Joseph Safra (
Arabic: يوسف صفرا; 1 September 1938 – 10 December 2020) was a Swiss-based
Lebanese Brazilian[6] banker and billionaire businessman of
Syrian descent. He was Brazil's richest man and the richest banker in the world. He ran the Brazilian banking and investment empire,
Safra Group.[7][8][9][10]
Joseph Safra was the chairman of all Safra companies, among them
Safra National Bank of New York and
Banco Safra headquartered in
São Paulo, Brazil.[5] In August 2020, Forbes reported Safra's estimated net worth at US$22.8 billion, the 52nd richest person in the world and richest in Brazil.[5]
In 1955, Joseph's 23-year-old brother,
Edmond Safra, and his father,
Jacob Safra, started working in Brazil by financing assets in
São Paulo. However soon, Edmond Safra separated from his brothers Joseph and Moise and headed to
New York City where he founded the
Republic National Bank of New York (which he later sold to
HSBC in 1999 and donated most of his money to the Edmond Safra Foundation). Joseph Safra founded
Banco Safra in 1955 and today it is reportedly the 6th largest private bank in Brazil. In 2006, Joseph Safra acquired the remaining shares of Banco Safra from his brother
Moise Safra.[21] He remained the chairman of the
Safra Group, offering banking services throughout Europe, North America, and South America, until the end of his life.[22]
Property
In 2013, Joseph Safra's family acquired more than a dozen properties in the United States, primarily in New York City. They also own a portfolio of commercial real estate in Brazil.[23]
In 2014, Safra paid more than £700 million to buy
The Gherkin, one of the most distinctive towers in the
City of London.[24] He proposed to build the
Tulip, a skyscraper in London, but the city's mayor rejected it in 2019.[25] He founded the Jewish Brazilian school of Beit Yaacov in 2001.[citation needed]
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Joseph Safra (1956) and
Joseph Safra (1956), information from the National Archives, Rio de Janeiro. Scan of Joseph Safra's Brazilian entry visa on 1956 on familysearch.org
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abJoseph Safra (1956) and
Joseph Safra (1956), information from the National Archives, Rio de Janeiro. Scan of Joseph Safra's Brazilian entry visa on 1956 on familysearch.org
^Joseph Safra (1956) and
Joseph Safra (1956), information from the National Archives, Rio de Janeiro. Scan of Joseph Safra's Brazilian entry visa on 1954 on familysearch.org