World's richest people lose $24 billion in a week

NEW YORK: The world's richest people lost a combined $24.4 billion this week as concerns over Spain's rising borrowing costs and the sputtering American job market caused global markets to tumble.

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson lost $2.2 billion. Shares of his Nevada-based Las Vegas Sands fell 10.3% during the week. Adelson, 78, is the 22nd richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

"We seem to be bogged down in a very sluggish pattern," John Carey, who helps oversee about $220 billion at Pioneer Investments in Boston, said in a telephone interview on June 1. "The jobs report was discouraging, and it's been discouraging the past several weeks. It reaffirms this fear that the economy is slowing."

Mark Zuckerberg, 28, fell off the Bloomberg index. Shares of Facebook, the world's largest social-networking company, dropped 13.1% during the week. He is worth $14.1 billion.

Mexico's Carlos Slim, 72, remains the world's richest person with a net worth of $63 billion. The tycoon lost $3.1 billion during the week, as shares of his Mexico City-based telecommunications company America Movil SAB fell 3.04%. Bill Gates, 56, ranks second with a net worth of $58.2 billion. Brazil's richest man, Eike Batista's fortune fell 8.1% to $24.9 billion. He is the 12th richest person in the world.

Hong Kong's Li Ka-Shing ranks 18th on the index with a net worth of $20.9 billion. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index takes measure of the world's wealthiest people based on market and economic changes.