BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian billionaire Abilio Diniz, who built an empire in the retail sector, died on Sunday in São Paulo, according to his press service.
Aged 87, he was hospitalized at the Albert Einstein hospital and suffered from respiratory failure due to pneumonia, his press service said in a press release.
Abilio Diniz was an important figure in mass distribution in Brazil and in France, where he was a member of the board of directors of the French group Carrefour. He was also vice-president of Carrefour Brasil.
In the late 1950s, he co-founded Pão de Açucar, which became Brazil’s largest supermarket chain.
After a series of mergers and acquisitions, control of the Brazilian group passed into the hands of the French Casino in 2012.
In 2013, Abilio Diniz left the company he founded, taking over as president of Brazilian food processing company BRF, where he held for five years.
In 2014, the Brazilian billionaire acquired a stake in Carrefour Brasil through his private investment company Peninsula.
Last year, Forbes estimated his fortune at $2.4 billion (€2.2 billion).
Reacting to the news of his death, Peninsula Participações said it would continue to provide its expertise to Carrefour, with which the group has entered into a long-term commitment.
(Reporting Marcela Ayres; French version Stéphanie Hamel and Alban Kacher, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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