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Latin America Billionaire Fortune Hits Half Trillion
Brazil dominates in number, but Mexico’s Carlos Slim the richest.
BY LATINVEX STAFF
Latin America’s 110 billionaires have an estimated net worth of $529 billion, according to a Latinvex analysis of new Forbes data.
While Brazil dominates with 68 billionaires compared with 20 for Mexico, their combined fortune is nearly the same thanks to Carlos Slim’s estimated $102 billion fortune, the largest in Latin America and 14th-largest worldwide.
Brazil’s billionaires total fortune is $229 billion versus $200 billion for their Mexican peers.
Facebook founder Eduardo Saverin is the wealthiest, with an estimated fortune of $28 billion, followed by Vicky Safra and family at $20.6 billion.
Despite investor-hostile policies in Mexico and Colombia, billionaires in those countries actually have gained. In Mexico, billionaires saw their net worth balloon by $79 billion under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador since he assumed office in 2008, Bloomberg reports.
Apart from Slim, Mexico’s top billionaires are Grupo Mexico owner German Larrea and Grupo Azteca owner Ricardo Salinas Pliego.
BILLIONAIRES BY COUNTRY
| Country | Fortune | Billionaires |
| Brazil | $ 229 | 68 |
| Mexico | $ 200 | 22 |
| Chile | $ 42.20 | 6 |
| Colombia | $ 29.60 | 4 |
| Argentina | $ 19.50 | 5 |
| Venezuela | $ 4.40 | 1 |
| Uruguay | $ 2.20 | 2 |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | $ 1.30 | 1 |
| Panama | $ 1.10 | 1 |
| Total | $ 529 | 110 |
Sources: Forbes, March 2024; Latinvex
In Colombia, the country’s four billionaires saw their fortunes jump 77% in the first year of President Gustavo Petro, Colombian weekly Semana reports.
The Colombian billionaires combined fortune stands at $29.6 billion, according to Forbes. Colombia native and Nubank founder David Velez accounts for more than a third, or $10.9 billion.
Meanwhile, Cali mogul Jaime Gilinski now has a fortune slightly larger than that of Luis Carlos Sarmiento. Gilinski recently acquired food company Nutresa in a prolonged hostile take-over. Gilinski also owns Colombian bank GNB Sudameris, a majority stake in Spanish bank Sabadell, snack food company Yupi, Rimax Plastics and }Semana.
Sarmiento owns financial, construction and telecom holding Grupo Aval and Colombia´s top newspaper El Tiempo.
Chile’s six billionaires have an estimated total fortune of $42.2 billion, with Iris Fontbana accounting for more than half of that, or $25 billion. She is the widow for the late Andrónico Luksic Abaroa, founder of the Antofagasta and Quiñenco mining companies.
In Argentina, the country’s five billionaires have an estimated combined fortune of $19.5 billion, led by MercadoLibre founder Marcos Galperin at $6.3 billion.
The ranking also includes the founders of Uruguayan payments company dLocal, Andres Bzurovski and Sergio Fogel, which both have an estimated fortune of $1.1 billion; Juan Carlos Escotet, founder and CEO of Venezuelan bank Banesco and Panamanian businessman Stanley Motta (owner of Copa Airlines, Banco General and other assets).
© Copyright Latinvex
THE DATA
Ranking of Latin America’s Billionaires (2024)
Ranking of Brazil’s Billionaires (2024)
