Jean-Baptiste Pastor born as Giovanni Battista Pastor (1873 - June 20, 1966) was an Italian-born Monegasque businessman and real estate developer. He was primarily known for founding ''J.B. Pastor & Fils'' in 1920, which became a leading construction company in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

Early life

Giovanni Battista Pastor was born in 1873 in Buggio,

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

, above Pigna,

Province of Imperia The Province of Imperia ( it, Provincia di Imperia, french: Province d'Imperia, Ligurian: ''Provinsa d’Imperia'') is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between France to the north and the west, and the L ...

, just across the border from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He was orphaned at an early age, and was already working as a miner by the age of 13, or as a stonemason, according to another source.

Career

He emigrated to

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

as a young man in 1880, to seek work on the construction of the Saint-Charles Church.Philippe Bidalon, Roger-Louis Bianchini, Aline Cochard, Laetizia Dannery, Lea Delpont, Jennifer Schwarz, Pauline Sommelet
Vie économique
''L'Express'', December 11, 2003 His career as a public works contractor was a success. Pastor eventually started his own company, – J.B. Pastor & Fils – in 1920, and won the contracts to build Monaco's water supply system. In 1936, Prince Louis II of Monaco awarded Pastor and his company J.B. Pastor & Fils, the commission to build the country's first football stadium. The

Stade Louis II The Stade Louis II () is a stadium located in the Fontvieille district of Monaco. It serves primarily as a venue for football, being the home of AS Monaco and the Monaco national football team. The stadium is most notable for its distinctive n ...

was finished in 1939 and had a capacity of 12,000. With his newfound wealth, Pastor bought seafront land at low prices after World War II, particularly in the

Larvotto Larvotto (french: Le Larvotto; also known as Larvotto/Bas Moulins; lij, Larvotu ) is the easternmost ward in the Principality of Monaco. It is part of the quarter of Monte Carlo. It has an estimated surface area of and access to the Mediterra ...

district, when there was still no development east of the casino. With the post-war tourism slump,

Prince Rainier Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

resolved to diversify from gambling and turned Monaco into a

tax haven A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

. In subsequent decades, Pastor's son

Gildo Gildo (died 398) was a Roman Berber general in the province of Mauretania Caesariensis. He revolted against Honorius and the Western Roman Empire (Gildonic war), but was defeated and possibly committed suicide or was assassinated. Etymology The ...

was able to build apartment blocks, after getting planning permission to develop in 1966 on this now very valuable land, retaining ownership, and avoiding long leases to maximise rental income. When his granddaughter,

Hélène Pastor Hélène Pastor (31 March 1937 – 21 May 2014) was a Monegasque businesswoman and heiress. She headed what is seen as Monaco’s ‘second dynasty’, and was the richest woman in the principality. She was assassinated by a gang that included he ...

was shot dead in 2014, it was reported that the Pastors were Monaco's "second dynasty", behind the ruling

Grimaldi family The House of Grimaldi ( , also , , ) is the current reigning house of the Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when Francesco Grimaldi captured Monaco in 1297 ...

, with an estimated holding of 15 percent of Monaco's housing stock, valued at approximately

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

20 billion.

Personal life

Pastor was married and lived in Monaco. His son was Gildo Pastor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pastor, Jean-Baptiste People from the Province of Imperia Monegasque businesspeople

Jean-Baptiste Jean-Baptiste is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following: Persons * Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was King ...

1873 births 1966 deaths