AMANCIO Ortega, the founder of fashion chain Zara and Spain’s richest person, is now the world’s top landlord thanks to a sprawling property empire worth more than €21 billion.
The Galician businessman, who turned 90 last month, boasts the world’s most lucrative real estate portfolio with more than 200 properties in 13 different countries, according to business magazine Forbes.
His remarkable collection exceeds those of other leading property barons including Australia’s Harry Triguboff (€19.7 billion) and America’s Donald Bren (€16.3 billion).
That includes holdings worth around €12 billion through his investment company Pontegadea, almost €3 billion in Pontegadea GB 2020 and more than €3.5 billion in Partler.
The extraordinary amount also takes into account the billionaire’s recent business dealings, with more than €1.8 billion spent on nine real estate deals made last year including the purchase of the historic Canada Post building in Vancouver for around €720 million.
The spending spree has ramped up since Ortega’s Inditex fashion group, which includes chains Zara, Bershka and Pull&Bear, went public on the Madrid stock exchange in 2001.
Ortega’s strategy sees him reinvest lucrative dividends extracted from the company into real estate, allowing him to create an empire that dwarfs Spain’s two largest property firms, Merlin Properties (€12.5 billion) and Colonial SFL (€12 billion).
In 2026, he is forecast to receive a record €3.2 billion from Inditex’s profits.
The investments also help him avoid a hefty tax bill, with the cash tied up in business assets rather than sitting idle in his chunky bank account – potentially saving Ortega more than €650 million since 2001.
Eye-catching properties on Ortega’s books include the Torre Picasso skyscraper in Madrid, the Planeta headquarters in Barcelona, the gold-coated Royal Bank Plaza in Toronto and landmark Devonshire House in London.
READ MORE: Spain’s Zara founder Amancio Ortega, 88, is wealthier than ever as he tops rich list yet again
“He’s much different than most real estate investors in that he seems to have unlimited amounts of money,” one broker told Forbes.
“He likes things that don’t have a lot of risk, but he’s not trying to buy something and improve it. He’s buying collectible assets that are the best in class in the market. A little bit more like an art buyer of the highest-end art pieces.”
The son of a railway worker, Ortega made his fortune through fashion, founding Zara in 1975 and the Inditex group a decade later.
As of 2026, Ortega had a net worth of €124 billion, making him the tenth richest man in the world and the second wealthiest in Europe behind French businessman Bernard Arnault.
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Perhaps Mr ZARA could use some of his fortune to pay for the refurbishment of the famous Rogano Restaurant in Glasgow closed due to water penetration years ago and much missed