Lily Safra (née Watkins; also Cohen, Monteverde and Bendahan; 30 December 1934 – 9 July 2022) was a Brazilian-Monegasque billionaire and socialite who amassed considerable wealth through her four marriages. She had a significant art collection and owned the historic

Villa Leopolda The Villa La Leopolda is a large detached villa in Villefranche-sur-Mer, in the Alpes-Maritimes department on the French Riviera. The villa is situated in of grounds. The villa has had several notable owners including Gianni and Marella Agnelli ...

on the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

. Her net worth was estimated at $1.3 billion. She became strongly engaged with philanthropy when she married the banker

Edmond Safra Edmond J. Safra ( ar, ادموند يعقوب صفرا; 6 August 1932 – 3 December 1999) was a Lebanese-Brazilian banker who continued the family tradition of banking in Brazil and Switzerland. He was married to Lily Watkins from 1976 until ...

, and this continued through their Foundation after his death in 1999.

Biography

Lily Safra was born Lily Watkins on 30 December 1934 in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

, Brazil. She was the daughter of Wolf White Watkins, a railway engineer of

Anglo-Jewish British Jews (often referred to collectively as British Jewry or Anglo-Jewry) are British citizens who identify as Jewish. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 and 2021. History ...

origin born in Czechoslovakia and moved to South America during the electrification of Brazilian railroads, and Annita Noudelman de Castro, a Uruguayan of

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

ancestry. She grew up in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, and then moved with her family to

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Uruguay. At age 17, she met and married Mario Cohen, an Argentine hosiery magnate of Italian Jewish descent. They had three children. Lily and Mario Cohen divorced in the early 1960s. In 1965, Lily married , formerly Greenberg. He was a Romanian Jewish immigrant who fled Europe in 1939. He was a leader in the Brazilian household appliance distribution business, where he established the brand. Lily adopted his child, named Carlos. In 1969, Monteverde killed himself. A month after his death, Lily moved to London. Her late husband's banker,

, helped her secure control over her late spouse's entire fortune. She dated Safra for some time, but the romance ended. At the time, Safra's family, who is of

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

descent, did not approve of his relationship with Lily, who was of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

descent. In 1972, she married businessman Samuel Bendahan, also a Sephardic Jew, and a man of more modest means. They separated after two weeks, and she divorced him one year later. In 1976, she married Safra. The prominent banker was of Lebanese Jewish (

Mizrahi ''Mizrachi'' or ''Mizrahi'' ( he, מזרחי) has two meanings. In the literal Hebrew meaning ''Eastern'', it may refer to: *Mizrahi Jews, Jews from the Middle East * Mizrahi (surname), a Sephardic surname, given to Jews who got to the Iberian P ...

) origin and a naturalized Brazilian citizen. He founded the

Republic National Bank of New York Republic New York Corporation was the holding company for Republic National Bank of New York, Safra Republic Holdings, and Safra Republic Bank. The company was controlled by billionaire Edmond Safra, who was killed in a fire in his Monte Carlo ...

. The couple divided their time among homes in New York City, Monaco, Geneva, and the

on the

. On 2 December 1999, Lily and Edmond Safra gained Monegasque citizenship. On 3 December 1999, Edmond was killed in Monaco in a fire that was determined to be arson. His death attracted considerable media interest because of his wealth and position. Edmond Safra "apparently felt so safe here that he did not have his bodyguards stay the night when he slept in Monaco".

Ted Maher Theodore "Ted" Maher (born June 9, 1958) is a former Green Beret turned registered nurse who was convicted of arson in a 1999 fire that killed Edmond Safra and another nurse, Vivian Torrente, at Safra's Monaco penthouse apartment. In October 2007 ...

, a former U.S.

Green Beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF wh ...

, was accused of starting the fire in order to gain acceptance from Edmond Safra when he would ultimately rescue him, but it went out of control. Maher was convicted and sentenced to ten years in jail. Safra left 50% of his assets to several charities, with the remainder divided among his family members and wife Lily, who received $800 million.

