Amancio Ortega is a modest billionaire, the richest man in the world. Amancio Ortega biography Brand Zara and Inditex - the beginning of a big game

The owner of more than 6 thousand stores successfully operating in 77 countries, skyscrapers, a hippodrome and an airplane, Amancio Ortega, in 2015 entered the top of the list of the richest people in the world and even managed to take first place in Forbes.

With a net worth of $70.7 billion, Ortega is a very modest man. He does not communicate with journalists, is not famous for loud statements, dines in an ordinary canteen and does not organize large-scale social receptions.

Childhood and youth

Born in the mid-30s of the last century, Amancio grew up in a family of modest means. His mother worked as a servant, and his father worked as a railroad worker.

Due to lack of funds, the boy was forced to quit school at the age of 13 and start making a living as a messenger in a small store selling shirts. A year later, Amancio was already working in the La Maja haberdashery store. It was while working at La Maja that young Ortega learned the basics of cutting and sewing techniques and began thinking about his own clothing business.

First success

Working in the field of sewing and selling ready-made clothing, the future billionaire could not help but notice how narrow the market for expensive clothing is.

An enterprising young man buys inexpensive fabrics and sews a batch of clothes using his own patterns. Savings on material did not at all affect the quality - the resulting products were not inferior to those sold in stores.

Having realized his idea and earned start-up capital, the future billionaire gets a chance to enter the market as a business owner.

ZARA

In 1963, at the age of 27, Amancio Ortega opened his first factory - Confecciones GOA. Together with his wife, he creates clothes with his own hands, selling them to large chains.

The turning point for business was 1975. One of the clients refused an order for a large batch of clothes, the sewing of which took almost all the money. It was this event that became the reason for opening his own store to sell ready-made clothes.

Ortega and his wife chose a sonorous name, in honor of the movie character Zobra, but it turned out that it was already taken. So, in the small town of La Curunya, the first Zara store appeared.

Further development

The next decade brought great success in the development of the network. New retail outlets are opening in New York, Paris and Portugal. All of them are united into the production and trading holding Inditex. The group is growing rapidly and unites the following brands:

Zara;
Oysho;
Bershka;
Zara Home;
pull bear;
Stradivarius;
lefties;
Massimo Dutti;
Uterque.

In 2001, Ortega placed 25% of Inditex shares on the market. The result of this step was an incredible increase in the company's capitalization due to the great demand for securities. Amancio Ortega overnight becomes one of the richest people in the world.

In 2011, Ortega leaves his post as head of the board of the production and trading group, continuing to actively participate in all matters and influence decision-making.

Today, the business model created by Amancio is taught in many business schools. The principles on which the company's success is based: availability of clothing, instant response to changing fashion trends, ahead of competitors in the arrival of new models in stores.

This rich man lives in a 5-story house in La Coruña with his second wife Flora. Ortega and his family value privacy and privacy. According to the businessman himself, he wants to communicate only with his family, friends and employees.

Among other things, a billionaire's capital is:

skyscraper Torre Picasso in the capital of Spain (cost exceeds $530 million, 43 floors);
54-story condominium in Miami;
Hotel Epic Residences
hippodrome;
Global Express BD-700 aircraft;
share in the football league;
yacht;
investments in banking, tourism, gas industry and real estate.

Amancio Ortega Gaona is the founder and ex-president of Inditex, which owns 6,750 stores in 88 countries. Ortega actively invests in real estate, the gas industry, banks and tourism. In 2012, Bloomberg recognized him as the richest person in Europe.

In June 2012, Amancio Ortega Gaona was recognized as one of the richest people in Europe. His fortune is estimated at more than US$39.5 billion. The success story of this man is interesting precisely because he achieved everything through his hard work and perseverance.

The future billionaire was born in 1936 in the small Spanish town of Buzdongo de Arbas. The family lived very poorly, so from early childhood Amancio had to help his parents. He never managed to finish school. At a young age, Ortega got a job as a delivery boy for a tailor who sewed clothes for wealthy people. Amancio, while doing his work, also looked closely at the peculiarities of the tailor’s style, becoming familiar with the intricacies of sewing and cutting.

