Werthein family

The Wertheins are an important family of entrepreneurs in Argentina.

The Werthein family, headed by Leon Werthein, his wife Raquel and five of their children emigrated to Argentina from Bessarabia in 1904, and settled in rural Miguel Riglos, La Pampa Province.

Agriculture

Three of Leon Werthein's sons; Gregorio, Numo and Noel (1911–2002), started a company in 1928 dedicated to manage agribusiness, and have maintained farming interests in Argentina ever since. Gregorio, Numo y Noel Werthein SA was founded in 1959 and includes extensive agricultural and fruit processing holdings. Its agricultural holdings include over 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of land and over 45,000 cattle, distributed in the Provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe and San Luis. They produce wheat, corn, sunflowers, soybeans, cotton, popcorn, candy, sunflower oil, black beans, red beans, and beef as well as a Ranch division that specializes in developing high-quality genetics in the following breeds of cattle: Angus and Hereford (south), Brangus and Braford (North). The fruit area produces apples, pears, peaches, apricots, strawberries and plums in dried form and as a fruit juice concentrate.

Banking and services

Julio Werthein (born April 7, 1918) has been involved in the Argentine banking sector since 1940.[1]

Banco Mercantil Argentino

In 1963 Julio Werthein and his brothers established the Banco Mercantil Argentino. This bank was founded on September 18, 1928 as Banco Israelita Argentino SA, and renamed as Banco Mercantil Argentino SA on October 4, 1940. In 1998, the Banco Mercantil Argentino, with Banco Caja de Ahorro (Savings Bank), merged. In 2000, Banco SUDAMERIS Argentina acquired the Banco Caja de Ahorro, and after several subsequent mergers and organizational reforms, the Banco Mercantil is now the new Banco Patagonia,[2] though the Werthein family no longer holds shares therein.[3]

In 1995, the Fundacion Banco Mercantil Argentino was established for the support of music, literature and fine arts.[4]

Los W SA

Numerous holdings of the Wertheins are managed under Los W SA aegis. [5]

Caja de Ahorro y Seguro - Insurances

The Caja de Ahorro y Seguro and its subsidiaries is one of the largest insurance companies in Argentina. President: Adrian Werthein (born on January 18, 1952).[6]

Telecom Argentina

The Wertheins acquired 48 percent of Sofora Telecomunicaciones SA in 2005 for 125 million euros from France Telecom, which in turn holds a 68% stake in Nortel Inversora SA, as well as 55% stake in Telecom Argentina.[7]

Other holdings

Los W Group is a private holding company that owns and manages a well-diversified portfolio of companies in Argentina, with total revenues of approx. US$4,2 Bn and 21.500 employees. During the last century, the Group has successfully invested in agribusiness, telecommunications, financial services, gas and energy distribution, oil & gas, textile, vineyards and real estate. Los W has become a very prestigious and well-known group within the business community as a consequence of its strong local presence, excellent track-record, experience in several industries, and a persistent low profile. The Group strongly believes in its successful strategy based on the combination of international first tier institutional investors or a strategic player in partnership with a local prestigious and experienced group (i.e. Leucadia and Generali in Caja de Ahorro y Seguro; Telecom Italia in Telecom Argentina and Standard Bank in Standard Bank Argentina).

Family Business History

Leon Werthein emigrated from Russia in 1904 and came to Argentina, following difficult times in that empire, especially for Jewish people. The family settled in the countryside and started out a living from scratch, and fifty years later moved to the city to provide for the education of the children and the growth of the business. It is important to note that the growth of the family lead to two different processes of family separation. The first one was in 1973 and the second one in 1992. The descendants of Noel Werthein plus one cousin constitute what today is the W Group, heirs of the original family business.

Members of Werthein family

worked for the foundation Casa Argentina en Israel [8]

Martha Werthein Jorge Werthein

Noel Werthein (ca. 1911) - agriculture and bank manager

References

  1. ↑ InfoBae (in Spanish)
  2. ↑ Banco Patagonia
  3. ↑ Banco Patagonia: Relación con inversores (in Spanish)
  4. ↑ BNM
  5. ↑ Linkedin
  6. ↑ Forbes: People
  7. ↑ El Correo (in Spanish)
  8. ↑ Casa Argentina
  9. ↑ Ana Lia Werthein
  10. ↑ InfoBae
  11. ↑ InfoBae (in Spanish)
  12. ↑ La Nación (in Spanish)
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