María Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat
| María Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 15 August 1921 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Died | 18 February 2012 (aged 90) Buenos Aires |
| Residence | New York City and Buenos Aires |
| Occupation | Art collector and Businessperson |
| Net worth |
 US$2.0 billion (2012) |
| Spouse(s) | Hernán de Lafuente (1942–43) Alfredo Fortabat (1947–76) |
| Children | Inés de Lafuente |
María Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat (August 15, 1921 – February 18, 2012) was an Argentine executive and philanthropist.
María Amalia Sara Lacroze Reyes Oribe de Fortabat Pourtale was born in 1921 to Amalia Reyes and Daniel Lacroze, members of prominent Argentine families; a grandfather, Federico Lacroze, developed Buenos Aires' first tramway line, in the 1880s. Her mother’s family descended from Uruguay’s second president, Manuel Oribe. She was raised in Paris and in 1942, having returned to Argentina, married Hernán de Lafuente, with whom she had a daughter, María Inés. The marriage, however, ended in separation in 1943.
Amalia (as she was known) had met Alfredo Fortabat, a divorced industrialist, during a Teatro Colón function, and the two began a relationship. Planning to wed, they were impeded by Argentina's then-conservative nuptial laws, which precluded separated couples from remarrying. The marriage, which ultimately took place in neighboring Uruguay in 1947, became recognized in Argentina following a reform signed into law by President Juan Perón, in 1951. The two enjoyed a close marriage, and Mrs. Fortabat's gregariousness and knowledge of four foreign languages made her a timely traveling companion in the industrialist's frequent business trips abroad; the marriage did suffer from a number of publicized infidelities, however.
Founded by Alfredo Fortabat in 1926, Loma Negra became the leader in cement and concrete production in Argentina during the 1950s and '60s. The death of her husband in 1976 left Mrs. Fortabat as the company's nearly sole owner, President and Chairperson.
Loma Negra enhanced its market leadership position in subsequent years by the opening of an important, new facilities and the acquisition of a chief competitor, Cementos San Martín S.A. The business was enhanced further by her purchase of 65% in Ferrosur Roca, a state-owned freight and passenger railway that became Loma Negra's in-house transport service when Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo had it privatized in 1992. That year, Fortabat broke ground on the group's new headquarters in the Catalinas Norte office park, in downtown Buenos Aires.
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