Eduardo Eurnekian Biography & Net Worth 

Considered to be one of the most successful and richest Latin American businessmen, Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian, born on December 4, 1932, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is an owner of a long list of thriving companies and establishments that have worked on infrastructure, banking, agriculture, energy, and trade retail. His family migrated from Armenia to Argentina and were directly involved in textile manufacturing. Through time, the family became one of the most recommended suppliers of many international sporting apparel company like Puma. Today, Mr. Eurnekian owns a business empire that worth billions of dollars. He has interests in media as well, and is a majority owner of a group that operates around 76 airports worldwide, most of which are found in South America and Armenia. Mr. Eurnekian currently leads the America Corporation. He is, as of this writing, the fifth-wealthiest person in Argentina.

Early Life

The businessman was born to Armenian immigrant parents in 1932 in Argentina. The members of his family established a textile manufacturing business which prospered with the Argentine economy and went on to be known as a very important supplier of merchandise to international sporting apparel firms. The family’s business, like many Argentine textile manufacturers, nearly collapsed in 1981 after Argentina’s Economy Minister José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz’s round of free trade and policies exposed the real value of the business.

Professional Life: Business Career

In 1988, Eduardo Eurnekian purchased a then failing local cable television station “Cablevisión S.A”. His investment became lucrative in the years that followed and soon became Argentina’s second-largest cable operator. In 1994, he sold half of his shares in Cablevision S.A. to Tele-Communications Inc. for 350 million dollars. Three years later, he netted 320 million dollars by selling most of his remaining shares in the company to local investment company CEI Citicorp Holdings SA.

The business tycoon held controlling interest in “América TV” as well, in addition to four radio stations and a Buenos Aires financial publisher, El Cronista.

In 1998, a consortium led by Mr. Eduardo known as “Aeropuertos Argentina 2000″ won a 30-year concession to run 33 of the main airports in Argentina. He also invested in a regional airline company, LAPA.

On 17 December 2001, Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian’s company, Corporación América, signed a 30-year concession agreement with the government of Armenia for the management and operation of Armenia’s largest airport Zvartnots International Airport. In a project that cost more than 50 million dollars, the company launched the construction of a new terminal and ensure that the airport was brought into conformity with international standards.

Eduardo Eurnekian set up a joint venture with a local company with the plans to invest millions of dollars into the agribusiness sector of Armenia. Since the 1990s, he has built an almost $1 billion media empire and is now the majority owner of an investment group operating 76 airports worldwide. He also owns around 2,000 square kilometers of land and food processing facilities in northern Armenia.

Achievements

Eduardo Eurnekian, the chairman of Corporacion America, was the first vice-president of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce. He is the chairman of the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation and a member-elect of the executive board of the ICC.

In 1995, he won the Businessman of the Year award in Argentina. He was recognized with a Leonardo Award in Italy in the year 1999 and was named Man of the Year by the Armenian General Benevolent Union in 2010. In 2011, he became a Knight of Holy Etchmiadzin in Armenia. The following year, he bagged a Business for Peace Award, presented by the Oslo Business for Peace Foundation. That same year, Latin Chambers of Commerce and Industry crowned him Businessman of the Year. His stellar performances for that year did not stop at that point, as he also won Businessman of the Year – Services Category in Argentina and the Argentine Businessmen Association’s Certificate of Appreciation.

Personal Life

Currently approaching 90 years of age, the businessman Eduardo Eurnekian is single, and has no children. His “chosen successor” is reportedly his nephew Martin Eurnekian.

He resides in Buenos Aires in Argentina, and despite his age and declining health, he remains committed to his job and tries to take care of his businesses to the best of his capability.

Eduardo Eurnekian Net Worth

Mr. Eduardo Eurnekian’s net worth is pegged at $2 billion dollars as of this writing. Taking his first steps in business in the family-established textile establishments which found success by working with several international brands, Eduardo diversified his interests into media and transportation. He turned Cablevisión S.A into one of the largest television operators in Argentina and also controlled América TV as well as four radio stations, with all of these investments contributing to his finances over time. His company, Corporación América, has become a global/multi-business holding conglomerate that comprises industries such as agro-industries, financial services, infrastructure, energy, and airports and cargo terminals.