Vicky Safra: meet the richest woman in Brazil, named by Forbes

A richest person in Brazil is a woman with an estimated fortune of R$87.8 billion. The Forbes richest list was recently announced, featuring an unprecedented podium with women at the top.

According to the magazine, Vicky Safra is the first person in list of billionaires in Brazilin 2023. She is the widow of Joseph Safra, the founder of the Bank of the same name.

In recent years, Vicky has become heir to the financial empire created by her husband and, together with her children, has accumulated a fortune worth billions of reais.

(Image: Renata Jubran/AE/Estadão/Reproduction)

Vicky Safra: Brazil's biggest billionaire

Of Greek origin and naturalized Brazilian, Vicky met Joseph in Brazil and they married in 1969, when she was still very young, just 17 years old. At the time, she was still called Vicky Sarfaty.

The Safras' accumulated fortune was not achieved in a short time, it was built over more than 180 years by the family of the bank's founder.

Before establishing his financial business in Brazil, Joseph Safra visited European countries and his family arrived in Brazil in 1953. From 1967 onwards, business was directed to the structure of Harvest Financial.

In 2020, Joseph passed away at the age of 82 from natural causes, leaving his billionaire estate to his family. During their life together, the couple had four children and 14 grandchildren.

Nowadays, Vicky is 71 years old and works in philanthropic actions in the areas of education, health, culture and arts.

Regarding the family's assets, they own the Brazilian bank, a bank in Switzerland and numerous real estate around the world, such as a skyscraper in London and another real estate investment in New York York.

Despite the significant inheritance, the family has already gone through legal conflicts involving their assets. In 2023, Alberto Safra, one of Vicky's sons, sued his two brothers and their mother. He accuses the family of diluting its stake in Safra National Bank.