Emilio Botin

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Emilio Botín born in Santander on the North coast of Spain in 1934. In 1986 Emilio Botín, then aged 52, took over from his father as president of the Banco de Santander, one of many banks that existed in Spain at the time. His leadership has been characterized by daring moves which shook the hitherto staid and comfy Spanish banking scene, with the introduction, for instance, of high-interest accounts and low-interest mortgages, to the accompaniment of aggressive advertising campaigns. This came as quite a shock to the old guard of banking, more accustomed to gentlemanly meetings over lunch where they would discuss how to further squeeze the extra peseta out of the long-suffering Spanish bank customer.

Botín was no newcomer to the banking world. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all bankers. Botín, who studied Law and Economics at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, simply recognized that the old ways were not going to work in the new economic environment as Spain joined the mainstream of Europe.

In 1993 his bank absorbed Banco Espagnol de Credito (Banesto), and in 1999 it merged with Banco Central Hispano, creating Banco Santander Central Hispano (BSCH), become Spain's largest bank, of which he was co-president with Central Hispano's José María Amusategui, until Amusategui retired in 2002. In 2004, BSCH acquired Abbey National Bank, making Grupo Santander one of the largest banks in Europe. Botín's daughter, Ana Patricia Botín, is now President of Banesto, and widely viewed as his probable succesor as President.

Botín is married to Paloma O'Shea, a patron of the arts, and they have six children. Botín's favorite pastimes are hunting, fishing and golf. In 2005 Forbes put Emilio Botín's net worth at $1.7 billion.