Spanish Tycoon Narrowly Overtakes Bill Gates As World’s Richest Man

Amancio Ortega, Spanish tycoon and co-founder of retailing giant Inditex, is now the richest person on earth, according to Forbes.

Ortega edges the Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, with $200 million, to clinch the number one spot for the fourth time.

As at close of business day on Wednesday, Ortega’s $85 billion fortune surpassed Gates’ $84.9 billion.

Inditex is the parent company to millennial-favorite fast-fashion brand Zara.

The Spaniard who earned over $1.2 billion in the last month, was also aided by declines to the fortunes of Gates and Jeff Bezos, who have each held the title of world’s richest at some point this summer.

Bezos’ net worth has dropped by more than $4 billion in the last month as Amazon shares have fallen from a record high. Gates’ fortune declined earlier this month after the U.S SEC revealed that he donated $4.6 billion worth of Microsoft stock to his foundation in June.

Ortega became the richest person in the world for the first time in October 2015, but he lost his spot to Gates in less than 24 hours. He regained the lead in September 2016, but was quickly overtaken by Gates once again.