Zara boss now second richest man on the planet
Friday, June 5, 2015 @ 5:40 PM
INDITEX founder Amancio Ortega's wealth continues to grow - he is now officially the second-richest man on earth after Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates, having leapfrogged US business mogul Warren Buffet.
Ortega's net assets have increased in value by 17%, reaching €63.5 billion (US$71.5bn), according to Bloomberg magazine.
The textile chain owner bought a 4,400-square-metre building in New York's SoHo district in January and plans to open another 480 shops this year, including three in the Big Apple.
Buffet's fortune, which has fallen slightly to €62.4bn (US$70.2bn), comes almost exclusively from his shares in the multi-national Berkshire Hathaway which was founded 50 years ago.
The company has lost about 5% of its value due to losses made in operations with American Express and Coca-Cola.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates remains untouchable, even by Ortega, with a fortune valued at €75.9bn (US$85.5bn).
Inditex, which started as a humble tailor's shop in Ourense, Galicia, set up by Ortega and his late wife Rosalía Mera, is the umbrella corporation of cut-price high-street clothing brand Zara, probably its best-known label.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com