Amancio Ortega, founder of Zara and Inditex, on how to do business: “If I have made so much money, it has been because my goal has never been to make money or be rich”

Amancio Ortega turned Zara and Inditex into global benchmarks in the textile sector, but one of the ideas attributed to him about his business career seems to move away from the immediate pursuit of profits: “If I have made so much money, it has been because my goal has never been to make money or be rich”.

The reflection was recorded by journalist Covadonga O’Shea in her book Así es Amancio Ortega, el hombre que creó Zara, published in 2008 and based on her conversations with the founder of Inditex. Later, the statement was also reproduced by Luis Lara and Jorge Mas in Por qué unas tiendas venden y otras no.

Since these quotes came to light, they have become a philosophy that links product and innovation as the engine of growth. Something undeniable, since Inditex’s own documentation confirms Ortega’s weight in the company’s history: he began his business activity in textile manufacturing in 1963, founded Confecciones Goa in 1972 and three years later founded Zara España, the group’s first distribution and retail company.

What was Amancio Ortega’s philosophy for growing Zara?

Ortega’s business vision starts from one idea: financial results should be the consequence of building a company capable of continuous improvement, and not the sole objective of its activity.

Hence one of his best-known phrases: “It is not worth being an entrepreneur just to be rich”. The statement has been included for years in publications about his career and appears linked to the book Así es Amancio Ortega, el hombre que creó Zara, by Covadonga O’Shea. A review published by Cinco Días in 2008 already attributed that idea to Ortega. Cinco Días

That way of understanding the company fits with another of the statements provided: “Results are not so important, I never look at them. If anything, after three or four months, Pablo (Isla, then CEO) shows them to me. What we do is innovate and not look at the results”.

The central element, therefore, would not be ignoring profitability, but preventing short-term results from replacing product and the ability to innovate as management priorities.

From textile manufacturing to Zara: this is how Amancio Ortega began

Ortega’s business history began well before Zara’s international expansion. According to Inditex corporate records, he started his activity in the textile manufacturing sector in 1963.

In 1972 he created Confecciones Goa, considered by Inditex to be the group’s first garment factory. Three years later, in 1975, he founded Zara España, the first company dedicated to the distribution and retail sale of what would later become Inditex.

Ortega later became chairman of Inditex and remained at the head of the chairmanship until 2011. The corporate documentation also identifies him as the company’s founder and controlling shareholder.

The phrase “If I have made so much money, it has been because my goal has never been to make money or be rich” focuses precisely on the difference between money as a result and as a purpose.

Ortega also explained that he did not review the results immediately and preferred to focus on innovation. This is not a recent statement made in 2026, but earlier reflections that have resurfaced in different media during this year.

One of them appears attributed in publications to journalist Covadonga O’Shea, author of Así es Amancio Ortega, el hombre que creó Zara. Other later compilations also reproduce the idea that Ortega understood money as a consequence of business growth and not as the ultimate end. Xataka

What relationship does Amancio Ortega have with Inditex?

In addition to being its founder, Ortega retains a majority stake in Inditex through his investment companies.

The company’s available corporate documentation puts that stake at 59.294% of the capital, channeled through Pontegadea Inversiones and Partler Participaciones.

That link makes it possible to distinguish between two issues that often get mixed together when talking about his wealth: one is his stake in Inditex and the other, different, is the set of investments managed through his asset-holding companies.

For this reason, it is not necessary to state that Ortega has a certain amount of money “in the bank”. Estimates of the wealth of major billionaires usually calculate the value of shares, companies, real estate, and other investments, and can fluctuate according to market valuations.