Billionaires who died in 2020: remembering their lives

In a year that will likely be remembered around the world for the devastation and loss of life caused by the coronavirus pandemic, 16 billionaires have died in 2o20 – but, as far as we can tell, none have. done after contracting Covid-19. This compares to 23 billionaires who died in 2019.

For the richest in the world, the pandemic has not been, unsurprisingly, the great leveler it has been for the rest of society. In fact, the billionaire best known to contract Covid-19, President Donald Trump, is still with us today.

Among the dead are a die-hard media mogul, one of South Korea’s most successful business leaders, the former CEO of US agribusiness giant Cargill and the world’s richest banker. Nine of the 16 built their own fortunes, one inherited a fortune, and the other six inherited a fortune and then worked to expand it.

Sumner Redstone, ViacomCBS

Nationality: USA

Death: August 2020 at age 97

Net worth at death: $ 2.6 billion

The media mogul and former combative lawyer was best known for controlling CBS and Viacom, but also acquired well-known names Blockbuster, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. Redstone used his father’s movie channel, National Amusements, as a vehicle for growth; in 1987, National Amusements acquired a controlling stake in entertainment giant Viacom.

Redstone saw no limit to his power – not even death. In 2007, he told students at Boston University: “I am in control now and in control after I die.” The statement was part of a ten-year succession battle with daughter Shari Redstone (she took over operations in 2016). In 2007, Redstone wrote to Forbes, saying it was him, “with little or no contribution on [my children’s] party ”, which had built its media empire.

Read the full obituary here.

Lee kun-hee, Samsung Group

Nationality: South Korea

Death: October 2020 at age 78

Net worth at death: $ 17.3 billion

The chairman of Korean conglomerate Samsung Group, Lee Kun-hee, left behind an empire that included computer chips, fashion, theme parks, IT services, TVs and, most notably, one of the few smartphone manufacturers competing with Apple.

Lee took over Samsung in 1987, following the death of his father and the founder of the conglomerate, Lee Byung-chull. He led Samsung’s rise to power through memory chips in the 1990s, flat-screen TVs in the mid-2000s, and smartphones in the 2010s. Lee, South Korea’s richest person since 2007 , was convicted of bribery of the country’s president in 1996 and convicted of tax evasion the following decade; he was pardoned for both crimes. He suffered a heart attack in 2014 and has since been incapacitated. Lee’s son Jay Y. Lee has led the Samsung Group since 2014.

Read the full obituary here.

Joseph Safra, Banco Safra

Nationality: Brazil

Death: December 10, 2020 at age 82.

Net worth at death: $ 23.2 billion

The richest banker in the world, Joseph Safra built an empire focused on wealthy clients and corporations. He was born in Lebanon to a banking family from Syria. In Brazil, he and his brother Moise (who died in 2014) built Banco Safra, the country’s eighth largest bank. In Switzerland, he was the owner of J.Safra Sarasin, a bank created during a merger in 2013. A private man, he avoided the media. Safra and Moise first appeared on Forbes list of the world’s billionaires in 2000 with a shared fortune of $ 3 billion.

Read the full obituary here.

Whitney MacMillan, Cargill

Nationality: USA

Death: March 2020 at age 90

Net worth at death: $ 5.1 billion

MacMillan, the former chairman and CEO of agribusiness giant Cargill, has turned the company into a global entity. MacMillan spent 44 years with his family’s Midwestern grain trader, taking over as CEO and Chairman of the Board in 1976 and retiring in 1995 at the company’s mandatory age of 65. . In a rare interview with Forbes in 2017, he thought about running Cargill with “common sense” and “decency” – two crucial things he said the business community needed more of. “The history of virtue in the grain trade goes way back, where your word is your link,” he said. Aside from adding independent directors to Cargill’s board and creating an employee stock ownership plan, MacMillan crucially generated $ 113.5 billion in revenue in 2019, to stay private. Members of the extended Cargill and MacMillan families own approximately 88% of Cargill. Whitney MacMillan was the last family member to run the business.

Randall Rollins, Rollins Inc.

Nationality: USA

Death: August 2020 at age 88

Net worth at death $ 4.7 billion

One of the biggest names in pest control in the United States, the Rollins family created a recession-proof empire of rat, roach, lice, and mouse-fighting subsidiaries, all under the umbrella of Rollins Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, the Orkin exterminator is the best. known.

Randall Rollins joined the family business in 1953 and helped expand its broadcasting branch before the company embarked on pest control. He was a long-time president of the company, alongside his billionaire brother Gary, who is CEO.

In 2014, Forbes reported on the $ 8 billion family feud over “cash allowances” that plagued their pest control empire and pitted “father (s) against son, wives against husbands, cousins ​​against cousins” in ” one of the meanest intergenerational battles ever fought among the members of the Forbes 400. ”The family reportedly struck a deal in November 2019, about a year before Randall died.

Read the full obituary here.

Nationality: Hong Kong

Death: January 2020 at age 90

Net worth at death $ 1.3 billion

The Hong Kong real estate mogul started his business in 1966 by redeveloping old buildings and amassing an empire of offices, residences and shops.

Nationality: South Korea

Death: January 2020 at age 74

Net worth at death $ 3.1 billion

Son Taekwang Industrial is a major footwear producer for Nike, with factories in Vietnam, Indonesia and China.

Nationality: Norway

Death: April 2020 at age 90

Net worth at death $ 1.5 billion

Wilhelmsen started Royal Caribbean Cruises in 1969, making it one of the largest cruise operators in the world.

Nationality: Russia

Death: May 2020 at age 52

Net worth at death $ 1.1 billion

Bosov was best known for the Sibanthracite group, which brought together several coal producers in Siberia. He was found dead in his apartment after being shot in the head.

Nationality: Spain

Death: May 2020 at age 78

Net worth at death $ 1.7 billion

Jove founded the real estate company Fadesa Inmobiliaria. In 2006, he sold his 55% stake for $ 3 billion, before the collapse of the Spanish real estate bubble.

Nationality: Philippines

Death: June 2020 at age 85

Net worth at death $ 1 billion

Described in a New York Times obituary as the “King of Friends,” Cojuangco was a controversial ally of Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Cojuangco became president of the powerful food and infrastructure conglomerate San Miguel in 1998.

Nationality: USA

Death: July 2020 at age 93

Net worth at death $ 1.5 billion

Moroun owned transport companies and, most notably, the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, the largest border crossing between the United States and Canada.

Nationality: USA

Death: July 2020 at age 84

Net worth at death $ 1 billion

Ansin inherited a real estate fortune and turned it into a media empire. Working alongside his father, the family paid $ 3.4 million for Miami TV station WSVN, where he pioneered the “if it bleeds, it leads” style of TV journalism.

Nationality: Brazil

Death: September 2020 at age 99

Net worth at death $ 1.7 billion

Faria trained as a doctor, but took over the management of the family’s Banco Real after her father died. He sold the institution to Dutch bank ABN Amro in 1998 for $ 2.1 billion.

Nationality: Turkey

Death: September 2020 at age 79

Net worth at death $ 1.4 billion

Kirac was the youngest daughter of the founder of Koc Holding Vehbi Koc, one of Turkey’s largest conglomerates, active in energy, automotive, consumer durables and finance.

Nationality: USA

Death: November 2020 at age 92.

Net worth at death: $ 4.4 billion

A Manhattan real estate developer, Solow took the risk in 1972 to build 9 West 57 Street in New York City, an office tower known today for its breathtaking view of Central Park.