Zara Founder Briefly Overtakes Bill Gates As Richest Person In The World

Amancio Ortega  ranked as the richest person in the world for four hours on friday by Forbes, just ahead of American billionaire Bill Gates, with a net worth of USD $78.6 billion. Amancio Ortega Gaona, born 28 March 1936, is a Spanish fashion businessman and founding chairman of the Inditex fashion group, best known for its chain of Zara clothing and accessories retail shops. In October 2015, he was. Amancio Ortega, who transformed clothing group Inditex from a tiny family dressmaker into Spain’s biggest company, briefly, overtook Bill Gates on Friday to become the world’s richest man. Although a 10 percent surge in the share price of Microsoft later on Friday put the software firm’s founder Gates back on top, the brief appearance of Ortega at the summit of the Forbes “real time” global rich list was hailed in Spain as a milestone. At one point on Friday, Forbes put Ortega’s fortune at $79.9 billion, pipping Gates. Later in the day, thanks to fluctuations in the euro as well as the surge in Microsoft, Gates had $79.3 billion and Ortega a mere $78.5 billion. But whether or not he can hold on to the title of world’s richest man, the 79-year-old’s fortunes are blossoming as Inditex shares have risen nearly 40 percent this year.