Brazilian banker Joseph Safra was one of the wealthiest people in the world when he died in December of 2020. He was the richest person in Brazil. Upon his death, Joseph left his four children stakes in the family business valued at about $14 billion. But all is not well in the Safra banking empire. Roughly two years after his passing, one of Joseph’s sons is suing his mother and two brothers for deliberately diluting his stake in Safra Group, the holding company that owns the family’s Safra National Bank.
Alberto Safra has filed suit in New York against mother Vicky Safra and brothers Jacob and David Safra, for colluding against him and forcing him out of the family business. Alberto also released a press statement explaining why he’s taken the unusual step of suing his own family over alleged corporate misconduct:
“Due to illegal and aggressive acts committed by his brothers, Alberto Safra had no choice but to file a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of New York to protect his rights.”
Alberto’s lawsuit is only the latest salvo in a schism in the Safra family that goes much further back than Joseph’s death. That schism came to a head in late 2019, when Alberto left the Banco Safra board of directors following “a dispute” with brother and fellow board member David Safra, going on to start his own rival firm.
The Late Joseph Safra (PASCAL GUYOT/AFP via Getty Images)
Alberto’s lawsuit accuses his family of taking advantage of their father’s diminished mental capacity near the end of his life, making changes in his will to cut down his stake in the company from 28 percent to less than half that. Per the lawsuit:
“The Family Defendants kept secret from Alberto that they had hired [the doctor treating Joseph], depriving Alberto of the opportunity to have a doctor of his choosing examine Joseph or otherwise assess Joseph’s mental condition or capacity.”
In a press statement of its own, The Safra Group also disputes Alberto’s characterization of his exit from the company board:
“Joseph Safra himself specifically took these actions related to Alberto Safra of his own volition well over a year before Joseph Safra passed away…To assert otherwise is incorrect.”
Alberto wants 14.5 percent of the family fortune, but even the value of the company is subject to dispute. The lawsuit alleges that the company is worth more than $9 billion, while a spokesperson for Safra Group tells the Daily Mail that the company’s total equity value is closer to $1 billion.
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