José Luis ‘Pepín’ Corripio Estrada (born 12 March 1934) is a billionaire Dominican businessman of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

origin. Born in 1934 as the only child in a poor family in

Arroes Arroes is one of 41 parishes (administrative divisions) in Villaviciosa, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain. Situated at above sea level, the ''parroquia'' has a population of 422. On Septe ...

, Spain, Corripio's family migrated to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

when he was still an infant, fleeing from the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. The Corripio family went from

rags to riches Rags to riches (also rags-to-riches) refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame, fortune and celebrity—sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype i ...

: his father, Manuel Corripio García, founded a small shop, and by the time of the death of the

strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until Rafael Trujillo#Assassination, ...

in 1961, Corripio García was the third richest man in the Dominican Republic, only after Trujillo himself and Rafael Esteva Menéndez (the founder of IMCA S.A.). The business grew and diversified, becoming in Grupo Corripio, an economic empire in the

creating over 12000 jobs; Corripio Estrada became the wealthiest man in the country with a net worth over 3 billion USD.

Early life

Corripio Estrada born in 1934 in the Spanish village of Arroes, in

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

, to Sara Estrada and Manuel Corripio García (1908–2004). In 1938, the Dominican Republic became his new home amid the Spanish Civil War. Corripio studied at the De La Salle School in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, where he directed its monthly

periodical Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

; he graduated in 1951. On 16 August 1963, Corripio married Ana María Alonso, a native of

Piloña Piloña () is a municipality in the province and autonomous community of Asturias, northwestern Spain. Its capital is the town of Infiesto. Piloña is bounded to the north by Villaviciosa and Colunga, to the east by Parres, to the west by Na ...

(Asturias), at the Holy Cave of Covadonga (Asturias). They have 4 children: Manuel, José Alfredo, Lucía, Ana. Manuel married to Rafaela Martínez; José Alfredo married Laura Pereda; Lucía married Alejandro González; Ana married Rafael Barceló parents of Luis Rafael Barcelo Corripio. During the decade of the 70's, Corripio was kidnapped by the Sanchez Tejada brothers' band, and kept holed up for days inside a water reservoir (cisterna) near the San Isidro's Air Force base. During the time Corripio remain kidnapped, the kidnappers made him believe they were members of the military. The Sanchez Tejada brothers had an auto mechanics shop near the Braulio Alvarez city park where they would disassemble stolen vehicles for stolen parts profiting. One of the Sanchez Tejada brothers resided in the Jose Amado Soler street in the affluent Naco neighborhood.

Business career

In the early 1960s, José Luis Corripio began a process of diversification and expansion of the family business. In 1973, he went into the media business. As of 2021, Grupo Corripio distributes the following mass market consumer brands in the Dominican Republic: Petit, Gatorade, Lipton, Ocean Spray, Tropicana, V8, Salutaris, La Granja, Pepsico, Pace, Bubbaloo, Campbells, Chips Ahoy, Clorets, Club Social, Clight, Halls, Keebler, Oreo, Prego, Pringles, Quaker, Ritz, Tang, Trident, Victorina, Splenda, Móndelez, Kellogg's, and Procter&Gamble. Grupo Corripio under their Distribuidora Corripio umbrella is the single largest home appliance distributor in the country with over 21 stores across the country distributing Sony, Samsung, Whirlpool, Panasonic, Kitchenaid, GE, Frigidaire, Carrier, Ciac, Char-broil, among others. Grupo Corripio also produce and markets Nedoca. Grupo Corripio is also present in the fashion market exclusively distributing Hackett London, Yanes, Façconable in the Dominican Republic. Grupo Corripio under their company Tecnica SAS also exclusively represent and commercialize Peugeot and Renault motor vehicles in the country. In 2017, Grupo Corripio also acquired an ownership stake in Isla Dominicana de Petróleo which exclusively represents Royal Dutch Shell in the Dominican Republic. In 2021, Isla Dominicana de Petróleo merged with Sol Investments which operated under the brand name Esso, to create the largest fuel distribution network in the country. Grupo Corripio also owns Pinturas Tropical the market leader in paint manufacture and commercialization in the country and well as having an ownership stake in Pinturas Popular.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corripio, Jose Luis Living people 1934 births People from Villaviciosa, Asturias Dominican Republic people of Asturian descent Spanish expatriates in the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic businesspeople Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella Recipients of the Order of Christopher Columbus Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit Recipients of the Order of Brilliant Star Dominican Republic billionaires White Dominicans