There is rarely a shake-up of who sits at the top of Bloomberg’s Billionaires List but when it comes to who has made the biggest gains or losses in a year, it’s a different story. We review 15 of 2018's billionaire winners and 15 of the year's losers.

Bill Gates has only seen his wealth grow by $1.32 billion (£1.05bn), or 1%, this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index – just less than his stake today in Microsoft (1.3%), the software company he co-founded. He has pledged to give away most of his fortune through his private charitable foundation; however, Gates' wealth has gone up to $93.1 billion (£73.94bn).

India’s richest man (far right, with his sons) saw his wealth grow $1.38 billion (£1.1bn) to $41.6 billion (£33.05bn) this year, which gave him some spare cash to fly Beyoncé in to Rajasthan to sing at his daughter's pre-wedding party. Ambani is the chairman of oil, gas and telecoms giant Reliance Industries, which has enjoyed a rise of almost 50% in its share price in the past year or so.

France's richest man, chairman of luxury conglomerate LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), saw his fortune grow a modest 3% ($2.23 billion or £1.77bn) in 2018, to $65.5 billion (£52bn). Arnault (pictured with his wife) had seen his net worth grow by tens of billions of dollars the previous year when LVMH bought out Christian Dior (which Arnault bought for one franc in 1984) from his family company, Groupe Arnault.

In the year he turned 80, Phil Knight, the co-founder and largest shareholder of sportswear firm Nike, saw his wealth grow $1.36 billion (£1.08bn) to $28.8 billion (£22.9bn), despite having stepped down as chairman two years ago. He started Nike in 1964 (albeit as Blue Ribbon Sports initially) with just $500 (£397) and, since joining the ranks of the mega-wealthy, has given away almost $3 billion (£2.38bn).

Frenchwoman Francoise Bettencourt Meyers (centre, with her sons) inherited the L’Oréal empire when her mother Liliane, then the world’s richest woman, died in 2017 aged 94. Having inherited the title, she has seen her wealth rise $2.44 billion (£1.93bn) to $46.9 billion (£37.26bn) this year. The Bettencourt family founded L’Oreal; it is more likely Bettencourt Meyers’ rising wealth comes from that than from the five-volume study of the Bible and genealogy of the Greek gods she has authored.

Pinault (centre with son Francois-Henri and grandson Francois) founded French luxury brands group Kering in 1963. Today it owns fashion brands Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Gucci, and is run by Pinault’s son, Francois-Henri (who is married to actress Salma Hayek). Pinault senior, whose fortune has risen to $28.5 billion (£22.64bn), spends his time on his 3,500-piece art collection and is set to open an art museum in Paris in 2019.

Reclusive Irish tycoon Pallonji Mistry (left, with former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee) controls a 153-year-old family business, the biggest asset of which is an 18.4% stake in Tata Sons, the company behind Jaguar and Land Rover. After a rocky couple of years in which son Cyrus was ousted as chairman of Tata and the Mistrys were caught up in a bitter public row with the Tata family, Mistry senior has seen his fortune rise $2.66 billion (2.12bn) to $20.1 billion (£15.99bn) in 2018.

Russian civil engineer Leonid Mikhelson built up Novatek, Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer, after it was privatised in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He has seen his wealth grow $3.3 billion (£2.63bn) to $20 billion (£15.92bn) in 2018, despite US sanctions against Russian oligarchs said to be close to the Kremlin. Like Pinault, Mikhelson is an art collector building an art museum in a former power plant in Moscow.

Having gone to Harvard with Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer became Microsoft employee number 30 before eventually stepping down as the firm’s chief executive in 2014. He is still the largest individual shareholder in the company, with a 4% stake, as well as owning the LA Clippers basketball team. His fortune grew $7.72 billion (£6.14bn) to $40.6 billion (£32.31bn) in 2018.

Tweeting that he might take Tesla private led to South African-born entrepreneur Elon Musk being ousted as the electric car-maker’s chairman this year, but it also sent his personal wealth soaring; it is thought he might have gained as much as $850 million (£676m) in a single day in the aftermath. His net worth is now at its highest point ever, at $25.3 billion (£20.13bn), and he has made $5.25 billion (£4.18bn) in 2018 – despite drawing no salary.

Japan's richest person is the founder of Fast Retailing, parent company to fashion firm Uniqlo. Thanks to overseas expansion and endorsements deals with tennis player Roger Federer and golfer Adam Scott, the company’s shares have soared 75% in the last year – and Tadashi Yanai’s personal wealth has grown by $5.59 billion (£4.49bn) to $26.2 billion (£20.85bn).

It’s been a busy year for Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch, 87, who is married to Jerry Hall (pictured). He sold the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox, including Fox's film and television studios, to Walt Disney for $71 billion (£56.52bn). Murdoch has subsequently seen his personal wealth increase by $4.23 billion (£3.37bn) to $18.6 billion (£14.8bn) – thank you, Mickey Mouse.

Vagit Alekperov, the second Russian energy billionaire on the list and a former Soviet oil minister, is head of Russian petroleum producer LUKOIL. Alekperov had seen a drop of more than $1 billion (£796 million) in April, after US sanctions against Russian oligarchs said to be close to the Kremlin, but subsequently took steps to limit the exposure of his Swiss holdings, according to Bloomberg. Over the year, he has seen his fortune rise by $4.39 billion (£3.49bn) to $17 billion (£13.53bn).

Jeff Bezos, founder of online retailer Amazon, became the world’s richest man last year thanks to Amazon stock – and in 2018 his wealth rose by a staggering $36.9 billion (£29.37bn), to $136 billion (£108.28bn), as stock hit record highs. Not bad for someone who earns just over $80,000 (£63,682) a year in salary.

