Amancio Ortega, founder of Zara. Credit: Imaxe Press, Shutterstock
Zara founder Amancio Ortega has won over $500 million (EUR 460 million) of real estate and went on global real estate shopping to protect his property from Spain’s aggressive wealth tax laws. Bloomberg.
Ortega’s family office, Pontegadea, purchased a commercial building on a five-star hotel in Paris, a residential block in Florida, and a diagonal street in Barcelona. He also reportedly looks at the Miami office tower for $275 million (253 million euros).
The 89-year-old billionaire, with a net worth of around $100 billion (89.4 billion euros), remains the largest shareholder of Inditex, with a 59% stake, and received his biggest annual dividend payment (approximately 3.1 billion euros) in early May.
Why is Ortega spending like he spent money?
Spain is currently the only EU country with full wealth tax on residents (it is taxed on the net wealth of global individuals when certain thresholds are exceeded). The watch begins to click as Ortega receives the dividend. “For Pontegadea, the options are simple. Redeploy all the euros of that Zara dividend or see eight-figure cash bleeding every year,” said Marc Debois, founder of family office advisory firm Fo Next. Business Standards.
This is not about collecting shiny assets. It is strategic responsibility management, transforming Pontegadea into one of the most active and powerful family investment firms in the world.
Through Pontegadea, Ortega owns some of the world’s most iconic buildings. These include the historic Hawout Building in New York and the Southeast Financial Centre in Miami, which would be London’s mail.
He also holds commercial and residential properties in major cities from Toronto to Seoul. Famous tenants include Amazon, Facebook, H&M and Zara itself.
Pontegadea’s net worth was 34.3 billion euros at the end of 2024. Bloomberg.
Ortega doesn’t just buy buildings. Pontegadea is diversifying into public companies’ energy infrastructure and minority investments. This is another tactic to manage Spanish wealth tax.
Notable investments include shares in Spain’s Enagas SA (Gas Transportation) in 2019, shares of the Portuguese gas company and a 20% stake in the Dutch parking company Q-Park.
The company is reportedly currently in discussions with KKR and others to acquire Sabadell Financial Centre in Miami.
Spain’s wealthiest man
Born into a railway worker, Ortega built Inditex (the parent company of Zara) from scratch in 1963.
His daughter, Marta Ortega, 41, took over the fashion empire in 2022. Meanwhile, Sandra Ortega, a 56-year-old daughter from her previous marriage, held stakes in her late mother, and has a fortune of $12.4 billion (10.7 billion euros) and has become Spain’s wealthiest woman. Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
At least a fifth of the world’s wealthiest 500 individuals use their family offices to manage a total of $4 trillion (3.44 trillion euros). Bloomberg. Ortega’s approach highlights how the wealthiest in Europe can legally escape national tax systems.
Should one of Europe’s wealthiest men be able to legally protect billions while ordinary residents face a lifetime crisis? Or is Ortega simply playing the game smartly?
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