The Billionaires who died in 2020: Remembering their lives

In a year that is likely to be remembered around the world for damage and loss of life caused by the coronavirus pandemic, 16 billion people died in 2o20 – but, as far as we can tell , none of which they did after entering into a contract with Covid-19. That compares with 23 billionaires who died in 2019.

To the richest people in the world, it did not seem to be the major disease for the rest of society. In fact, the most famous billionaire for a deal with Covid-19, President Donald Trump, is still very much with us today.

Among those killed was a cantankerous middle tycoon, one of South Korea’s most successful business leaders, a former CEO of U.S. agricultural industry giant Cargill and the world’s richest banker. Nine of the 16 made their own fortunes, one got a fortune and the other six got a fortune and worked to expand it.

Sumner Redstone, ViacomCBS

Citizenship: USA

Died: August 2020 at the age of 97

Net value at death: $ 2.6 billion

The media mogul and former celebrity lawyer was notorious for controlling CBS and Viacom, but they also got the household names of Blockbuster, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. Redstone used his father’s movie theater series, National Amusements, as a way to grow; in 1987 National Amusements acquired a controlling stake in the entertainment giant Viacom.

Redstone saw no limits to his power – not even death. In 2007 he told students at Boston University, “I have control now, and I will have control after I die.” The statement was part of a ten-year follow-up battle with his daughter Shari Redstone (she took over running in 2016). In 2007, Redstone wrote to Forbes, saying that he was, “with very little donation [my children’s] part, ”which had built the media empire.

Read the full obituary here.

Lee Kun-hee, Samsung Group

Citizenship: South Korea

Died: October 2020 at the age of 78

Net value at death: $ 17.3 billion

Samsung Group conglomerate chairman Lee Kun-hee left an empire that included computer chips, fashion, theme parks, IT services, TV and, in particular, one of the few smartphone makers by Apple.

Lee took over Samsung in 1987, following the deaths of his father and the assembly’s founder, Lee Byung-chull. He led the rise of Samsung through memory chips in the 1990s, flat-screen televisions in the mid-2000s and smartphones in the 2010s. Lee, the richest man in South Korea since 2007, was convicted of bribing the country’s president in 1996 and convicted of tax evasion for the next decade; he was pardoned for both offenses. He suffered a heart attack in 2014 and has been incapacitated ever since. Lee’s son, Jay Y. Lee has been running Samsung Group since 2014.

Read the full obituary here.

Joseph Safra, Banco Safra

Citizenship: Brazil

Died: December 10, 2020 at the age of 82.

Net value at death: $ 23.2 billion

The richest banker in the world, Joseph Safra built an empire with a focus on wealthy clients and companies. He was born in Lebanon to a banking family originally from Syria. In Brazil he and his brother Moise (d. 2014) built Banco Safra, the eighth largest bank in the country. In Switzerland he owned J. Safra Sarasin, a bank created in a merger in 2013. As a private individual, he avoided the media. Safra and Moise first appeared Forbes list of world billions in 2000 with a shared fortune of $ 3 billion.

Read the full obituary here.

Whitney MacMillan, Cargill

Citizenship: USA

Died: March 2020 at the age of 90

Net value at death: $ 5.1 billion

Former chairman and CEO of agricultural giant Cargill, MacMillan transformed the company into a global organization. MacMillan spent 44 years at his family ‘s medieval 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 considered running Cargill with “common sense” and “average” – two important elements he said the business world needed more of. “The history of virtues in grain trading goes back a long way, where your word is a link,” he said. As well as adding independent directors to Cargill’s board and creating a stockpile ownership plan. MacMillan led the company, which had generated $ 113.5 billion in revenue in 2019, to lead the company to private ownership, with approximately 88% of Cargill members being members of Cargill and Mac’s extended family Whitney MacMillan was the last family member to lead the business.

Rollins Randall, Rollins Inc.

Citizenship: USA

Died: August 2020 at the age of 88

Net worth at death $ 4.7 billion

One of the biggest names in U.S. pest control, the Rollins family has created an empire that witnessed the decline of rat, roach, lice and mouse mice under the umbrella of Rollins Inc. known.

Randall Rollins joined the family business in 1953, and helped expand his broadcast arm before the company moved into pest control. He was a long-time chairman of the company, along with his billionaire brother Gary, who is CEO.

In 2014, Forbes described the $ 8 billion family conflict over “money distribution” that the empire controlled their pests and opposed “father (s) vs sons, wives vs. husbands, cousins ​​vs. cousins ”In“ one of the worst intergenerational battles ever. a place among members of the Forbes 400. ”The family apparently reached a settlement in November 2019, about a year before Randall’s death.

Read the full obituary here.

Citizenship: Hong Kong

Died: January 2020 at the age of 90

Net value at death of $ 1.3 billion

The Hong Kong real estate tycoon started his company in 1966 by renovating old buildings and amassing an empire of offices, residences and shops.

Citizenship: South Korea

Died: January 2020 at the age of 74

Net worth at death $ 3.1 billion

Its Taekwang Industrial is a major manufacturer of shoes for Nike, with factories in Vietnam, Indonesia and China.

Citizenship: Norway

Died: April 2020 at age 90

Net worth at death $ 1.5 billion

Wilhelmsen launched Royal Caribbean Cruises in 1969, building it as one of the largest tour operators in the world.

Citizenship: Russia

Died: May 2020 at age 52

Net value at death $ 1.1 Billion

Bosov was famous for the Sibanthracite Group, which united several coal producers in Siberia. He was found dead in his apartment after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head.

Citizenship: Spain

Died: May 2020 at age 78

Net value at death $ 1.7 Billion

Jove founded the property company Fadesa Inmobiliaria. In 2006 it sold its 55% stake for $ 3 billion, before the Spanish property bubble collapsed.

Citizenship: Philippines

Died: June 2020 at age 85

Net worth at death $ 1 billion

Described in an obituary in the New York Times as “King of the Cronies,” Cojuangco was a controversial friend of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Cojuangco became chairman of the powerful San Miguel food and infrastructure conglomerate in 1998.

Citizenship: USA

Died: July 2020 at the age of 93

Net worth at death $ 1.5 billion

Moroun had transportation industries and, in particular, the Detroit Ambassador Bridge, the largest border route between the U.S. and Canada.

Citizenship: USA

Died: July 2020 at the age of 84

Net worth at death $ 1 billion

He then gained a fortune of buildings and turned into a media empire. Working with his father, the family paid $ 3.4 million for Miami’s WSVN TV station, where he established the “if it blows, it drives” TV journalism style.

Citizenship: Brazil

Died: September 2020 at the age of 99

Net worth at death $ 1.7 billion

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

Citizenship: Turkey

Died: 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 the largest conglomerates in Turkey, active in energy, autos, sustainable consumer goods and finance.

Citizenship: USA

Died: November 2020 at the age of 92.

Net value at death: $ 4.4 billion

With a Manhattan real estate developer, Solow took a risk in 1972 to build 57 West 57 Street in New York City, an office tower known today for its unobstructed views of Central Park.