The Richest Men in Spain
by kalyani10
With a long history of enterprise and exploration, Spain continues to be one of the most significant economies in the Euro region. And even though the Spanish economy may seem to have received some hard knocks from the current Euro crisis, still many of its citizens figure among the richest in the world. Here are some of the richest men in Spain and how much they are worth.
- Amancio Ortega
Even though Spain may soon require a full bailout, one of its citizens recently became the wealthiest person in the euro zone and the third richest man on the planet, edging out American financier Warren Buffet, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index1. The man in question is Amancio Ortega, founder of the luxury fashion house, Zara as well as Inditex whose personal fortune is estimated at $47.4 billion – according to Bloomberg, the surge in Ortega’s fortunes is due to Inditex stock price closing at a record high. Thus even though Ortega stepped down as chairman of his global fashion firm, Inditex, in July 2011, clearly the move has made no difference to the fortunes of the company. Shares are up one-fourth in the past year, helping boost his fortune by $6.5 billion and pushing him into the global top 5 ranks for the first time. Ortega paid $536 million to billionaire Esther Koplowitz in December for Torre Picasso, a 43-story skyscraper in Madrid. Among other properties he owns are Epic Residences & Hotel, a luxury 54-story waterfront condo and hotel development in Miami.
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76 year old Ortega is a self-made billionaire. A railway worker's son, he started as a gofer in a shirt store. With then-wife Rosalia Mera, now also a billionaire, he started making dressing gowns and lingerie in living room. Ortega has three children among whom, his daughter Marta, also works for Inditex. In February 2012, she, married Spanish equestrian star Sergio Alvarez Moya. Ortega himself owns a horse-jumping circuit as well as a stake in a soccer league.
- Isak Andic
Yet another Spanish billionaire who made his fortunes in the fashion industry is Isak Andic who enjoys a net worth of $4.8 billion, thanks to his Mango label which earns $1.6 billion annually in sales. Isak Andic opened his first apparel store in Barcelona in 1984 and today Mango gets more than 80% of sales outside of Spain and operates more than 2060 stores in 104 countries, from the Dutch Antilles to China. The group, known for producing reasonably priced, trendy women's apparel, has opened 800 "corner" stores within other retailers in the past two years, 500 of which are in JC Penneys. To offset, dipping sales, the company has roped in supermodel Kate Moss to star in Mango commercials and who is also slated to be the new face of its spring ad campaign. Among other assets owned by Andic are shares in Banco Sabadell, one of Spain's largest banking groups.
Andic’s family came to Spain from Turkey in 1960s. The 59 year old self-made billionaire’s prefers to keep a low profile in the media. He is currently divorced and has three children. Among his interests outside of commercial ventures is sailing.
- Juan Roig
The third wealthiest man in Spain is retail king, Juan Roig with a net worth of $4.7 billion as of March 20122. With a 55% stake, Roig controls Mercadona which is the largest chain of supermarkets in Spain. Mercadona earns $22 billion in revenues and includes 1,356 stores spread out through the country. Most importantly low pricing has always been Mercadona’s success mantra and in keeping with this, the company cut prices in stores by 14 percent As the Spanish economy nosedived in recent years --an effort Roig felt necessary to help Spanish families get through the crisis. apart from its low pricing strategy, the company also prides itself on long tenure of its 63,500 employees, who have regular schedules, enjoy company profit-sharing, and are two-thirds female.
The 63 year old billionaire is married and has four children of whom daughters Hortensia, Amparo, Juana and Carolina all sit on the supervisory board with their dad. The Mercadona supermarket chain was actually founded by Roig’s parents who eventually went on to drive and supervise the expansion of the network.
- Daniel Mate
Even though coming after Rosalia Mera - co-founder of Zara and worth $4.5 billion – on Spain’s rich list, Daniel Mate is firmly placed as one of the country’s top five richest men. Mate enjoys a net worth of $2.8 billion, which he owes to a life-long association with the commodities giant Glencore International. Daniel Mate joined Marc Rich & Co. in 1988 in Switzerland, six years before the firm was bought out by management and rebranded. In 1991 Mate joined the zinc, copper and lead commodity department of Glencore where he gained expertise in metals transactions and logistics in Spain and North Africa. Three years later, he moved to the company's zinc and lead commodity department in Switzerland. He became co-director of Glencore's zinc, copper and lead commodity department in 2000, jointly overseeing its marketing business and industrial assets with Aristotelis Mistakidis3. Mate became a billionaire when Glencore went public in May 2011. Despite its shares losing nearly 20% of their value since their debut, the future appears to be bright for Glencore. Among the future plans of the firm is a proposed merger with mining outfit Xstrata. If the all-stock "merger of equals" comes through, it would result in a $90 billion mining and marketing company of staggering proportions.
Little is known about the personal life of the 49 year old self-made billionaire apart from the fact that he has two children and lives in Kanton Schwyz, Switzerland.
- Manuel Jove
With a net worth of $2.6 billion, realty baron, Manuel Jove is next in the elite group of the richest men in Spain. A carpenter by trade, Manuel Jove opened his own business in 1980 and soon developed it into one of Spain's leading property companies, Fadesa Inmobiliaria. Apart from owning several expensive properties, Jove also holds a 5.1 % stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, one of Spain's largest banks.
The 71 year old self-made billionaire is a resident of La Coruna in Spain. Jove collects art from the Spanish province of Galicia and as expected of one, who began as a carpenter, enjoys woodworking.
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