So you want to create wealth? Get seriously rich? Probably be a billionaire? What a noble ambition! Anyway, while you’re at it, I thought you might find it interesting to see those who have been there and done that. Here is a list of the wealthiest people in the world as of February 13, 2009 — based on each person’s total net worth.

Please note that total net worth is a financial term and is an estimate based on the closing stock prices of the stock exchanges on which each person’s company is listed. Due to stock price and exchange rate fluctuations, this list only represents each person’s valuation on a single day — on the February 13, 2009.

Note also that this list does not include heads of state whose wealth is tied to their position.

The actual ranking data is from Forbes’ 2009 List Of World Billionaires, with additional data (e.g. source or worth, etc) from Wikipedia and other online sources. If you want to dig deeper, you can Google any of the billionaires’ name or source of wealth for more information.