(Photo: Wikimedia)

Jerónimo Arango Arias, a Mexican businessman and one of the richest men in Mexico, has died at the age of 95 years. His death was confirmed on Monday by the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (Cemefi).

According to Forbe's list in 2019, Jerónimo Arango Arias was the 8th richest man in the country. The businessman had amassed a fortune of more than $4.3 billion.

According to Claudia de la Vega, the Corporate Affairs for Walmart in Mexico and Central America's director, Arango Arias, died from natural causes last Saturday.

He was the brother of Plácido, who had also died in February. Their brother, Manuel, survived arango Arias and Plácido. The three brothers founded the Grupo Cifra. Also, they were the ones who established the Vips, the Suburbia clothing chain, the Superama self-service stores, and the El Portón restaurant chain.

Partnering with Walmart

The success of Bodega Aurrerá in Mexico had led to a partnership with Walmart in 1991, a big-scale self-service business based in the United States of America. It was Walmart's partnership outside the US. The Bodega Aurrerá was established by the three brothers in Mexico in December 1958.

In 1997, the two other brothers sold their interest in the company to Arango Arias.

According to experts, the business grew fast due to the effective low-price strategy. This approach had led to Arango Arias getting a vast fortune from the store.

Business Expansion

Arango Arias had expanded the business multiple times. He had also diversified his product offerings. Arango Arias took advantage of the business' boom by expanding to supermarkets in the country in the 1960s. This decision had led to the establishment of the Superama chain stores.

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Venturing into the Food Industry

After the success of his expansions, Arango Arias later expanded to the food industry. This move led to the launching of the Vips restaurant chains. Currently, there are more than 280 branches of the restaurant chain in Mexico. In 2013, this chain was acquired by Alsea Group.

Keeping a Low Profile and His Love for Art

Arango Arias, together with his two brothers, kept a low profile. They dedicated their lives to philanthropy. Manuel is the president and founder of Cemefi.

On the passing of Jerónimo Arango Arias, Carlos Salazar Lemelin, the Business Coordinating Council's president, stated that Arango Arias had a significant favorable influence on the economy and the society. People close to Arango Arias says that he was a cultured man who appreciated ancient art. He was often seen making donations to the Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias and the Prado Museum.

Among his donated pieces were Spanish artworks and paintings created in the 16th to the 19th century. He collected the works of El Greco and Goya, Zubarán. He made a significant donation of the first edition of El Greco's 'Caprichos' in 1991.