This is how it was for the main billionaires in Latin America in 2022

By Juan Pablo Álvarez

With a few exceptions, the fortunes of Latin America’s top billionaires shrank in 2022. And, in the case of those who did achieve a nominal increase, not all were able to keep it above US inflation (in November, prices in the North American giant grew 7.1% year-on-year).

Bloomberg Línea designed a ranking with the main fortunes in the region at the end of 2022, using Bloomberg data, and analyzed the evolution of these wealths throughout the year.

#17 Walther Moreira Salles Jr.

Starting from the back, the 17th fortune in the region is held by Brazilian film director Walther Moreira Salles Jr. (66 years old), son of the late ambassador and banker Walter Moreira Salles, and co-owner of the Brazilian bank Unibanco. His wealth ranks 467th in the world.

Salles has about US$5.2 billion, and his wealth grew 8.8% between January and December, so surely his net worth evolution will beat inflation in the United States once we can see the data from December 2022.

#16 João Moreira Salles

In the 16th position of fortunes is the Brazilian Joao Moreira Salles (60 years old), documentalist and brother of Walther Salles and Fernando Roberto Moreira Salles and Pedro Salles, who appear later in this list.

Joao Moreira Salles has a fortune of US$5.2 billion and appears in position 466th of the Bloomberg world ranking of billionaires. His net worth also grew 8.8% in 2022.

#15 Luis Sarmiento

In 15th place in Latin America comes Luis Sarmiento (434th in the world ranking), 89, president and founder of Grupo Aval, the largest banking group in Colombia.

He also owns two insurance providers under the Alfa brand, the newspaper El Tiempo and real estate developer Construcciones Planificadas.

Sarmiento has US$5.4 billion, but in 2022 his holdings were down 31.3% year-on-year.

#14 Fernando Moreira Salles

The list of billionaires shows, once again, a Moreira Salles: in this case, it is Fernando (75 years old), number 14th in Latin America and 433rd in the world ranking.

The Brazilian businessman has a wealth of US$5.6 billion to his credit and his assets grew by 14.6% in 2022.

#13 Pedro Moreira Salles

The wealthiest Moreira Salles brother is Pedro (63 years old), president of the Board of Directors of Itaú Unibanco. His fortune is number 419th in the world.

“Pedro Moreira Salles and his brothers share a majority stake in CBMM, the mining company that controls most of the world’s niobium production.

The Araxá, Brazil-based company supplies niobium, used to strengthen steel, to some 50 countries. He is also co-chairman of Itaú Unibanco, the largest financial institution in Latin America, ”Bloomberg describes.

Pedro Moreira Salles has US$5.6 billion, and his net worth grew 9.7% in 2022.

#12 André Esteves

The 12th fortune in Latin America at the end of 2022 belongs to the Brazilian Andre Esteves (54 years old), president and controlling shareholder of Banco BTG Pactual, the largest investment bank in the region.

The São Paulo-based institution participates in more than 90% of the financial transactions carried out in Brazil.

Esteves also has a stake in Estapar, a publicly traded, Brazil-based parking operator.

Esteves has US$6.5 trillion, making it the 344th largest fortune in the world.

His assets had an impressive growth in 2022: 142.1%

#11 Eduardo Saverin

The 11th billionaire from Latin America is also Brazilian Eduardo Saverin (40 years old), co-founder of Meta Platforms, the company behind Facebook. Currently, he has a 2% stake in the company.

Bloomberg estimates his fortune at US$6.7 billion (330th in the world), but it fell 63.3% in 2022.

#10 Jorge Moll and family

The Brazilian Jorge Moll (76 years old) has the tenth fortune in Latin America (306th in the world).

Moll is the founder and main shareholder of Rede D’Or São Luiz, the largest healthcare network in Brazil.

The Rio de Janeiro-based company started in 1977 as a diagnostic imaging laboratory before incorporating hospitals and medical clinics.

It went public in 2020 and had more than 11,000 beds in its network.

His net worth is estimated at US$7 billion, although it fell 24.9% during 2022.

#9 Juan Beckmann Vidal and family

The ninth wealth in the region is in the hands of the Mexican Juan Beckmann Vidal (271th in the world) and his family.

Beckmann Vidal, 82, is president of Becle, a publicly traded holding company that controls José Cuervo, the world’s largest tequila maker.

