Amancio Ortega briefly becomes the richest man in the world
Amancio Ortega briefly becomes the richest man in the world
Amancio Ortega, the infamous recluse who is responsible for transforming the clothing group Inditex into Spain’s largest company, briefly overtook Bill Gates as the world’s richest man on Friday.
Ortega is renowned for his privacy; rarely giving interviews or even being photographed. A self- made man, Ortega’s humble background as the son of a railway worker has led to phenomenal success. Zara, the company owned by Inditex, has become THE model for “fast- fashion” in the retail sector, and has become synonymous with affordable chic . With a 59.3% share in the world’s largest fashion retailer, and with said retailer’s shares rising nearly 40% this year, it comes as no surprise that the mogul briefly eclipsed Gates at a personal fortune of $79.9 billion. However, due to fluctuations in the euro and in Microsoft shares, Gates reclaimed his title later during the day.
In a country recently recovering from the financial recession that destroyed many of its businesses, Inditex is pulling way ahead of its competitors such as Santander and telecoms group Telefonica by becoming the third Spanish firm ever to be valued at above 100 billion euros.
