Rosalía Mera

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[2] and the world's richest self-made woman.[3] 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.[4]

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Mera and the second or maternal family name is Goyenechea.

Rosalía Mera
Rosalía Mera
Born
Rosalía Mera Goyenechea

(1944-01-28)28 January 1944
A Coruña, Galicia, Spain
Died15 August 2013(2013-08-15) (aged 69)
A Coruña, Galicia, Spain
NationalitySpanish
Known forCo-founder of Inditex
Net worth$6.1 billion (2013)[1]
Spouse(s)
Amancio Ortega Gaona
​
(
m. 1966; div. 1986)
[2]
Children2; including Sandra Ortega Mera
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and education

Rosalia Mera was born in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain in 1944.[4] She dropped out of school at age eleven to work as a sales assistant in a clothing shop.[2][5]

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.[5] 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.[4]

Ten years after the opening of the first Zara store, Inditex was established as a holding company for the couple's businesses.[5] Inditex now comprises multiple fashion companies, of which Zara is the flagship.[2] The company also owns the retailers Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Uterque and Zara Home.[6] Inditex now has over 6000+ stores in over 86 countries[4] and over 120,000 employees.[6] Despite her 1986 divorce from Ortega,[2] Mera retained a 7% stake in the company.[7]

Mera also owned interests in a company which made fingerprinting identification kits for newborns[1] 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.[1][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,[1] 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.[6] She also opposed austerity cutbacks to Spain's national healthcare and education programmes.[6]

Mera established the Paideia Foundation which works with groups in risk of social exclusion.[1][9]

Personal life

Mera married Amancio Ortega Gaona in 1966.[5] She had a son, Marcos, who was born mentally disabled.[1] The couple also had a daughter, Sandra.[5] 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."[2] 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 (her son Marcos was born with cerebral palsy), and became Spain's richest woman with a net wealth of $6.1 billion.[14]

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References
  1. Kroll, Luisa. "The Rarer Sex: The Self-Made Women Billionaires Of 2013". Forbes. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  2. "Zara co-founder Rosalia Mera dies aged 69". BBC News. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  3. Carlyle, Erin (16 August 2013). "Rosalia Mera, World's Richest Self-Made Woman, Dies At 69". Forbes. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  4. Dennys, Harriet (16 August 2013). "Rosalia Mera". Daily Telegraph. London.
  5. Baigorri, Manuel (16 August 2013). "Rosalia Mera, Who Was Spain's Richest Woman, Dies at 69". Bloomberg. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  6. "Rosalia Mera, World's Wealthiest Self-Made Woman, Dies At 69". Huffington Post. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  7. Hetz, Robert (15 August 2013). "UPDATE 1-Co-founder of Zara-owner Inditex dies in hospital-report". Reuters. Retrieved 16 August 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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