Someone finally bumped Bill Gates off the "Richest Man Alive" charts (for less than a day). His name: Amancio Ortega, now currently the fourth wealthiest person in the world.
Ortega is a businessman from Spain and a fashion brand tycoon, owning some of the largest fashion outlets in the world, such as Zara.
Last Friday, Ortega's stocks soared as it approached $80-billion after drastically making gains the night before. This beat the previous richest man in the world, Bill Gates, by a few billion give or take.
This was a short-lived victory though, as Gates own fortune rose once more after Microsoft's earning report later that day boosted his fortune by a further $1.1-billion.
Ortega's personal wealth reached record highs when stocks from a holding company of his, Industria de Diseño Textil (Inditex), hit €33.99 per share. Gate's own shares in Microsoft then surpassed Ortega's, but in all likelihood, the title of richest person in the world is going to fluctuate widely over the next couple of months until stocks settle down.
While Ortega no longer runs Zara as CEO anymore, he owns 59% of the stocks, with his own daughter owning the remainder of the Zara fortune. Simply owning Inditex continues to rake in the money for Ortega, which he further invests into lucrative real estate properties and companies.
Gates has remained one of the richest men in the world, after knocking Warren Buffet off the charts in the late nineties. Gates is the founder of Microsoft which continues to develop operating systems, mobile phones, gaming consoles and all things technology focused. Both are known for their charitable donations, with Gates giving away billions every year. Ortega is the same, passing on millions in Euros to Spanish relief charities on an annual basis.
The battle for the richest person alive continues, with Ortega, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Carlos Slim fighting it out with their billions and billions of dollars.
