António Champalimaud facts for kids

António de Sommer Champalimaud (born in Lisbon, Portugal, on March 19, 1918 – died in Lisbon on May 8, 2004) was a very successful Portuguese businessman. He was known for his work in banking, insurance, and cement industries. By 2004, he was the richest person in Portugal.

His businesses were taken over by the government after the Carnation Revolution in 1974. He then lived in Brazil for seven years. After that, he returned to Portugal and successfully rebuilt his companies.

His Early Life and Family

António Champalimaud was born in 1918. He was the oldest child of Carlos Montez Champalimaud, a military doctor. His mother was Ana de Araújo de Sommer. His family had roots in both France and Germany.

He went to La Guardia Jesuit High School. After that, he started studying Chemistry at the University of Lisbon. However, he did not finish college. When he was 19, his father passed away. António then took over the family's construction company.

Later, at age 28, he took charge of his uncle's cement business. His uncle, Henrique de Araújo de Sommer, was a very important industrialist in Portugal.

Marriage and Philanthropy

On December 16, 1941, António married Maria Cristina da Silva José de Mello. Her family was also very important in business. Her father was a major industrialist. Maria Cristina was an heir to Grupo CUF. This was a large company involved in chemicals, textiles, banking, insurance, and shipping.

António and Maria Cristina had seven children together. They divorced in 1957. After their divorce, António started competing with his ex-brother-in-law in the banking and insurance fields.

Later in his life, António lost his eyesight. Because of this, he gave 500 million euros to start the Champalimaud Foundation. This foundation helps support research in biomedicine. It also gives a yearly prize of 1 million euros for amazing research related to vision.

Building His Business Empire

António Champalimaud greatly expanded the cement business he took over in 1946. He made it so big that it almost had a monopoly in Portugal. He also expanded his cement business into Africa, in the Portuguese territories of Angola and Mozambique.

Expanding into Banking and Insurance

In the early 1960s, he bought a bank called Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor (BPSM). He also bought several insurance companies. These included Confiança, Mundial, and Continental Resseguros.

In 1969, he had to leave Portugal and went to Mexico. This was due to a legal issue about shares in his uncle's old company. He was able to return to Portugal in 1973.

Nationalization and Rebuilding

In 1975, a year after the Carnation Revolution, the new government took over his companies. This is called nationalization. Champalimaud first went to France and then to Brazil.

Even without his fortune, he started building his wealth again. He began a cement company in Brazil. He also ran large commercial farms there. In 1992, Champalimaud came back to Portugal. He then started buying back his old companies.

Later, António Champalimaud sold his large business group, the Champalimaud Group, to Banco Santander Central Hispano (BSCH). This was Spain's largest bank in 2004.

See also

In Spanish: António Champalimaud para niños