António de Sommer Champalimaud
Encyclopedia
António de Sommer Champalimaud (Lisbon
, Lapa, 19 March 1918 – Lisbon
, Lapa, 8 May 2004) was a Portuguese
banker and industrialist who in 2004 was the wealthiest man in Portugal
. He earned his fortune with insurance
, banking and cement
industries which were nationalized after the Carnation Revolution
of 1974. After living in exile in Brazil
for seven years, he returned to Portugal and rebuilt his companies.
, Godim, 13 November 1877 – Cascais
, 4 May 1937), a Military
Doctor
(great-great-grandson in female line of French
Paul Joseph Champalimaud, seigneur de Nussane, who came to Portugal and here married Clara Maria de Sousa Lira e Castro), and wife (m. Lisbon, 2 June 1917) Ana de Araújo de Sommer (Lisbon, 23 April 1885 – ?) (great-granddaughter in male line of German
Franz Joseph Freiherr von Sommer and wife Klara Werlein von Ascheberg
, who came to Portugal during the Liberal Wars
).
He attended the La Guardia Jesuit High School before enrolling at the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa to study Chemistry
. António never finished his college education, for at 19, after his father's death, he took over the family's construction company. Later, at the age of 28 he took over his uncle's (Henrique de Araújo de Sommer one of Portugal most important industrialists, who had died without issue, as did two of his brothers, two of his sisters and his niece) cement business.
In Cascais, Estoril
, at the Igreja de Santo António, on 16 December 1941 he married Dona
Maria Cristina da Silva José de Melo (Lisbon, Lapa, 6 March 1920 – Lisbon, Prazeres
, 25 August 2006), daughter of Dom Manuel Augusto José de Melo, of the Counts of o Cartaxo and of the Count
s and Marquess
es of Sabugosa Counts of São Lourenço Alferes-Majors of the Realm
, and Amélia de Resende Dias de Oliveira da Silva. They had seven children together. Maria Cristina was an heir to the Grupo CUF, a company that was a conglomerate with interests in chemical
, textiles, banking, insurances, shipbuilding
and repairing, shipping
and tobacco
industries. They were divorced by 1957, after which he started competing with his ex-brother-in-law in the banking and insurance markets. His ex-wife married secondly in Lisbon, São Mamede, on 29 March 1980 Amaro de Azevedo Gomes (Cascais, São Domingos de Rana
, 22 June 1917 – Lisbon, São Mamede, 1 January 2008), without issue.
He bequeathed 500 million euros to establish the Champalimaud Foundation
in order to support biomedicine
. The foundation also administers a yearly 1 million euro prize for outstanding research related to vision
, an appropriate prize, as late in life António lost his eyesight.
and Mozambique.
In the early 1960s, he bought the Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor (BPSM) and the insurance companies Confiança, Mundial and Continental Resseguros. In 1969 he fled to Mexico to avoid an arrest warrant related to an inheritance case over shares of the Empresa de Cimentos de Leiria, his uncle's old company. The warrant was revoked in 1973, after which Champalimaud returns to Portugal.
In 1975, a year after the Carnation Revolution
, his companies were nationalized by the new government. Champalimaud first fled to France and ultimately to Brazil. Without his fortune, he restarted building his wealth, first establishing a cement company in Brazil, and later by also operating commercial farms. In 1992, Champalimaud returned to Portugal and started to buy back his old companies.
In a series of transactions, Champalimaud sold the Champalimaud Group to the Banco Santander Central Hispano, BSCH, Spain's largest bank .
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Lapa, 19 March 1918 – Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Lapa, 8 May 2004) was a Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
banker and industrialist who in 2004 was the wealthiest man in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. He earned his fortune with insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
, banking and cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
industries which were nationalized after the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
of 1974. After living in exile in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
for seven years, he returned to Portugal and rebuilt his companies.
Biography
Born in 1918, the eldest child and son of Carlos Montez Champalimaud (Peso da RéguaPeso da Régua
Peso da Régua , commonly known as Régua, is a municipality in northern Portugal, in the district of Vila Real. With a total area of , extended over 12 parishes, its population included 17,987 inhabitants .-History:Peso da Régua was inhabited by Roman and barbarian invasions during the early part of...
, Godim, 13 November 1877 – Cascais
Cascais
Cascais is a coastal town in Cascais Municipality in Portugal, 30 kilometres west of Lisbon, with about 35,000 residents. It is a cosmopolitan suburb of the Portuguese capital and one of the richest municipalities in Portugal. The former fishing village gained fame as a resort for Portugal's royal...
