Compiled By NAN Lifestyle Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Dec. 30, 2015: It’s not just Carlos Slim but several of the world’s richest billionaires are from Latin America and call the region home. Here are the 10 wealthiest people in the Americas
– Latin America and the Caribbean:
1: Carlos Slim: This Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist is worth a whopping US$55.4 billion according to Forbes’ latest rankings, making him the richest person in the Americas. The 75-year-old billionaire is also the second richest person in the world. Slim made his fortune in the telecom industry and oversees a vast business empire that is influential in every sector of the Mexican economy and accounts for 40 percent of the listings on the Mexican Stock Exchange.
2: Jorge Paulo Lemann: This 76-year-old Brazilian has made most of his US$24.8 billion from beer. Lenmann has a big stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, which he owns through private equity firm 3G Capital together with fellow billionaires and longtime partners Carlos Sicupira and Marcel Herrmann Telles. While Lenmann is the second richest person in the Americas, Lenman is listed on the Forbes rich list of 2015 as the 26th richest person in the world. Lemann is a former Brazilian tennis champion who played at Wimbledon and is a self-made
billionaire.
3: Joseph Safra: This 76-year-old is the third richest person in the Americas and the 52nd globally. He is a descendant of a banking family that hails from Syria and is the world’s richest banker with a net worth of US$ 14.8 billion.
In 2014 he expanded into bananas with the purchase of half of Chiquita Brands International and he added to his real estate portfolio by snapping up a London skyscraper nicknamed the Gherkin, for a reported $1.1 billion.
4: German Larrea Mota Velasco: This 62-year-old Mexican billionaire is the fourth richest person in the Americas and the 77th globally with a net worth of US$10.3 billion. German Larrea and his family own just over half of Grupo Mexico, the country’s largest mining and Infrastructure company which includes: Americas Mining Corporation, which owns mining assets in Mexico, Peru (Southern Copper) and the U.S. (Asarco); Infraestructura y Transportes México (ITM), which owns two railroads, Ferrocarril Mexicano y Ferrosur, through its affiliate Gr
upo Ferroviario Mexicano; and a 30 percent stake in Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, which operates airports.
5: Iris Fontbona: Chilean Iris Fontbona is the widow of Andronico Luksic, who built a fortune in mining, beverages and more and died of cancer in 2005. She is worth a whopping US$9.8 billion making her the fifth richest person in
Latin America and the 82nd richest globally. Fontbona and her children control Antofagasta Plc, which trades on the London Stock Exchange and owns copper mines in Chile.
6: Luis Carlos Sarmiento: This 82-year-old self-made Colombian billionaire is worth a whopping US $9.4 billion, making him the sixth richest person in the Americas and the 85th globally. Sarmiento Angulo built his fortune in the
construction industry and banking sector. His Grupo Aval now controls one third of all banking in Colombia.
7: Marcel Herrmann Telles: This 65-year-old Brazilian made his fortune on beer. He is the 89th richest person in the world and the seventh richest in the Americas with a net worth of US $12.7 billion. Telles has controlling shares
in Anheuser- Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, which he owns through private equity firm 3G Capital together with fellow billionaires and longtime partners Carlos Sicupira and Jorge Paulo Lemann.
8: Carlos Alberto Sicupira: With a net worth of US$ 11.2 billion, this 67-year-old along with his partners Marcel Herrmann Telles and Jorge Paulo Leman has become wealthy by investing in beer – namely controlling shares in Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer. The trio also owns stakes in Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King and Tim Hortons and is listed on both the New York and Toronto stock exchange. He is the 8th richest person in the Americas and the 110th richest person in the world.
9: Alberto Bailleres Gonzalez: Eighty-four-year-old Bailleres Gonzalez is worth some US$6.9 Billion, making him and his family the 9th wealthiest in the Americas. Bailleres Gonzalez chairs Industrias Penoles, Mexico’s second largest
mining company and one of the world’s largest silver miners. He also controls department store chain Grupo Palacio de Hierro, insurance company Grupo Nacional Provincial and pension fund manager Grupo Profuturo, and he owns a
stake in Mexican Coke bottler FEMSA.
10: Joao Roberto Marinho: Rounding out the top 10 wealthiest people in the Americas list is 62-year-old former Brazilian journalist turned media mogul Joao Roberto Marinho. Marinho’s networth is put at US$5.2 billion. He
along with his two billionaire brothers, Jose Roberto and Roberto Irineu Marinho, inherited control of Globo, Latin America’s largest media group. Globo was rebranded in 2014 as “Grupo Globo,” which includes Brazil’s largest broadcaster, Rede Globo; Infoglobo, Brazil’s largest newspaper company and Globosat, the largest pay TV
provider in Latin America.
