Rosalia Mera, co-founder of the Spanish fashion giant Inditex and Spain’s richest woman, has died at the age of 69 years. She suffered a stroke while on holiday in Menorca and was flown back to Coruña in northern Spain where she died at the age of 69 years on Thursday evening.
Rosalia Mera left school at the age of 11 years and worked as a tailor before starting Inditex with her ex-husband Amancio Ortega. She helped build the company into one of the world’s biggest retailers. Inditex owns the Zara, Massimo Dutti and Bershka brands.
Mera and her husband divorced in 1986 after 20 years of marriage and she left the board of directors of Inditex in 2004, although she still owned a 7% stake in the company.