The 80-year-old Ortega inched past Gates when shares of Inditex (parent company to Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear) went up 2.5% on Wednesday. It was an increase which equated to $1.7 billion for Ortega, which lifted Ortega’s net worth from $77.8 billion to $79.5 billion. On the other hand, Gates’ worth was an estimated $78.5 billion. However, the trading day on Friday saw Inditex’s shares drop by 2.8%, resulting in Ortega falling to second position and Gates gaining the top position again. Ortega was briefly the world’s richest man for the first time in October 2015 after Inditex shares hit an all-time high and boosted Ortega’s net worth to $80 billion when Microsoft’s shares went down. The fortunes of both billionaires will continue to fluctuate in line with share price variations. Ortega, the son of a railway worker, started his career as a store clerk in his hometown who later went on to create clothing company Inditex from a small income, which became the world’s biggest clothing and accessories retailer. Zara was founded in 1975.
