David Vélez, owner of Nubank, is no longer the richest man in Colombia

According to the most recent Forbes ranking of the world's wealthiest businessmen, David Vélez, founder of Nubank, is no longer the Colombian with the greatest wealth.

According to the list, Vélez's fortune currently stands at 9.4 billion dollars, registering a reduction of 18.7 percent due to constant fluctuations in the international market.

In contrast, Colombian banker Jaime Gilinski managed to displace Vélez and has consolidated his wealth, estimated at 10.7 billion dollars, thanks to the acquisition of Grupo Nutresa in 2021 , which positioned him as the seventh richest man in Latin America.

According to financial analyst Diego Palencia, quoted by Bloomberg, Nu faces significant challenges in stabilizing its growth. “Interest rates are not compensating for either deposits or placements. It is a new entity that has not yet achieved the solvency balance necessary to sustain its growth ,” he explained.

Gilinski came to this position after the millionaire became the president and legal representative of Grupo Nutresa at the end of January, the conglomerate of 60 brands and sales of more than 13 billion pesos, which he bought in recent years together with his partner Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, from Abu Dhabi, for more than 3 billion dollars.

That purchase became one of the most significant business moves of the last decade in Colombia.

In addition to this business, Gilinski has other investments such as real estate; he is the person with the most properties in Indian Creek - the island in Miami; in the cocoa industry he has committed to make purchases for 1.5 billion pesos from cooperatives and associations of peasant producers during the next 10 years; and on the other hand, he is the main shareholder of the bank GNB Sudameris, which operates in Colombia, Peru and Paraguay.

In addition, in October 2023, it became the majority shareholder of the British bank Metro (with a stake of around 53 percent) and joined its board of directors after injecting 124.6 million dollars into it.

At a regional level, Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim maintains his position as the richest man in Latin America, with a fortune estimated at 81 billion dollars. His wealth comes mainly from the telecommunications sector , with América Móvil (Claro), as well as other strategic investments in various sectors.

In second place is Brazilian and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, with a net worth of $37.3 billion. Meanwhile, Chilean Iris Fontbona and her family are in third place with $27.6 billion, due to their investment in the raw materials sector.

Other notable businessmen on the list include Germán Larrea (Mexico) with 27.4 billion dollars and Vicky Safra, with a fortune of 20.6 billion dollars. In lower positions, but within the top 11, are Jorge Paulo Lemann (14.4 billion dollars), Marcos Galperín (8.9 billion dollars) and Carlos Sicupira (8.8 billion dollars).