 and retired in Bermuda with his wife, Brendalyn.

Ranking number 645 on the list, is former owner of Perot?s Island Marion MacMillan Pictet, 74. Forbes puts the American heiress? net worth at $1.2 billion. She is a descendant of William W. Cargill, who started with one grain elevator in post-Civil War Iowa. The agribusiness and trading giant is now the largest private company in America, with annual sales exceeding $60 billion.

Some part-time Bermuda residents also made Forbes? list, including Tucker?s Town home owners Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, New York Mayor Mayor Michael Bloomberg and two-time US presidential candidate Ross Perot.

Prime Minister Berlusconi, 69, ranks 37th on the list. He made his $11 billion fortune through his Fininvest investment company, which has interests in television, life insurance, movie production, magazines, newspapers and the AC Milan soccer team. Berlusconi has been dogged by corruption charges since entering politics in 1994 and now stands accused of tax fraud, false accounting and the embezzlement of $333 million from his television company Mediaset SpA. The next hearing on that case is scheduled for April 11, a day after Italy?s national vote.

Mayor Bloomberg ranks 112 on the list with Forbes putting the 63-year-old media mogul?s worth at $5.1 billion. Forbes reports that his company is booming with revenue from Bloomberg data terminals rising 12 percent amid hedge fund boom.

Mr. Perot, 75, ranks 147 on the list with Forbes putting his worth at $4.3 billion. The former IBM salesman founded Electronic Data Systems 1962, which he sold to General Motors for $2.5 billion in 1984. He founded rival information services firm Perot Systems in 1988.

Fidelity Investments founder Edward (Ned) Johnson III, who helped to finance the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute and owns a Somerset home, ranks 80th on the list with a net worth of $6.1 billion. His daughter Abigail holds 12th spot with an estimated worth of $12.5 billion.

Owner of Five Star Island, Curt Engelhorn and Tucker?s Town homeowner Friedrick Flick JR., 79, tie with a number of other billionaires for 94th place on the list. Forbes estimated the net worth of both Germans at $6.1 billion.

Mr. Engelhorn was one of the owners of Bermuda-based Corange Ltd., which in turn controlled German pharmaceutical company Boeringher Mannheim. He netted $5 billion when he sold the company to Swiss drugmaker Roche Holdings in 1997 for $11 billion. He has given large amounts of money to the Bermuda College and the Bermuda Biological Station.

Heir to the industrial empire that included stakes in Daimler-Benz and W.R. Grace, Mr. Flick made $3 billion when he sold it off in Berkshire Hathway?s Warren Buffet, took second spot on Forbes? list, with a net worth of $42 billion, $8 billion lower than Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who topped the list for the 12th straight year. Mr. Buffet?s owns the Bermuda-based company West End Capital.

Other notable billionaires linked to Bermuda are John Fredriksen, 61, of Norway ties for 114 on the list with an estimated worth of $5 billion. His fortune comes from shipping, trucking and transport. He is chairman of Bermuda-based Frontline, which has been accused of colluding with Indonesian state oil officials to buy super tankers at below-market prices in 2004. A formal ruling is pending.

Maurice Greenberg, 80, ties for 214th on the list with an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion. The ousted American International Group Inc. chairman is father to Evan, president and CEO of Bermuda-based Ace, and Geoffrey, director of Bermuda-based Validus. He also controls Bermuda-based Starr International, which previously functioned as a deferred compensation vehicle to reward chosen AIG executives. Forbes puts his net worth at $3.2 billion. He denies fraud accusations lodged from New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and is continuing his legal battle..

Ronald Lauder, 62, ties for 258th on the list with an estimated $2.7 billion. The international investor has a large stake in Bermuda-based Central European Media although the son of beauty queen Est?e Lauder traces much of his fortune to the Est?e cosmetics empire which is sold in more than 130 countries.

Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Asaud, 49, is ranked eight on the list with an estimated net worth of $20 billion. His Kingdom Hotels International company has linked up with Los Angeles-based investment group Colony to make a combined $3.9 billion offer for the Fairmont group including Bermuda?s two five-star Fairmont Princess hotels.