Zara's mysterious founder, Amancio Ortega, just surpassed Bill Gates to become the richest man in the world.
Shares of the Spanish retailer's parent company, Inditex, rose 2.5%. That boosted Ortega's fortune to $79.5 billion, according to Forbes.
Bill Gates' net worth is $78.5 billion.
Despite Ortega's impressive net worth, many people have never heard of him.
The 80-year-old Spaniard fiercely guards his privacy and gives few interviews to the press.
Ortega founded fast-fashion giant Zara with his then-wife Rosalia in 1975. Today, his retail company Inditex SA — which owns Zara, Massimo Dutti, and Pull&Bear — has over 6,600 outposts around the world.
Amancio Ortega is the richest man in the world, with a net worth estimated at $79.5 billion.
Source: Bloomberg
This is his second wife, Flora. The couple has been married since 2001.
Source: Bloomberg
In August 2013, his ex-wife and Zara cofounder, Rosalia Mera, died at 69. She was Spain's richest woman.
Source: Associated Press
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