Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo was born on 27 January 1933, in Bogota, Columbia, and is famous for being a self-made billionaire who now controls a sizeable percentage of banking in Colombia. Luis Carlos is ranked by Forbes magazine in 2015 as the richest person in Columbia, and the 82nd richest person in the world.
So just how rich is Luis Carlos Sarmiento? Forbes estimates that Luis Carlos’ net worth is almost $13 billion, his wealth having been made initially in the construction industry, and latterly invested in banking.
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Luis Carlos Sarmiento Net Worth $13 Billion
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Luis Carlos Sarmiento was graduated in 1955 from the National University of Columbia with a degree in civil engineering. His working career began during the 1950s, building residential and commercial developments. After making his name in the construction business, Sarmiento founded Grupo Aval as a holding company, and set about accumulating banking, telecommunications, and real estate interests. Beginning in 1980, Sarmiento bought shares of Bank of Bogota, a process which ended in 1988 when he controlled more than half of the bank. In 1996, he acquired the Popular Bank, and in 1998-99 Sarmiento acquired several Colombian corporations. Sarmiento then integrated the businesses into Corficolombiana, and taking advantage of the semi-privatization of the social security system in Colombia, he founded Porvenir, the largest pension fund in Colombia, which controls 22% of shares.
In 2010 Luis Carlos acquired Bac – Credomatic, the largest Central American financial Group, and today the Samiento’s Aval Group controls four major banks, as well as other financial service corporations, which form the backbone of the organization: Bogota, Occidente, Popular and AV Villas, Corficolombiana.
Luis Carlos Sarmiento is considered one of Colombia’s most prudent entrepreneurs, known for his conservative management techniques. This cautious approach helped his financial empire ride the storm generated by the worst recession in Colombia’s history. For example, in 2000, plans to list Grupo Aval on the New York Stock Exchange were postponed due to Wall Street’s unfavorable climate for emerging market funds. Sarmiento’s net worth increased significantly between 2005 and 2006, thanks largely to Colombia’s bull stock market, Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, the world’s second best performing in 2005. Since 2006, he has run Grupo Aval with help from son Luis Carlos Jr., whom he is grooming to eventually take over the family empire.
Luis Carlos’ latest acquisition is the media company Casa EditoriL Tempo, which controls Portafolio newspapers, including Clombian El Tiempo, in 2012, and has announced a deal to build a Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bogota. Now nearly 47,000 people work in Colombia in some company of Aval, and 15,000 in other countries. It is estimated that the group has built about 40,000 houses.
It is very easy to see where Luis Carlos Sarmiento has accumulated his net worth over the last 50 years, all self-made.
In his personal life, Luis Carlos Sarmiento married Fanny Gutiérrez de las Casas in 1955, and they have five children.
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