Famous Entrepreneurs Information

10. Amancio Ortega

Net Worth: $18.3 billion
Source: Fashion/Spain
Age: 73
Marital Status: Divorced, remarried; three children

Railway worker's son started as a gofer in a shirt store.

With then wife Rosalia Mera, also now a billionaire, started making dressing gowns and lingerie in their living room.

Business became one of world's most successful apparel manufacturers.

Today, Inditex has more than 4,000 stores in 71 countries. Sales: $12.3 billion. Ortega is chairman.

Company exported its cheap chic Zara stores to four new markets last year: Ukraine, South Korea, Montenegro and Honduras.

Stock up 1% in past 12 months, but fortune down because of weak euro.

Also has personal investments in gas, tourism, banks and real estate.

Owns properties in Madrid, Spain; Paris; London; and Lisbon, Portugal; plus a luxury hotel and apartment complex in Miami, a horse-jumping circuit and an interest in a soccer league.

Shuns neckties and fanfare. Daughter Marta works for Inditex; recent speculation suggests she is being groomed to eventually replace her father.

by Luisa Kroll, Matthew Miller, and Tatiana Serafin

Labels: amancio ortega, famous entrepreneurs, fashion, inditex, spain, zara