Silvio Santos Net Worth

What Was Silvio Santos' Net Worth?

Silvio Santos was a Brazilian television host and businessman who had a net worth of $1.3 billion at the time of his death in 2024. Silvio Santos grew up dirt poor and began his professional career working as a street vendor. He was always interested in the arts, and began working on television and radio projects and in circus productions whenever he could. His perseverance paid off, and he eventually became the most widely recognized television host in Brazil. In 1981, Santos founded Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão, one of Brazil's most successful broadcast companies. He also launched Grupo Silvio Santos, a holding company focused on hotels and agribusiness. He served as the primary producer on multiple Brazilian versions of popular reality shows, such as "Candid Camera," "Wheel of Fortune," "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?," and "Celebrity Big Brother." Silvio was also the host of "Show de Milhao," a popular Brazilian game show that was broadcast in Brazil and the UK. Santos passed away from bronchopneumonia on August 17, 2024, at the age of 93.

Early Life

Silvio Santos was born Senor Abravanel on December 12, 1930, in Rio de Janeiro, Federal District, Brazil. His parents, Sephardic Jewish immigrants Rebecca Caro and Alberto Abravanel, were born in the Ottoman Empire. Silvio was a descendant of Portuguese Jewish statesman and philosopher Isaac Abrabanel, who lived during the 15th century. Santos attended the Escola Municipal Celestino da Silva before graduating from Colégio Estadual Amaro Cavalcanti. When he was 14 years old, he worked as a street vendor in Rio de Janeiro and sold plastic cases for voter registration cards. Silvio was invited to try out at Radio Guanabara due to his impressive voice, but he only worked there for a month because he made less money at the job than he did as a street vendor. Santos began serving in the Brazilian Army at the age of 18 and trained in the Paratroopers Brigade.

Career

Santos worked at Rádio Mauá, Rádio Tupi, and Rádio Continental early in his career. While working at Rádio Continental, he traveled there by ferry and came up with the idea of bringing a PA system on board to keep the passengers entertained. He quit his job at Rádio Continental to focus on the ferry business, which became successful. He began using the name "Silvio Santos" professionally because his mother often called him Silvio, and he once said, "que todos os Santos me ajudem" ("may all the Saints help me") before he went on the air. After moving to São Paulo, Silvio started working at Rádio Nacional de São Paulo and launched a magazine and a circus caravan. Manuel de Nóbrega transferred his toy company Baú da Felicidade to Santos after it began having financial problems, and Santos then teamed up with the Estrela toy company. In 1960, TV Paulista hired Silvio to host the variety show "Vamos Brincar de Forca," which would promote Baú da Felicidade. He also hosted shows for TV Tupi. In 1963, Santos began hosting the Sunday variety show "Programa Silvio Santos" on TV Paulista. Three years later, he signed a five-year deal with Rede Globo after TV Paulista became part of it, and in 1971, he started hosting the Troféu Imprensa awards show. In 1974, he opened his own studio, Estudios Silvio Santos Cinema e Televisao.

Rede Globo began shifting its programming toward news, telenovelas, films, and sports in the early '70s, and this strained Silvio's relationship with the company's executives. In the mid-1970s, the Brazilian government started accepting applications for a new station, and Santos was chosen, making him the first Brazilian TV personality to own a broadcast station. Silvio bought transmission equipment that previously belonged to TV Continental, and his new station, TVS, first broadcast in May 1976. A few months later, "Programa Silvio Santos" moved there from Rede Globo and was simulcast by Rede Tupi and TV Record. In 1980, a military dictatorship resulted in the closure of Rede Tupi. After the federal government started taking bids on the station's concessions, the stations went to Grupo Silvio Santos and Grupo Bloch. Silvio was awarded Tupi's former signals in Porto Alegre and São Paulo, and the stations formed the new network Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão (SBT). After SBT became more established, it signed big names like Carlos Alberto de Nóbrega, Hebe Camargo, and Jô Soares.

In early 1988, Silvio went to Boston for medical treatment; vocal cord issues had resulted in the loss of his voice, and he had a tumor on his eyelid, which turned out to be benign. In 1991, he began hosting the hidden camera show "Topa Tudo por Dinheiro," then, he premiered the game show "Show do Milhão" in 1999 and the reality series "Casa dos Artistas" in 2001. "Programa Silvio Santos" was revived in 2008, and in 2020, it went on hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned in July 2021 but soon went back on hiatus after Silvio tested positive for COVID-19. He returned to the show in April 2022, but he later stepped down from the program, filming his final episode in September. In 2023, his daughter Patricia Abravanel, who had previously served as a guest host, became the permanent host of "Programa Silvio Santos." In April 2023, Silvio left his role as vice president of SBT, and his daughter Daniela Beyruti took his place.

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Personal Life and Death

Silvio married Maria Aparecida Vieira (better known as "Cidinha") in 1962, and they welcomed two daughters, Silvia and Cintia, before Cidinha died of cancer in 1977. Santos wed Íris Abravanel in 1981, and they remained married until his death in 2024. The couple had four daughters together: Patricia, Renata, Daniela, and Rebeca. In July 2024, Silvio was diagnosed with H1N1 and spent two days in the hospital. He was later hospitalized with H1N1 again, and he passed away from bronchopneumonia on August 17, 2024, at the age of 93. Santos was laid to rest at Israelite Cemetery of Butantã.

Awards

In 2016, the São Paulo Association of Art Critics Awards presented Santos with the Grand Prize of the Critics in the "Television (Televisão)" category. In 2024, Silvio posthumously received a Mário Lago Trophy from the Melhores do Ano. He also won nearly 30 Imprensa trophies as well as 10 Roquette Pinto trophies. Dilma Rousseff, the former president of Brazil, honored Santos with an Order of Merit for Communication.

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