Joseph Safra Net Worth

What was Joseph Safra's Net Worth?

Joseph Safra was a Brazilian businessman who had a net worth is $25 billion at the time of his death in December 2020. That made him one of the richest people in Brazil. In fact, in March 2019 when his net worth topped $25 billion for the first time, Joseph officially became the richest person in Brazil.

Joseph Safra ran his family's Brazilian banking conglomerate, the Safra Group. He also served as the chairman of all the Safra subsidiary companies, including Safra National Bank of New York, and owned the London skyscraper known as the Gherkin.

Early Life and Family

Joseph Safra was born on September 1, 1938, in Beirut, Lebanon, into a Jewish family hailing from Syria. His parents were Esther and Jacob, and he had two brothers named Edmond and Moise. The family had been involved in banking since the times of the Ottoman Empire, when they financed trade and exchanged currencies for tradesmen coming through Aleppo. In 1952, Safra moved with his family to Brazil.

Career

In 1955, Safra and his father founded the financial services company Banco Safra in São Paulo, Brazil. Specializing in investment banking, private banking, retail banking, and asset management, it is among the largest banking institutions in Brazil. Banco Safra is a subsidiary of the banking conglomerate the Safra Group, which was run by Joseph Safra until his passing. He also served as the chairman of its other major subsidiary companies, including Safra National Bank of New York and the Switzerland-based private bank J. Safra Sarasin. Additionally, he oversaw various investments by the Safra Group, including major ones in commercial real estate around the world. Among his other business endeavors, Safra led the Group into a takeover of the agribusiness company Chiquita. The Safra Group acquired Chiquita in a joint venture with the produce company Cutrale in 2014. Later that year, Safra purchased the London skyscraper known as the Gherkin for around £700 million. He later proposed to build an adjacent observation tower called the Tulip, but the proposal was ultimately rejected.

PASCAL GUYOT/AFP via Getty Images

Personal Life and Death

In 1969, Safra married the Greek-born Vicky Sarfati. They had four children together: Jacob, Esther, Alberto, and David. Jacob runs international operations at the Safra Group and David manages Banco Safra.

Safra had Parkinson's disease later in life. On December 10, 2020, he passed away in São Paulo at the age of 82.

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