Amancio Ortega is set to receive €3.1 billion ($3.4 billion) in dividends this year from Inditex SA, the retail giant he founded more than six decades ago, the first time he’s surpassed the €3 billion threshold.
The owner of the Zara apparel chain announced Wednesday it plans to increase its dividend by 9 percent this year to €1.68 a share. Ortega, whose daughter Marta is the company chairwoman, is the largest shareholder with a 59 percent stake through his family office Pontegadea.
Ortega has a net worth of about $105.3 billion, making him the 14th wealthiest person in the world as of Tuesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That came before Inditex reported slower sales at the start of the year, sending the shares down the most in three years and hitting his net worth.
Ortega usually uses the bulk of the dividends to buy real estate — mostly high-end commercial and residential properties in large cities across Western Europe, Canada and the US. Pontegadea is also an investor in renewable energy projects as well as power, gas and telecom infrastructure.
By Rodrigo Orihuela and Macarena Muñoz
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