Iris Fontbona Net Worth, Career, Achievements and Personal Life

Iris Fontbona Net Worth  $14 Billion

In this article, we will be sharing the life and success story of Iris Fontbona, who can easily be recognized as one of the richest people in South America, and the richest woman in Chile.

It may be easy for anyone to inherit money, but sustaining it and making it grow is where the real challenge lies. After her husband passed away, Mrs. Fontbona inherited the Luksic Group and succeeded in taking it to new heights of success.

Today, through having control over the second-biggest bank in Chile, the second-largest shipping company in Chile, the biggest copper mines, and the largest brewer in the world, she comes off as one of the world’s most powerful women.

With a net worth that’s running into several billions of dollars, nothing seems to be stopping this courageous woman and her success is perhaps the ultimate woman power at its best. More details follow below.

Early Life & Career

She was born in Santiago, Chile, on the 8^th of January 1942. She attended a Catholic high school in the country.

Iris Fontbona is currently the leader of the successful Luksic group. She is the widow of Andronico Luksic, who founded the Luksic Group and made a fortune in mining, beverages, and many other industries, and unfortunately died in 2005 due to cancer.

The Luksic Group includes Minera Los Pelambres, Minera El Tesoro, Minera Michilla, and the Antofagasta PLC. After his death, his business was handed over to his wife and 3 sons, Jean-Paul, Andronico, and Guillermo.

Iris and her sons control Antofagasta PLC, which trades on London Stock Exchange and owns Chilean copper mines.

The family holds a majority interest in Quinenco too, a publicly-traded establishment in Chile, active in transportation, port services, beer, energy, banking, and manufacturing. They also own two hotel chains in Croatia, Laguna Porec, and Adriatic Luxury Resorts.

While Jean Paul chairs Antofagasta, Andronico serves as the head of its finance department and also occupies the position of chairman of Quinenco.

Guillermo was in charge of their interest in the Compania Cervecerias Unidas, as well as the Compania Sudamericana de Vapores until he died of lung cancer in the year 2013 at the age of 57.

Compania Sudamericana de Vapores is the biggest shipping company in Latin America and Compania Cervecerias Unidas is the biggest brewery in Chile. Quinenco is a beverage maker and packaging company, in which Iris and her children hold a majority stake.

This businesswoman also has interests in the Banco de Chile, along with a number of businesses in transportation and energy services.

Antofagasta PLC is operational in diverse sectors of the Chilean economy, with participation in Tethyan of Australia, railroad to Bolivia from Antofagasta, Antofagasta Minerals, Aguas Antofagasta of Chile, and several other investments around the world.

The company constitutes FTSE 100 Index and is listed on London Stock Exchange, with a market capitalization of around 12.1 billion Pound Sterling to make it the 33rd largest company on the London Stock Exchange.

At the present time, Antofagasta is a primary copper producer in the world, boasting numerous business activities mainly concentrated in Chile.

The company operates 4 copper mines in the country, located in Tesoro, Esperanza, Michilla, and Pelambres. Antofagasta Minerals specializes in exploring minerals in Chile and Peru. It also runs an extensive network of railways in Chile, centered in Antofagasta port.

Philanthropy

According to Forbes magazine, Iris Fontbona is one of the richest individuals in Chile. She is respected for her philanthropic works and has been hailed as a national icon for her honorable contributions to various causes.

In 2015, she donated a record $3.9 million to the annual Chilean Telethon, a program that aims at helping children with physical disabilities. She also appeared on television for a telethon, and also in front of a live audience.

The following year, she made another donation of approximately $5.5 million to the charity event, setting another record for funds raised.

Personal Life: Family, Husband, Children

When she was 17 years old, Fontbona met Andrónico Luksic Abaroa, a businessman who was 15 years older than her.

They were together for three years before she married him. Prior to marrying her, Luksic was married to Patricia Lederer, with whom he had had five children.

She spends her time in three primary residences, including Liechtenstein, Belgravia in London, and Vitacura, Santiago, Chile.

Her beliefs in the Roman Catholic doctrines are still maintained to this day and prefers to maintain a quiet lifestyle whereby she keeps a low profile and does not grant interviews.

Iris Fontbona Net Worth: Salary, Assets, Income Sources

Ms. Iris Fontbona has a net worth of 14 billion dollars. She is a highly influential and powerful Chilean businesswoman whose wealth has been made through her marriage to Chilean tycoon Andronico Luksic who later died and left his vast empire to his wife and their three children.

Fontbona, who has always been passionate about maintaining her privacy, first came into the limelight when she married her late husband, at the time when she was 20 years old and he was 15 years older than her.

She then became the majority stockholder when her husband passed away, and her inheritance made her a multi-billionaire.

She currently controls Antofagasta, the ninth-largest copper producer in the world, through her 65 percent ownership in the company.

Together with her children, this businesswoman owns 81 percent of Quinenco and the hotel and resort chain Playa Laguna.

The family is also invested in Canal 13 television network, as well as numerous other ventures including brewer CCU, shipping company CSAV, copper product maker Madeco, and Banco de Chile, all of which significantly contribute to Iris Fontbona’s net worth and continues to keep her at the top of the charts along with other billionaires in the world.