Jacob Safra ( ar, يعقوب صفرا; 1891 – 27 May 1963) was a Syrian-Lebanese banker. The Safras were bankers and gold traders engaged in the financing of trade between

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Aleppo,

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

and

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Biography

The Safra family was originally a merchant Jewish family of northern Lebanon, Lebanon, which historically made its money from financing the caravans of the Middle East. When the Ottoman Empire fell apart in 1918, Jacob Safra, opened the family bank in the 1920s in

, building on the Safras' long experience in gold and currency exchange. With its base in Lebanon, the ' became the bank of choice for many of Syria's and Lebanon's rich Sephardic Jewish families, who trusted the Safras to manage their business and personal financial interests with care and discretion. The bank was later renamed ''Banque de crédit national S.A.L.'' (BCN) and is one of the five oldest banks in Lebanon. In 1952, he moved to Brazil with his four sons: Elie, Edmond,

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

and Moise. They founded a Brazilian financial institution in 1955.

Personal life

In 1920, Safra married his cousin Esther Teira (1904–1943). They had four sons: Elie, Edmond, Joseph, and Moise; and four daughters: Evelyn, Gabi, Arlette, and Ughette. In 1943, his wife died during childbirth at the age of 39. In 1950, he remarried to Marie Dwek (1911–1967).

Safra Square Safra or SAFRA may refer to: People (surname) * Alberto J. Safra (born 1979/1980), Brazilian banker *Edmond Safra (1932–1999), Syrian-Brazilian banker *Jacob Safra (1891–1963), Syrian banker *Jacqui Safra (born 1948), Swiss investor and actor ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

is named in honor of him and his wife.

References

1891 births 1963 deaths Brazilian bankers Brazilian Sephardi Jews Brazilian people of Lebanese-Jewish descent Brazilian people of Syrian-Jewish descent 20th-century Sephardi Jews Lebanese Jews Mizrahi Jews Safra family Jewish bankers Lebanese bankers Lebanese emigrants to Brazil {{Brazil-business-bio-stub