Lady Colin Campbell Georgia Arianna, Lady Colin Campbell (''née'' Ziadie, born 17 August 1949), also known as Lady C, is a British Jamaican author, socialite, and television personality who has published seven books about the British royal family. They include b ...

's novel ''

Empress Bianca ''Empress Bianca'', the first novel by Lady Colin Campbell, was initially published in June 2005. One month later, Arcadia Books, the British publisher, withdrew the book and pulped all unsold copies in reaction to a legal threat initiated on be ...

'' (2005) was considered to be a defamatory ''

roman à clef ''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship ...

'' by Safra's solicitor,

Anthony Julius Anthony Robert Julius (born 16 July 1956) is a British solicitor advocate known for being Diana, Princess of Wales' divorce lawyer and for representing Deborah Lipstadt. He is a partner at the law firm Mishcon de Reya. He holds the chair in Law ...

. Reacting to the legal threat in the United Kingdom, its publishers,

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

, withdrew the book and destroyed unsold copies. A revised edition of the book was later published in the United States. Safra died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

on 9 July 2022 at age 87.

Philanthropy and art collection

Lily Safra supported numerous foundations, organisations, and charities. In 1977, she, her husband Edmond Safra, and Nina Weiner founded the International Sephardic Education Foundation. She chaired The Edmond J. Safra Foundation, which supports medical research and humanitarian relief. The Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics has been established at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. In 2010, her donation of over $12 million established a cross-disciplinary research laboratory on institutional corruption. Part of her collection, which mainly consists of handicrafts, was auctioned at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

in 2011. In 2012 Lily Safra donated

Gerhard Richter Gerhard Richter (; born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. Richter has produced abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, and also photographs and glass pieces. He is widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary German ...

’s Abstraktes Bild 849-3 (1997) to the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

in memory of her husband, Edmond J. Safra. Several works donated to the Israel Museum are now housed in the museum's Edmond and Lily Safra Fine Arts Wing. Many of her donations came through selling pieces of her vast art collection. In 2012 she sold 70 pieces of jewelry, including a 34.05-carat rectangular-cut diamond ring, to benefit 20 charities, including one that aided impoverished Rwandan children.

Emergency relief

Safra supported the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

and helped the

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

victims in 2005. Through the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation, she helped found the Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities at the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...

. In connection with the 2005 sale at

of furniture and art from her collection, Safra donated $3 million to charities in New York which she and her husband had supported for many years, along with a gift to

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of Ch ...

in New Orleans to help them rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Sotheby's announced in 2011 that an auction of Mr. and Mrs. Safra's collections, including furniture, artwork, silverware, and decorative objects, took place in New York City. In May 2012, Safra proposed to Geneva's

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

an exceptional auction of 70 pieces of her personal jewelry collection. The ''Jewels for Hope'' sale included 18 pieces by

JAR A jar is a rigid, cylindrical or slightly conical container, typically made of glass, ceramic, or plastic, with a wide mouth or opening that can be closed with a lid, screw cap, lug cap, cork stopper, roll-on cap, crimp-on cap, press-on c ...

, the largest personal collection designed by the jeweler ever to be sold. The entire record profits from the sale were donated to 32 charitable institutions around the world in the fields of healthcare, education, religion and culture, including the

Elton John AIDS Foundation The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is a nonprofit organization, established by rock musician Sir Elton John in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the United Kingdom to support innovative HIV prevention, education programs, direct care an ...

and

Hope and Homes for Children Hope and Homes for Children (HHC) is a British registered charity operating and working with children, their families and communities in several countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Africa, to help children grow up in safe and productiv ...

in Romania.

Religion

Safra ensured the completion of the

Edmond J. Safra Synagogue Edmond J. Safra Synagogue can refer to: * Edmond J. Safra Synagogue (Brooklyn): A synagogue under construction in Brooklyn along Ocean Parkway & Avenue U. * Edmond J. Safra Synagogue (Manhattan): A synagogue located along 63rd Street in Manhattan n ...

in Manhattan.

