Francesco Antonio Maria Matarazzo, Count Matarazzo (March 9, 1854 in

Castellabate Castellabate ( Cilentan: ''Castiellabbate'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It is one of ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). History The area has been inhabited since Up ...

– December 10, 1937 in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil), was an Italian-born Brazilian businessman who created a large business in South America, particularly in Brazil.

Biography

He was born in

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

, the eldest of Doctor Costabile Matarazzo's nine sons, and Mariangela Jovane. At the age of 26, when Italian emigration to Brazil was widespread, he moved to the city of

Sorocaba Sorocaba () is a municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. With over 723,000 inhabitants, it is the seventh-largest city in the state and the second-largest outside the Greater São Paulo region, ranking behind only Cam ...

with his brothers, wife and children. Initially he sold oranges and lottery tickets and shined shoes, reinvesting the proceeds in new businesses, eventually including plantations of tea, coffee, corn, rice, rubber and cotton. In 1890, he moved to the city of

and with his brothers, Giuseppe and Luigi, founded the company Matarazzo and Irmãos. He diversified its business and imported wheat flour from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Giuseppe took part in the company with a lard factory in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

and Luigi with a deposit-warehouse in São Paulo. The following year the company was dissolved and replaced by Companhia Matarazzo S.A. with 43 minority shareholders. This corporation also controlled the factories in Sorocaba and Porto Alegre. The outbreak of the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...

made it difficult to buy wheat flour and he obtained credit from the London and Brazilian Bank to build a mill in São Paulo. From there, his business expanded rapidly to a total of 365 factories throughout Brazil. The conglomerate became the fourth largest in the country and 6% of the population depended on its factories in São Paulo. The business was renamed ''Indústrias Reunidas Francisco Matarazzo'' (IRFM) in 1911. The Gestapo spy Hans Wesemann reported that: In recognition of his financial and material assistance to Italy during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

King

Victor Emmanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albani ...

granted him the title of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. Matarazzo died in 1937 after an attack of

uremia Uremia is the condition of having high levels of urea in the blood. Urea is one of the primary components of urine. It can be defined as an excess in the blood of amino acid and protein metabolism end products, such as urea and creatinine, which ...

. At that time he was Brazil's richest man.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matarazzo, Count Francesco 1854 births 1937 deaths Counts in Italy People from the Province of Salerno Brazilian businesspeople Italian businesspeople Italian emigrants to Brazil

Biography

See also

References