Rosalía Mera facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rosalía Mera
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 28 January 1944 |
| Died | 15 August 2013 (aged 69) A Coruña, Galicia, Spain
|
| Known for | Co-founder of Inditex |
| Spouse(s) |
Amancio Ortega Gaona
(m. 1966; div. 1986) |
| Children | 2; including Sandra Ortega Mera |
Rosalía Mera Goyenechea (born January 28, 1944 – died August 15, 2013) was a smart Spanish businesswoman. She helped start the famous clothing company Zara. When she passed away, she was known as the richest woman in Spain. She was also the richest woman in the world who had built her own wealth from scratch.
Contents
Early Life and School
Rosalía Mera Goyenechea was born in A Coruña, a city in Galicia, Spain. This happened on January 28, 1944. She stopped going to school when she was just eleven years old. After that, she started working in a clothing shop as a sales assistant.
Building a Fashion Empire
Rosalía Mera began her career by designing clothes at home. She made gowns and lingerie with her husband at the time, Amancio Ortega Gaona. In 1975, the couple opened their very first Zara store in A Coruña.
Zara became very successful because it could quickly copy popular fashion styles. Then, it would sell these trendy clothes at low prices. This idea helped the couple turn their small business into a huge company worth billions of dollars.
Growing Inditex
Ten years after the first Zara store opened, a new company called Inditex was created. Inditex became the main company for all of their businesses. Today, Inditex owns many different fashion brands. Zara is the most famous one.
Other popular stores owned by Inditex include Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Uterque, and Zara Home. Inditex now has more than 6,000 stores. These stores are in over 86 countries around the world. The company also employs more than 120,000 people.
Even after Rosalía Mera and Amancio Ortega divorced in 1986, she kept a part of the company. She owned 7% of Inditex.
Other Business Ventures
Rosalía Mera also invested in other types of companies. One company made special kits to identify newborns using their fingerprints. She also had an interest in Zeltia. This company does research to find new ways to fight cancer. They look for helpful compounds from both natural sources and in the ocean.
In 2013, Forbes magazine listed Rosalía Mera as the wealthiest self-made female entrepreneur in the world. She had a net worth of over $6 billion. She was the second richest person from Spain, right after her ex-husband.
Helping Others
Rosalía Mera cared about helping people. She was against cuts to Spain's national healthcare and education programs. These cuts are sometimes called "austerity." She believed these important services should be protected.
She also started a group called the Paideia Foundation. This foundation works to help people who are at risk of being left out of society. They support groups that need extra help.
Family Life
Rosalía Mera married Amancio Ortega Gaona in 1966. They had a daughter named Sandra in 1968. Their son, Marcos, was born in 1971. Marcos was born with cerebral palsy. Rosalía and Amancio divorced in 1986.
Later Years and Passing
On August 14, 2013, Rosalía Mera was on holiday in Menorca. She suffered a stroke and was taken to a hospital. Sadly, she passed away the next day, on August 15, 2013. She was transferred by plane to A Coruña and then by ambulance to a hospital there.
Inditex, the company she helped create, shared their sadness. They sent their deepest sympathies to her family and friends. Rosalía Mera was buried in the cemetery of Santa Eulalia of Liáns church. This church is in Oleiros, near A Coruña.
Her daughter, Sandra Ortega Mera, inherited her wealth. Sandra then became the richest woman in Spain.
See also
- Rosalía Mera para niños (In Spanish)
