Carlos Alberto Sicupira Biography & Net Worth 

The food business is a highly profitable sector with few but powerful players. Most times, the vast majority of people only know the names of big food brands without knowing the identities and names of those behind them. Today, we are going to take a look at a food investor who, as at the time the information in this report was collected, is ranked as the 5th richest man in Brazil.

His name is Carlos Alberto Sicupira, and according to Forbes magazine, he is one of the richest people in Brazil with a massive fortune of over 10 billion dollars. His biggest sources of wealth include his huge stake in the world’s largest beer maker, AB InBev, and stakes in other top global food brands. He attended Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and completed his bachelor’s degree before starting his business career as an intern in the Swiss finance company, Credit Suisse and later, moved into the world of investment banking. One of his earliest investments was a minor stake in a small company in Brazil. However, things did not work up to his expectation and he decided to look out for other opportunities that may be favorable. In 1971, Mr. Carlos Sicupira teamed up with Marcel Herrmann Telles and Jorge Paulo Lemann to start up the investment bank that ultimately made all three men billionaires. Banco Garancia, as the bank was called, gradually evolved to become one of the largest investment banks in the whole of Brazil. Carlos and his business partners sold it to Credit Suisse Boston in 1998 for $675 million. He then proceeded to acquire three brewing companies and combined them into what has become AB InBev, known worldwide as the largest brewer and one of the most successful companies in the world. Furthermore, Mr. Alberto and his business partners have invested in a couple of global food brands including the American fast-food chain Burger King and Canadian coffee manufacturer, Tim Hortons. In 2013, Mr. Alberto’s private equity firm, 3G Capital and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway acquired the H.J. Heinz & Company. In 2016 AB InBev splashed a whopping $100 billion to purchase SABMiller Plc. together with other beer brands associated with it. More details follow below.

Early Life

Carlos Alberto Sicupira was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He attended Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro where he completed his bachelor’s degree.

Professional Life

After completing his graduation, Carlos joined a number of firms and made minor investments here and there before deciding to focus on a definite path after meeting Jorge Paulo Lemann and Marcel Herrmann Telles. In 1971, the three businessmen, all billionaires today, established the investment bank called Banco Garantia. A huge decline in the market took place a few weeks after the establishment of their business, however, the bank stood its ground and gradually grew to become one of the most renowned investment banks in the country.

Mr. Carlos and his business partners acquired the Brazilian brewery called Companhia Antarctica Paulista after gaining total control of Brahma Beer. Both businesses were merged to form a single entity called AmBev. In 2004, AmBev merged once again with a third brewing company Interbrew to become a large business known as InBev. In less than a year, the stock of the new company, InBev, grew by 40 percent. InBev later went on to buy shares of the American brewer company Anheuser-Busch which is behind popular brands like Budlight and Budweiser. The merger between InBev and Anheuser-Busch led to what became the Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) company.

In 2004, Carlos, Jorge, Marcel, and their partner Robert Thompson Motta, started the investment company called 3G Capital. Six years later, 3G acquired the shares of the Burger King Company in a deal that was worth an estimated $4 billion. In 2013, 3G Capital made headlines when it paid over $28 billion in acquiring the H.J.Heinz Company in collaboration with American mogul Warren Buffet.

This amazing trio also controls the real estate investment firm, São Carlos Empreendimentos e Participações, and the Brazilian retailer Lojas Americanas.

Personal Life

The Brazilian businessman Carlos Alberto Sicupira is currently married with three children. He has lived in Brazil his homecountry for the most part of his life.

Carlos Alberto Sicupira Net Worth

Together with his longtime billionaire business partners Marcel Telles and Jorge Paulo Lemann, Carlos Alberto Sicupira is one of the major shareholders of one of the largest beer companies in the world, the Anheuser-Busch InBev. He derives most of his income from his earnings through the positions he has held in the company in many years past. As of this writing, Carlos Alberto Sicupira’s net worth is $10.2 billion.

Prior to becoming a billionaire, Mr. Alberto worked as an investment banker in Brazil. Today, he is the 5^th wealthiest person in Brazil and ranks among the top 200 world billionaires.