Amancio Ortega (L) and Marta Ortega Perez in June 2012 (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega was this year's biggest winner on the Forbes Billionaires list, jumping two spots to become the 3rd-richest man in the world, with a net worth of $57 billion. His net worth rose more than any billionaire on our list: $19.5 billion, helping push his net worth to record heights.
It's all thanks to the popularity of his Zara fashion brand, which produces decently-made fashions, based on the latest looks from the runway, sold at affordable prices. Year-over-year, shares of parent company Inditex, which also owns the brands Massimo Dutti, Bershka, and Pull and Bear, rose 50%.
Inditex is something of a supply chain marvel: clothes move from concept to design to the Zara stores in a matter of days. And they move out of Zara stores within weeks. That speed, combined with lovely presentation, has allowed Inditex to thrive: same-store sales are up 6% or so, while European competitors like H&M are relatively flat. Investors also like that Zara launched a website targeted at Americans in September.
Ortega himself--who owns nearly 60% of Inditex--stays out of the spotlight, never granting interviews. He stepped down as chairman of Inditex, but reportedly remains very involved in the business. He leads a quiet life in La Coruña, a seaside town near Inditex's headquarters in Arteixo. The son of a railway worker, he founded Inditex with former wife Rosalia Mera, also a billionaire, making lingerie and dressing gowns in their living room.
Since becoming fabulously wealth, he's also become something of a real estate tycoon, with a portfolio worth at least an estimated $4 billion. He owns buildings in Madrid, London, Chicago, San Francisco and New York, including the iconic Torre Picasso, a 43-story skyscraper in Madrid (Google is a tenant), which he purchased from fellow billionaire Esther Koplowitz in 2011.
Ortega seems to value his privacy, and tries to protect his family as well. In December 2012, Spanish media reported that Ortega paid half a million dollars to prevent paparazzi from publishing photos of his daughter Marta and her equestrian husband Sergio Alvarez on their honeymoon in Cambodia and Australia. Marta, who works for Inditex, is reportedly expecting a baby boy.
