Rosalia Mera, co-founder of the Inditex textile empire which controls the Zara clothing chain, died last night at the age of 69 from a brain hemorrhage. She was considered the richest woman in Spain and one of the richest in the world.
The death occurred in a hospital in Madrid where Mera had been transported after being struck by an illness on the Balearic island of Menorca on Wednesday. Her career was that of a true self-made woman: she had left school at 11 to work as a seamstress. With Amancio Ortega, at the time her husband, she had started a 'home' business of lingerie and clothing in La Coruna, her hometown.
In 1975 together they founded the Inditex group, which became a clothing empire with the brands Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho and Pull and Bear. Ortega, from whom Mera had long been divorced, is currently the third richest man in the world. Mera left the board of directors of Inditex in 2004, but retained around 5% of the capital.
Described by Forbes as the 'richest self-made woman in the world', Mera also held a 30% stake in the Room Mate hotel chain and had assets of $6,1 billion (€4,5 billion). Also according to Forbes, she was the 66th most powerful woman on the planet. The Inditex group has over 6.000 'stores' in 86 countries. In 2012 it recorded a turnover of almost 16 billion euros, with a net profit of 2,3 billion and has 120 employees.
