Warren Buffett bumped down world’s rich list by Zara owner Amancio Ortega

Spaniard billionaire claims third spot as company shares close at record high

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Amancio Ortega (left) the Spaniard who founded retailer Inditex SA, has bumped Warren Buffett (right) from his perch as the world's third-richest person.

Photo by JournalStar.com

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Warren Buffet has been overtaken as the third richest man in the world by Fashion tycoon Amancio Ortega, who has amassed a fortune of $ 47.4 billion.

Ortega, the owner of clothing chain Zara, saw his net worth rise by around $1billion on Tuesday when the shares in his retail giant Inditex gained 3.8 percent, closing at a record high.

According to Forbes, Ortega stepped down as chairman of his global fashion firm, Inditex, in July 2011. He resides in A Coruña in Spain with his second wife.

A railway workers son, the self made millionaire began working aged 13 as a delivery boy for a local shirtmaker. In 1963 aged 27 he established his  his own firm named Confcciones Goan, which sold high quality bathrobes. In the early 1970s he started his first retail shop called Zara,
which would eventually blossom into Inditex, one of the biggest retail fashion chains in the world.

Slipping to fourth place, philanthropist Buffet is still worth $45.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Buffet, began the Giving Pledge in mid-2010 which encourages the ultra rich to donate the proportion of their fortune to philanthropy.

“My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest,” Buffett wrote in a June 2010 letter.

Carlos Slim, a Mexican telecommunications tycoon remains the world’s richest person with an estimated fortune of $27.6 billion. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates retains his number two spot with a $63 billion fortune.

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