Sandra Ortega Mera
Source of wealth: Zara
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The scale of their wealth
Health
The price of life
Let's compare Sandra Ortega Mera's fortune with the healthcare spending of a massive country
Sandra Ortega Mera could fund the entire healthcare system of DR Congo, with a population of over 105,800,000 people, for approximately 5.3 years.
But even if we compare their fortune with that of a rich country
On the other end, Sandra Ortega Mera could cover the healthcare spending of Luxembourg, considered the most heavily funded healthcare system in the world, for 2.3 years.
Education
Buying the future
Let's also compare their fortune with education spending, first with a poor country
Sandra Ortega Mera could cover the total cost of Nigeria's education system, the most populous country in Africa with over 243,000,000 inhabitants, for 3.5 years.
And yes, we can also compare it with a rich country
But they couldn't just cover the cost of a poor country; Luxembourg is considered the country with the highest per capita investment in education in the world, and Sandra Ortega Mera could pay for it entirely for 4.7 years.
Research
The monopoly on progress
Coming full circle, we think it's also interesting to add another gigantic country
Sandra Ortega Mera could fully fund the state research budget of Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with over 260,000,000 inhabitants, for 19.9 years.
And of course, the country that invests the most per capita worldwide
But even if we compare the total wealth of Sandra Ortega Mera with Israel, the country that invests the most per capita in research in the world, they could cover the total cost of the system for 0.4 years.
Gold
Everyday luxuries
Sandra Ortega Mera's fortune is equivalent to 81 tons of gold. It's hard to process, since we don't usually keep a handful of gold bars in our piggy banks.
A standard gold ring usually weighs between 4 and 7 grams. Let's say this one weighs 5 grams. It's usually 18 karats.
Based on today's gold price (excluding the jeweler's commission, shipping, or anything else), that ring would be worth $546.86.
Sandra Ortega Mera could buy 21,588,878 gold rings. That's a lot of fingers and way too many gifts!!
And if you're struggling to visualize that many rings, it would take 4 trucks to transport them. Although Sandra Ortega Mera will almost certainly have enough money left over to pay for the gas.
Biography
Sandra Ortega Mera is the daughter of Amancio Ortega, cofounder of clothing giant Inditex, known for its Zara retail chain.
She inherited her fortune from her mother, Rosalia Mera (d. 2013), who cofounded Inditex with Amancio Ortega in the 1970's.
Now the second-richest person in Spain after her father, Sandra holds roughly a 4.5% stake in Inditex, but she is not involved in the company.
She devotes her time to Fundación Paideia, the nonprofit her mother started that supports vocational training for people with disabilities.
She owns a 4.5% stake in publicly traded pharma company PharmaMar, which specializes in anticancer drugs.
Financial Assets
Monthly wealth history
Fortune comparison
Historical data not available for comparison