Amancio Ortega by far The most well-known Spanish millionaire in and outside SpainAlthough the businessman from Leon, living in Galicia, keeps a very low profile in the press and stays out of the media spotlight.

In fact, apart from some features that show off his enormous wealth, the millionaire has stated on many occasions that he enjoys the simple things and it is not strange to see him drinking coffee on the terraces on the seafront of La Coruña, his usual residence.

The fortune of the textile empire: Inditex

According to real time millionaires list ForbesThe treasures of an 87-year-old Spanish millionaire $111.5 billion in wealthand ranks twelfth in the world, just ahead of NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and behind India’s Mukesh Ambani.

2024 marks the first year that Amancio Ortega will break the $100,000 million ceiling, joining the elite club of the top 0.5% of millionaires with 12-figure fortunes.

The origin of Amancio Ortega’s enormous fortune is known to be Inditex, one of the largest fashion stores in the world.

According to data from Inditex’s latest Annual Corporate Governance Report for 2023, the majority of Inditex’s shareholders remain under the control of Amancio Ortega, who holds 59.29% of the company’s shares. However, the founder does not appear to be the direct beneficiary of this participation, but manages it through two companies he controls: Pontegadea Inversiones, with a 50.010% stake, and Partler 2006, with a 9.284% stake.

Thanks to this participation, the millionaire founder of Inditex, who today retires from the first line of command in pursuit of his daughter Marta Ortega, will receive annual dividends of more than $ 200 million. 2.8 billion eurosInditex has tripled the dividends it pays to shareholders over the last decade, meaning Amancio Ortega’s wealth has been growing year after year without him having to do anything.

Pontegadea made him the king of bricks

Building one of the world’s largest textile empires from scratch is a worthy feat in itself, but replicating the same feat across two multi-billion dollar companies in different industries is worth examining.

Amancio Ortega’s investment instinct led him to the following conclusion: using the Pontegadea company to reinvest dividends Millionaires have been created by his participation in Inditex in exclusive properties around the world. In principle, the investment company has only selected properties that are strategic for Inditex’s business worldwide, so that most of the holding’s stores worldwide are located in properties owned by Pontegadea. Everything remains in Ortega’s house.

But over time, these real estate investments have spread to other sectors, taking over many of the iconic office buildings where major technology companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google or Spotify have their headquarters. The business has grown from strength to strength, so the real estate company has expanded its tentacles to luxury residences, logistics warehouses and even buildings that would later be rented to hotel chains, and has partnered with the company of his daughter Sandra Ortega Mera.

Pontegadea has a strategic advantage over other real estate investors: its capital comes entirely from dividends received by Amancio Ortega from Inditex. This is the company’s invest in new real estate assets without having to take on debt From third-party investors or banking institutions, so the benefit of their investment is clear.

This annual, debt-free, billion-dollar investment flow has meant Pontegadea has become Spain’s largest investment property company by asset valuation, surpassing giants such as Colonial and Merlin, and even El Corte Inglés.

Pontegadea’s real estate assets are estimated at around €20,000 million, compared to Merlin’s €11,270 million or Colonial’s €11,336 million, while El Corte Inglés’s are estimated at around €16,000 million.

Ortega lives not only with bricks but also with energy.

Pontegadea’s latest acquisitions have opened up a new area of ​​investment: renewable energies. To this end, Amancio Ortega’s investment vehicle has partnered with Spanish energy companies such as Repsol, Redeia (formerly Red Eléctrica) and Enagas, adding 12 wind and photovoltaic parks to a 1,000 megawatt renewable energy portfolio in Spain.

Investor Amancio Ortega is also expanding his horizons and has partnered with French public company EDF Renouvelables to expand its energy investments on French soil by an additional 160 MW.

Daily comforts for a millionaire

Beyond the billion-dollar investments of the two empires created by Amancio Ortega, the Leonese millionaire does not show much of his wealth. In everyday life, he prefers to live unnoticed, living like an ordinary neighbor, although in his case he does so in a duplex overlooking the port of La Coruña and close to the beach of Orzán.

His second residence, a bit larger, is a few kilometers inland: Pazo de Drozo, a 17th-century palace with its own farm and orchard on 4,500 square meters of land. The mansion has hosted numerous family events, including the wedding of his daughter Marta Ortega and Amancio Ortega’s second marriage to his current wife, Flora Pérez. He is also known for owning a four-story, 3,000-square-meter building in the center of La Coruña.

Valoria B, one of Amancio Ortega’s yachts

However, the businessman is a sea enthusiast and owns the “little” yacht Valoria B, 47 meters long, which he offers to his family and friends.

Until recently, Ortega enjoyed the luxury superyacht Drizzle, a sleek 69-metre yacht that can accommodate 12 guests in seven guest cabins and nine crew cabins. Having sold the yacht for €76 million, Ortega is now awaiting the imminent purchase of his new superyacht, Project 2024.

The millionaire, who lives in La Coruña, has several yachts and a Bombardier Global Express in his name, as well as a long-haul private jet worth around €35 ​​million.

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