SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son has pledged about a third of his holding in the firm, filings show, while Larry Ellison has pledged millions of Oracle Corp. shares. Since Inditex’s initial public offering in 2001, Ortega has received more than $9 billion of dividends, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Once the world’s second-richest person, Ortega’s wealth slumped as Inditex’s revenue growth stagnated. Its shares have dropped more than 30% since hitting a record high two years ago and were little changed at 25.06 euros at 12:05 p.m. in Madrid.
“Revenue was growing 10% a year about a decade ago, but they were less mature then in almost every market in which they now operate,” Charles Allen, a Bloomberg Intelligence retail analyst, said in an interview. “The big market where they still remain quite small is the U.S.”
Ortega has spent most of his life in the garment business. The son of a railroad laborer, he started working in a clothing shop in the northwestern city of La Coruna at age 13. In 1963, he began making women’s bathrobes with his siblings and soon-to-be first wife, Rosalia Mera. He opened the first Zara store in 1975 and incorporated Inditex, a holding company, a decade later.
Ortega stepped down as Inditex chairman in 2011. He never had his own office, preferring instead to work alongside employees in the main design area, according to “Zara and Her Sisters: The Story of the World’s Largest Clothing Retailer” by Enrique Badia.
“He comes across as very authentic,” said Keith Johnston, CEO of Family Office Council, a U.K. network of about 100 family offices. “He’s a man of the people.”
This article provided by Bloomberg News.