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Rosalia Mera, cofounder of Spanish brand Zara and the wealthiest self-made woman on the planet, has died. She was 69.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mera was vacationing on the island of Menorca with her daughter, Sandra, according to the Spanish news site ABC.es, when she suffered a brain hemorrhage on Wednesday. She died 24 hours later, Spanish media is reporting. A statement on the website of Inditex parent company to Zara, acknowledges Mera\u2019s death.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mera dropped out of school at age 11 to work as a seamstress. With husbandAmancio Ortega, she started making dressing gowns and lingerie in their living room. Together, the couple built their business into a 15.9 billion euro ($21 billion) global fashion empire, best known for its Zara brand. Ortega is now the fourth-richest person on the globe, with a net worth of $51.3 billion as of Thursday\u2019s market close.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mera was a billionaire, too, among the elite set of self-made women who could claim she\u2019d earned her way onto the Forbes billionaires list. Although she and Ortega divorced long ago, Mera retained a 5.1% stake in the $21 billion (2012 sales) Inditex, the basis for her $6.1 billion net worth as of our latest Forbes count.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mera diversified after the retailer\u2019s 2001 IPO, which netted her $600 million at the time. She placed her money in causes dear to her heart: a marine fish farming group, a company that looks for cancer treatments in products from the ocean, and a maker of a fingerprinting system for newborns. She was also a major investor in London\u2019s exclusive Bulgari Hotel, and ran a contest for young jazz musicians in Spain. Her Paideia Foundation works to integrate people with physical and mental disabilities, like her son Marcos, into larger society.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mera is survived by her daughter, Sandra, and son, Marcos. Ortega\u2019s youngest daughter, Marta, has a different mother.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n