Alfonso Fanjul Sr.

Alfonso Fanjul Sr. (30 September 1909 – 16 October 1980) was a Cuban-born American sugar baron.

Alfonso Fanjul Sr.
Born
Alfonso Fanjul

30 September 1909
Havana, Cuba
Died16 October 1980
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
NationalityCuban
Occupationsugar baron
SpouseLillian Rosa Gomez-Mena
Children5, including Alfonso "Alfy" Fanjul Jr. and José "Pepe" Fanjul
RelativesJosé Gómez-Mena (father-in-law)
Norberto Azqueta Sr. (son-in-law)

Early life

Alfonso Fanjul was born in Havana, Cuba.[1] He had two brothers.[2] He graduated from Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C.[1]

Career

Alfonso Fanjul's family owned the Czarnikow-Rionda Company, with operations in New York, Havana and London, and the Cuban Trading Company in Cuba.[1][3] His 1936, marriage to Lillian Rosa Gomez-Mena, the daughter of José Gómez-Mena, whose family owned Cuba's New Gomez-Mena Sugar Company,[3] united two of the country's leading sugar fortunes, and created a combined business of ten sugar mills, three distilleries, and Cuban-wide real estate holdings.[1][4] He was also the president of the Havana Country Club.[5]

In 1959, the family moved to the US, after Fidel Castro's communist regime began seizing all of their property.[6] The Castro regime seized the Gomez-Mena mansion, and leaving its art and furnishings intact, renamed it the National Museum of Decorative Arts.[4]

Fanjul purchased 4,000 acres of land near Lake Okeechobee and some Louisiana sugar mills, and expanded from there.[3][6] By the end of his life, he was the chairman of Osceola Farms, New Hope Sugar Co. and Flo-Sun Land Corp.[2] He also served on the boards of directors of the Florida Sugar Marketing and Terminal Association and the Florida Sugar Cane League.[2]

Personal life

In 1936, Fanjul married Lillian Rosa Gomez-Mena (1918–1992).[1] They resided at 109 Wells Road in Palm Beach,[2] and they had four sons, the Fanjul brothers, and one daughter:[1]

Fanjul was a governor of the Everglades Club.[2][5] He was also a member of the Bath and Tennis Club in Palm Beach and the Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida as well as the Meadow Club and the Bathing Corp. in Southampton, New York.[2][5] Fanjul was a "confidante" of President Gerald Ford, the Duke of Windsor, King Leopold of Belgium and King Juan-Carlos of Spain.[2] He became a "significant contributor to Ronald Reagan's presidential campaigns in the 1980s."[6]

Death

Fanjul died of pneumonia on 16 October 1980 at the Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida.[2] His funeral was held at St. Edwards Catholic Church in Palm Beach.[5]

References
  1. "Alfonso Fanjul Sr". Palm Beach County History Online. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  2. Jones Poit, Katrina (October 17, 1980). "Sugar Magnate Alfonso Fanjul Dead At 71". The Palm Beach Post. p. 1. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  3. Gail M. Hollander (15 November 2009). Raising Cane in the 'Glades: The Global Sugar Trade and the Transformation of Florida. University of Chicago Press. p. 282. ISBN 978-0-226-34948-0. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  4. "The Castro Collection". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  5. Dewar, Heather (October 17, 1980). "Palm Beach Rites Today for Alfonso Fanjul, 71". The Miami News. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  6. Patricia Rey Mallén (5 February 2014). "Sugar Mogul Alfonso Fanjul Wants To Invest In Cuba". ibtimes.com. Retrieved 9 August 2017.


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