Luis Carlos Sarmiento Net Worth, Biography Career and Assets

Luis Carlos Sarmiento Net Worth $12.6 billion

Luis Carlos Sarmiento is listed in the media as Colombia’s richest man. He is also known for being an increasingly controversial figure due to his companies’ involvement in countless corruption and malpractice scandals.

Born and brought up in Bogota in Columbia, he was quite the whizkid with a peculiar talent for calculus, and by the time he was fifteen he allegedly was already doing accounting for an associate of his father.

He finally found success and became a reputed businessman after many years of working tirelessly to realize his dreams. At this moment, Luis Carlos Sarmiento is the president and chief executive officer of Colombia’s Grupo Aval S.A.

He has maintained both positions in the company since 2000. Grupo Aval is a financial holding company that maintains controlling interests in six banks doing business in 13 countries around the world and also in Colombia’s largest pension fund manager.

The company and its subsidiaries manage more than 140 billion dollars and employ more than 70,000 people. Aval is a well-recognized leader in social responsibility.

Prior to heading Grupo Aval, Mr. Luis Sarmiento had been the president of Cocelco (a greenfield telecoms company that he rebuilt and sold to Bell South) and had held many positions at First Bank of the Americas in New York City, including Chief Operation Officer.

He started his professional life at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, where he maintained several positions in finance and marketing. In 2012, he was one of four businessmen chosen by the president of Colombia to organize the Summit of the Americas that took place in Cartagena.

This Summit had 24 Heads of State in attendance, including former US President Barack Obama and more than 100 top executives of companies around the world.

Also by the appointment of the President of Colombia, Luis Carlos Sarmiento currently sits on the Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Defense tasked with overseeing the Country’s military spending.

He is an avid private pilot who donates more than 90 hours of his time every year to Colombia’s Civil Air Patrol flying medical experts to places that lack primary medical facilities in the country.

Early Life: Childhood, Education

Sarmiento was born in Bogotá, Columbia, in 1933 to a well-off family that possessed many estates in the country, particularly in the town of Guayabetal just southeast of the capital. He attended the University of Miami from which he graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering.

Later on, he attended the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University where he earned his MBA.

Professional Life: Entrepreneurial Career

His career in business began during the 1950s when he started building residential and commercial developments in the construction and real estate development businesses. After making his name in the construction industry, Sarmiento initiated an acquisitions operation that has persisted for decades, paying more attention to banks and financial service companies.

By 2000, he was widely acknowledged as the top banking mogul in Columbia, holding roughly 22 percent of the local banking assets, just a little near the maximum allowed by law.

Luis Sarmiento founded Grupo Aval as a holding company to control his banking, telecommunications, and real estate businesses. Four major banks, as well as a number of other financial service corporations, exist as the core of the organization.

He is considered one of the most prudent entrepreneurs in his country, known for his conservative management. This cautious approach helped him in his business and aided his financial empire to survive the worst recession in his country’s history.

In 2000, plans to list Grupo Aval on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) were postponed due to the unfavorable climate for emerging market funds on Wall Street.

Luis Carlos Sarmiento’s net worth increased tremendously from 2005 to 2006, thanks largely to Colombia’s stock market, Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, the second-best performing in the world in 2005. As of 2006, he continues to control Grupo Aval with help from his son Luis Carlos Jr.

Charity Endeavors

Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo who founded Grupo Aval and currently serves as the company’s chair announced a COP80 billion donation to acquire groceries for 400,000 families in need and 300,000 diagnostic tests for Covid-19. He also purchased ventilators in addition to other medical equipment.

Luis Carlos Sarmiento Net Worth: Salary, Income Sources, Assets

Mr. Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores, SA, is the richest person in Colombia. Born in Bogota, D.C., Colombia, he currently has a net worth of $12.6 billion.

His work in real estate development for various kinds of residential and commercial buildings has established him as one of the most successful real estate entrepreneurs in the world.

His acquisition of banks and other properties has resulted in him controlling around 22 percent of Bogotá’s banking assets. His holding company, Grupo Aval, currently controls his numerous interests in telecommunications, real estate, and banking.

Mr. Luis Carlos Sarmiento currently sits on the Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Defense tasked with overseeing the Country’s military spending. He is often mentioned in the media as Colombia’s richest man, thanks to his booming business empire, strengthened by Columbia’s thriving stock market.