Bermuda still proves the place to be for some of the world's top billionaires — according to the latest list published by Forbes magazine.

The Forbes World Billionaires 2009 revealed that New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, 67, who owns a Tucker's Town property and made his fortune through Bloomberg, came in highest of those who have an interest in the Island at 17th with a net worth of $16 billion, up $4.5 billion from 65th place in July 2008.

Fidelity Investments founder 78-year-old Edward (Ned) Johnson III, who helped to finance the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute and owns a home in Somerset, ranks 62nd on the list with a fortune of $7 billion. His daughter Abigail, 47, holds 35th spot with an estimated worth of $10 billion.

Next up is 72-year-old three-time Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and his family, who own the Blue Horizons property, also in Tucker's Town, at number 70, with $6.5 billion to their names.

Hot on his heels is Curt Engelhorn, an 82-year-old German living in Switzerland, who owns Five Star Island, occupied 71st place, with a fortune of $6.3 billion, to complete Bermuda's Top 100 contingent. 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 and has given large amounts of money to the Bermuda College and the Bermuda Biological Station.

Outside of the Top 10, Tucker's Town property owner Ross Perot, 78, who ran unsuccessfully in two US general elections, holds 110th position with a $4.5 billion fortune.

Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen, 64, who has $4 billion to his name, was at 132nd, following the success of his Bermuda-based shipping company Frontline Ltd.

Meanwhile, 76-year-old American and former owner of Perot's Island, Marion MacMillan Pictet, the only Bermuda resident on the list, came in at 156th with $3.6 billion. She is a descendant of William W Cargill, who started with one-grain elevator in post-Civil War Iowa.

Ronald Lauder, 64, claimed 334th place on the list with an estimated $2 billion. The international investor has a large stake in Bermuda-based Central European Media although the son of beauty queen Estée Lauder traces much of his fortune to the Estée cosmetics empire.

Notably absent from the list were Bermuda resident Ernest Stempel, who worked for American International Group (AIG) from 1938 and later became its president. In the Forbes list in July last year, he placed 897th, boasting a net worth of $1.3 billion.

Also absent was former AIG chief executive Maurice (Hank) Greenberg, who is father of Evan, president and CEO of Ace Ltd. Mr. Greenberg said in a recent television interview that the crash in AIG's share price had cost him $2 billion in personal wealth.

The trend of the list showed that the richest people in the world are getting poorer, with 793 billionaires featured in the 2009 edition, down from 1,125 a year ago, having an average net worth of $3 billion, a fall of 23 percent over the past year.

After slipping in recent years, the US is regaining its dominance as a repository of wealth, with Americans accounting for 44 percent of the money and 45 percent of the list's slots, up seven and three percentage points from last year, respectively.

Bill Gates lost $18 billion, but regained his title as the world's richest man, while Warren Buffett, last year's No. 1, saw his fortune decline $25 billion as shares of Berkshire Hathaway fell by nearly 50 percent in 12 months. Mexican telecoms titan Carlos Slim Helú also maintained his spot in the top three, but lost $25 billion in the process.