Amancio Ortega was 13 when he first started working at a clothing store in La Coruna, Spain
In the years to come, he worked in various positions for different garment companies learning the tricks of the trade
In 1963, he partnered with his siblings, and future-wife Rosalia Mera, to start his own company. Named Confecciones Goa, the company produced women’s bathrobes
In 1975, he opened the first ready-to-wear clothing store of Zara in La Coruna
In 1985, he found Inditex which became the officially incorporated holding company of Zara
The company was based on the philosophy of fast fashion. Ortega used a highly efficient manufacturing process and designers to bring runway fashions to stores within a matter of weeks, and that too at costs that were affordable by most people
His business model was a success and he soon expanded to Portugal, France and the US
By the end of the ‘90s, Inditex included brands such as Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear under its umbrella
Inditex opened to the public in 2001 raising $2.7 billion
By 2010, Ortega’s business had become one of the largest clothing retailers in the world with presence in 77 countries and more than 5,000 stores
In 2011, Ortega relinquished his position as chairman of Inditex but continued to be the largest shareholder of the company
In 2015, he briefly overshadowed Bill Gates to become the world’s richest person
Today, Inditex is the world’s largest fashion retailer with an estimated revenue of $31 billion in 2019 and Ortega owns 59% of it
Apart from his clothing empire, Ortega has also extensively invested in real estate
He owns properties worth $17.2 billion, spread across the globe, through his holding company, Pontegadea
His property holdings include the tallest office tower and a luxury hotel in Miami, the tallest building in Spain, the Seattle offices of Facebook and Amazon, as well as stores of rivals Hennes & Mauritz AB and The Gap Inc
Ortega acquired around 10% of the telecom company Telefonica SA’s tower unit Telxius in 2018 and bought 5% shares of the Spanish energy company Enagas in 2019
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