La Jollan Makes Forbes' World's Wealthiest List

The richest San Diegan as determined by Forbes magazine in its list today of the world's wealthiest people is Cargill heiress Gwendolyn Sontheim Meyer.

The 50-year-old Rancho Santa Fe resident, worth an estimated $3.3 billion, is the world's 344th richest person, according to the magazine.

Meyer is one of seven relatives who have a stake in Cargill, a Minneapolis-based food production firm that is the largest privately owned company in the U.S.

Last month that the late Margaret A. Cargill, a La Jollan, left a bequest of $6 billion last year. Cargill, the largest heir of Cargill, died in 2006, but the foundations weren’t able to liquidate her assets until last year.  She was the most generous giver of 2011, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Among recognizable San Diegans listed on the world’s wealthiest, Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs of La Jolla ranked 913th with $1.4 billion, and money manager Charles Brandes of San Diego was 960th with $1.3 billion.

The richest man in the world, for the third year in a row, is telecom magnate Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, with an estimated worth of $69 billion.

The list includes 1,226 billionaires with a combined worth of $4.6 trillion, up 2 percent.

Some of the notable names were Gill Gates in the number two slot, Warren Buffett at number three, Michael Bloomberg at number 20, and Mark Zuckerberg at 35.

-City News Service contributed to this report.