Ortega vs Ellison

Inditex and Oracle.

The differences

Forbes puts Larry Ellison about $41.9B ahead of Amancio Ortega.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 6 Oct 2026.
Both started the company their money comes from.
Amancio Ortega is about 8 years older than Larry Ellison.
Larry Ellison has signed the Giving Pledge; Amancio Ortega has not.
Amancio Ortega is from Spain; Larry Ellison is from United States.

Put someone else on either side

Ortega

Ellison

Net worth, Forbes: $142BForbes, 6 Oct 2026; $184BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $126BBloomberg, 9 Oct 2026; $192BBloomberg, 9 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 10Annual list, 1 Mar 2026; No. 8Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: 2001First year on a Forbes billionaires list: Forbes says he took Inditex public in 2001 and 'debuted on the Forbes billionaires list the same year' (No. 43, $6.6 billion); 1993Forbes: 'in 1993 Forbes first named Ellison a billionaire'

How it started: Founded itInditex calls him its founder: he started a clothing workshop in 1963, opened the first Zara in 1975, and Inditex was formed as its parent in 1985. Forbes says he co-founded Inditex with his ex-wife Rosalía Mera (d. 2013); Co-founded itOracle's bio says he founded the company in 1977; Bloomberg says he founded it with two partners
Main source: Inditex stock, held through Pontegadea Inversiones and PartlerBloomberg: 'The majority of Amancio Ortega's fortune is derived from a 59.3% stake in Inditex'; he has received more than 9 billion euros in dividends since the 2001 IPO, much of it put into property; Oracle stockBloomberg: 'The majority of Larry Ellison's fortune is derived from a stake in US software maker Oracle'
Companies: InditexInditex: Non-executive proprietary director; OracleOracle: Executive chair and CTO (since September 2014)
Biggest stake: Inditex59.294% owned; Oracle38.2% owned

Born: 28 Mar 1936Busdongo de Arbas, Spain; 17 Aug 1944New York City, United States
Country: SpainLives in A Coruña, Spain; United StatesLives in Manalapan, Florida, United States
Education: No universityLeft school at 12 to work; Left university without a degreeLeft the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign without a degree
Parents: Born into a working family; began working in the textile trade at a very young ageParents' occupations not stated; Born to Florence Spellman, a 19-year-old single mother, and adopted by her aunt and uncle, Lillian and Louis Ellison, who raised him in Chicago

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Signed in 2010
Foundation: Fundación Amancio OrtegaCreated in 2001; works in education and social welfare; Larry Ellison Foundation
Lifetime giving: Not stated; $0.5BForbes, undefined undefined 2014. Forbes' 2014 America's Top Givers figure ($507 million lifetime), reported in 2016; no newer estimate cited

Role now: On the boardNon-executive director of Inditex; chief executive of Pontegadea; Runs the companyExecutive chair and chief technology officer of Oracle
Successor: His daughter Marta Ortega Pérez, non-executive chair of Inditex since April 1, 2022Óscar García Maceiras has been CEO since 2021; his wife Flora Pérez Marcote is also a director; Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia, co-CEOs since September 2025Named CEOs under Oracle's succession planning; no successor is named for his executive chair and CTO roles, and no family member is an Oracle executive officer
Public office: None found; Member, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)2026-
Legal record: 2013: Supreme Court of SpainThe Supreme Court rejected his final appeal in a dispute with tax auditors, leaving him to pay 33 million euros in back taxes for 2001 to 2003.; 2005: San Mateo County Superior CourtA judge approved his settlement of a shareholder suit over Oracle stock sales in 2001: he agreed to donate $100 million to charity in Oracle's name and pay $22 million in attorneys' fees, while denying wrongdoing.