His family is the main shareholder of the Mexico City-based company, which reported net sales of US$2 billion in 2021. They also own Proximo Spirits, a Mexican alcohol distributor.

Beckmann Vidal has about US$7.7 billion, but in 2022 his fortune fell by 10.1%.

#8 Carlos Sicupira

The Brazilian Carlos Sicupira (74 years old) holds the eighth fortune in Latin America and the 244th in the world.

Along with his compatriots Marcel Telles and Jorge Paulo Lemann, Scicupira is a shareholder in Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, and owns stakes in Kraft Heinz and Restaurant Brands International, the company behind Burger King.

This trio also controls retailer Lojas Americanas and developer São Carlos.

He has US$8.1 billion, but his net worth fell 7.5% in the year.

#7 Marcel Telles

Brazilian Marcel Telles, 72, has the seventh largest net worth in the region and 190th worldwide.

As mentioned above, he is a partner of Jorge Paulo Lemann, Scicupira.

Currently, he has US$9.7 billion, meaning he had a 4.2% loss in equity for the year.

#6 Alejandro Santo Domingo and family

Colombian Alejandro Santo Domingo (45 years old) and his family hold the sixth fortune in the region. The heritage of Santo Domingo is number 160th globally.

As described by Bloomberg, Alejandro Santo Domingo oversees the fortune of the richest family in Colombia through the investment company Quadrant Capital, based in New York.

The family owns stakes in Belgium’s global brewer AB InBev, Chile’s Corpbanca, and Spain’s Inmobiliaria Colonial. They also control Caracol Televisión and other businesses.

Alejandro Santo Domingo has US$11.4 billion, although his fortune fell 3.5% this year.

#5 Ricardo Salinas

Mexican businessman Ricardo Salinas (67) has the fifth highest net worth in Latin America (156th worldwide).

Salinas is president of Grupo Elektra, a financial services conglomerate with revenues of Mex$146 billion in 2021.

The Mexico City-based retail and lending group owns Banco Azteca. The billionaire also owns shares in the TV Azteca station.

Ricardo Salinas has a fortune estimated at US$11.6 billion, although his net worth fell 22.2% in 2022.

#4 Jorge Paulo Lemann

The fourth richest person in Latin America is the Brazilian Jorge Paulo Lemann, 83. In turn, his wealth is ranked number 67th worldwide.

As mentioned, he is a partner of Marcel Telles and Carlos Sicupira.

He has around US$21.1 billion, although his fortune shrank 2.1% in 2022.

#3 Iris Fontbona and family

According to Bloomberg, the only woman who appears on the list of the richest people in Latin America is Iris Fontbona (79 years old), along with her family.

Fontbona has the 3rd largest fortune in the region and the 52nd worldwide.

Fontbona is the matriarch of Chile’s richest family (Luksic), which controls Antofagasta, a Santiago-based mining company and one of the world’s largest copper producers.

Through Quinenco, which is listed on the stock exchange, they control Banco de Chile, a manufacturer of cables and copper products (Invexans), a brewer (CCU), and a shipping company (CSAV).

Her equity is placed at US$23.6 billion and had an advance of 15.9% in 2022.

#2 German Larrea and family

The Mexican Germán Larrea (69 years old) is the second richest man in Latin America. The fortune that he holds together with his family is number 50th worldwide.

Larrea is the president of Grupo México, a publicly traded conglomerate.

The company’s mining division has operations in the US, Mexico, Peru, and Spain and reported revenue of US$14.8 billion in 2021.

The billionaire also controls Grupo Cinemex, a Mexican chain of movie theaters.

His net worth is estimated at US$24.1 billion, though it was down 6.2% on the year.

#1 Carlos Slim

The Mexican businessman Carlos Slim (82 years old) has the largest fortune in Latin America and is number 12th internationally.

Slim controls América Móvil, the largest mobile phone operator in Latin America. The Mexico City-based company had revenues of US$42.1 billion in 2021.

Slim also has stakes in the New York Times and commercial banks. Through his family’s investment vehicle, Grupo Carso, he has interest in the Mexican construction industry.

His net worth reached US$77 billion and grew 4.4% in the year. That is, he had a nominal increase but did not beat inflation in the United States.

With information from Bloomberg