José Antonio Ferré Aguayo (September 12, 1902 – September 15, 1990) was a Puerto Rican businessman, industrialist and government official. He was a brother of Luis Ferré, who served as

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...

, and

Isolina Ferré ''Sor'' Isolina Ferré Aguayo (5 September 1914 – 3 August 2000) was a Puerto Rican Roman Catholic religious sister. Known as the "Mother Teresa of Puerto Rico", she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her humanitaria ...

, the "

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

of Puerto Rico". Ferré was also the father of

Maurice Ferré Maurice Antonio Ferré (June 23, 1935 – September 19, 2019) was an American politician who served six terms as the Mayor of Miami. Ferré was the first Puerto Rican-born United States mayor and the first Latino Mayor of Miami. He was an uns ...

, a former six-term mayor of

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Early life and education

Ferré was born in Ponce and the son of Cuban born Antonio Ferré Bacallao. After attending Morristown-School (now Morristown-Beard School) in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, he earned his bachelor's degree in business administration at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts, in 1924. Ferré later served on the board of trustees of the school alongside

Edward Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...

. He earned his master's degree in business administration from the

Miami Herbert Business School Miami Herbert Business School (officially the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School) is the business school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. The school was founded in 1929 ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Career

During the years following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ferré grew his wealth by purchasing bankrupt glass, cement, and carton factories. At one point, his family empire owned 80 corporations in Puerto Rico, the United States, Venezuela, and Panama. In 1965, Ferré's real estate company, the Ferré Florida Corporation, financed the construction of the 30-story New World Tower in the

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

in Miami. At the time, the building, which cost $6 million to construct, stood as the tallest in Florida. Its construction represented part of a broader effort to revitalize Miami.

Death

José Ferré died on September 15, 1990 at 88 years of age. He was buried at Cementerio Católico San Vicente de Paul in Ponce.

Legacy

In 1990, U.S. Representative

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen ( ; ; born July 15, 1952) is an American politician and lobbyist from Miami, Florida, who represented from 1989 to 2019. By the end of her tenure, she was the most senior U.S. Representative from Florida. She was Chairwoman ...

from Florida's 27th congressional district honored the legacy and impact of Ferré during remarks on the floor of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

. The tribute recognized Ferré's vision and industrial pursuits.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferre, Jose 1902 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Puerto Rican businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople Burials at Cementerio Católico San Vicente de Paul Boston University School of Management alumni University of Miami Business School alumni Morristown-Beard School alumni