Amancio Ortega Gaona, known as Amancio Ortega, is a Spanish businessman, fashion executive and enterpreneur. How rich is Amancio Ortega? According to Forbes magazine, as of mid-2015, Amancio Ortega’s net worth is estimated to be a remarkable $71 billion, which places him as the second richest person in the world after Bill Gates, having overtaken Warren Buffett, and Ingvar Kamprad, and therefore the wealthiest person in Spain, and in Europe. Ortega has accumulated most of his net worth due to his successful career as an executive in the fashion industry. Amancio Ortega was born in 1936, in León, Spain, but later moved to A Coruña. Ortega began working as a shop hand for a local company named “Gala” in his teens.
Amancio Ortega Gaona Net Worth $71 Billion
In 1972, Ortega began his business ventures when he founded “Confecciones Goa”, a company that sold quilted bathrobes. Several years later, in 1975 Ortega co-opened the first “Zara” store with his then wife Rosalia Mera. “Zara” is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Arteixo, Galicia. Currently, “Zara” is one part of the larger Inditex (which stands for “Industrias de Diseño Textil Sociedad Anónima”) group. Inditex is a Spanish multinational clothing company that includes such famous brands as “Zara”, “Bershka”, “Massimo Dutti”, “Pull and Bear” and “Kiddy’s Class”. Inditex group currently has 6 thousand stores, employs 92 thousand workers and generates approximately $15.8 million in sales. In 2011, Amancio Ortega announced his retirement from the Inditex and asked the CEO Pablo Isla to take his place instead. Despite his retirement, Ortega still retains 87% of his fortune and net worth from his stakes in this company. Although Amancio Ortega’s net worth amounts to a total of $65 billion, granting him a billionaire’s status, he is a very private and ordinary person, who prefers to keep a low profile. Until 1999, no photographs of Ortega have been released, so when he made his appearance in 2000 prior to his company’s initial public offering, Ortega received a lot of public attention and appeared in the headlines of the Spanish financial press.
Interestingly enough, during his lengthy career, a 78 year old billionaire has only granted interviews to 3 journalists. Ortega’s secrecy has only enhanced public interest, and even resulted in the printing of books about him, such as Amancio Ortega: de cero a Zara (From Zero to Zara) written by Xavier R. Blanco. Amancio Ortega is said to have been an extremely down-to-earth boss, who refused to wear a formal suit, and wore a simple uniform instead. With a hands-on approach towards the production and designing process, Amancio Ortega helped his company become a worldwide success. A modest billionaire, Amancio Ortega likes to invest his hard-earned money in properties in Florida, Madrid, London and Lisbon. Ortega also owns a horse-jumping circuit, has a stake in a soccer league, and has invested in tourism, banks, and gas. Ortega is currently married to Flora Pérez Marcote, and has 3 children, one of whom Marta Ortega Pérez works for the Inditex group.
