Clothing Leader Zara’s Founder Builds $17.2 Billion Realty Empire
After making a fortune in clothing, Amancio Ortega turned his attention to real estate. The Spanish billionaire’s property holdings have soared to 15.2 billion euros ($17.2 billion), giving him the largest real estate portfolio among Europe’s super-rich. The founder and owner of fashion label Zara, invested 2.1 billion euros in real estate last year through various subsidiaries of his holding company Pontegadea. He has invested more than $3 billion in US real estate in recent years. Acquisitions include landmark properties like Manhattan’s historic Haughwout Building and Miami’s tallest office tower. Last year, his investment firm completed a $72.5 million deal for a downtown Chicago hotel, which followed purchases of a building in Washington’s central business district and two Seattle office buildings. As well as being landlord to tech giants such as Amazon.com Inc and Facebook Inc, Pontegadea also counts Inditex rivals Hennes & Mauritz AB and The Gap Inc as tenants.
Tags : INTERNATIONAL Real Estate Amazon Zara Realty Empire fashion