Amancio Ortega topples Bill Gates as the world's richest man with £67bn fortune
Amancio Ortega, the founder of Spanish shopping chain Zara, is now the world's richest man who has toppled Bill Gates as the world’s richest man for a whole two days.
His fortune shot up to £1.4 billion earlier this week when
shares in its parents company rose taking his personal wealth to £67.2 billion against Microsoft founder Gates’ £66.4 billion fortune.
His moment in the sun didn't last long though as within 48 hours Mr Gates was back on top.
The son of a railway worker became the world’s richest man on Wednesday, according to Forbes magazine when shares of his business Inditex went up 2.5%. Last year shares went up 40% as sales soared.
But it's his daughter that is likely to benefit from his huge
empire, with 31-year-old Marta expected to take over the running of the
international business.
She has not been confirmed as his
successor just yet but she has been trained at the chain, even stacking
shelves in her younger days.
Ortega, from La Coruna, transformed clothing group Inditex from a
tiny family dressmaker into Spain’s biggest company using its “fast
fashion” model.
Affordable catwalk imitations can move from
drawing-board to stores within two weeks, and poor sellers are removed
from the shop floor even quicker.
He started his professional life at 14 as a delivery boy with
a shirt maker and within a few years he had set up a work shop making
nightgowns, lingerie and babywear.
The first Zara opened in Spain in 1975 and is now a fixture on high streets around the world.
He holds a 59.3% stake in what is now the world’s biggest fashion retailer, ahead of Gap and Hennes & Mauritz.
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