Gregorio Pérez Companc

Businessman

Birthday December 23, 1934

Birth Sign Capricorn

Birthplace Buenos Aires City, Argentina

Age 89 years old

Nationality Argentina

#51361 Most Popular

1934

Gregorio Pérez Companc (born Jorge Gregorio Bazán; August 23, 1934) also known as "Don Gregorio" or "Goyo," is an Argentine businessman and one of Argentina's wealthiest individuals, with an estimated net worth of US$2.5 billion as of August 2021.

He was born Jorge Gregorio Bazán in Buenos Aires, in 1934.

1945

He was adopted in 1945 by Margarita Companc de Pérez Acuña, a local socialite, and enrolled at the La Salle college preparatory school, though he left before graduating.

1946

He built much of his fortune, however, as head of Petrolera Pérez Companc, a family-based conglomerate in oil and gas that was first established by Gregorio's adoptive father in 1946.

1964

He married María del Carmen "Munchi" Sundblad Beccar Varela, an heiress, in 1964, and in 1968, was named director of the Banco Río de La Plata (at the time of the country's largest, private-sector banks), following its purchase by his family.

1990

Between 1990 and 1994, the company expanded its domestic activities in the oil business and in a number of other industries through participation in the country's privatization programme initiated by President Carlos Menem.

1993

Pérez Companc purchased a controlling stake in Banco Río de la Plata from his siblings in 1993, and would sell his shares to Spanish banking giant Banco Santander in 1997.

1996

By 1996, Pérez Companc S.A. had consolidated sales of US$1.41 billion.

1998

The family strengthened its hand in 1998 by forming a new public holding company, PC Holdings S.A., and later that year, acquired a 68% share in local food giant Molinos Río de la Plata from the traditional agribusiness house, Bunge y Born, for US$380 million.

The 1998–2002 Argentine great depression produced numerous problems for the country's energy sector, and 1999 revenues for Petrolera Pérez Companc declined 3% to US$1.27 billion.

1999

In 1999, shareholders in Pérez Companc S.A. exchanged their voting shares for nonvoting shares (Class B shares) in PC Holdings S.A.: this raised some concern from financial and political analyst, since in such a transaction the controlling shareholders would have multiple vote shares to ensure their continuing voting control.

However, the Comision Nacional de Valores approved the exchange, thus allowing the Pérez Companc family to own 58% of the company with 80% voting control.

The family also sold their 19% stake in Banco Río de la Plata during 1999.

2001

In a year that saw the Argentine economy shaken by the worst economic turmoil in over a century, Pérez Companc continued to oversee growth in the family's business concerns: the value of the group's consolidated energy, food processing and financial services portfolio grew a healthy 20% during 2001.

2002

He scored a big coup in October 2002 when he announced the sale of the family's 60% share of Petrolera Pérez Companc to Brazilian oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for a reported US$1 billion in cash and bonds.

Gregorio Pérez Companc and his wife, María del Carmen Sundblad Beccar Varela, have eight children including Luis and Pablo.

The family is deeply religious and have donated generously to Catholic Charities over the years.

Gregorio and his wife raise Jersey dairy cows and operate Munchi's, a small chain of ice cream parlors.

Long known for his love of modern and vintage cars, he reportedly owns a Bugatti, a Maserati, a limited-edition Ferrari F50, and the unique Ferrari 330 TRI/LM racing car.

2009

Molinos Río de la Plata, which sells Luchetti's pasta, Cocinero oils and Nobleza Gaucha yerba mate (among numerous brands), is one of Argentina's leading processed foods companies, earning roughly US$850 million in revenues in 2009.