Richest woman in the Valencian Community: art lover and owner of a multinational company
With a net worth of 1,900M and a company known throughout Spain, this Valencian woman ranks 11th on the Forbes list of the wealthiest people.
Who would have thought that the purchase of a small supermarket chain would make Hortensia Herrero and her husband, Juan Roig, millionaires a few years later. With a combined net worth of 5,300 million euros in 2022, the owners of Mercadona are the couple with the most money in the Valencian Community.
According to Forbes magazine, the fortune of the hundred men and women with the most money in Spain in 2022 totaled a wealth of 143,000 million euros, 10,450 million less than the previous year.
Among them, the name of six Valencian men and women resounds: the president of Mercadona, Juan Roig; his wife, Hortensia Herrero; and the owner of Pamesa, Fernando Roig; the shareholder of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, José Ignacio Comenge; the shareholder of Porcelanosa, Asunción Manzanet Costa; and the president of Baleària, Adolfo Utor. The richest woman in the Valencian Community is, according to this list, Hortensia Herrero. But, more important than her fortune, is to know who is really the woman behind the Mercadona supermarkets.
Hortensia Herrero
In 11th place, with 1.9 billion euros, is Hortensia Herrero, who together with her husband Juan Roig has turned a small supermarket chain into one of the multinationals with the largest presence in Spain and Portugal.
According to Forbes, Herrero is also the president and sole patron of the Hortensia Herrero Foundation, which develops projects to promote and recover the artistic heritage of Valencia. In addition, in recent years she has promoted five exhibitions in the Valencian Community of renowned international artists.
However, Hortensia Herrero is not the only Valencian woman who appears on this list. There is also the owner of Sorman, Asunción Manzanet Costa, with 325 million euros.
Asunción Manzanet
In the 85th position with 325 million euros, is Asunción Manzanet Costa, owner of Sorman, patrimonial shareholder of the ceramics company Porcelanosa, together with her daughters Sonia and María José Soriano.
Manzanet is also the promoter of the José Soriano Foundation, founded in 2016 in honor of her husband. As Forbes describes, “the Soriano Manzanet couple has been a driving force behind the brand along with brothers Héctor and Manuel Colonques.”
The richest men
Juan Roig Alfonso: In the number 4 position with 3,400 million euros, is the president and main shareholder of Mercadona. According to the consulting firm Kantar, the supermarket group is the chain that has grown the most this year in Spain. Mercadona is also the most valuable retail brand, with a value of 2,193 million, a 25% increase.
Fernando Roig Alfonso: In 19th place with a fortune of 1,300 million euros, is the owner of the Pamesa ceramic group, one of the five largest ceramic groups in the world after the purchase of Azuliber and 40% of Argenta in 2020.
José Ignacio Comenge: In the 50th position of the great Spanish fortunes, is Comenge, with 550 million euros. The businessman is a shareholder of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, the bottling company presided by Sol Daurella.
Adolfo Utor: In the 96th place stands out the fortune of the president of Baleària, with 300 million euros. The businessman has bought 42.5% of the Matutes family in the ferry company, taking 100% of the company.
The six great fortunes of the Valencian Community accumulate a total of 7,775 million euros, a figure that has decreased by 125 million euros compared to the previous year.