Tesla CEO Elon Musk has for the first time topped Forbes' new World's Billionaires ranking while Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont has dropped from No.103 in last year's ranking to No.137.

Musk tops the ranking with an estimated net worth of US$219 billion. The total net worth of the world's 2,688 billionaires is $12.7 trillion, down from $13.1 trillion last year, according to Forbes.

The number of billionaires fell from 2,755 last year. The latest number includes 236 newcomers -- far fewer than the 493 recorded last year.

Regionally, Asia-Pacific boasts the most billionaires with 1,088, followed by the United States (735) and Europe (592).

Mr Dhanin, the senior chairman of the kingdom's largest food and agriculture conglomerate Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, is believed to hold $13.5 billion in assets, down from the estimated net of $18.1 billion in 2021.

Other Thai billionaires on the list are Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, who ranked 156th with estimated total assets of $12 billion, and Sarath Ratanavadi, slightly lower at 161st with $11.8 billion in estimated assets.