Sandra Ortega Mera
Spanish investor; largest individual Inditex shareholder after her father
| Sandra Ortega Mera
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 July 1968 (Forbes) A Coruña, Spain (Forbes) |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Residence | A Coruña, Spain (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Investor |
| Known for | Rosp Corunna; Inditex shareholding; Fundación Paideia |
| Parents | Amancio Ortega; Rosalía Mera (Forbes) |
| Children | 3 (Forbes) |
| Education | University of Santiago de Compostela (psychology) (Forbes) |
Sandra Ortega Mera (born 9 July 1968) is a Spanish investor. She is the eldest daughter of Amancio Ortega, founder of Inditex, and of his first wife, Rosalía Mera.[1][2] On 10 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Ortega Mera 217th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$13.8 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as zara .[1][3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Ortega Mera 226th, at US$13.2 billion.[4] She holds her investments through the holding company Rosp Corunna. El País and Cinco Días report that it owns 5.05% of Inditex; Forbes gives about 4.5%. Its 2025 net profit was €307 million.[2][5][1] Forbes says she is not involved in running Inditex.[1]
Early life and inheritance
Forbes says Ortega Mera studied psychology at the University of Santiago and lives privately in A Coruña with her husband and three children.[1] Her mother co-founded Inditex with Amancio Ortega in the 1970s and died in 2013. Forbes says Ortega Mera inherited 89% of Rosp Corunna, the company through which her mother had invested.[1]
Rosp Corunna
Rosp Corunna made a record net profit of €300.4 million in 2024, 72% more than the year before. Inditex dividends of €242.51 million made up 77% of its turnover, according to accounts reported by El País.[2] In 2025 it earned €307 million. Inditex dividends of €264.5 million on its 5.05% stake accounted for 76% of turnover, Cinco Días reported, and the company said it would reinvest all its profits.[5] El País put the company's stake in the drugmaker PharmaMar at 5.09% in 2024, and Cinco Días put it at 5.15% in 2025. Forbes gives about 4.5%.[2][5][1]
Property
Rosp Corunna invests in commercial property in Europe and the United States, through Ferrado Inmuebles according to Cinco Días.[2][5] El País reported that its property was valued at €860.8 million at the end of 2024, after it bought two buildings in the US and two in Germany. In June 2025 it completed the €150 million purchase of Telefónica's headquarters in Germany.[2] By the end of 2025 the portfolio was valued at €994.8 million, and a third German subsidiary of Ferrado had been set up.[5]
Legal disputes
Ortega Mera once held 30% of the hotel chain Room Mate, which went into insolvency. Six banks, EBN, Deutsche Bank, Banca March, Société Générale, Bankinter and Abanca, sued Rosp Corunna for €150 million over guarantees allegedly given for the chain's debt.[2][5] Ortega Mera had accused her former wealth manager of 20 years, José Leyte, of signing the guarantees and forging her signature. Cinco Días reported that the A Coruña provincial court upheld the dismissal of that criminal case for lack of evidence, after which the banks brought civil claims.[5] In early 2025 a Madrid court of first instance found sufficient evidence that she had not authorised Leyte to give the guarantee.[2] According to Rosp Corunna's 2025 accounts, four of the six claims had come to trial, and all had been decided in the group's favour. The directors said they had given no guarantees and made no provision.[5] A separate complaint she brought against Leyte for disloyal management had just been shelved by an A Coruña investigating court when Cinco Días reported in July 2026. Leyte's own claim for €1.6 million in severance over his dismissal was awaiting a Supreme Court ruling.[5]
Philanthropy
Forbes says Ortega Mera devotes her time to the Fundación Paideia, set up by her mother, which supports vocational training for people with disabilities.[1]
Wealth
Forbes classes her fortune as inherited, with wealth from Zara.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 13 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2014. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[4][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 227 | 6.1 |
| 2015 | 225 | 6.3 |
| 2016 | 178 | 6.4 |
| 2017 | 209 | 6.7 |
| 2018 | 237 | 6.9 |
| 2019 | 267 | 6.1 |
| 2020 | 293 | 5.5 |
| 2021 | 344 | 7.3 |
| 2022 | 438 | 5.8 |
| 2023 | 344 | 6.9 |
| 2024 | 263 | 9.3 |
| 2025 | 230 | 10.8 |
| 2026 | 226 | 13.2 |
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
Ortega Mera lives in A Coruña. Her holding company's main asset is its stake in Inditex.[1][5]
Other international links
Rosp Corunna owns property in the US, the UK and Germany, including Telefónica's German headquarters, bought in 2025.[2][5]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Sandra Ortega Mera (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/sandra-ortega-mera/) Forbes, live record, read 10 November 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Javier García Ropero, Sandra Ortega gana un récord de 300 millones a través de su holding y dispara el valor de sus inmuebles El País, 16 July 2025, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 10 November 2026 23:28 UTC, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 Javier García Ropero, Sandra Ortega ganó 307 millones con su holding empresarial gracias al alza de dividendos de Inditex Cinco Días, 23 July 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.