Soon the family moved to the city of La Coruña, the center of the textile industry in Spain. Thanks to his existing experience, Amancio was hired at the La Maja haberdashery store. There, a fourteen-year-old teenager improved his skills, sewed on his own and tried to understand all the details of this business. In La Maja he met his future wife Rosalia Mera, with whom he then successfully engaged in entrepreneurial activity.

Through meticulous study of the entire pricing process, from model creation, production, transportation and delivery to the store, Amancio understood the weaknesses of such a system. Since each stage was financially independent from the others, the price of the product was affected by significant percentages, and it became too expensive for the consumer.

Ortega began to create his own business, taking into account the mistakes of his predecessors. When sewing products, he used special patterns and inexpensive but high-quality fabrics, which reduced the cost of production. Amancio focused on the general consumer, trying to make fashion accessible to most people. And most importantly, he created a complex of enterprises that ensured compliance with the entire technological process: sewing, storing and selling products.

In 1972, the Ortega couple created their own knitting factory for sewing underwear and dressing gowns, Confecciones GOA. Now Amancio has a real chance to put his experience into practice. However, the family did not yet have enough funds to open their own stores; sales had to be trusted to independent wholesalers. But in 1975, the partners greatly let Amancio down by unexpectedly canceling an order for a large batch of goods.

The factory was threatened with closure, and the family was threatened with ruin. Ortega's solution was simple and effective - he created the first Zara store, where residents of La Coruña could buy fashionable and affordable things. Thus, the sales of products became controlled.

It was from this store that a huge network of boutiques of high-quality and fashionable clothing grew. Amancio Ortega continued to follow his business policy. Its designers are always up to date with the latest trends in the fashion world. Worthy ideas are brought to life without delay. The pricing policy is democratic, so people have the opportunity to purchase high-quality and fashionable goods at an affordable price. In addition, on store shelves nearby there were things that went well with each other.

Not surprisingly, Zara's chain of stores expanded rapidly. This led to the creation of the company Industria de Diseno Textil SA (abbreviated as Inditex). This event was another success in the Spaniard’s career. Amancio Ortega achieved what he set out to achieve: his company learned to independently create and sell products. New clothing brands have appeared: Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear, Bershka and Stradivarius.

The number of shops and boutiques is constantly increasing in all countries of the world. Perhaps, due to the expansion of the sales market, the company's economic tactics will change, since its clothes are popular in more than 70 countries.

From the son of a simple employee to the head of a world-famous holding - this was the difficult path of Amancio Ortega. Only thanks to his perseverance, self-confidence and desire to change his life for the better, this man created such a bright career. In 2011, Ortega stepped down as chairman of Inditex. After such glorious deeds, it’s time to rest.

Amancio Ortega- Spanish billionaire, entrepreneur. The businessman's fortune increases by several billion every year. Stores of the Inditex corporation, which belongs to him, are opening all over the world. He invests in new projects, buys real estate, and does charity work.

Biography Amancio Ortega

Amancio spent his childhood in Buzdongo de Arbaz, a small town located in the province of Leon, Spain. The parents lived poorly. They had two children - the eldest son Anthony and daughter Pepita. The salary of the father, a railroad worker, was not enough to survive until the end of the month; the mother had to borrow food, so the children were forced to start working early. He did not finish high school, because from the age of 13 he worked as a courier and ran errands at the Gala atelier.

A year later, my father was transferred to La Coruña, followed by the whole family. Here a 14-year-old boy becomes an assistant to an Italian designer. He is soon promoted to manager at the La Maja store. His brother and sister worked with him. In addition, here he met his first wife. Subsequently, the two of them founded the company Zara.

Starting a career and business projects

After gaining experience as a manager at age 27, Ortega founded the Confessoines GOA knitting factory (in 1963). The investment to open the factory was 2,500 pesetas (approximately 20 euros in today's dollars). The main products of GOA Confessoines at the time of opening were bathrobes, lingerie and nightgowns.

The business is growing and developing rapidly, gaining a base of clients and suppliers. Over the next decade, products begin to be supplied to many European countries.

