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Joseph Safra died, considered by “Forbes” the richest man in Brazil. The banker and owner of Banco Safra died this Thursday morning, at the age of 82.
A statement from this group that it raised and directed attributed the death to “natural causes.” “It is with immense regret that we report the death of Mr. José Safra, 82, due to natural causes,” says the note from Banco Safra, without giving further details, referring only to the fact that the death occurred in São Paulo, the city where he lived.
Banco Safra is the best known company in its legacy: it is the fourth largest private bank in Brazil and is present in 24 countries. It is part of a conglomerate of companies in America, Europe and Asia that includes the Swiss bank Sarasin.
In 2019, Joseph Safra became the richest man in Brazil, according to “Forbes” magazine, with a fortune estimated at 119.08 billion reais, about 18.9 billion euros. In this way, he surpassed businessman Jorge Paulo Lemann, who was at the top of the country’s ranking since 2013. He was also considered the 64th richest man in the world, in 2020, by “Forbes”.
Of Jewish origin, Joseph Safra was born in Lebanon in 1938. He emigrated to Brazil in the 1960s to continue the business that his father had started in the largest South American economy and to build the foundations of what would later become the Safra Group.
His father, Jacob Safra, was a Lebanese banker who in the mid-19th century founded a financial institution in Syria, to offer credit and operate currency and gold, and who in 1920 created the Jacob Safra Bank in Beirut.
In 1955, Joseph founded, with his brothers Moise and Edmond, Banco Safra, today an important financial and investment group. He and Brother Moise were largely responsible for the group’s emergence.
In 2006, Joseph, known as the patriarch of Brazil’s most traditional banking family, took over the group entirely when he bought 50% of the business from his brother, Moise, who died in 2014.
The older brother, Edmond, came to operate in Brazil, but made his way to New York. He founded the Republic National Bank, which was sold in 1999 to HSBC. Shortly after, Edmond died in a fire at his home in Monaco.
Among the assets of the Safra Group, we highlight the Gherkin building, one of the most famous in the United Kingdom and which was acquired in 2014 for 726 million pounds (about 800 million euros).
In 1969, the businessman married Vicky Sarfaty, with whom he had four children and 14 grandchildren. According to Banco Safra, the banker dedicated his life to family, friends, businesses and social causes, and led a simple and reserved life, without ostentation and oblivious to public exposure.
“He was a great banker, a true businessman who built the Safra Group in the world and achieved success due to his seriousness and entrepreneurial vision. He was a great leader and highly respected inside and outside the organization, ”the statement said.
As a philanthropist and art lover, he helped build and renovate hospitals, museums, and temples of various religions. He liked to collect rare books and works of art.
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