, 4 May 1937), a Military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
Doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
(great-great-grandson in female line of French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
Paul Joseph Champalimaud, seigneur de Nussane, who came to Portugal and here married Clara Maria de Sousa Lira e Castro), and wife (m. Lisbon, 2 June 1917) Ana de Araújo de Sommer (Lisbon, 23 April 1885 – ?) (great-granddaughter in male line of German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Franz Joseph Freiherr von Sommer and wife Klara Werlein von Ascheberg
Ascheberg
Ascheberg is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.The neighbouring cities, towns and municipalities of Ascheberg are the city Münster, the town Drensteinfurt , the city Hamm, the town Werne Ascheberg is a municipality in the district of...
, who came to Portugal during the Liberal Wars
Liberal Wars
The Liberal Wars, also known as the Portuguese Civil War, the War of the Two Brothers, or Miguelite War, was a war between progressive constitutionalists and authoritarian absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 1828 to 1834...
).
He attended the La Guardia Jesuit High School before enrolling at the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa to study Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
. António never finished his college education, for at 19, after his father's death, he took over the family's construction company. Later, at the age of 28 he took over his uncle's (Henrique de Araújo de Sommer one of Portugal most important industrialists, who had died without issue, as did two of his brothers, two of his sisters and his niece) cement business.
In Cascais, Estoril
Estoril
Estoril is a seaside resort and civil parish of the Portuguese municipality of Cascais, Lisboa District. The Estoril coast is close to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. It starts in Carcavelos, 15 kilometres from Lisbon, and stretches as far as Guincho, often known as Costa de Estoril-Sintra or...
, at the Igreja de Santo António, on 16 December 1941 he married Dona
Don (honorific)
Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...
Maria Cristina da Silva José de Melo (Lisbon, Lapa, 6 March 1920 – Lisbon, Prazeres
Prazeres (Lisbon)
Prazeres is a Portuguese parish in the municipality of Lisbon.-Main sites:*Prazeres Cemetery*São Francisco de Paula Church*Palace of Necessidades...
, 25 August 2006), daughter of Dom Manuel Augusto José de Melo, of the Counts of o Cartaxo and of the Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
s and Marquess
Marquess
A marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam...
es of Sabugosa Counts of São Lourenço Alferes-Majors of the Realm
Alféres
Alféres was the Old Spanish and Portuguese equivalent of the modern Spanish word for the rank of alférez or ensign.- Source :*...
, and Amélia de Resende Dias de Oliveira da Silva. They had seven children together. Maria Cristina was an heir to the Grupo CUF, a company that was a conglomerate with interests in chemical
Chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...
, textiles, banking, insurances, shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
and repairing, shipping
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
industries. They were divorced by 1957, after which he started competing with his ex-brother-in-law in the banking and insurance markets. His ex-wife married secondly in Lisbon, São Mamede, on 29 March 1980 Amaro de Azevedo Gomes (Cascais, São Domingos de Rana
São Domingos de Rana
São Domingos de Rana is a civil parish of the Portuguese municipality of Cascais, part of the Greater Lisbon subregion. In 2001, its population was 43991 and in an area of 20.36 km².-References:NotesSources...
, 22 June 1917 – Lisbon, São Mamede, 1 January 2008), without issue.
He bequeathed 500 million euros to establish the Champalimaud Foundation
Champalimaud Foundation
The Champalimaud Foundation is a private Portuguese biomedical research foundation, which aims to support the biomedical sciences, focused in particular, on the fields of neuroscience and cancer...
in order to support biomedicine
Biomedicine
Biomedicine is a branch of medical science that applies biological and other natural-science principles to clinical practice,. Biomedicine, i.e. medical research, involves the study of physiological processes with methods from biology, chemistry and physics. Approaches range from understanding...
. The foundation also administers a yearly 1 million euro prize for outstanding research related to vision
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
, an appropriate prize, as late in life António lost his eyesight.
Business
Champalimaud expanded the cement business he took over from his uncle in 1946 and expanded it in Portugal to the point of a near monopoly. He also expanded his cement industry into Africa, to the Portuguese overseas territories of AngolaAngola (Portugal)
Angola is the common name by which the Portuguese colony in southwestern Africa was known across different periods of time...
and Mozambique.
In the early 1960s, he bought the Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor (BPSM) and the insurance companies Confiança, Mundial and Continental Resseguros. In 1969 he fled to Mexico to avoid an arrest warrant related to an inheritance case over shares of the Empresa de Cimentos de Leiria, his uncle's old company. The warrant was revoked in 1973, after which Champalimaud returns to Portugal.
In 1975, a year after the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
, his companies were nationalized by the new government. Champalimaud first fled to France and ultimately to Brazil. Without his fortune, he restarted building his wealth, first establishing a cement company in Brazil, and later by also operating commercial farms. In 1992, Champalimaud returned to Portugal and started to buy back his old companies.
In a series of transactions, Champalimaud sold the Champalimaud Group to the Banco Santander Central Hispano, BSCH, Spain's largest bank .