Research on healthcare

In 2009, Safra was honored by the

with its "An Enduring Vision" award for her long-time support. In October 2013, Safra donated $1 million in support of the foundation's grant-making programs. That same year, Safra contributed $16 million toward Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital in

Tel HaShomer Tel HaShomer ( he, תֵּל הַשּׁוֹמֵר, ''lit.'' Hill of the Guardsman) or Kiryat Krinitzi is a neighborhood in Ramat Gan, Israel. It is bordered to the north by Kiryat Ono, to the east by Yehud, and to the south by Or Yehuda. A major Isr ...

. She also donated $5 million toward the One Laptop Per Child project. She established the Edmond J. Safra Family Lodge, for patients battling illnesses, as well as their families, at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

near

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In July 2010, she donated 8 million euros to the Institute for Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries in Paris. The Foundation and Safra also helped establish the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, and the Edmond J. Safra Center for Bioinformatics and the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at the

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

. Safra served on the board of directors for the

Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian-American retired actor. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1 ...

Foundation for

Parkinson's Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

research. In 2020, the Foundation announced the creation of The Edmond J. Safra Humanitarian Award to honor Mrs. Safra's profound philanthropic contributions to Parkinson's research and care. During her tenure as Chairwoman of The Edmond J. Safra Foundation, Lily Safra directed support to a number of initiatives at The Michael J. Fox Foundation, including early funding for the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative and The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders. Also in 2009, Safra promised the

Claude Pompidou Claude Jacqueline Pompidou (née Cahour; 13 November 1912 – 3 July 2007) was the wife of President of France Georges Pompidou. She was a philanthropist and a patron of modern art, especially through the Centre Georges Pompidou. Life before ...

Foundation a donation of 7 million euros for the construction and completion of the Claude Pompidou Institute for

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

research and treatment in the city of

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

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 ...

. The institute was inaugurated and welcomed its first patients in 2014. Safra was a Patron of

in the UK and a supporter of its work for children in Romania.

Arts and culture

Safra was a member of the Chairman's Council of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

. On 3 February 2010, at an auction in London, Safra acquired ''

L'Homme qui marche I ''L’Homme qui marche I'' ( ''The Walking Man I'' or ''The Striding Man I'', lit. ''The Man who Walks I'') is the name of any one of the cast bronze sculptures that comprise six numbered editions plus four artist proofs created by Swiss ...

'', a life-sized bronze sculpture by

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo to see his family and ...

of a man, for £65 million (US$104.3 million). The purchase became one of the most expensive works of art and the most expensive sculpture ever purchased. In April 2019, Safra pledged €10 million towards the restoration of

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

after the

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

which greatly damaged the cathedral.

Honours

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, Officier (2011) * Arts et Lettres, Commandeur *

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, Honorary Fellow * Honorary chair, International Sephardic Education Foundation (ISEF). * Honorary doctorate from Haifa University *

The Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

, Honorary Fellow * Honorary doctorate from

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

* Honorary doctorate from

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

* Honorary doctorate from

Technion – Israel Institute of Technology The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology ( he, הטכניון – מכון טכנולוגי לישראל) is a public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion ...

(2018).

References

External links

Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Safra, Lily 1934 births 2022 deaths Brazilian art collectors Brazilian billionaires Brazilian expatriates in France Brazilian expatriates in Monaco Brazilian expatriates in Switzerland Brazilian Ashkenazi Jews Brazilian people of English descent Brazilian people of Russian-Jewish descent Brazilian people of Uruguayan-Jewish descent Brazilian philanthropists Deaths from cancer in Switzerland Deaths from pancreatic cancer Fellows of King's College London Female billionaires Harvard University people Jewellery collectors Jewish art collectors Jewish philanthropists People from Rio Grande do Sul Safra family Monegasque billionaires Monegasque philanthropists Monegasque people of English descent Monegasque people of Uruguayan-Jewish descent Monegasque art collectors Brazilian women philanthropists