Joseph Y. Safra, the head of Swiss-Brazilian private bank J. Safra Sarasin, has died. He was 82.

Born in Lebanon in 1938, Joseph Y. Safra was one of Switzerland's best-known bankers, despite or perhaps because of his distinguished yet modest appearance. He was head of J. Safra Group, the holding company that was mostly a private banking group.

Safra was born the youngest of nine children to a Sephardic Jewish family whose origin can be traced back to Aleppo in Syria. His father Jacob in 1929 founded Jacob E. Safra Bank in Beirut. In the fifties, the family left the country and eventually settled in Brazil.

Taking Control At Family Bank

After the death of their father in 1963, Joseph and his brother Moise bought their other brother's stake in the Brazil-based business and acquired Banco Jacob Safra, which became Banco Safra in 1972.

Joseph Safra became a familiar name in Switzerland when he bought the Sarasin private bank from Holland's Rabobank in July 2012. The discrete bank based in Basel became what was known as Bank J. Safra Sarasin.

The Owner of «Gherkin»

With his holding, Joseph Safra also bought the famous Swiss Re Tower in London – Norman Foster's «The Gherkin». With Chinese investor Zhang Xin, he invested in the General Motors Building in New York.

Apart from his interests in banking and real estate, Joseph Safra also acquired a reputation as a major trader of bananas. He teamed up with a rival holding to buy a majority in Chiquita, the world's best-known banana brand.

Petrobras, Panama Papers, Madoff

Like so many other of his banker colleagues of the era, Joseph Safra was mentioned in the context of various shady business deals. These included the Petrobras case, the Panama Papers, and the Madoff scandal.

But they all couldn't dent the reputation of the distinguished gentleman banker.

Safra's private bank underwent a number of changes in 2019. Juerg Haller, who spent 35 years of his career at UBS, became chairman last September. Four weeks later, the bank appointed Daniel Belfer, a 45-year-old Brazilian banker, as CEO.

One of the Richest Families

Joseph Safra's family owns about $20 billion and retains a far-reaching network of business interests. The group, which manages some 185 billion Swiss francs ($208 billion) in assets under management and employs 2,200 staff, remains under the control of his sons and further members of the family.

Safra was known for his generosity towards numerous causes. He was a great philanthropist and an arts lover.

Joseph Safra was married to Vicky Sarfaty, with whom he had 4 children and 14 grandchildren. He died on Thursday of natural causes.