Américo Amorim has passed away this Thursday
The Portuguese businessman was known for building an empire in the cork sector.
The Portuguese businessman Américo Amorim passed away this Thursday, after suffering from health complications for a long time. Américo Amorim built a cork empire, and would have been 83 years-old this month.
Corticeira Amorim is the world-largest cork products enterprise and Américo Amorim was, according to Forbes magazine, the richest Portuguese man, whose fortune was assessed at 4.4 billion dollars (4.09 billion euros). In Forbes’ list, Américo Amorim stood at the 385th place.
Amorim Energia (the holding which was 55% owned by Américo Amorim and 45% by Esperanza, Isabel dos Santos’ company) entered Galp Energia’s capital in 2012, owning 33.34% of the oil company. Amorim was also Galp’s chairman until October 2016, when he passed the torch to his daughter, Paula Amorim.
By means of the holding Amorim — Investimentos e Participações, the businessman built an economic group, tied to the real estate sector, financial system, energy and tourism. He had over 200 companies under his wing.
In 2005, along with Isabel dos Santos, Amorim created a bank called Banco Internacional de Crédito; in 2014, the daughter of the Angolan President purchased his equity in the Amorim group. Even so, the group holds 47% of Banco Luso-Brasileiro and 18% of Banco Único (Mozambique).
