Joseph Safra

Joseph Safra ( in Brazil José Safra, * about 1939 in Beirut ) is a Brazilian entrepreneur and member of one of the richest families in America. He stands in front of the Safra Group, a group of banks and financial enterprises. He is the chairman of all Safra companies, among them Safra National Bank of New York and Banco Safra in São Paulo. In March 2013, Forbes Magazine estimated his assets to 15.9 billion U.S. dollars, making him one of the richest people in South America and the 46th - richest people in the world.

Life

Joseph is the son of wealthy Jewish banking family Safra, which was located at his birth in Aleppo (Syria ). The history of the family bank began with the financing of caravans between Aleppo, Alexandria and Constantinople Opel in the Ottoman Empire. The family left because of anti-Jewish riots in protest against the creation of Israel in 1949 Aleppo and settled first settled in Milan and 1952 in Brazil. 1955 began Joseph's then 23 - year-old brother Edmond Safra and his father in the financial sector to work in São Paulo. Edmond Safra soon moved to the USA and founded the Republic National Bank of New York ( sold in 1997 to HSBC, a large portion of the proceeds came the Edmond Safra Foundation benefit ). Joseph Safra founded in the 1960s, Banco Safra, today the sixth-largest private bank in Brazil. He is Chairman of the Safra Group, distributes the banking services in South and North America and Europe.

Joseph Safra acquired in July 2006 after two years of negotiations, the remaining shares of his brother Moise in Banco Safra, whose sole shareholder is now the Grupo Safra. Both brothers still hold together a stake in Aracruz Cellulose.

In November 2011 it was announced that the Safra Group will take over from the Dutch Rabobank whose majority stake in Swiss bank Sarasin. The transaction was completed in late July 2012.