Federico Santa María Carrera (c. August 15, 1845 - December 20, 1925) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

an businessman and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. He was of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous c ...

descent and member of the notable

Carrera family The Carrera family of Chile became politically influential during the colonial period, and played a significant role in the Chilean Independence. They remained politically important throughout the 19th century. Their descendants make up the bulk ...

. Federico Santa María was born in

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

, the son of Juan Antonio Santa María Artigas and of Magdalena Carrera Aguirre. Although he was a member of two of the most respected and influential Chilean families of the 19th century, the Santa María and the Carrera families, he made his huge fortune in the sugar markets of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, where he arrived when he was very young. His importance in the sugar market was considerable: he became a major power in the French economy. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he closed down all his businesses, declaring that he did not want to profit from war. He also supported the French Army, donating clothes and weapons for an entire regiment. However, once the war ended, in 1922 he started to purchase important quantities of sugar in the stock market. As analysts later declared that sugar production would be at a deficit that year, this led to enormous profits for Santa Maria. For this success he was investigated by the French national assembly, but it was determined that he had acted within legal bounds. Federico Santa Maria was a very atypical millionaire for his time. Profoundly anti-clerical, he never got married yet lived together for decades with the French woman Anna Guillaud. Because he had no descendants, he gave his entire fortune to his hometown

for the founding of a technical and engineering school. The result of his legacy was the

Federico Santa María Technical University The Federico Santa María Technical University ( es, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, UTFSM, or simply Santa Maria University) is a Chilean university member of the Rector's Council, founded in 1926 in Valparaíso, Chile. The univers ...

. He was a distant relative of famous Chilean pianist

Claudio Arrau Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Br ...

References

External links

UTFSM home pageGenealogical chart of Santa María family

Federico Santa Maria timeline
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria, Federico 1845 births 1925 deaths Chilean businesspeople Chilean philanthropists Chilean people of Basque descent People from Valparaíso