THE CHANGING FORTUNES OF THE WORLD’S RICHEST



After briefly becoming the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2020/08/31/elon-musk-100-billion-net-worth/#7d8e258880ed">fifth centibillionaire in the world</a> on Monday, August 31, Tesla CEO Elon Musk ended the week down $9.9 billion as tech companies — and their founders’ fortunes — took a hit.



While tech companies have largely been driving the stock market’s surge during the pandemic, heavyweights like Facebook and Amazon took a spill on Thursday and Friday during what some observers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/bd5804ef-94d0-45b4-9c2b-8fb7996ec5f6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">are calling a correction</a>. The S&amp;P 500 was down 2.3% for the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Index fell 1.8%. Tesla stock started to falter on Wednesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/02/teslas-largest-outside-shareholder-reduces-holding-citing-portfolio-restrictions.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">after news broke that</a>&nbsp;its largest outside shareholder, Scottish investment firm Ballie Gifford, reduced its stake in the company. The stock ended the week down 5.5%.&nbsp;



Even with the decline, Musk is four times wealthier than he was a year ago, with a net worth of $87.9 billion. He is currently the fifth richest person in the world, $5.5 billion ahead of Warren Buffett.



The richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, hit a milestone last week when he became the first person tracked by Forbes with a fortune that exceeded $200 billion. With Amazon shares worth 3% less than a week ago at the market close on Friday, Bezos’ fortune dropped  $5.8 billion to $193.5 billion. His ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott (net worth: $62.4 billion), is $2 billion poorer this week.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="425" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gettyimages-1148401100-594x594-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-46514" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gettyimages-1148401100-594x594-1.jpg 594w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gettyimages-1148401100-594x594-1-300x215.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 6, 2019. (Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune fell $4 billion as Facebook shares dropped 3.7% in the past week. He’s been more vocal than ever before about political misinformation on the social media platform and announced steps to mitigate the problem. On Wednesday, he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, announced a&nbsp;<a href="https://gizmodo.com/zuckerberg-drops-300-million-to-support-u-s-elections-1844921516" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$300 million donation</a>&nbsp;to support voting infrastructure, such as protective equipment for poll workers and polling place rentals. On Thursday, he said that Facebook would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/09/03/facebook-will-block-new-political-ads-in-the-week-leading-up-to-election-day/#30873f0b7950">block new political ads</a>&nbsp;during the week before Election Day, and flag posts in which a candidate tries to claim a premature victory.&nbsp;



Quicken Loans cofounder Dan Gilbert had a chaotic week as shares of the online mortgage lender’s parent company, Rocket Companies, soared midweek ahead of the company’s first earnings report since it went public in August. Although <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.thestreet.com/investing/rocket-rkt-earnings-mortgage-initial-public-offering" target="_blank">it reported strong profits</a>, the stock corrected itself and ended the week down more than 13%. As of Friday, September 4, Gilbert is worth $51 billion — $7.3 billion less than last week, but nearly eight times richer than he was a year ago.



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HERE ARE THE BILLIONAIRES WHOSE FORTUNES FELL THE MOST THIS WEEK.



The net worth change is from close of markets Friday, August 28, to Friday, September 4.



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">1 | ELON MUSK</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$87.9 BILLION, DOWN $9.9 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH |&nbsp;TESLA



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">2 | DAN GILBERT</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$51 BILLION, DOWN $7.3 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | QUICKEN LOANS



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">3 | JEFF BEZOS</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$193.5 BILLION, DOWN&nbsp;$5.8 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES﻿



SOURCE OF WEALTH | AMAZON



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">4 |  STEVE BALLMER</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$72.9 BILLION, DOWN $4.1 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | MICROSOFT



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">5 | MARK ZUCKERBERG</h4>



NET WORTH | &nbsp;$103.8 BILLION, DOWN $4 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | FACEBOOK



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">6 | LARRY ELLISON</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$74.2 BILLION, DOWN $2.7 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | ORACLE



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">7 | AMANCIO ORTEGA</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$65.3 BILLION, DOWN $2.5 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;SPAIN



SOURCE OF WEALTH | ZARA



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">8 | MA HUATENG</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$57.5 BILLION, DOWN $2.3 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;CHINA



SOURCE OF WEALTH | TENCENT



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">9 | LARRY PAGE</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$70.6 BILLION, DOWN $2.2 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | GOOGLE



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">10 | SERGEY BRIN</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$68.7 BILLION, DOWN $2.1 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | GOOGLE