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Our final winner of 2018 is Chinese businessman Lei Jun, founder and CEO of smartphone maker Xiaomi. Its mega-IPO has sent Lei soaring into the billionaires list, with almost $9 billion (£7.bn) of his $12.2 billion (£9.71bn) fortune made this year; the flotation made instant billionaires of five of its eight co-founders, a rare highlight for China’s billionaires in recent times.

Now we turn our attention to the losers of 2018. In October Leonardo Del Vecchio oversaw the merger of his spectacle business, Luxottica, with lens-maker Essilor to form EssilorLuxottica, the world’s largest eyewear company, selling brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley. He lost $1.55 billion (£1.24bn) in 2018 to leave him with $21.1 billion (£16.82bn), having re-joined the company in 2014 after he took a back seat for a decade.

David Koch (left) and brother Charles (right) have each seen their wealth drop by $3.82 billion (£3.04bn) to $44.4 billion (£35.35bn), in a year that saw younger brother David forced to retire due to ill health. The reclusive pair together ran Koch Industries, which is involved in everything from energy to agriculture, finance and electronics. Highly political, they have been busy campaigning against US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs this year. 

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The Spanish founder of Zara owner Inditex, Ortega – one of the top five richest people in the world – still saw his personal fortune dive $7.82 billion (£6.23bn) to $67.5 billion (£53.8bn) in 2018. Inditex missed its third-quarter forecasts due to currency fluctuations and an unusually warm September. In February his fortune fell $4.3 billion (£3.43bn) in one day due to slowdown fears at Zara.

Hong Kong property tycoon Lee Shau Kee, the founder, chairman and managing director of property developer Henderson Land Development has been pledging to “gradually” retire for the past four years. The 90-year-old’s wealth jumped 39% in 2017 but fell $3.28 billion (£2.61bn) to $21.3 billion (£16.98bn) this year.

Mexican magnate Carlos Slim, once the world’s richest man, has lost $8.79 billion (£6.99bn) this year, leaving him with a $52.8 billion (£42bn) fortune. Markets tumbled and Slim lost out heavily when Mexico City cancelled its $13 billion (£10.34bn) airport in October. Slim’s financial firm Inbursa was helping fund the group that was building the airport and his construction company was also involved.

German Susanne Klatten is one of the largest shareholders in luxury carmaker BMW, having inherited a pharmaceutical fortune. In February, she increased her holdings in BMW from 12.75% to 20.94%. She has lost $3.51 billion (£2.79bn) this year, leaving her with $19.6 billion (£15.59bn).

Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma has had an eventful year. He announced he was stepping down as executive chairman of the e-commerce behemoth, was unveiled as a member of the Communist party and overtaken as China’s richest person (by Evergrande Group owner Xu Jiayin). He lost $7.66 billion (£6.08bn) in 2018, reducing his net worth to $37.8 billion (£30.01bn).

Another Hong Kong nonagenarian, Li Ka-Shing is founder of CK Hutchison Holdings, with interests in everything from retail and real estate to energy and telecoms. He announced his retirement in March; despite losing $6.08 billion (£4.84bn) in 2018, he is still Hong Kong’s richest person with a $28.7 billion (£22.86bn) pot.

The house always wins, so the saying goes, but casino magnate Adelson has seen his fortune reduced by $6.31 billion (£5.02bn) to $29.6 billion (£23.53bn) this year. Adelson has been using trusts to pass on $8 billion (£6.36bn) to his children tax-efficiently, as well as pouring $100 million in donations to the Republican Party – so actually, the house probably is winning.

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Shares in Chinese web giant Tencent, the company behind WeChat, fell almost a third this year thanks to the Chinese government freezing approvals for new video games, the trade war with the US and an economic slowdown in China. Founder and chairman ‘Pony’ Ma Huateng saw his personal wealth nosedive by a similar level, dropping $9.14 billion (£7.26bn) to $31.8 billion (£25.27bn).

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Mining tycoon Gina Rinehart, of Hancock Prospecting, has dropped $3.59 billion (£2.85bn) in 2018, taking her wealth to $12.4 billion (£9.85bn); in 2017 she had made $2.5 billion (£1.99bn). Forbes has said that, with Rinehart's wealth built on iron ore, it can “jump or plummet” based on the commodity’s price – which saw the biggest decline in 15 years in November.

The Facebook founder fell three places in the world’s rich list this year, losing $16.6 billion (£13.23bn) personally, reducing his wealth to $56.2 billion (£44.78bn). The social media giant’s share price plummeted after the Cambridge Analytica data scandal and ongoing debate about Russia’s influence in the US elections.

Steel boss Mittal, once the UK’s richest man, continues to see his fortune tumble – he has lost around three-quarters of his wealth in a decade thanks to the steel crisis in the UK. The chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaking company, is now worth $13.8 billion (£10.96bn), having lost $5.83 billion (£4.63bn) in 2018.

This Brazilian billionaire (pictured with his wife) is the brains behind 3G Capital, which owns brands such as Burger King and Kraft Heinz. Warren Buffett – whose Berkshire Hathaway group regularly backs 3G – has called Lemann “my professor”. Yet since Kraft made a failed bid for Unilever in 2017, it has seen $30 billion (£23.82bn) wiped off its market value – and Lemann has seen his personal fortune drop $9.04 billion (£7.18bn) to $20.6 billion (£16.36bn).

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Asia’s 120 wealthiest people have collectively lost $99 billion (£78.62bn) this year, according to Bloomberg – a plummet led by Wang Jianlin, once China’s richest man. The head of property conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group has been battered by tumbling stocks, trade troubles and a falling yuan, and has seen his fortune free fall by almost two-thirds this year, by $11 billion (£8.74bn) to $17.6 billion (£13.98bn).

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