Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has retained his position as the world's richest person, according to the Forbes 33rd annual ranking of the world's billionaires.

Bezos's fortune increased to $131 billion, up $19 billion from a year previous.

Bill Gates, who previously held the top spot for a record time, saw his wealth rise to $96.5 billion from $90 billion last year, putting him in second place. He was followed by Warren Buffett, whose net worth fell by $1.5 billion to $82.5 billion.

There are 2,153 billionaires on the 2019 list, 55 fewer from the 2,208 in 2018, Forbes said.

The top 20 billionaires have a combined net worth of $1.2 trillion, unchanged from last year and still the highest amount ever. The minimum net worth to make the top 20 was $38.8 billion, $200 million less than 2018.

Tencent founder Pony Ma Huateng, with a fortune of $38.8 billion, and Alibaba founder, Jack Ma, at $37.3 billion, rank 20th and 21st in global ranking, respectively.