Amancio Ortega Gaona is a Spanish businessman who established one of the largest fashion companies in the world. He is the wealthiest individual in Spain, and the 10th richest man in the world, as ranked by Forbes Magazine. He has an estimated net worth of over $25 billion. The 73-year old self-made billionaire accumulated immense wealth from scratch as a mogul in the fashion industry. He is the founder, chairman and majority owner of the INdustrias de DIseño TEXtil, or simply called the Inditex Group.
Amancio Ortega’s Inditex is a Spanish conglomerate made up of different companies engaged in textile design, development, manufacturing and distribution. He controls one of the world’s largest fashion groups after LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which is led by French business tycoon Bernard Arnault.
Born in Leon, Spain on March 28, 1936 to a railroad worker and a maid, Amancio Ortega’s humble beginnings pushed him to work hard throughout his life. He started to work at the young age of 14 as a gofer in different shirt stores in A Coruña, Spain. He eventually pursued his own enterprise when he established Confecciones Goa, a textile company that manufactured dressing robes.
In 1975, Amancio Ortega opened his first store in what would become the extremely popular and innovative chain of fashion stores called Zara. The rest, as they say, is history. He has expanded his business and acquired several other brands along the way. From a single Zara store in A Coruña, Spain, he established a conglomerate of various fashion brands with over 4,350 stores employing more than 14,000 individuals all over the world.
The Inditex group is composed of several distinct brands, including Zara, Bershka, Pull and Bear/Often, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Oysho, Uterque and Zara Home. Amancio Ortega has been hands-on in leading the company by being part of the production and design processes of the company.