He died of old age after burning all his money on fun, basically. He once said that he lost all his money because he thought he’d last about 70 years but he only died at 88.
In fact, he was no longer a billionaire after his family lost the concession of the Port of Santos in 1972. He was still very rich for years, but no longer had a steady source of income.
In his final years, after selling everything he had, he lived for free - as a favor - in Copacabana Palace, a famous luxury hotel formerly owned by his family. He got a very small pension from the government and would work as a tourist guide and sometimes appear in advertisements.
I know people who knew him and told me he would happily pay for other people’s bills in restaurants and nightclubs and do things like send trucks full of flowers to women he was interested in.
He had no regrets though. His life was well lived, he studied philosophy in Paris, dated famous actresses in Hollywood (including Marilyn Monroe and Rita Hayworth), met and befriended his favorite jazz musicians, who he’d fly to Rio to attend his parties.
Not only that, he had a semi-official role during and after WWII as a liaison between the United States and Brazil. He was asked by Nelson Rockefeller, working for the US government, to help influence Brazil towards the American side and away from the influence of the nazis.
Meanwhile, he’d also work for the Brazilian government spreading the word in the US about Brazil and Rio de Janeiro. He’d advise Hollywood studios about Brazil, fixing scripts that mentioned the country and so on. He was room mates with Errol Flynn and partied with Orson Welles, Howard Hughes and Ronald Reagan.
A fascinating character. People say he was a genuinely nice, interesting, sensitive person, not just a flashy playboy. They don’t make playboys like that anymore.
Written by Eduardo Morais in Quora. Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.
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