Amancio Ortega Bio
Amancio Ortega is 82 years old Spanish fashion entrepreneur known for being the chairman and founder of Inditex, the biggest fashion group in the world having over 7,200 stores in 93 markets worldwide.
The group holds the chain of Zara clothing as the main brand. At present, he holds the position of the fifth wealthiest person in the world and the second wealthiest person in Europe after Bernard Arnault.
Early life
Amancio was born on 28th March 1936 in Busdongo de Arbas, Leon, Spain as Amancio Ortega Gaona to Antonio Ortega Rodriguez and Josefa Gaona Hernandez.
He was raised as the youngest child of the family in Leon with his three more siblings. He didn’t complete his education and got shifted to A Coruna as his father's job was of a railway worker.
He then decided to learn to make clothes by hand from a local shirtmaker called Gala after finding the condition of his family in immense poverty.
Career
Amancio started his career early in life by deciding to learn to make clothes by hand. He then in 1950s organized
women into sewing cooperatives making a product line including lingerie, babywear, and nightgowns.
This business plan brought him a good experience finally offering him a chance to start his own first company, Confecciones GOA, S.A. in 1963.
He managed to get a low-cost workforce with fast production clothing turnarounds thus opening his first storefront in La Coruna downtown, called Zorba in 1975.
The name was later changed to Zara expanding to several Spanish cities in the early 1980s.
In 1988 Inditex Group was formed opening its first Zara shop in Portugal followed by international expansion in the USA and London with retail portfolio development; Pull&Bear and Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Bershka, Oysho, and Uterque.
He made it to such success by working on his two principles of fast delivery speed and customer-oriented approach with fast fashion.
In 2017, he received the AEF award given away by the Spanish Association of Foundations under the Philanthropic Initiative category.
Personal life
He got married twice. His first marriage was with Rosalia Mera in 1966 that ended with divorce in 1986. He married again to Flora Perez Marcotte in 2001 and is the father of three children.
Net Worth
It is estimated to be around US$63.3 billion as of November 2018.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amancio_Ortega
https://www.forbes.com/profile/amancio-ortega/#41983b6a116c