Jim Goodnight and John Sall, the billionaire co-founders of SAS in Cary, made the world’s richest list again as selected by Forbes magazine.

C.D. Spangler of Charlotte made the list as well.


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However, both Goodnight and Sall dropped in the rankings even though their fortunes increased.

Goodnight, 70, ranks No. 154 with a fortune estimated at $7.7 billion.

That total is up $400 million from a year ago, when Goodnight ranked 125th.

In 2011, Goodnight was listed at No. 141 with a net worth of some $6.9 million. 

Sall, 64, ranks No. 353 in 2013 at $3.8 billion.

That’s a drop from No. 296 a year ago, although his fortune increased $100 million.

In 2011, Sall ranked No. 323 with a fortune estimated at $3.4 billion. 

Privately held SAS increased its global revenues to $2.87 billion in 2012.

Spangler, 80, came in at No. 670 in 2013 with a fortune of $2.2 billion.

Overall, Forbes reported that Mexico’s Carlos Slim remains the world’s richest man for the fourth year in a row, while Warren Buffett dropped out of the top three for the first time since 2000.

A record 1,426 people around the world made the Forbes latest annual tally of billionaires, up 16 percent from last year. Their average net worth was $3.8 billion, rising 3 percent from 2012.

Slim’s net worth increased to $73 billion from $69 billion a year earlier. Bill Gates of Microsoft Corp. held on to second place, but Berkshire Hathaway’s Buffett slipped to the fourth spot with a $53.5 billion net worth. Buffett was surpassed by Spanish clothier Amancio Ortega, who jumped two spots from 2012 with a net worth of $57 billion.

The U.S. continued to house the most billionaires in the world, with 442 of them. It was followed by the Asia-Pacific region, with Europe rounding out the top three.

There were 210 new faces on the list, with Forbes saying many were helped by rebounding equity markets and strong consumer brands.

Slim’s net worth increased to $73 billion from $69 billion a year earlier. Bill Gates of Microsoft Corp. held on to second place with a net worth of $67 billion.

While Buffett dropped in the rankings, he added $9.5 billion to his net worth — making him the second-biggest gainer of the year. The largest gainer was Ortega, who added $19.5 billion to his net worth.

There were 138 women on the list, up from 2012’s 104. Liliane Bettencourt — whose family owns a stake in L’Oreal — is the world’s richest woman with a net worth of $30 billion.

Brazil’s Eike Batista had the biggest drop in his net worth, with it declining $19.4 billion from the previous year.

Facebook’s Zuckerberg saw his net worth fall to $13.3 billion from $17.5 billion. His ranking fell to No. 66 from No. 35 in 2012.

There were 60 people that dropped off the list entirely, including Zynga’s Mark Pincus and former Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon.