Amancio Ortega Overthrows Bill Gates as the Richest Man in the World
Spanish clothing magnate Amancio Ortega,
79, over took Microsoft founder Bill Gates for the first time ever in
the Forbes rich list. According to Forbes’s real-time tracker, the
elusive multibillionaire founder of European clothing retailer Zara
smashed past Bill Gates to become the wealthiest person on the planet,
with a fortune of $79.8 billion (€71.83 billion or £51.84 billion). Bill
Gates’ estimated net worth is $79.5bn as of this afternoon. He’s
expected to take back his top position from Ortega.
The elusive Ortega isn’t as much of a
household name as Gates, but he’s quietly ascended the wealth rankings
in recent years, as his company continues to perform well and expand.
Unlike many of the richest people in the
world, Ortega has a fascinating rags-to-riches story. Born in 1936
during the Spanish Civil War, Ortega’s father earned 300 pesetas a
month, a meager salary.
Ortega’s biographer described his
memories of a childhood during which his family could not always afford
enough food. He left school in his early teens, working his way up from
the absolute bottom rung as a messenger boy in a shop.
It wasn’t until he was 40 years old that
Ortega got around to setting up Zara, the fast-fashion retailer that
has gone from strength to strength — first growing in Spain, then
neighbouring Portugal and France, then London. Now it’s all over the
globe.
According to Forbes, Ortega’s wealth
rose by 5.3%, another $4 billion, over the last 24 hours. That’s partly
down to a surge in Inditex shares, the parent company that owns Zara.
In the last 10 years, the market value of Inditex has risen by about 570%, the main driver of Ortega’s climb up the ranks.
Source: Business Insider
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