Silvio Santos

Senor Abravanel (Hebrew: סניור אברבנאל, romanized: Senhor Abarbanel; pronounced [saniur avravne'el]; 12 December 1930 – 17 August 2024), known professionally as Silvio Santos, was a Brazilian television presenter and business magnate. Widely regarded as the greatest personality in Brazilian television, he was the founder of the television network Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão (SBT) and the conglomerate Grupo Silvio Santos, which holds interests in media and real estate among other assets. Throughout his life, he was also involved in other areas such as music and politics. His net worth was estimated at $1.3 billion in 2013, making him the only Brazilian celebrity on Forbes' billionaires list. Born in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro, the former capital city of Brazil and former Federal District of Brazil, Abravanel was the eldest son of Alberto Abravanel and Rebeca Caro, Sephardic Jews who migrated to Brazil in 1924. Working as a hawker, salesman, and also on the radio, Abravanel debuted on television in the early 1960s as the host of the variety show Vamos Brincar de Forca on TV Paulista (now part of TV Globo), adopting the stage name "Silvio Santos". In 1963, he began hosting Programa Silvio Santos, which would become one of the longest-running programs on Brazilian television. In 1976, amid creative conflicts with Globo executives, Santos entered the broadcasting industry himself by launching a new television station in Rio known as TVS, and purchasing a 50% stake in Rede Record, moving Programa Silvio Santos to the two outlets and Rede Tupi. When Tupi was closed by Brazil's military dictatorship, Santos' company acquired several of the former network's licenses, and joined with TVS to form a new national network known as SBT; the network would target lower middle class and working class viewers. Santos had six daughters, fourteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. In his...