Ortega is now world’s richest man

Zara clothes line tycoon Amancio Ortega is now the world’s richest man, taking over Microsoft boss Bill Gates.

According to Forbes, the rags-to-riches Spanish billionaire born in 1936 is worth £51.84bn ($79.8bn or €71.83bn), with his clothes lining the Western Europe cities like Madrid, London, Paris and Lisbon.

Gates was formerly the world’s richest man, with an estimated wealth of US$79.4 billion.

Other billionaires include Mexican Carlos Slim, Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway, the Walton siblings Christy and Jim, Larry Elison of Oracle, the Koch brothers Charles and David, and French heiress Lilliane Bettencourt of L’Oreal.

This year a record 1826 were named, and together they aggregated US$7.05 trillion.