Amancio Ortega world's richest man
Spain's Princess Letizia and Crown Prince Felipe (R) stand next to chairman of Spanish global fashion group Inditex, Amancio Ortega (L), during a visit to an Inditex factory in Coruna, northern Spain December 2, 2008. Reuters/Miguel Vidal

Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the undisputed richest man on Earth, has just lost the title to Spanish clothing magnate Amancio Ortega, according to Forbes.

Ortega’s real time net worth rose to US$79.1 billion (AU$103.4 billion) Thursday and surpassed Gates’ US$78.4 billion (AU$102.4 billion) net worth, after shares of Ortega's business Industria de Diseñio Textil, simply referred to as Inditex, rose 2.5 percent in value Wednesday. Inditex is the parent company to popular clothing brands Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear.

According to Forbes magazine, the increase in Inditex market valuation increased Ortegas personal fortune by US$1.7 billion (AU$2.2 billion). The 80-year-old Spanish retailer was previously worth an estimated US$77.8 billion (AU$101.7 billion).

Ortega has briefly overtaken Gates in the running to become the world’s richest man in October 2015. Due to the erratic market performance of Inditex, Ortegas’ ascend and stay on the top of the Forbes list is not yet certain.

Nevertheless, the son of a railway worker is Europe’s top billionaire. He joined the Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires in 2015, when he rose to top 4.

On the other hand, Gates remains as America’s top billionaire and the world’s richest person in the tech industry. The 60-year-old philanthropist has been named as the sixth powerful person in the world last year.

The real-time ranking of the world’s richest individuals can be found on Forbes’ website.

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