Mallorca hoteliers among richest in world

Mallorcan Hoteliers occupy slots 1573 and 2436 on the Forbes Real Time Billionaires list.

The elite ranks of billionaires typically include Mallorcan hoteliers Miquel Fluxà and Gabriel Escarrer Julià, who hold respectable positions.

But even they rank behind a Spanish supermarket chain and two fashion billionaires.

Miquel Fluxà, associated with Iberostar, stands at 1573 on Forbes’ Real Time Billionaires List, with a wealth of $2.1 billion. Meanwhile, Escarrer, linked with Meliá Hotels International, secures spot 2436, with a net worth of $1.2 billion.

Gabriel Escarrer founded Melia Hotels International, now one of the world’s biggest hotel chains, when he was 21. The empire now comprises more than 350 hotels and resorts in 35 countries. His son Gabriel Escarrer Jaume took over the chairmanship in 2023.

Miquel Fluxà is the executive chairman of Grupo Iberostar, one of Europe’s largest hotel companies. The Group dates back to the 19th century when the Fluxà family started a shoe business in Mallorca, an industry which was booming at the time.

The considerable wealth of the two Mallorcans is no match for that of the wealthiest individual in Spain, Amancio Ortega. As head of the Inditex retail empire (Zara, Pull&Bear, etc.) he is in the twelfth position globally, with an impressive fortune of $113.3 billion.

At the very top of the global ranking is Bernard Arnault and family from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, who have amassed staggering wealth of $221.4 billion. Following closely are Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, with 200.3 billion, and Elon Musk with 191.2 billion. Mark Zuckerberg claims the fourth spot, with $177.6 billion.

Curiosities on Forbes Real Time Billionaires list

Taylor Swift emerges as one of the 265 newcomers to the list. Moreover, with Silvio Berlusconi’s demise last year, his five children step into his shoes, contributing to the 66% of self-made billionaires (down from 69% last year).

The fourth richest man in Spain and 565 on the on the Forbes list is supermarket chain Mercadona CEO Juan Roig, with $5.4 billion.

The chain has grown from eight stores when the family bought their father out in 1981 to 1,700 locations today, around 40 of them in Portugal.

Mercadona’s nearly 100,000 employees receive a 25% share of the company’s pretax profits.

Isak Andic, founder and chairman of clothing retailer Mango, has a real time net worth of $4.3 billion, and as such is the richest person in Catalonia.