Belmiro de Azevedo

Belmiro Mendes de Azevedo ( born February 17, 1938 in Tuías, Marco de Canaveses, Northern Portugal ) is a Portuguese businessman, president of the Sonae Group and one of the richest Portuguese.

Azevedo was born the son of a carpenter in a northern Portuguese village. Funded by scholarships, he studied chemistry and graduated in 1963 with honors. While still a student, he was recruited by a textile company.

After two years, he joined Sonae ( Sociedade Nacional de Estratificados ), then still a minor parquet manufacturers. After the death of Sonae founder Afonso Magalhães Pinto Azevedo took over in 1984, the majority in the company. He built from now on to a group that graduated in 2006 with 4.3 billion euros in sales and 600 million euro profit.

At Sonae include several logging companies, shopping malls, a telecommunications company, various financial services and media. In September 2007, opened the shopping center " Alexa " on Berlin's Alexanderplatz, in October 2009, the shopping center loop 5 in Weiterstadt near Frankfurt am Main. The first German shopping mall in the Sonae Group, Münster Arcades in Münster, were opened in 2005 ( first phase ) and 2006. A previously planned center at the Dortmund main station was abandoned.

After his son Paulo Azevedooffiziell took over the management to Azevedo called himself since May 1, 2007 only as "President with no executive function ." Azevedo is with a fortune of 1.5 billion euros, the second richest man in Portugal. The " Forbes list of the richest men in the world " led him in 2010 to 655th place.