South Africa has a new richest man – while the fight is on for the global number one
Forbes reported this week that Amancio Ortega, the Spanish retail mogul who created fashion store Zara, unseated Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as the world’s richest man.
At the same time in South Africa, diamond magnate Nicky Oppenheimer, passed retail tycoon Christo Wiese as the country’s wealthiest person.
Forbes noted that Ortega’s wealth was boosted after shares in Inditex, parent company to Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear, advanced 2.5% Wednesday, lifting Ortega’s net worth to $79.5 billion, while Gates is worth an estimated $78.5 billion.
Ortega’s time at the top was short lived however, as on Friday morning, Gates is back at the summit, albeit by a very slim margin.
In South Africa however, Oppenheimer’s lead is more clear cut, boasting a fortune of $6.6 billion – 174th in the world, versus Wiese’s $5.8 billion – 214th in the world.
Nicky Oppenheimer, former chairman of De Beers diamond mining company, has seen his fortune remain stable over the past year.
Wiese, who founded Shoprite Holdings, and now chairs the company, along with Pepkor Holdings, has been active in the market of late, through Steinhoff International.
Last month, a Wiese backed company also acquired a 47% stake in alluvial diamond miner, Trans Hex.
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Johann Rupert remains the third richest South African, and is followed by Allan Gray, who founded Cape Town-based investment management firm Allan Gray.
Naspers chairman, and former CEO, Koos Bekker, completes the top five richest South Africans list, while Patrice Motsepe is the only other South African on Forbe’s list, ranked 1,577th in the world.
| # | Billionaire | 2016 | 2015 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 174 | Nicky Oppenheimer | $6.6bn | $6.3bn | Diamonds |
| 214 | Christo Wiese | $5.8bn | $6.7bn | Retail |
| 248 | Johann Rupert | $5.3bn | $7.4bn | Luxury goods |
| 1121 | Allan Gray | $1.6bn | $1.6bn | Money management |
| 1275 | Koos Bekker | $1.4bn | $2.3bn | Media, investments |
| 1577 | Patrice Motsepe | $1.1bn | $2.2bn | Mining |
| 1365 | Stephen Saad | $1.5bn | – | Pharmaceuticals |
Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates holds the position as the world’s richest man, with an estimated net worth at $78.4 billion, followed by Ortega at $78 billion.
Here are the world’s 10 richest people
| # | Person | Source of wealth | Net worth (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Gates | Microsoft | $78.4bn |
| 2 | Amancio Ortega | Zara | $78.0bn |
| 3 | Jeff Bezos | Amazon.com | $67.6bn |
| 4 | Warren Buffett | Berkshire Hathaway | $67.3bn |
| 5 | Mark Zuckerberg | $56.0bn | |
| 6 | Larry Ellison | Oracle | $51.2bn |
| 7 | Michael Bloomberg | Bloomberg | $51.2bn |
| 8 | Carlos Slim Helu | American Movil | $51.1bn |
| 9 | Charles Koch | Diversified | $43.0bn |
| 9 | David Koch | Diversified | $43.0bn |
Forbes’ list is based on real time trading data.
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