9. Amancio Ortega
Company – Inditex fashion group (co-founder)
2016 earnings – $7.7 billion
Wealth increase – 11.9%
Clothes don’t make the man is what can be easily said for our 9th place on our list of 10 most successful entrepreneurs of 2016 since his dressing choice is always the same – blazer, white T-shirt, and gray pants. Yet, in the case of Amancio, clothes do make a difference, a lot actually, for he is the founder and former chairman of the Inditex fashion group. This wealthiest European is the most successful retailer in the world with the empire that includes Zara, Pull&Bear, and Massimo Dutti. Therefore, it’s not surprising that he is playing an everlasting cat-and-mouse game with Bill Gates, the richest man in the world. The sky is a limit for this self-made Spanish billionaire since, despite humble beginnings, he gained the fortune of more than $70 billion, with a growth tendency considering his real estate investments in Madrid, Barcelona, London, and Chicago as well as additional $400 million in Inditex dividends annually.
