Ortega\u2019s time at the top was short lived however, as on Friday morning, Gates is back at the summit, albeit by a very slim margin.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n Nicky Oppenheimer, former chairman of De Beers diamond mining company, has seen his fortune remain stable over the past year.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Last month, a Wiese backed company also acquired a 47% stake in alluvial diamond miner, Trans Hex.<\/p>\n Read: South Africa\u2019s richest women vs the world<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Johann Rupert remains the third richest South African, and is followed by Allan Gray, who founded Cape Town-based investment management firm Allan Gray.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates\u00a0holds the position as the world’s richest man, with an estimated net worth at $78.4 billion, followed by Ortega at $78 billion.<\/p>\n Forbes’ list is based on real time trading data.<\/em><\/p>\n The 7 richest people in South Africa right now<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n These are the richest men in the world in 2016<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n How long it would take to become the richest person in South Africa<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n![\"amancio-ortega\"](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Amancio-Ortega.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n
\n #<\/th>\n Billionaire<\/th>\n 2016<\/th>\n 2015<\/th>\n Source<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n 174<\/td>\n Nicky Oppenheimer<\/td>\n $6.6bn<\/td>\n $6.3bn<\/td>\n Diamonds<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 214<\/td>\n Christo Wiese<\/td>\n $5.8bn<\/td>\n $6.7bn<\/td>\n Retail<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 248<\/td>\n Johann Rupert<\/td>\n $5.3bn<\/td>\n $7.4bn<\/td>\n Luxury goods
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n 1121<\/td>\n Allan Gray<\/td>\n $1.6bn<\/td>\n $1.6bn<\/td>\n Money management
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n 1275<\/td>\n Koos Bekker<\/td>\n $1.4bn<\/td>\n $2.3bn<\/td>\n Media, investments
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n 1577<\/td>\n Patrice Motsepe<\/td>\n $1.1bn<\/td>\n $2.2bn<\/td>\n Mining<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1365<\/td>\n Stephen Saad<\/td>\n $1.5bn<\/td>\n \u2013<\/td>\n Pharmaceuticals<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Here are the world\u2019s 10 richest people<\/h3>\n
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\n #<\/th>\n Person<\/th>\n Source of wealth<\/th>\n Net worth (US$)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1<\/td>\n Bill Gates<\/td>\n Microsoft<\/td>\n $78.4bn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2<\/td>\n Amancio Ortega<\/td>\n Zara<\/td>\n $78.0bn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3<\/td>\n Jeff Bezos<\/td>\n Amazon.com<\/td>\n $67.6bn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 4<\/td>\n Warren Buffett<\/td>\n Berkshire Hathaway<\/td>\n $67.3bn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 5<\/td>\n Mark Zuckerberg<\/td>\n Facebook<\/td>\n $56.0bn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 6<\/td>\n Larry Ellison<\/td>\n Oracle<\/td>\n $51.2bn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 7<\/td>\n Michael Bloomberg<\/td>\n Bloomberg<\/td>\n $51.2bn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 8<\/td>\n Carlos Slim Helu<\/td>\n American Movil<\/td>\n $51.1bn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 9<\/td>\n Charles Koch<\/td>\n Diversified<\/td>\n $43.0bn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 9<\/td>\n David Koch<\/td>\n Diversified<\/td>\n $43.0bn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n More on wealth<\/h3>\n