In 1975, he invested all his free money in the production of a batch of underwear for a German customer, but he unexpectedly refused to cooperate and canceled the order. To save the business, Ortega and his wife Rosalia Mero open a retail outlet in the center of La Coruña. The couple chooses the first name Zorba in honor of their favorite character from the film “Zorba the Greek.” Due to problems with obtaining copyrights for the name, it has to be renamed Zara.

The Zara and Inditex brand is the beginning of a big game

Today, Zara's net profit is significantly higher than that of its competitors. The whole point is that the work is carried out without intermediaries. The company fully controls not only the production process, but also the procurement of materials, design development, clothing storage, logistics, distribution and sales. The margin on each item is small, but due to the fact that many more items are sold, the profit remains high. The speed with which things are produced is also important: the release of new models, from development to delivery to points of sale, takes about 2 weeks.

Thanks to this approach, stores opened in 1988 in Porto. In 1989 they conquered New York, in 1990 - Paris. Zara successfully competes with more expensive and well-known brands, forcing them to release more collections per year in order to keep up.

In 1985, the Inditex holding was opened, the basis of which was the Zara chain of stores. Later, the production and trading holding will include nine well-known clothing brands.

Inditex unites just under seven thousand stores in 90 countries and brings huge profits to the owner. In 1990, it ranked third after the famous Gap (USA) and H&M (Sweden), but already at the beginning of the 20th century it surpassed them in terms of profit.

In 2011, he left the post of chairman of the board of his corporation.

Real estate investment

Real estate owned by Amancio Ortega is scattered across almost all European capitals: Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, London, Berlin, Paris.

In Madrid and Barcelona he owns more than a dozen buildings located at the intersection of main streets (in both cities).

In Miami, he acquired the Epic Residences&Hotel, a 54-story luxury beachfront hotel.

In December 2011, he bought Torre Picasso, a 43-story Madrid skyscraper, for $536 million.

The businessman owns 5% of the shares of the second bank in Spain, Banco Popular Pastor. In addition, he owns a show jumping ground (an area for horse racing) and has a stake in a football league.

Billionaire net worth today

Every year the entrepreneur's income increases. In 2012, he was named the richest person in Europe. His fortune was $39.5 billion.

In 2013 and 2014, it retains third position in the Forbes magazine ranking ($57 and 64 billion, respectively).

In September 2016 he took first place. He has 78 billion in his accounts, while the permanent leader of the rating, Bill Gates, had 100 million less. They continue to change places in the rankings as the price of the shares of the companies they own changes.

Principles and personal qualities Amancio Ortega

In response to questions from biographers and journalists, he says that “Growth is a survival mechanism.” The dream of development and growth allowed him to achieve such heights.

Biographers emphasize that the main character traits of the Spanish billionaire are individualism, curiosity, observation and professionalism.

The philosophy of his brands is based not just on sales, but on the production and distribution of good and inexpensive things that people can wear for one season and safely throw away after.

Charity

In 2001, the Amancio Ortega Charitable Foundation was created. The goal is to encourage the development of education (funds a scholarship program for the study of Spanish students in Canada and the United States) and the provision of social assistance.

In October 2012, they donated 20 million euros to the Caritas organization.

In 2015, the Foundation donated 17 million euros to hospitals in Galicia and Andalusia to fight cancer.

In March 2017, on the occasion of the 81st birthday of the founder, the Foundation announced its largest donation: 320 million euros to purchase modern equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of various types of cancer, serving patients in hospitals throughout Spain.

Interesting Facts

While at the head of the corporation, he controlled everything that happened in it, and worked even on holidays, making no exceptions even for his birthday or New Year.
The desire to control the situation is also evident in the functioning of his enterprises. Self-production of dyes and fabrics does not depend on suppliers. Owning almost all retail outlets and the absence of franchises allows us to collect information about customer preferences and improve the following collections.
His photographs appeared in the media only in the early 2000s. Before that, he tried not to appear in the press, to live quietly, not to attract unnecessary attention, and to be able to calmly walk around the city or sit in his favorite cafe.

