Samuel Klein (businessman)
| Samuel Klein | |
|---|---|
| Born |
15 November 1923 Zaklików, Poland |
| Died | 20 November 2014 (aged 91) São Paulo, Brazil |
| Residence | São Paulo |
| Citizenship | Brazilian |
| Years active | 1952–2014 |
| Known for | Founding Casas Bahia, philanthropy |
| Net worth |
 US$ 835 million (2013) |
| Website | Official website |
Samuel Klein (15 November 1923 – 20 November 2014) was a Polish-Brazilian business magnate and philanthropist who founded the Casas Bahia chain of department stores in Brazil, building them into the top retailer in the country. This along with his tendency to use massive warehouses for his goods, including the largest single warehouse in South America, led him to be known in the 1990s as the "Sam Walton of Brazil".
Through Casas Bahia, Klein's family became one of the wealthiest families in Brazil. In 2013, Forbes ranked him 78th richest person in Brazil with a personal net worth of $835 million, while his son, Michael, was ranked 87th with $723 million.
Klein was born in Zaklików, the third of nine children. At 19, Klein worked as a joiner at the time of the Nazi German invasion of Poland in World War II, when he was taken to the Maidanek concentration camp along with his father. His mother and five younger siblings were sent to the extermination camp of Treblinka. He was later transported to Auschwitz in 1944. He escaped from the soldiers on 22 July 1944; in his own words, "I didn't know where I was going, but I was certain to get far from the group." He spent the night in the fields, where some Christian Poles, also fugitives, helped him flee. He managed to return to his old house, which was ruined, and worked on a small farm in the area in exchange for food.
After the war, he met his sister Sezia (Esther) and brother Solomon (who live today in New York City). The Klein brothers went to Germany, and were able to find their father alive. Klein lived in Munich until 1951, where he met Chana, his future wife.
...
Wikipedia