Tenth Spot: Amancio Ortega Gaona
Amancio Ortega Gaona (born March 28,
1936, Spain) is a fashion entrepreneur, Spain's richest man and
the founder, with his then-wife Rosalia Mera, and chairman of
the Inditex Group. He currently lives with his second wife in a
discreet apartment building in the centre of A Coruņa (Corunna).
In 2007 he was named the 8th richest man in the world with a
$24 billion fortune, slipping out the top twenty richest in 2008
and returning to tenth spot in 2009 with an $18.3 billion
fortune (despite losing over $5 billion during 2008).
Fortune |
Business |
Country |
Status |
18.3 Billion |
Apparel |
Spain |
Married, 3 children |
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Ortega arrived at La Coruña, Galicia,
at age 14, due to the job of his father, railway worker.
Starting as a gofer in various shirt stores in A Coruña,
Galicia, in 1963 he founded Confecciones Goa (his initials
in reverse), which made bathrobes.
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In 1975 he opened the first store in what
would grow into the enormously popular chain of fashion
stores called Zara. He is the majority shareholder of
the Inditex group (Industrias de Diseño Textil
Sociedad Anónima) which includes the brands Zara,
Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Zara Home, Kiddy's Class, Tempe,
Stradivarius, Pull and Bear/Often and Bershka and has
more than 14,000 employees.
Ortega keeps a very low profile and there are practically
no photographs of him (except from one photo published
at the Inditex website). He refuses to wear a tie, and
likes to dress in blue jeans. He is said to take a very
active part in the production and design process in the
company. (wiki)
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