Investing.comPosted on 10/23/2015 8:50:26 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
There's a new richest man in the world.
It's Spanish clothing magnate Amancio Ortega, who has overtaken Microsoft founder Bill Gates for the first time ever.
According to Forbes' real-time tracker, the elusive multibillionaire founder of European clothing retailer Zara just 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).
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.
Investing.com
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
I’m pretty sure Slim had Gates beaten for awhile now.
Well, Gates IS trying to give away his whole fortune.
RE: Well, Gates IS trying to give away his whole fortune.
I wonder how much his children will inherit in the end...
My recollection is that he stated some time ago that he did not intend to leave his children billions. If I'm recalling correctly (and that is never a sure thing), he thought that a couple of million would do them nicely.
These stories are like tabloid hype. I believe that old money families/ dynasties especially banking families and a few kings and queens possess more money than people on some Forbes list. The extremely wealthy don’t have their wealth made public and prefer to stay in the shadows.
I had probably heard of ‘Zara’, but never really looked at the clothing until I saw this article.
Really nice, innovative design, without being too overtly trendy; and with very good prices for the design level...
-JT
He said he’ll give them a $million each. From there they can go earn their own fortunes.
Gates is giving away a lot of $$$ to students in the form of scholarships.
White students are specifically excluded.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.