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A Banker's Journey: How Edmond J. Safra Built a Global Financial Empire

Daniel Gross
August 30, 2022

 Who was Edmond J. Safra? “The greatest banker of his generation,” in the estimation of a former World Bank President. The founder of four massive financial institutions on three continents, and a proud child of Beirut’s Jewish quarter. An innovative avatar of financial globalization, and a faithful heir to a tradition of old-world banking. The leading champion and protector of the Sephardic diaspora. In A Banker’s Journey, financial journalist and historian Daniel Gross, who, like Safra, traces his heritage to Aleppo, Syria, reconstructs the public life of an intensely private man. With exclusive access to Safra’s personal archives, Gross tracks the banker’s remarkable journey from Beirut to Milan, São Paulo, Geneva, and New York—to the pinnacle of global finance.Edmond Safra was fifteen in 1947, when his father sent him to establish a presence in Milan, Italy. Fluent in six languages, and with an eye for value, managing risk, and personal potential, Safra was in perpetual motion until his tragic death in 1999. The modern, global financial empire he built was based on timeless principles: a banker must protect his depositors and avoid excessive leverage and risk. In an age of busts and bailouts, Safra posted remarkable returns while rarely suffering a credit loss.From a young age, Safra assumed the mantle of leadership in the Syrian-Lebanese Jewish community, providing personal aid, supporting the communities that formed in exile, and championing Sephardic religious and educational efforts in Israel and around the world. Edmond J. Safra’s life of achievement in the twentieth century offers enduring lessons for those seeking to make their way in the twenty-first century. He inspired generations to make the world a better place.

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Rendors (6)

2
TIME 100: Most Influential People
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Forbes World's Most Powerful People
1
Fortune 500 CEO
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Pulitzer Prize Winners
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Unicorn CEO/Founder
Founder of Bloomberg
Unicorn CEO/Founder
Forbes World's Most Powerful People
TIME 100: Most Influential People

Edmond Safra's extraordinary life is one of the most fascinating stories in modern finance, but the story runs much deeper than his legendary success. A Banker's Journey captures the fullness of a man whose mind for business and appetite for adventure was matched only by his heart for giving and sense of responsibility to others. His impact continues to be felt, and now the inspiring lessons from his life will reach an even wider audience.

Ceo of KKR
Fortune 500 CEO

Edmond Safra was a giant in the world of international finance. He was a true financial pioneer, and learning from him helped guide me as I was building my career. There is a lot to learn from reading his biography for anyone interested in finance, whether you are just starting out, or steeped in the profession.

Actor, film producer
TIME 100: Most Influential People

Most readers will know Edmond J. Safra as a towering banker who helped define the modern economic era. Daniel Gross’s vibrant account will make them aware of Safra’s open-handed humanitarian instinct that stood in equal measure to his financial genius—an instinct that continues ‘repairing the world’ to this day. His legacy of a deep and boundless commitment to family, faith and generosity holds timeless lessons for us all, no matter what journey we find ourselves on. Absorbing, highly-recommended reading.

Author
Pulitzer Prize Winners

Daniel Gross’s graceful and factual recounting of the life of the great banker and philanthropist Edmond Safra is a joy to read, and inspiring.

Upon meeting Edmond Safra for the first time fifty years ago I was immediately struck by his complete and total dedication to the safety and security of his bank’s depositors and also by his deep and sincere admiration of America as a land of opportunity. Although many consider him to have been the greatest banker of the 20th century, he never lost his sense of modesty nor his belief that success must be built upon trustworthiness and compassion. This is a book that must be read.

Author

Edmond J. Safra’s remarkable story comes alive through the extensive research of Daniel Gross. Safra’s banking success made him a public figure, but his generosity, dignity, and integrity are what A Banker’s Journey masterfully showcases as the qualities by which he will be remembered.

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