Billionaire philanthropist and socialite Lily Safra dead at 87

Billionaire philanthropist Lily Safra died Saturday in Geneva, based on Brazilian press stories.

The reason for loss of life for the Brazilian-born New York socialite, 87, who owned sprawling houses all over the world, together with a $600 million property within the South of France, was not reported. She is scheduled to be buried Monday in a household plot in Geneva.

Lily is the widow of banker Edmond Safra, her fourth husband, who died in a mysterious fireplace at his penthouse in Monaco in 1999.

Lily Safra dead at 87
Lily Safra at house in La Leopolda, France, in 1991.
Getty Pictures
Camilla Parker Bowles with Elton John and Mrs Lily Safra at a charity fundraising event in aid of Ark (Absolute Return for Kids) at Somerset House, London on July 11th, 2002 (Photo by Anwar Hussein/WireImage)
Elton John, Camilla Parker Bowles and Lily Safra in London in 2002.
WireImage

Edmond Safra, the scion of a storied Lebanese banking household, owned the Commerce Growth Financial institution and New York’s Republic Nationwide Financial institution, which was offered to HSBC shortly earlier than his loss of life. On the time, Lily Safra inherited greater than $4 billion.

Born in southern Brazil in 1934, Lily turned a fixture on the New York social scene after her marriage to Edmond in 1976. The couple have been main artwork collectors, with Lily spending $103.4 million on a sculpture by Alberto Giacometti, a file for the sculptor.

The couple owned storied properties on Fifth Avenue, Monaco and in France, the place they usually entertained on the Villa Leopolda property that was as soon as owned by Belgian King Leopold and is likely one of the most costly residential properties on the earth.

Earlier than she married Edmond, Lily was married to an Argentine businessman and Brazilian equipment magnate Alfredo Monteverde, who died in a suicide in Rio de Janeiro in 1969, capturing himself twice within the chest, based on a police report.

An unauthorized biography of Lily Safra written by this reporter was blocked by a court docket in Brazil in 2013.

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