-Ariel Shapiro, Forbes Staff

Key Speakers At The Satellite 2020 Conference

Elon Musk Down Nearly $10 Billion In One Week As Tech Stocks Plunge

Move aside, Bill Gates.
Amancio Ortega, cofounder of Spanish retailing giant Inditex, is now the richest person on the planet, with a $200 million edge over previous leader Bill Gates.
Ortega has held the top position three other times, but he has always relinquished the lead within a day. Most recently, he surpassed Gates <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/08/29/spains-amancio-ortega-briefly-overtakes-gates-as-no-1-richest-falls-back-to-no-2/#2d46323067be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on Tuesday</a>, after shares of Inditex—the parent company to fashion chain Zara—rose just over 1%. But by the end of the afternoon he was $100 million behind the Microsoft cofounder.
Then, on Wednesday, Ortega regained the top spot. As of 12:05 pm Eastern Time, he was richer than Gates by a modest margin of $200 million.
Ortega, 81, is now worth an estimated $85 billion, according to Forbes’ <a href="https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/#version:realtime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">real-time</a> rankings of the world’s billionaires. His net worth is up $1.2 billion in the last month, but his ascent has also been aided by declines to the fortunes of Gates and Jeff Bezos, who have each held the title of world’s richest at some point this summer.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/billionaires/2017/07/28/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-reign-worlds-richest-lasted-just-hours/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Reign As World’s Richest Lasted Just A Few Hours</a>
Bezos’ net worth has dropped by more than $4 billion in the last month as Amazon shares have fallen from a record high. Gates’ fortune declined earlier this month after a filing with the SEC revealed that he donated $4.6 billion worth of Microsoft stock to his foundation <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2017/08/15/philanthropy-king-bill-gates-gives-away-4-6-billion-unveils-new-campaign-to-combat-malaria/#6cac3f7730d3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in June</a>. That gift was first reported by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-14/gates-makes-largest-donation-since-2000-with-4-6-billion-pledge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg</a>.
Ortega became the richest person in the world for the first time in October 2015, but he lost his spot to Gates in less than 24 hours. He regained the lead in September 2016, but was quickly overtaken by Gates once again.
A former store clerk, Ortega founded Inditex with his late ex-wife, Rosalia Mera, in 1975. They grew the business into an international powerhouse that now has a market capitalization of more than $100 billion.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/billionaires/2017/07/31/besides-jeff-bezos-6-people-whove-also-worlds-richest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Besides Jeff Bezos: 6 People Who&#8217;ve Also Been The World&#8217;s Richest</a>
A resident of Spain, Ortega no longer has a day-to-day role at the company. He has recently focused on diversifying his fortune with a host of global investments, and he has poured huge sums into international real estate. He typically collects over $400 million in dividends from Inditex every year. Much of that cash is spent on property investments in New York, Madrid, London and elsewhere.
Despite that diversification, Ortega still holds more than 80% of his wealth in Inditex shares. As the stock has ticked up over the years, his net worth has followed suit. &#8211; Written by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Noah Kirsch</a>, FORBES STAFF

This Spanish Retailer Just Became The Richest Person In The World

How words can hurt.
Four years into her graduate course studying property law at Kingston University London, Cheryl Ankrah-Newton was tritely told, to her utter dismay, that she may have to give up her dream.
“I am not sure this is the route for you,” said her personal tutor at their final career-planning meeting.
“It is not the type of industry that is suited to a woman.”
The lecturer’s words, though hurtful, were not entirely misplaced. Ankrah-Newton was one of only five females in a class of over 100.
Fast forward a few years, and Ankrah-Newton is glad those words didn’t dissuade her from her chosen path.
She now owns a property consulting firm and has played a role in recognizing the importance of – and helping bring – big brands, like international clothing giant ZARA, to South Africa.
“I was quite naïve in the beginning. I did not realize the challenges that come with this industry is that it is a very male-dominated industry, especially a white male-dominated industry,” says Ankrah-Newton. There was no way she was going to give up.
The eldest of three children, she had to set an example for her siblings. Born in Britain to a mother of East Indian heritage from Trinidad and Tobago, and a father from Ghana, Ankrah-Newton spent 10 of her formative years in Trinidad and Tobago and visited Ghana at least twice a year from the age of 16.
Africa was always on her mind – even though she says in passing she was once crowned Miss Trinidad and Tobago.
Her parents told her no matter what she chose to do, she must do it to the best of her ability.
“My uncle was the one who gave me the advice to be a surveyor. So I looked at the top schools for property law. Kingston was number one for surveying and they also had a decent law school. So I thought that if I go there and do surveying and I don’t like it, after a year I will just switch to law.”
Ankrah-Newton enjoyed the course so much she decided to do it full justice. She studied management, tenant law, land law, investment and development. She landed her first internship with Jones Lang LaSalle, a leading commercial real estate development and investment services company.
“I went in very fearful because of what the lecturer had said to me, but when they hired me it gave me confidence because everyone wanted to work for them. It was an amazing experience because it made me realize that the property industry could be fun.”
But Ankrah-Newton’s lecturer was right; the industry was patriarchal. She secured her next position with Land Securities, Britain’s largest commercial property company, to help develop one of Britain’s largest shopping malls.
“The funny thing was the tutor who told me I couldn’t do it, taught me shopping center development but had never worked for such a prestigious company,” says Ankrah-Newton.
She also soon gained experience at another top real estate firm, Hammerson, before deciding to shake things up. She had an interest in retail development, where she developed a passion for being creative, and yearned to be part of something bigger.
“Even though I had worked with such prestigious organizations, I could not really say I built this building in Birmingham, because I was really a small part in such a big engine,” she says.
Her husband, who at the time was moving to South Africa for his new role with Google, helped her decide on making the move to Africa. She took this as an opportunity to explore her entrepreneurial side. She had realized she had it in her when organizing events in Britain to earn extra money.
It led to her starting her own property consultancy firm, Illuminate Africa Group.
“Consumers are still not given enough choice when in Africa. I believed we needed an infusion of some competition and the best way to do that was to bring some international brands into the mix because the African consumer is ready for change and diversity,” she says.
Although South Africa has a market for luxury retail, she says it lacks properties to house formal retail trade. She believes international brands will no doubt provide more choice for high-end shoppers, but she also understands the limitations of this model.
“You will still get the ones who will fly off to London to shop and unfortunately we won’t be able to bring those shops here yet, but there is scope to bring the big international brands, once we get the basics right.”
And where better to build on this hope than in Sandton, Africa’s richest square mile?
Ankrah-Newton currently works with Liberty, the owners of Sandton City, one of the largest shopping centers in sub-Saharan Africa. She was also a part of the mall’s Diamond Walk project, featuring exclusive, high-end stores.
Ankrah-Newton is determined to claim her rightful position in an industry she was told she did not belong in.

Tag: ZARA

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Elon Musk Down Nearly $10 Billion In One Week As Tech Stocks Plunge

This Spanish Retailer Just Became The Richest Person In The World

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