“Last year, the value of the company was enormous. One day, you wake up and think: Wow, what do we do with these shares? It’s a lot of money. We don’t need it, we don’t have a life of luxuries.”
The report is by David Vélez, 40, about the concerns about joining the list of billionaires in the new economy, as a founding partner of Nubank, a fintech of digital financial services.
An awakening marked by grandiose bids in 2021. On December 8, the unicorn founded by the Colombian in 2013 debuted on the New York Stock Exchange with a value of US$ 41.5 billion.
The IPO, public sale of shares, made the Brazilian digital bank the most valuable in Latin America, ahead of giants such as Itaú and Bradesco.
According to Vélez, it seemed an absurd ambition to build a bank from scratch in Brazil, after fighting with the manager of a branch of a traditional institution in Faria Lima. “It seemed impossible to have more competitors among financial agents and include millions of people in this sector.”
He decided to undertake, leaving a successful career as an executive. “We are in the eighth to the ninth year of Nubank’s history. The growth was much faster than we imagined. Nobody expected to reach almost 50 million customers”, says Vélez.
Five months before the IPO, on August 11, 2021, he and his wife, Peruvian economist Mariel Reyes, 41, had joined The Giving Pledge, spearheaded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.
Thus, they became signatories of a pact, already signed by 231 billionaires from 28 countries since 2010, to allocate at least half of their fortunes to social causes throughout their lives.
The same public commitment made in 2014 by Elie Horn, 77, founder of Cyrela, and his wife, Susy, 66, who pledged to donate 60% of an estate valued at US$ 1.3 billion.
“It’s the test that God is putting on us. What to do with it? Stocks went up 30 times overnight”, says Horn, about the IPO process in 2005, which raised the value of the builder and developer by 480%, reaching R$ 5.6 billion.
The two businessmen and their wives gathered in a virtual chat “Philanthropy as a Choice of Life”, 3rd edition of the Dialogues of the Bem Maior Movement to inspire other Brazilian billionaires.
THE sheet had exclusive access to the conversation mediated by social entrepreneur Monique Evelle. The video will be available on the movement’s Youtube channel from 11 am this Tuesday (29).
Over the course of 50 minutes, the two pioneering couples talk about the values and desires that drive them on this journey to create more social impact as a result of the entrepreneurial success they have achieved.
“After reading many books by philanthropists, we came to the conclusion that it was a responsibility and also an opportunity to be strategic in the use of this money, and to spend it in the best way in the next five decades”, explains Vélez.
An inspiration was the biography “The Billionaire Who Wasn’t”, which narrates the trajectory of Chuck Feeney, co-founder of the Duty Free Shoppers Group.
The American created a foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, to which he donated his entire fortune, estimated at US$ 8 billion.
“He’s fantastic,” says Horn, who heard the philanthropist speak at a Giving Pledge meeting in San Francisco. “This gentleman is an example to us all.”
“The impact he created is unbelievable. I read the book and thought: this is the life I want to live”, says the Colombian. “Feeney spent all the money he earned on hospitals and universities in the US, Ireland and Vietnam. A big influence to give in life and get started fast.”
To embark on this path, Vélez and his wife are creating a family philanthropic platform, in the team and strategy building phase, focused on creating opportunities for vulnerable and disadvantaged Latin American children and youth.
A former World Bank employee, Mariel is the founder and CEO of {reprograma}, a Brazil-based social startup that trains marginalized women in programming and supports them in entering the technology market.
The Horns, on the other hand, invest in causes such as combating sexual violence against children and adolescents and strengthening the culture of giving in Brazil, via Instituto Liberta and Movimento Bem Maior, initiatives created after joining the Giving Pledge.
In addition to having in common the fact that they are immigrants who made their fortunes in Brazil, they all come from families with a tradition of philanthropy.
“When he died, my father had little, but he donated 100% to charity. He was the best mentor I had in my life. He taught me the way forward,” says Elie, a Syrian-born Jew who arrived in São Paulo as a baby.
Mariel says her grandparents were Methodist missionaries who worked with refugees. They lived in Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba.
“My parents always gave importance to social conscience. We are in the world to leave a mark and help those who didn’t have the opportunity”, says the Peruvian. “Later, I met this wonderful Colombian who shares this value of giving back.”
Raised in Costa Rica, where his family moved when he was 8 years old, fleeing violence in Colombia in the late 1980s, Vélez says his vision of social responsibility comes from birth.
“This has always been a very great cultural value. I grew up feeling that I had a responsibility to the community, to do good and have an impact on people’s lives.”
Especially in a context of enormous social inequality. “The big problem is the inequality of opportunities. In Brazil and in Latin America, your place and condition of birth dictate your life trajectory. This is very unfair. No one chooses where to be born.”
Born in Chile and based in Brazil for 44 years, where she moved when she got married, Susy also talks about the shock of wealth.
“When we did the IPO, so much money came in I couldn’t even imagine. The biggest blessing was that my kids have been supportive since the beginning. Seeing them going down the same path is a huge joy.”
The Horns have three adult children, while David and Mariel have four children, one a newborn.
“We came to the conclusion that leaving a lot of money for the children is a damage. What brings us happiness and satisfaction are situations in which we had to fight and work hard to achieve”, says Vélez.
“Giving a blank check to your kids is taking that sense of self-improvement off the table. It’s creating a life without obstacles and an opportunity to build strong character.”
Other feelings guiding the path of philanthropy are finitude and legacy, points out the co-founder of Nubank.
“As much money as you have, no one has yet found a cure for death. We all have an ending and you don’t take anything. I won’t be able to spend all that money, no matter how creative, and billionaires are creative.”
Buying a million-dollar jet will not generate additional happiness, argues Vélez.
“As a society, it is better to invest in people who will better use this money than to leave it in a bank account earning interest”, concludes the banker of the digital age.
Philanthropy has also become a cause. The two couples hope that the example will serve as a stimulus for more adhesions to the Giving Pledge.
“Elie and I were discreet, but we have to tell our story for others to be inspired by,” says Susy.
For the Chilean, the donation commitment signed by Vélez and Mariel is even more powerful than that of her and Elie, already retired. “Mainly because they are a young couple and give up their fortune at this stage of their lives. It is a million times stronger example.”
Horn says he’s tried to convince many other billionaires, to no avail so far, but he doesn’t intend to give up.
And he gives some advice on selflessness: “I learned a trick against myself. From the moment I decided to donate 60% to charity, that money is no longer mine, but someone else’s. So it comes out of my pocket more easily. It worked for me . I became a manager and no longer an owner.”
Vélez says he is surprised by the number of entrepreneurs from other unicorns and businessmen who approached him after the announcement of joining the Giving Pledge, saying that they would like to be part of this list of philanthropists.
“Before, maybe the definition of success was being on the ‘Forbes’ list. The idea was to be as rich as possible. Now that’s starting to change. Success will be generating a lot of value for yourself and society. I’m optimistic.”
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