Amancio Ortega Gaona(Spanish) Amancio Ortega Gaona; genus. March 28, 1936, Busdongo, Leon, Spain) - entrepreneur, founder (together with ex-wife Rosalia Mera) and ex-president of the Inditex business group, which owns the textile brands Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho, Pull & Bear, Zara Home , Stradivarius and Uterque; the company owns 5,000 stores in 77 countries. In addition, Ortega invested in real estate in Florida, Madrid, London and Lisbon, the gas industry, tourism and banks. Owns a share in a football league and a show jumping field. At the end of 2009, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation awarded Amancio Ortega the Order of Civil Merit.

In June 2012, he was recognized by Bloomberg as the richest man in Europe with a net worth of more than $39.5 billion. In the latest ranking of the world's richest people, published by Forbes magazine in March 2013, Amancio Ortega took third place with a fortune of $57 billion, moving up two positions compared to the 2012 ranking and displacing investor Warren Buffett from the top three.

Amancio Ortega was born into the family of a railroad worker, his mother worked as a maid. Due to the poverty of his family, Amancio could not even finish high school and at the age of 13 he began working as a messenger in a shirt store. Then in 1950 he was hired to work in a haberdashery store La Maja, where his brother Antonio, sister Pepita and Rosalia Mera, who would later become his first wife, already worked.

When Amancio was fourteen years old, the family moved to La Coruña (Galicia) following his father's transfer there. Here he first worked on corrugating fabrics, then took up drapery and eventually became an apprentice to an Italian fashion designer. The owner of the studio once told the father of the future fashion industry magnate: “You know, he won’t turn out to be a tailor, a tailor should be easy-going and sociable.”.

In the 1960s, Amancio became a manager in one of the stores.

In 1972, at age 37, Amancio opened his own knitting factory, which was called Confecciones GOA (initials backwards).

At first, he and his first wife, Rosalia Mera, sewed robes, nightgowns and lingerie in the living room of their own home.

In 1975, a German partner unexpectedly canceled an order for a large batch of linen, into which Amancio had already invested all his available capital. To save the business, the couple decided to sell clothes themselves and on May 15, 1975, they opened their own store on one of the central streets of La Coruña called Zorba.

The store was originally named after their favorite character Anthony Quinn from the movie Zorba the Greek, but due to registration problems the store had to be immediately renamed Zara.

In 1985, based on the Zara chain of stores, he created the Inditex corporation. In 1986, he broke off relations with his first wife.

The first Zara store abroad appeared only in 1988 in Porto in neighboring Portugal. In 1989, the Zara store appeared in New York, in 1990 - in Paris. And already 10 years after the opening of the first store, Amancio Ortega created a production and trading holding - Industria de Diseno Textil Sociedad Anonima (Inditex), which by the end of 1990 Inditex was second only to the companies Gap (USA) and H&M (Hennes & Mauritz; Sweden).

In 1991, the Pull and Bear chain appeared, in addition, Inditex acquired 65% of the Massimo Dutti group, and five years later this brand completely became the property of Inditex.

In 1998, the Bershka chain of stores was created, specializing in clothing for young women. In 1999 - Stradivarius stores.

In 2001, Inditex held an IPO, selling a 25% stake, raising US$2.3 billion. At the same time, the Oysho trademark appeared for stores specializing in underwear. In the same year, he created the Amancio Ortega Foundation (a private non-profit organization that aims to promote all types of activities in the field of research, education and science).

In 2003, Ortega opened the first Zara store in Russia.

In 2011, Amancio Ortega resigned as chairman of the board of Inditex. In December of the same year, Ortega purchased Torre Picasso, a 43-story skyscraper in Madrid, from Esther Koplowitz for $536 million. He also previously purchased the Epic Residences & Hotel, a 54-story condominium and hotel on the Miami coast.

Family

Amancio has a sister, Josefa (Minister of Inditex) and a brother, Antonio (now deceased).

Married for the second time: first wife - Rosalia Mera (until 1986), second - Flora Péres Marcote (from 2001 to the present).

Has three children: Sandra, Marcos (born with a severe form of congenital disability), Martha (born in 1984; from his second marriage). In February 2012, Marta Ortega Perez (Spanish) Marta Ortega Perez), working for Inditex, married Spanish equestrian star Sergio Álvarez Moya.

