Billionaire moves into 10th place globally as Inditex sales jump

By Steve Goldstein

Founder of the Inditex fashion group Amancio Ortega (R) with his daughter Marta Ortega Perez, the chairperson.

Amancio Ortega moved into 10th place on the Forbes real-time billionaires list after the retailer he co-founded, Inditex, reported accelerating sales in the current quarter.

Inditex on Wednesday said sales, at constant currencies between May 1 and June 1, rose 11.5%, as its spring and summer collections were "very well received." Analysts at Citi said market expectations were for between 8% and 9% growth.

The company said its first-quarter ending April 30 net income rose 5% to EUR1.38 billion ($1.6 billion), as sales rose 6% to EUR8.75 billion. In constant currencies, sales rose 8.8%. Both profit and sales were in line with analyst estimates.

Inditex shares (ES:ITX) rose 6% in Madrid trade.

Forbes' calculations put Ortega's real-time net worth at $143.3 billion. Ortega's daughter, Marta Ortega Perez, is the retailer's chairperson.

The elder Ortega is sandwiched between LVMH's (FR:MC) Bernard Arnault and Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.B) Warren Buffett on the billionaire list.

-Steve Goldstein

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06-03-26 0509ET