From humble beginnings, Armancio Ortega was
able to build an empire and take the retail world by storm. Formerly the
chairman of Inditex, Ortega still
owns 59% of the Spanish company best known to be behind the international
fashion brand Zara.
Born and raised in León, Spain, Armancio Ortega Gaona
was the youngest of a brood of four children. His father’s job was a railway
worker, his whole family moved to A Coruña when he was only fourteen. There, he
took a job at Gala, a shirtmaker shop that still exists to this day. He
eventually started his own company that sells quilted bathrobes which he
sourced from sewing cooperatives. He founded Zara in 1975 and worked hard to
make the brand grow. In the 80s, Ortega managed to open several stores which
were spread out across Galicia, Spain. The success of Zara prompted Ortega to
create Inditex, a company that owns and runs many different clothing brands and
companies involved in designing, producing, and distributing textiles and
ready-to-wear garments. Today, Inditex is considered as one of the biggest
fashion groups in the world.
Unlike many other billionaires who enjoy
the spotlight, Ortega prefers to be anonymous. He would go about his life as if
he were just an ordinary person, eating at the company’s cafeteria and getting
his own coffee from the same shop. It was only in 1999 that a picture of Ortega
was published, giving a face to the world’s 3rd richest man.
Now that Ortega is no longer busy with the
day to day operations of Inditex, he has invested in an impressive real estate
portfolio worth roughly $5 billion. One of the properties under his name is the
Torre Picasso, a 43-storey building in Madrid. He is also living a quiet life
with his second wife in Galicia despite his status among the world’s elite.
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