Amancio Ortega Gaona

Amancio Ortega was born on 28 March 1936 in Busdongo de Arbás, León, Spain, to Antonio Ortega Rodríguez and Josefa Gaona Hernández as the youngest of their four kids. He spent his childhood days in León. At the age of 14, he left his school and moved to A Coruña due to his father’s job.

Talking about Ortega’s love life, he married his first wife Rosalía Mera in 1966. The couple got divorced in 1986. After this, the businessman went on to marry his second wife Flora Pérez Marcote in the year 2001. Today, Ortega is the father of three kids: Sandra Ortega Mera, Marta Ortega Pérez and Marcos Ortega Mera.

He is known to be a down-to-earth man who stays away from the media glare. Ortega normally wears gray pants with a white shirt and blue blazer to work, none of which are Zara products. The Spanish business tycoon does not believe in wearing a tie. He also takes his meals at work in the company’s cafeteria along with his workers.

Amancio Ortega began his career as a shop hand for a shirt maker called Gala and learned to make clothes by hand. He then founded Confecciones Goa in 1972 and began selling quilted bathrobes. Three years later, he, along with his first wife, Rosalía, opened the first Zara store. The store was a success and this motivated Ortega to open several more Zara stores across Spain in the following decade. The label Zara is part of the Inditex group.

In 2011, Ortega announced his retirement from the Inditex Group, the parent company of the Zara chain. The following year, he donated about €20 million to the Roman Catholic relief organisation, Caritas Internationalis.

Today, the Inditex Group owns several other renowned brands besides Zara, such as Zara Home, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, and Pull and Bear. It has over 90,000 workers.

Ortega is also the proud owner of the Torre Picasso, Spain’s tallest skyscraper worth $536 million. He has his own equestrian center and a private jet as well.