The latest Forbes billionaires list is out and it paints a positive picture for wealth creation, with 196 newcomers added to the list.

Bill Gates again topped the table and Gina Rinehart consolidated her position as Australia's wealthiest person, but US President Donald Trump slipped 220 spots.

Ms Rinehart's fortune nearly doubled in 12 months, from $US8.8 billion in March 2016 to $US15 billion this year, with the largest chunk of her fortune coming from the Hope Downs mine in the Pilbara region in Western Australia.

The mining magnate and businesswoman shot to 69th spot from 127 a year ago, making her the only Australian in the top 100.

Forbes said of the female billionaires listed, she had the "best year".

"Unlike all the other women ahead of her, Ms Rinehart also has bragging rights for actively building her fortune," Forbes said.

"Rinehart took her late father's bankrupted estate and rebuilt it into something much larger."

The majority of the world's richest women inherited their money, according to Forbes.

Trump's net worth drops to $3.5b

It was a different story for Mr Trump, who plummeted to 554th spot, with his fortune dropping $US1 billion since the same list was issued last year.

While Mr Trump's political fortunes were rising, his net worth dropped to $3.5 billion, or roughly a third of what he claimed during his campaign presidency.

Forbes said the drop was largely because of the impact of the slumping New York real estate market on his holdings.

It said the President's wealth came from television and real estate, with most of it tied to buildings in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

"Midtown Manhattan real estate is down, therefore, so is Donald Trump's fortune," the business magazine said in a statement.

While Mr Trump's net worth slipped, more people were qualifying for the list. This year Forbes ranked a record 2,043 billionaires.

There were 196 newcomers to the billionaires list, including Australian Manny Stul, chief executive of Moose Toys, famed for its Shopkins collectibles. He has a net worth of $US1.4 billion.

"Booming stock markets, higher commodities prices and plain old-fashioned entrepreneurship helped make this a record year in terms of wealth creation around the globe," Forbes editors Luisa Kroll and Kerry Dolan said.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg ranked number five in the 2017 list. ( Reuters: Robert Galbraith )

Microsoft founder and philanthropist Mr Gates topped the ranking for the fourth year in a row, and has been the richest person in the world for 18 of the past 23 years.

Mark Zuckerberg's fortune rose $US11.4 billion over the year, moving him up to fifth spot for the first time.

Sitting between Mr Gates and Mr Zuckerberg was Berkshire Hathaway chief executive Warren Buffet, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Zara co-founder Amancio Ortega consecutively.

ABC/Reuters