Rosalía Mera
Born(1944-01-28)28 January 1944
A Coruña, Galicia, Spain
Died15 August 2013(2013-08-15) (aged 69)
A Coruña, Galicia, Spain
Known forCo-founder of Inditex
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1966; div. 1986)​
[1]
Children2; including Sandra Ortega Mera
WebsiteOfficial website

Rosalía Mera Goyenechea (28 January 1944 – 15 August 2013) was a Spanish businesswoman and entrepreneur. At the time of her death, she was the richest woman in Spain[1] and the world's richest self-made woman.[2] In 1975, she co-founded the Zara retail chain with her then-husband Amancio Ortega Gaona. The company grew to become the world's largest fashion retailer.[3]

Early life and education

Rosalia Mera Goyenechea was born in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain on 28 January 1944.[3] She dropped out of school at age eleven to work as a sales assistant in a clothing shop.[1][4]

Career

Mera began designing gowns and lingerie in her home with her then-husband, Amancio Ortega Gaona. The couple opened the first Zara store in 1975 in A Coruña.[4] Eventually the couple parlayed their work into a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Zara's success was in part due to its strategy of imitating popular fashions and quickly making them for sale at inexpensive prices.[3]

Ten years after the opening of the first Zara store, Inditex was established as a holding company for the couple's businesses.[4] Inditex now comprises multiple fashion companies, of which Zara is the flagship.[1] The company also owns the retailers Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Uterque and Zara Home.[5] Inditex now has over 6000+ stores in over 86 countries[3] and over 120,000 employees.[5] Despite her 1986 divorce from Ortega,[1] Mera retained a 7% stake in the company.[6]

Mera also owned interests in a company which made fingerprinting identification kits for newborns[7] and another company, Zeltia, which carries out research into cancer fighting compounds of both synthetic and natural origin and particularly those bioactive compounds originating in the ocean.[7][8]

According to the 2013 Forbes billionaire list, Mera was the world's wealthiest self-made female entrepreneur, with a net worth of over $6 billion. She was the second-wealthiest person from Spain,[7] second only to her ex-husband.

Political and philanthropic activities

Mera opposed conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's plans to make Spain's abortion laws more restrictive.[5] She also opposed austerity cutbacks to Spain's national healthcare and education programmes.[5]

Mera established the Paideia Foundation which works with groups in risk of social exclusion.[7][9]

Personal life

Mera married Amancio Ortega Gaona in 1966.[4] The couple had a daughter, Sandra in 1968.[4] and also had a son, Marcos in 1971, who was born with cerebral palsy.[7] The couple divorced in 1986.

Death

On 14 August 2013, Mera was admitted to a hospital in Menorca in an ‘irreversible situation’ after suffering a stroke. The family had been on holiday in Menorca. Mera died on 15 August 2013 in A Coruña. She had been transferred by plane to the port city and then by ambulance to the Hospital San Rafael de A Coruña where she later died of complications.[10][11] Inditex confirmed Mera's death on 16 August 2013,[12] stating "The group wishes to send its sincere condolences to her loved ones and friends at this extremely difficult time, after the loss of a person who contributed so much to the origins and development of the company."[1] She was buried in the cemetery of the church of Santa Eulalia of Liáns, in Oleiros (A Coruña).[13]

Her daughter Sandra Ortega Mera inherited her wealth, and became Spain's richest woman with a net wealth of $6.1 billion.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Zara co-founder Rosalia Mera dies aged 69". BBC News. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Carlyle, Erin (16 August 2013). "Rosalia Mera, World's Richest Self-Made Woman, Dies At 69". Forbes. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dennys, Harriet (16 August 2013). "Rosalia Mera". Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Baigorri, Manuel (16 August 2013). "Rosalia Mera, Who Was Spain's Richest Woman, Dies at 69". Bloomberg. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Rosalia Mera, World's Wealthiest Self-Made Woman, Dies At 69". Huffington Post. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  6. ↑ Hetz, Robert (15 August 2013). "UPDATE 1-Co-founder of Zara-owner Inditex dies in hospital-report". Reuters. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Kroll, Luisa. "The Rarer Sex: The Self-Made Women Billionaires Of 2013". Forbes. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  8. ↑ Zeltia website
  9. ↑ EC accreditation for the foundation Archived 20 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "Rosalía Mera, has been admitted to hospital in Menorca in an 'irreversible situation' after suffering a stroke". Typically Spanish. Howard John Brereton. 15 August 2013. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "Muere Rosalía Mera, cofundadora de Inditex". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 16 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Conti, Samantha (16 August 2013). "Rosalia Mera, Cofounder of Inditex, Dies". WWD. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Rosalía Mera será enterrada este sábado en A Coruña". Europa Press (in Spanish). 16 August 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  14. ↑ "Sandra Ortega Mera". Forbes. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
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