Zara founder Amancio Ortega's family office has reportedly acquired its third high-profile Canadian office building after purchasing The Post office and retail complex in downtown Vancouver for $1.1 billion. The deal is the most expensive commercial real estate transaction in Canada this year (and among the top three in North America) and is the latest acquisition in the Spanish billionaire's extensive real estate portfolio. The Financial Post explains who Ortego is, how he made his money and what else has recently been added to his dizzying number of global investments.
Who is Amancio Ortega and how did he make his money?
The story of the man who would become one of the richest cloth makers in the world begins in Spain, where Ortega learned the trade from a local shirt maker as a teenager. He founded retailer Zara with his former wife Rosalia Mera in 1975 and is often referred to as the “pioneer of fast fashion” for vertically integrating his company's design, manufacturing, distribution and sales supply chain to quickly produce trendy clothing, shoes and accessories.
In 1985, the couple founded the holding company Industria de Diseño Textil SA (known as Inditex), which owns a handful of other fashion brands. Canadians may be familiar with Massimo Dutti, which has one store in Toronto and two in Quebec. Inditex's other brands – Zara Home, Lefties, Bershka, Oysho, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius and Uterqüe – have stores in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Mexico and South America.
Zara, Inditex's flagship retailer, has more than 2,000 stores in 96 countries and reported net sales of €27.7 billion ($45.1 billion) in 2024 (including the Zara Home brand).
How much is he worth today?
Ortega's net worth is estimated at $122 billion, according to the Forbes billionaires list as of November 21, making him the 14th richest person in the world. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index puts his fortune at $114 billion as of November 20, ranking him as the 16th richest person in the world.
Both rankings make Ortega the richest person in Spain and the second richest in Europe, after French businessman Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of luxury goods group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.
What is Pontegadea and what possessions does it have in Canada?
Pontegadea Inversiones SL is Ortega's family office, headquartered in Spain and managing the billionaire's vast global investment portfolio. Through Pontegadea, the Ortega family is the largest shareholder in Inditex with a 59 percent stake.
Pontegadea purchased his first Canadian property in 2014, reportedly paying $255 million for 150 Bloor St. West in Toronto's trendy Yorkville neighborhood. The 25,000 square meter complex includes an office tower with adjacent retail spaces housing luxury brands Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.
In 2022, Pontegadea purchased the Royal Bank Plaza office complex in downtown Toronto from Oxford Properties Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for a reported $1.2 billion. At the time, Bloomberg said the deal was “among the largest transactions for an office building globally since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The investment firm also paid $400 million in 2024 to acquire a 970,000-square-foot distribution center in Burnaby, B.C., which it is leasing to Amazon Inc., according to media reports.
Pontegadea acquired The Post in Vancouver from Canadian real estate investment, development and operating company QuadReal Property Group, which announced the sale but did not name the buyer. Bloomberg first reported that Pontegadea was behind the purchase.
Originally built in 1958 as a Canada Post processing center, the building is considered a local landmark and “is the most notable example of the International Style in all of Western Canada,” the website says. QuadReal completed a renovation of the building in 2023, restoring many of its iconic features and adding two towers with 1.1 million square feet of office space and a large retail atrium.
What else does the company own worldwide?
Pontegadea's holdings include an extensive portfolio of commercial and residential properties as well as interests in private and public infrastructure. According to Bloomberg, the purchase of “trophy assets” is part of a strategy to shield the billions that Ortega receives in Inditex dividends from Spanish wealth taxes.
In addition to properties in Burnaby and Vancouver, Pontegadea leases warehouses in England and Ireland to Amazon and an office complex in Seattle. The company also owns several logistics facilities around the globe, including one in the Netherlands, two in Germany and several across the United States
According to media reports, Pontegadea has acquired office buildings in major cities such as Glasgow, London, Madrid, Miami, San Francisco, New York City and Washington, DC, as well as residential buildings in Dublin, New York, Chicago and Seattle.
In July, British port and logistics company PD Ports announced that Pontegadea had acquired a 49 percent stake from its owner Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. buys, with Brookfield retaining the majority stake.
The Ortega family owns shares in other infrastructure assets, including European car park operator Q-Park, energy company Enagas SA and telecommunications connectivity provider Telxius Telecom SA, as well as several projects by Spanish multinational energy and petrochemical company Repsol SA, including a wind farm and a solar energy project.
• Email: jswitzer@postmedia.com