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[1] and the world's richest self-made woman.[2] 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.[3]
Early life and education
Rosalia Mera Goyenechea was born in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain on 28 January 1944.[3] She dropped out of school at age eleven to work as a sales assistant in a clothing shop.[1][4]
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.[4] 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.[3]
Ten years after the opening of the first Zara store, Inditex was established as a holding company for the couple's businesses.[4] Inditex now comprises multiple fashion companies, of which Zara is the flagship.[1] The company also owns the retailers Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Uterque and Zara Home.[5] Inditex now has over 6000+ stores in over 86 countries[3] and over 120,000 employees.[5] Despite her 1986 divorce from Ortega,[1] Mera retained a 7% stake in the company.[6]
Mera also owned interests in a company which made fingerprinting identification kits for newborns[7] 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.[7][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,[7] 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.[5] She also opposed austerity cutbacks to Spain's national healthcare and education programmes.[5]
Mera established the Paideia Foundation which works with groups in risk of social exclusion.[7][9]
Personal life
Mera married Amancio Ortega Gaona in 1966.[4] The couple had a daughter, Sandra in 1968.[4] and also had a son, Marcos in 1971, who was born with cerebral palsy.[7] 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."[1] 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, and became Spain's richest woman with a net wealth of $6.1 billion.[14]
