Abilio Diniz: where the businessman’s fortune, estimated at US$2 billion, came from

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Businessman died this Sunday (18), victim of respiratory failure due to pneumonitis. Abílio Diniz dies aged 87 in São Paulo Businessman Abílio Diniz was one of the most famous names in business in his generation. Alongside his father, he was responsible for the construction and growth of the Pão de Açúcar group. He later ran one of the largest food companies in the world and sat on the boards of multinationals. His career success also made him one of the richest men in the country. Among Brazilians, he ranked 31st in the Forbes magazine ranking (1526th in the world). He leaves behind a fortune estimated at US$2 billion. Abílio died this Sunday (18), aged 87, in São Paulo, victim of respiratory failure due to pneumonitis. He leaves five children, wife, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Businessman Abílio Diniz Gabriela Biló/Futura Press/Estadão Conteúdo READ ALSO: Authorities and entities mourn the death of businessman Son of Valentim and Floripes, Abilio Diniz was born in the Paraíso neighborhood, in the South Zone of São Paulo, in December 1936. First of six children from a family of Portuguese origin, lived in the back of a grocery store. In 1948, as a boy, he helped his father open a sweet shop called Pão de Açúcar. It was the beginning of the construction of an empire in honor of the postcard of Rio de Janeiro, the first image that the father saw when arriving in Brazil by ship. Having graduated in business administration from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), Diniz thought about specializing in the United States, but his father’s invitation spoke louder, and in 1959, they opened the first Pão de Açúcar store, on Avenida Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, in the heart of São Paulo. Abilio Diniz in photo from 2018 Reuters/Paulo Whitaker At the end of the 1960s, there were already more than 60 stores in 17 cities. In 1971, Diniz opened Jumbo, the first hypermarket in Brazil. Five years later, with a loan from BNDES, he bought Eletroradiobraz, and continued buying, growing and innovating. Diniz was also the first to create a supermarket in a shopping mall and to open its stores 24 hours a day. He was one of the founders of the Brazilian supermarket association and was one of the pioneers in creating Brazilian trainee programs, a way to recruit and train talent in business. Businessman Abílio Diniz dies at age 87 But one of the country’s greatest business leaders also experienced crises and was at the center of conflicts. For ten years he was a member of the national currency board. In 1987, with Pão de Açúcar and the country plunged into an economic crisis, he sold his imposing headquarters and returned to the building where it all began. In 1991, Pão de Açúcar paid its debts and made a profit. Diniz prepared to face international retail giants in Brazil. In 1995, he took Pão de Açúcar public and, with cash on hand, went back to buying smaller supermarkets, until he found an international shareholder, the French group Casino. Abilio Diniz in an interview with GloboNews in 2016 GloboNews Afterwards, he decided to professionalize the group’s administration and remove his children from the succession. He entered the electronics business through retail and, after 54 years, left the Pão de Açúcar group in 2013. “It’s a very important day today for me and my family. It’s the day I’m handing over control of the Pão de Açúcar group. Sugar for the Casino group”, he said at the time. He then headed the board of directors of BRF — one of the largest food companies in the world — and created an investment company, Península Participações, which bought shares in Carrefour. With the investment, he also became a member of the board of directors of the supermarket chain, one of Pão de Açúcar’s main competitors, which he created. In addition to Carrefour Brasil and França, Península has a stake in companies such as Wine, Oncoclínicas and Padaria Benjamin. Abilio Diniz when announcing his departure from Grupo Pão de Açúcar, in 2013 Simone Cunha/G1

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