Interests and hobbies

Amancio Ortega enjoys horse riding, cars and painting.

ZARA, Massimo Dutti, Vershka, Stradivarius, Oysho are popular stores all over the world founded by one person. Amancio Ortega Gaona is a Spanish businessman, investor, fashion designer, founder of the Inditex holding.

At the age of 13, you can not finish high school due to financial problems in the family and start a career as a billionaire. Desire and perseverance - two qualities of the richest man in Spain, who was awarded the order of the country " For services to the state" Interesting facts that contribute to the development of personal success and the composition of the largest corporation are surprising. Learn the detailed story of Amancio Ortega from birth to the present to lead by example and realize your desires.

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Biography of Amancio Ortega - Chronology

And Mancio Ortega ( ) was born on March 28, 1936 in Spain, in the city of Lyon. His family was very poor. Her mother worked as a maid for wealthy Germans, her father as a railway worker. Amancio could not get an education because the family had no money. At age 13, he began working in a shirt store delivering packages to customers.

A year later, in 1950, he got a job in a store La Maja, where his older brother and sister already worked. Because of his hard work, he became a manager at the age of 15. Later, in the store, he met his first future wife, Rosalia Mera. Then his family moved to the province of Galicia, the city of La Coruña, because his father was transferred for work. Amancio became an apprentice to a fashion designer and developed a passion for pleated and draped fabrics. He really liked working in the fashion industry, but no one saw him as a prospect, not even his employer, who said that he would not make a tailor because of his difficult nature.

“Amancio is a hard-working guy, of course, but he won’t be a good tailor. He doesn't know how to communicate with people. The tailor does half the work with his tongue, but he is silent all the time, shy. Let him do something else better; sewing is not his destiny.” - owner of the atelier about Amancio.

In 1960, he found work as a manager in a clothing store. All the time, in parallel with the main work, he was engaged in the purchase of inexpensive fabrics in Barcelona, and with his wife he sewed clothes at home according to personal patterns. The quality of the items was not inferior to factory ones and were successfully sold in boutiques.

In 1972, at the age of 37, he saved up money and opened his own factory. . Under factory conditions, the assortment was expanded and the company began to sew lingerie.

First Zara store

In 1975, an unexpected situation occurred - the buyer refused the volume of the sewn batch of clothes and underwear, in which all the capital was invested. This situation prompted Amancio and his wife to open their first store. The premises were selected on the Central Street of La Coruña and called “ Zorba "in honor of the hero of your favorite film, but since copyright problems arose, the store was renamed Zara.

In 1985, the chain of stores was already quite large and a corporation was created on its basis Inditex(Industria de Diseno Textil Sociedad Anonima).

In 1986, Amancio Ortega divorced his first wife and paid her $600 million.

The first store abroad was opened in 1988 in Portugal, in 1989 in New York, and in 1990 in Paris. Over the course of 10 years, Ortega created a production holding, which in terms of its turnover was second only to two large companies gap(USA) and H&M(Hennes & Mauritz; Sweden).

In 1991 a new network was opened Pull and Bear and acquired 65% of the company's shares Massimo Dutti, and in 1996 the Inditex holding bought it out completely.

A chain of stores was founded in 1998 Vershka, which specializes in clothing for girls under 30 years old.

The network was launched in 1999 Stradivarius.

Since 2001, the corporation has carried out a major transaction - 25% of the shares were sold. The $2.3 billion proceeds from the deal were used to launch a new brand. Oysho,

Zara in Russia. Zara store in Moscow.

which offers comfortable and beautiful underwear and the Amancio Ortega Foundation was created to promote the development of all types of research, education and science.

The first Zara store in Russia was opened in 2003.

As of 2004, the holding owned 2,000 boutiques; in 2008 they opened a brand selling accessories Uterque.

In 2009, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded the businessman the Order of Isabella the Catholic for civic activity.

Already in 2010, the number of boutiques reached 5,000.

Since 2011, Ortega has not been the chairman of the holding’s board, as he officially decided to retire. His place was taken by the first deputy Pablo Islu.

