Moise Yacoub Safra ( ; April 5, 1934 – June 15, 2014) was a Lebanese-Brazilian businessman and philanthropist of

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

descent. He co-founded

Banco Safra Banco Safra is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in São Paulo. It is the seventh largest banking institution in Brazil and the nineteenth largest in Latin America. It provides services in investment banking, private banking, ...

with his brothers

Edmond Safra Edmond Jacob Safra (; 6 August 1932 – 3 December 1999) was a Lebanese-Brazilian billionaire banker and philanthropist of Syrian descent. He continued his family tradition of banking in Brazil and Switzerland, and was married to Lily Watkins ...

and

Joseph Safra Joseph Safra (‎; 1 September 1938 – 10 December 2020) was a Swiss-based Lebanese Brazilian banker and billionaire businessman of Syrian descent. He was Brazil's richest man and the richest banker in the world, running the Brazilian bankin ...

Early life

Moise Safra was born on April 5, 1934, in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, into a family of

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

background originally from

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, in modern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, and was the son of

Jacob Safra Jacob Safra (; 1891 – 27 May 1963) was a Syrian banker and patriarch of the Safra family.Jacob Eliaho Safra(1954)'', Jacob Eliaho Safra' (1955) and Jacob Eliaho Safra1956)'' information from the National Archives, Rio de Janeiro. Scan of Jacob ...

.Brazilian Jewish philanthropist Moise Safra passes away

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...

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June 17, 2014 The family's history in banking originated with caravan trade between

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and Constantinople during the Ottoman Empire. The family relocated from

after the First World War as Beirut was home to an already thriving Jewish community. Eventually, the Safras decided to move to Brazil in 1952. In 1955, Moise's 23-year-old brother, Edmond Safra, and their father, Jacob, started working in Brazil by financing letters of credit for trade in São Paulo.

Career

He established himself in Brazil where he acquired citizenship and founded

with his brothers Edmond and Joseph Safra. He was also a prominent Jewish philanthropist.

Death

He died on June 14, 2014, reportedly from heart failure, at the age of 80. He was buried at the 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. He was survived by his wife Chella Cohen Safra and five children: Jacob Moise Safra, Azuri "Ezra" Moise Safra, Edmundo "Edmond" Moise Safra, Esther Safra Szajman (married to Claudio Szajman, son of ), and Olga Safra.

References

External links

Banco Safra Brazil
1934 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Sephardi Jews 21st-century Sephardi Jews Mizrahi Jews Brazilian people of Lebanese-Jewish descent Brazilian people of Syrian-Jewish descent Syrian Jews Brazilian Sephardi Jews Brazilian bankers Brazilian billionaires Lebanese emigrants to Brazil Syrian emigrants to Brazil Lebanese people of Syrian descent Safra family Brazilian philanthropists {{Brazil-business-bio-stub

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References

External links