Hortensia Herrero Chacón (born 20 May 1950) is a Spanish

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

businesswoman, and owner of 28% of

Mercadona Mercadona (, ) is a Spanish supermarket chain. Mercadona has 1,636 stores in all the 17 Spanish regions, Ceuta, Melilla and in Portugal. Mercadona was ranked the 9th most reputable company in the world in 2009, by the Reputation Institute as liste ...

, a Spanish supermarket chain. As of February 2021, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' estimates her net worth at US $2.6 billion.

Early life

She was born in Valencia on 20 May 1950,https://www.fundacionhortensiaherrero.org/wp-content/uploads/CV_Hortensia_Herrero_CAST.pdf and has a degree in Economics from the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...

Career

Since 1990, Herrero has, along with her husband, 80% of the shares of Mercadona, and is a vice-president of the company.

Philanthropy

Herrero began her philanthropic and patronage work by creating the Hortensia Herrero Foundation based in Valencia. The Foundation aims to recover, develop and share the historical and cultural sensibility of the Comunitat Valenciana. Its main activities have been related to the recovery of artistic heritage and, in addition, it has launched projects related to the world of dance, ballet, music and art. Some of its main actions regarding the recovery of the artistic and cultural heritage of the Comunitat Valencia have been: * San Nicolás Church. * The College of High Silk Art. * Santa Lucía Hermitage. * Image and Niche of the Virgen de los Desamparados. The Foundation also collaborates with different projects to support and promote culture, such as the alliance with the Faculty of Fine Arts and the master's degree in Audiovisual and Multimedia Productions, and also supports the initiative ‘Open Valencia’, promoted by the Association of Contemporary Art Gallery of Valencia, etc. The Foundation has developed the celebration of the charity gala Valencia Danza / Somos Arte since 2014.

Recognition

In 2014, Herrero was nominated "favourite daughter" by the city of Valencia. In 2022, Herrero was included in a "50 Over 50: EMEA 2022" by ''

'' of 50 women aged over 50 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Personal life

She is married to

Juan Roig Juan Roig Alfonso (born 8 October 1949) is a Spanish billionaire businessman, president of Mercadona, the Spanish supermarket chain. As of November 2021, his net worth was estimated at US$4.4 billion. Early life Juan Roig was born on 8 October ...

, who she met when they were both studying economics at the

. They have four children and live in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, Spain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrero, Hortensia 1950 births Living people Female billionaires Spanish billionaires 20th-century Spanish businesswomen 21st-century Spanish businesswomen