Rosalía Mera: What Happened To Amancio Ortega’s Ex-wife?

Rosalía Mera was a Spanish businesswoman, entrepreneur, and the ex-wife of Spanish billionaire businessman Amancio Ortega. Rosalía’s ex-husband Amancio Ortega is the co-founder of Inditex Group. Rosalía is also the mother of Sandra Ortega Mera. Sandra is a Spanish billionaire heiress, businesswoman and socialite.

Rosalía Mera: Bio Summary

Who Was Amancio Ortega’s Ex-wife, Rosalía?

Rosalía Mera Goyenechea was born on 28 January 1944, in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. She is the daughter of Rosalía Mera Rosario Goyenechea Baladrón. Not much is known about her parents. Her father was a utility company employee and her mother was a worker in a butcher’s shop, a source claims.

Rosalía Mera may have siblings but there is no information about them. She abandoned school at the age of eleven years. Rosalía Mera’s interest in the textile sector was reportedly the reason she left school at a young age. After dropping out of school, she worked as a sales assistant in a clothing shop.

Rosalía Mera worked at La Maja, initially as a night seamstress sewing up the day’s orders and then as a shop assistant. She met her then-husband-to-be Amancio Ortega Gaona while she was working as a sales assistant. In 1966, Rosalía and Amancio got married. They gave birth to Sandra Ortega Mera in 1968.

In 1971, Rosalía Mera and Amancio Ortega had a son Marcos Ortega Mera, born with cerebral palsy. Rosalía started to design gowns and lingerie in her home with Amancio. The couple opened the first Zara store in 1975. Zara specializes in fast fashion and sells clothing, accessories, beauty products, shoes, and perfumes.

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The company has become the world’s largest fashion retailer. Rosalía Mera helped build the company into one of the world’s biggest retailers. The couple parlayed their work into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise. Zara became successful partly because it imitates popular fashions and quickly makes them for sale at inexpensive prices.

After 10 years of opening the first Zara store, Inditex was established as a holding company for Rosalía and Amancio’s businesses. Inditex has become the biggest fast fashion group in the world. It operates 7,200+ stores in 93 markets worldwide. The company’s flagship store is Zara although it also owns other brands.

Brands such as Zara Home, Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius, Uterqüe, and Lefties. Rosalía held a 7% stake in the company. She reportedly left the board of directors of Inditex in 2004 but still owned a 7% stake in the company. Rosalía and her husband Amancio Ortega divorced in 1986.

Rosalía and Amancio divorced after Amancio had an affair with Flora Pérez Marcote, who would become his second wife. Amancio and Flora Pérez have a daughter Marta Ortega Pérez (b. 1984). Rosalía invested her fortune in other enterprises including Zeltia Pharmaceuticals, which researches cancer, and a company that makes fingerprinting identification kits for infants.

ALSO, READ: Sandra Ortega Mera: Who Is Amancio Ortega And Rosalía Mera’s Daughter?

Rosalía Mera was a major investor in London’s exclusive Bulgari Hotel and ran a contest for young jazz musicians in Spain. She established the Paideia Foundation. She launched the Paideia Galiza Foundation, a broad-reaching charity to assist mentally and physically disabled people and develop women’s initiatives.

“The Paideia Galiza Foundation was established in 1986 as an open space for debate and reflection on topics, especially the Human and Social Sciences,” per their website. Rosalía Mera worked actively in the foundation and was its main spokesperson. She was the world’s wealthiest self-made female entrepreneur according to the 2013 Forbes billionaire list.

Rosalía Mera was the second-wealthiest person from Spain, second only to her ex-husband. She has been recognized for her social and political dedication. Rosalía was a producer, per her IMDb page. She produced Una mujer invisible (2007), and Atlas of Human Geography (2007). She appeared as herself in Iñaki (2011).

What Happened To Amancio Ortega’s Ex-wife?

Amancio Ortega’s ex-wife Rosalía Mera died on 15 August 2013, at age 69, in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. She died after she was admitted to a hospital on 14 August 2013, due to an ‘irreversible situation’ after suffering a stroke. She suffered a stroke while on holiday in Menorca.

Rosalía Mera was moved by plane to the port city and later by ambulance to the Hospital San Rafael de A Coruña where she died of complications. Confirming the death of Rosalía Mera, Inditex Group said in a statement:

“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.”

ALSO, READ: Marcos Ortega Mera: Facts About Amancio Ortega And Rosalía Mera’s Son

Rosalía Mera was buried in the cemetery of the church of Santa Eulalia of Liáns, in Oleiros (A Coruña). The one who inherited her wealth was her daughter Sandra Ortega Mera. Sandra became Spain’s richest woman with a net wealth of $6.1 billion.