Pursuits

Falabella Billionaires Surface With ‘Low Profile’ Fortune

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Alex Cuadros and Eduardo Thomson

January 15, 2013 at 8:28 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

In 1889, the Italian immigrant Salvatore Falabella started a tailor shop in Santiago, Chile. It wasn’t until the 1930s, when he was joined by Alberto Solari, the husband of one of his granddaughters, that the business expanded into women’s clothing and housewares.

Today, with a network of department stores, supermarkets and home-improvement shops that span the Andean region, publicly traded SACI Falabella is Chile’s largest company by market value, generating $11.5 billion in annual sales.