Julio Mario Santo Domingo

Julio Mario Santo Domingo Pumarejo (October 16, 1923 – October 7, 2011)[2] was a Colombian-American businessman, diplomat and patriarch of the Santo Domingo family who lived in New York City. He controlled more than 100 companies in the diversified portfolio of the "Santo Domingo Group." He was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the wealthiest men in the world, and the second-wealthiest in Colombia, with a fortune of $8 billion U.S. dollars.[3] He was the founder of a philanthropic foundation, named to honor his father, that benefits Colombia's social development.

For his son, see Julio Mario Santo Domingo, Jr.

Julio Mario Santo Domingo Pumarejo
1st Colombia Ambassador to China
In office
February 27, 1981 – March 18, 1983
PresidentJulio César Turbay Ayala
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byAlfonso Gómez Gómez
Personal details
Born(1923-10-16)October 16, 1923
Panama City, Panamá, Panama
DiedOctober 7, 2011(2011-10-07) (aged 87)
New York City, United States
NationalityColombian
ChildrenJulio Mario Santo Domingo Braga
Alejandro Santo Domingo Dávila
Andrés Santo Domingo Dávila
RelativesTatiana Santo Domingo Rechulski (granddaughter)
Alma materUniversity of Virginia (, )
Net worth US$8.4bn (2011)[1]
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Santo Domingo and the second or maternal family name is Pumarejo.

Early life

Julio Mario Santo Domingo was born on October 16, 1923 in Panama City, Panama, to Julio Mario Santo Domingo Santo Domingo and Beatriz Pumarejo de Vengoechea, the youngest of their four children; his older siblings were Beatriz Alicia, Cecilia, and Luis Felipe. His father was a banker, described as austere and disciplined, who made a fortune buying companies weakened during the Great Depression; his mother, from a rich and influential family, was first cousin of Alfonso López Pumarejo who was twice President of Colombia. He grew up in Barranquilla and later attended the exclusive Gimnasio Moderno in Bogotá, D.C., ultimately culminating his secondary studies at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts; he later attended University of Virginia before transferring to Georgetown University, but did not finish his degree.[4]

Ambassadorship

On May 26, 1980, President Julio César Turbay Ayala appointed Santo Domingo to be the first Ambassador of Colombia to China. He presented his Letters of Credence to Ulanhu, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, in Beijing on February 17, 1981.[5]

Santo Domingo Group

The Group has a majority stake in Bavaria Brewery and Valores Bavaria (a holding company for his non-beer interests). In 2005, Bavaria Brewery merged with South African company SABMiller. In this merging, the group acquired 15.1% of SAB Miller, becoming the second-largest shareholder of the second-largest beer company in the world (behind Anheuser-Busch InBev).[6][7]

Portfolio

Personal life

He first married to Edyala Braga Brandão do Monte, a Brazilian socialite, daughter of Brazilian ambassador in Paris and former wife of Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas' brother. Together they had one son, Julio Mario Santo Domingo Braga (1958–2009),[8] but the marriage did not last long and they divorced shortly after. Julio Mario Jr. married Vera Rechulski, a Brazilian socialite and they had 2 children – Tatiana Santo Domingo (born November 24, 1983) and Julio Mario Santo Domingo III (born May 2, 1985).

He remarried on February 15, 1975 to Colombian socialite Beatrice Dávila Rocha, and together they had two sons, Alejandro Santo Domingo Dávila (b. 1977) who has continued on in the family business and Andrés Santo Domingo Dávila (b. 1978) the co-founder and president of Kemado Records, who in 2008 married socialite Lauren Davis (then founder of the online fashion retailer Moda Operandi).

Santo Domingo owned homes in New York City, in Paris, and Barú, a Colombian island near Cartagena.

References
  1. "Julio Mario Santo Domingo". Forbes; The World's Billionaires. March 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  2. D. A. Crowe (September 4, 2005). "Una jugada de póquer". El País.
  3. "Billionaires: Julio Mario Santo Domingo". Forbes. March 5, 2008.
  4. Forbes Billionaires, 2006
  5. BBC Asian Network (February 27, 1981). "Summary of world broadcasts: Far East, Part 3". Caversham Park: BBC Monitoring. Xinhua News Agency. OCLC 10807079. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  6. Timmons, Heather (July 19, 2005). "SABMiller and Bavaria announce a major transaction in Latin America". International Herald Tribune.
  7. "SABMiller buys brewer to grow in Latin America". SAB Miller. July 19, 2005.
  8. "Colombian Businessman Julio Mario Santo Domingo Braga Dies". Latin American Herald Tribune. March 29, 2009.

Further reading
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