Spain's Amancio Ortega listed as the 3rd richest person in the world in 2013 according to Forbes. Who?! Amancio Ortega! He is the year's biggest gainer, up $19.5 billion. He moves into the top three among the world's richest for the first time. He stepped down as chairman of Inditex, best known for its Zara brand, in 2011, but still owns nearly 60% of its shares, which soared 50% year-over-year on record profits. Ortega also has a real estate portfolio, much of it acquired at bargain prices during the financial downturn, estimated to be worth more than $4 billion. Among his properties: the iconic Torre Picasso, a 43-story skyscraper in Madrid (Google is a tenant), which he purchased from billionaire Esther Koplowitz in 2011. He also owns buildings in Madrid, London, Chicago, San Francisco and New York. A railway worker's son, he started as a gofer in a shirt store. With then-wife Rosalia Mera, also a billionaire, he started making dressing gowns and lingerie in their living room. 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.
INSIDER: Amancio Ortega. Who? Amancio Ortega!
Spain's Amancio Ortega listed as the 3rd richest person in the world in 2013 according to Forbes. Who?! Amancio Ortega! He is the year's biggest gainer, up $19.5 billion. He moves into the top three among the world's richest for the first time. He stepped down as chairman of Inditex, best known for its Zara brand, in 2011, but still owns nearly 60% of its shares, which soared 50% year-over-year on record profits. Ortega also has a real estate portfolio, much of it acquired at bargain prices during the financial downturn, estimated to be worth more than $4 billion. Among his properties: the iconic Torre Picasso, a 43-story skyscraper in Madrid (Google is a tenant), which he purchased from billionaire Esther Koplowitz in 2011. He also owns buildings in Madrid, London, Chicago, San Francisco and New York. A railway worker's son, he started as a gofer in a shirt store. With then-wife Rosalia Mera, also a billionaire, he started making dressing gowns and lingerie in their living room. 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.