In 2012, Inditex Corporation opened 5,693 stores.

In 2013, Amancio bought the BBVA bank building for more than 100,000,000 euros.

Currently there are 6,750 stores in 88 countries. Analysts suggest that management of the company will be transferred to the eldest daughter.

State of Amancio Ortega

Amancio Ortega's net worth is constantly changing, depending on the value of his assets. In 2013 and 2014, his net worth was estimated at $57 and $65 billion. In 2017, Amancio Ortega became the richest man in the world with a fortune of $85 billion. But in 2018, his fortune dropped to its previous level of $62.5 billion.

Ortega invests in industry, real estate, social and cultural spheres, and banking. He is the owner of real estate around the world and owns a share of the Spanish football league.

Family and personal life

The first wife of the richest man in Spain was Rosalia Mera, whom Ortega met in a guarantee store as a teenager. They got married at the age of 17, but divorced in 1986.

In the photo, Amancio Ortega's first wife is Rosalia Mera. She was the richest woman in Spain.

He met his second wife back in the 80s, but married Flora Perez Marcote in 2001. The couple are together to this day.

In the photo, Flora Perez Marcote is the second wife of Amancio Ortega

The family has three children. Daughter Sandra and son Marcus are disabled since childhood. Martha Flora Perez gave birth to her daughter in 1984, before the official marriage.

In 2012, the eldest daughter married Surf Sergio Alvarez Moya, who is a Spanish equestrian star and works as a senior manager at Inditex.

Success concept

Clothing production proceeds as follows:

The corporation's specialists constantly visit all Fashion Weeks, make sketches of future models and send them to the head office in A Coruña.
Designers evaluate ideas and trends and create patterns.
Tailoring.
Updating the store's assortment, usually 2 times a week, 100 times a year. With one arrival there are usually 200 new styles.

Under Ortega, daily reports from stores were introduced, which indicated customer wishes regarding the range and quality of clothing.

Collections are produced in small batches so that there are no large leftovers that need to be stored in warehouses.

One of the important criteria for success is a careful choice in the design and lighting of shop windows, proper placement of mannequins and selection of models.

The philosophy of the Zara brand is the trends of world catwalks in clothing collections and their quick sale.

Journal correspondent Newsweek characterized the speed of turnover and development of the company “ murderous" From the creation of a model to its sale it takes no more than 2 weeks.

Ortega’s effective strategy is simple - low prices and systematic updating of the assortment. Wholesale trade should develop in parallel with retail business and be managed by one person. The management model is also taught in business schools.

Interests and hobbies

Amancio Ortega breeds chickens and also enjoys horse riding. He owns a hippodrome. And also loves painting and cars.

He is a very homely and simple person. He does not like to host receptions and parties, he even refused an invitation from the royal family. He enjoys doing charity work and, if necessary, can help Inditex employees regardless of their position.

At the age of 14-16, while working for a designer, Amancio studied pricing. He noticed that the price of things was rising, starting from the fabric coming from the wholesale warehouse, through the atelier to the store. Even then, the idea of my own business arose, in which it was necessary to shorten the chain of movement of goods in order to reduce the cost of things.

The main indicator of the company's effectiveness is the fact that 1 store is opened in the world every 36 hours.

Ortega is a non-public person and gave his first interview in 2001, when the corporation entered the stock market. To all media offers and requests to take photos, he replied:

“I want the only people to recognize me on the street to be my family, friends and colleagues.”

The first store opened in La Coruña is still in operation. Visitors do not come to it for clothes, they want to find out interesting information about the life of the owner.

Recognized as “the most modest billionaire” who does not give interviews, does not commit shocking acts and does not share details of his personal life.

Many world-famous designers are suing him on charges of plagiarism, but to no avail.

Ortega has many quotes that are used by managers around the world. The most popular of them are:

“Try to seduce the buyer with the latest fashions, the best designs and the most attentive service.”
"The problem of business succession anywhere in the world arises from the fact that not all legal heirs are suitable for it."
“Companies are made up of people, without whose efforts, professionalism and motivation, not a single goal would be achieved.”
"You must appear in the newspapers three times: when you are born, when you get married, and when you die."