Julio Mario Santo Domingo
Julio Mario Santo Domingo Pumarejo was a Colombian-American billionaire businessman and diplomat. He is primarily known for his investments in Bavaria Brewery and for heading the Santo Domingo Family, one of the wealthiest and most influential families in Colombia.
In 2008, he was listed by Forbes magazine as the 189th wealthiest person in the world, and the second-wealthiest in Colombia, with a fortune of US$8 billion.
Early life
Julio Mario Santo Domingo was born on October 16, 1923, in Panama City, Panama, to Mario Santo Domingo and Beatriz Pumarejo de Vengoechea, the youngest of their four children; his older siblings were Beatriz Alicia, Cecilia, and Luis Felipe. His father was a banker, described as austere and disciplined, who made a fortune buying companies weakened during the Great Depression; his mother, from a rich and influential family, was first cousin of Alfonso López Pumarejo who was twice President of Colombia. He grew up in Barranquilla and later attended the exclusive Gimnasio Moderno in Bogotá, D.C., ultimately culminating his secondary studies at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts; he later attended University of Virginia before transferring to Georgetown University, but did not finish his degree.Ambassadorship
On May 26, 1980, President Julio César Turbay Ayala appointed Santo Domingo to be the first Ambassador of Colombia to China. He presented his Letters of Credence to Ulanhu, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, in Beijing on February 17, 1981.Santo Domingo Group
The Group has a majority stake in Bavaria Brewery and Valores Bavaria. In 2005, Bavaria Brewery merged with South African company SABMiller. In this merging, the group acquired 15.1% of SAB Miller, becoming the second-largest shareholder of the second-largest beer company in the world.Portfolio
- Caracol TV
- * Caracol TV International
- * Caracol Radio Cromos El Espectador
- SABMiller
- Avianca
- Bluradio
Personal life
He first married to Edyala Braga Brandão do Monte, a Brazilian socialite, daughter of Brazilian ambassador in Paris and former wife of Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas' brother. Together they had one son, Julio Mario Santo Domingo Braga, but the marriage did not last long and they divorced shortly after. Julio Mario Jr. married Vera Rechulski, a Brazilian socialite and they had 2 children – Tatiana Santo Domingo and Julio Mario Santo Domingo III.He remarried on February 15, 1975, to Colombian socialite Beatrice Dávila Rocha. Together they had two sons, Alejandro Santo Domingo Dávila, who has continued on in the family business, and Andrés Santo Domingo Dávila, the co-founder and president of Kemado Records. In 2008, Andrés married socialite Lauren Davis.
Santo Domingo owned homes in New York City, in Paris, Bogotá, Cartagena and Barú, a Colombian island near Cartagena.