Upstream moguls populate billionaires list

• Batista still richest billionaire oilman

  08 March 2012 07:48 GMT

Luke Johnson

04 March 2013 22:58 GMT

Upstream oil and gas moguls dotted Forbes magazine's annual list of the richest people in the world, although Eike Batista of Brazil - a mainstay on the top 10 list of energy billionaires - nearly tumbled out of the top 100 overall.

Batista, who heads Brazilian explorer OGX and its shipbuilding stablemate OSX, lost more of his net worth than any other billionaire in the past 12 months, falling from number seven last year to number 100 this year.

The loss was due primarily to the underperformance of OGX shares. His 61% stake in the company was worth $3.7 billion in mid-February, compared to nearly $19.9 billion a year earlier. Batista's total net worth came in at $10.6 billion, which should still keep him comfortable.

Hong Kong's Li Ka-shing, who controls a majority interest in Canadian integrated Husky Energy, was the top energy-linked fat cat on this year's list, clocking in with a net worth of $31 billion, making him Asia's richest man.

Click here to see the entire Forbes list.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries and India's richest man, saw his fortune drop slightly to $21.5 billion, good for number 22 overall.

Mikhail Fridman of Russia came in at number 41 overall with $16.5 billion, though he is set for a big boost when his sale a 50% stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft closes later this year. Fridman is expected to get $5.1 billion in the deal.

Len Blavatnik, another TNK-BP investor, clocked in at number 44 overall and stands to earn $7 billion when the Rosneft deal closes.

Another TNK-BP billionaire, Viktor Vekselberg, ranked number 52 on $15.1 billion. His 12.5% stake in the partnership could earn him another $7 billion when the deal closes.

Novatek boss Leonid Mikhelson came in at number 47 overall on $15.4 billion.

Vagit Alekperov, the boss of Russian player Lukoil, ranked number 55 on $14.8 billion.

Coming in at number 87, shipping magnate John Fredriksen of Cyprus rode his Seadrill business to a net worth of $11.5 billion.

In the US, the shale boom has been a source of tremendous wealth for a number of enterprising oilmen.

The highest-ranked American oilman on the list was Harold Hamm, founder and chief executive of Bakken tight-oil leader Continental Resources. He came in at number 90 overall with $11.3 billion.

Continental has been one of the driving forces in turning North Dakota into one of the top two oil-producing states in the US, and Hamm, who helped pioneer development of the Bakken play, has benefited in his bank account.

Other notable oil and gas names outside the top 100 include Hilcorp founder Jeffrey Hildebrand at number 219, who in 2011 turned a $100 million investment in the Eagle Ford shale of Texas into a $1.4 billion payout when he sold out to Marathon Oil.

And Daniel Harrison, a newcomer to the list on $1.1 billion, made his money leasing his 100,000-acre ranch in south Texas to Shell Oil for $1 billion in cash plus royalties on future Eagle Ford production one of the biggest such deals in the current production boom in the US.