Amancio Ortega facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amancio Ortega
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| Born | 28 March 1936 Busdongo de Arbas, Spain
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| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder of Inditex Group Richest person in Spain |
| Board member of | Inditex Daez (COO) |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3, including Sandra Ortega Mera and Marta Ortega Pérez |
| Awards | Order of Civil Merit |
| Signature | |
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Amancio Ortega Gaona is a very successful Spanish businessman. He was born on March 28, 1936. He is most famous for starting the fashion company Inditex. This company owns popular clothing stores like Zara and Bershka.
Amancio Ortega is known for being a pioneer in "fast fashion." This means he helped make it possible for new clothing styles to go from the design table to stores very quickly. He is one of the wealthiest people in Europe and in the world. For a short time in 2015, he was even the richest person globally!
Contents
Early Life and First Steps
Amancio Ortega was the youngest of four children. He was born in a small town called Busdongo de Arbas in Spain. His father worked for the railway.
When Amancio was 14, his family moved to A Coruña. He left school to help his family. He found a job working in a shirt shop called Gala. There, he learned how to make clothes by hand. This was the start of his journey in the fashion world.
Building a Fashion Empire
How Zara Began
In 1963, Amancio Ortega started his first company, Confecciones Goa. They made and sold quilted bathrobes. This was his first step into owning his own business.
In 1975, he opened the very first Zara store with his wife, Rosalía Mera. Zara quickly became popular for offering trendy clothes at affordable prices.
Growing Inditex
Zara grew into a huge company called Inditex. By 2009, Amancio Ortega owned a big part of Inditex. This group includes many well-known brands besides Zara, such as Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Zara Home, Stradivarius, Pull and Bear, and Bershka. Inditex has thousands of stores and employs many people around the world.
Amancio Ortega is a very private person. He rarely gave interviews to journalists. In 2009, he received a special award called the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit.
In 2011, Amancio Ortega decided to step down as the head of Inditex. He chose Pablo Isla to take his place.
Giving Back to the Community
Helping Others
Amancio Ortega believes in helping others. In 2012, he donated about €20 million to Caritas Internationalis. This is a large organization that helps people in need. It was the biggest donation they had ever received from one person.
In 2017, his foundation made an even bigger donation of €320 million. This money went to public hospitals across Spain to help fight cancer. The funds were used to buy advanced machines that can find and treat cancer. This helped many hospitals get new equipment. While most people supported this, some political groups had different ideas about how such large donations should be managed.
Amancio Ortega Foundation
In 2001, he started the Amancio Ortega Foundation. This foundation works to improve education and social welfare. One of its programs offers scholarships. These scholarships help students study for a year in Canada or the United States. This gives many young people a chance to experience education abroad.
In 2024, he created a €100 million fund. This fund was to help people in Valencia who were affected by a severe weather system called DANA.
Personal Life
Amancio Ortega likes to keep his personal life very private. For a long time, no photos of him were even published. He prefers to dress simply, often wearing a blue jacket, a white shirt, and gray pants. He doesn't wear a tie.
He married Rosalía Mera Goyenechea in 1966. They had two children, Marcos and Sandra Ortega Mera. They later divorced in 1986. Rosalía Mera passed away in 2013. Amancio Ortega married his second wife, Flora Pérez Marcote, in 2001. They have a daughter named Marta Ortega Pérez.
Even though he owns many properties, he mostly lives a quiet life with his wife in their apartment in A Coruña, Spain. He also owns two yachts and a private jet.
Images for kids
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Amancio Ortega's signature.
See also
In Spanish: Amancio Ortega para niños
- List of billionaires
- List of Spanish billionaires by net worth
