FX.co ★ Top 5 billionaires who passed away in 2020: remembering their lives

Joseph Safra (Brazil)

Activity: Co-owner of Banco Safra

Died: December 10, 2020 at age 82.

Net worth at death: $23.2 billion

Joseph Safra is rightfully considered the richest banker in the world. He is the founder of a huge financial empire with a focus on wealthy clients. He was born in Syria. His parents were Lebanese bankers but later they moved to Brazil where he and his brother Moses established the eighth largest bank in the country – Banco Safra. Additionally, he owned J. Safra Sarasin bank in Switzerland. He joined the ranks of billionaires twenty years ago. At that time, his fortune was only $3 billion. Safra rarely spoke to the media and carefully protected his personal life and family from prying eyes.

Lee Kun-hee (South Korea)

Activity: Samsung Group CEO

Died: October 2020 at age 78

Net worth at death: $17.3 billion

The head of the largest electronics company left behind a gigantic empire that includes theme parks, IT services, and the production of computer chips, TVs, and other electronics. However, his most prominent achievement was the creation of a smartphone that could compete with Apple. Lee took over Samsung in 1987, following the death of his father who founded the entire conglomerate. Importantly, all the major technological breakthroughs of the company occurred when Lee took the reins. He paid attention to every product and controlled all the stages of its production. He cemented Samsung’s leadership in the market through memory chips in the 1990s, flat-screen TVs in the mid-2000s, and smartphones in the 2010s. Since 2007, the owner of Samsung is considered the richest person in South Korea. However, his life was not as perfect as it may seem. Once he was convicted of bribery and tax evasion. Yet, the billionaire was pardoned for both crimes. He suffered a heart attack in 2014 and he was unable to move. Lee’s son, Jay Y. Lee, has been running Samsung Group since 2014.

Whitney MacMillan, US

Activity: Former CEO of Cargill

Died: March 2020 at age 90

Net worth at death: $5.1 billion

Whitney MacMillan was a remarkable man. He joined the agricultural company Cargill and turned it into a global entity. He spent 44 years of his career working for a family company, whose main activity was originally related to the grain trade. He took over as CEO and chairman of the board in 1976 and retired in 1995 at the age ​of 65. However, he continued to influence the corporation's activity. He was the one who decided to invite independent directors to the company's board and also created a stock scheme whereby the company's employees were the owners of its shares. Thus, he managed to establish a successful and profitable business. In 2019, the company generated $113.5 billion. Nowadays, members of the MacMillan family own the bulk of the business with an 88% stake in Cargill. Nevertheless, Whitney MacMillan was the last family member who was directly involved in the management of the corporation.

Randall Rollins, US

Activity: Former CEO of Rollins Inc.

Died: August 2020 at age 88

Net worth at death $4.7 billion

Rollins' fortune, like that of the rest of his family, came about through the organization of a large recession-proof empire of rat, roach, lice, and mice-busting subsidiaries all under the umbrella of Atlanta-headquartered Rollins Inc. Randall himself joined the family business in 1953. Before that, he was trying to organize another family venture – a radio station. He served as the firm’s longtime chairman, alongside his brother Gary, who was CEO. In 2014, the family got into a harsh conflict over cash allocations that plagued their pest control empire. This confrontation became "one of the nastiest intergenerational battles ever to take place among members of The Forbes 400." The conflict ended only five years later when the family members reached an agreement on all disputed issues.

Sheldon Solow, US

Activity: Founder of Solow Building Co

Died: November 2020 at age 92.

Net worth at death: $4.4 billion

Sheldon Solow will be remembered as Manhattan's most famous real estate developer. In 1972, he decided to risk everything when he began construction of an office building on West 57th Street. Nowadays, this building is famous for its panoramic views of Central Park and its vivid name - the Solow Building.