These are the richest Catalans

BarcelonaThere have been changes in the ranking of the wealthiest Catalans. According to Forbes magazine, which published the list with the 100 richest Spaniards, the president of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Sol Daurella, is placed as the Catalan with the biggest fortune and 11th in the Spanish list, which once again is headed by Galician businessman Amancio Ortega (the founder of Inditex, which Zara is part of, is worth €67bn) and his daughter Sandra. Daurella replaces Manuel Lao, ex-owner of gambling company Cirsa, who is now the third richest Catalan. Also noteworthy is the emergence of the first entrepreneurs and the president of Audax Renovables, Jose Elias, who helped Joan Laporta to get the endorsements he needed to occupy the presidency of Barça at the very last minute.

The president of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Sol Daurella, has a wealth valued at €1.9bn, €600m more than last year. This growth has allowed her to regain her position as the richest Catalan, a place she already held in 2019, and overtake Manuel Lao. Daurella is also 11th in the Spanish ranking, where she rises three positions compared to last year. Daurella's company has this year acquired Amatil, the company that bottles and distributes Coca-cola in six countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. This acquisition has also led to a change in the company's name from Coca-Cola European Partners to Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

Like Daurella, Isak Andic – the chairman of fashion chain Mango – also improves positions and manages to move from fourth place to second, with a wealth valued at €1.6 billion, €400m more than in 2020. Andic is the 14th richest man in Spain. His company, after three years of losses and hitting rock bottom in 2016, managed in 2019 to close the year with positive figures. The covid crisis, however, caused a return to losses, a situation that is expected to change again in 2021.

The former owner of gambling company Cirsa (a business that was sold in 2018), Manuel Lao, goes from being the richest Catalan last year to occupy the third position. His fortune has decreased slightly, from €1.4 billion to €1.3 billion. As for the Spanish ranking, he occupies the 19th position, and falls seven places compared to 2020. He is currently a shareholder of the real estate investment trust Merlin Properties, with 6% of the capital.

In the fourth position is again a large Catalan textile group: the fortune of Alberto Palatchi, who sold 90% of Pronovias wedding dress chain but still retains 10%, is estimated at €1.3bn. That's €100m more than last year, which makes him the 20th richest person in Spain.

In fifth and sixth position are the two main shareholders of Almirall Pharmaceuticals, Antonio and Jorge Gallardo Ballart, the latter also chairs it. The two brothers are worth €1bn each, €100m more than last year, and occupy the 25th and 26th position in the Spanish ranking.

The second woman in the Catalan ranking is also from the Daurella clan. Carmen Daurella is the cousin of the president of Coca-Cola Europacific and one of the company's shareholders. Her wealth rises to €950m, €350m more than she had in 2020. This increase has also made her climb positions in the list of the richest people in Spain, where she is in 28th position, while last year she was in 36th place.

José Elías is the most important newcomer on the list. He is the president of Audax Renovables who endorsed Joan Laporta at the last moment so that he could become president of Barcelona Football Club. The energy company achieved a profit of €26.4m in 2020, 4% more than the previous year, despite the pandemic. The businessman is placed as the eighth richest Catalan, with €900m, and comes 31st in the Spanish ranking.

The vice-president of the Puig Group has a net worth of €850m, slightly lower than in 2020 (€950m), and is the cousin of the group's president, Marc Puig, who is also on the Forbes list (ranked 80th in Spain). In both the Spanish and Catalan ranking, Manuel Puig is just behind Elías.

Thomas Andreas Meyer, owner of Desigual, has a net worth of €850m, an amount that has been falling since 2019, when he had €1.4bn. His company, like the rest of the sector, has suffered with the covid crisis. In fact, last year he saw his turnover fall by 39% and closed the year with €83m in losses.

Of the ranking of the 100 richest Spaniards, 25% are Catalans, and it is noteworthy that Elías is not the only entrepreneur to break into the list. For example, Marta Santacana was ranked 89th in the ranking, with a fortune of €300m. Where there are no surprises is in the top spots: after Amancio Ortega and his daughter Sandra come is the president of Ferrovial, Rafael del Pino, who exchanges positions with the president of Mercadona, Juan Roig, who is fourth. The wealth of Amancio Ortega grew by €10bn this year and is equivalent to that of the next 52 millionaires in the ranking.

Madrid followed by Catalonia leads the ranking with the more millionaires due, according to Forbes, to an aggressive tax policy that has allowed it to attract wealth from other regions.