Jorge Paulo Lemann
Brazilian billionaire co-founder of 3G Capital and former tennis champion.
Jorge Paulo Lemann was born on August 26, 1939, in Rio de Janeiro. His father, Paul Lemann, was a Swiss immigrant who founded the dairy company Leco; his mother, Anna Yvette Truebner, was a Brazilian of Swiss descent. When Lemann was 14, his father died in a bus accident. As a child, he wanted to be an inventor and admired Thomas Edison, though the machines he built usually failed. He attended the American School of Rio de Janeiro. In 1960, he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University, but he disliked his time there. He found his first year horrible—he missed the beach and sun, found Boston too cold, struggled with the heavy writing assignments, and earned the worst possible grades. After setting off fireworks on the last day of his freshman year, he was reprimanded and considered dropping out, but stayed.
During his youth, Lemann played tennis. He won the Brazilian national championship five times, played in the Davis Cup for Brazil, and competed at Wimbledon in 1963.
From 1961 to 1962, he worked as a trainee at Credit Suisse in Geneva. In 1971, he co-founded the Brazilian investment bank Banco Garantia with Carlos Alberto Sicupira and Marcel Herrmann Telles. A market crash hit weeks later, but Lemann built Garantia into one of Brazil’s most prestigious and innovative banks, described by Forbes as “a Brazilian version of Goldman Sachs.” He and his partners now sit on the board of AB InBev. After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Banco Garantia was sold to Credit Suisse First Boston in July 1998 for $675 million. From 1990 to 2001, he served on the board of Companhia Cervejaria Brahma. He is a director of Endeavor’s Brazil office, a nonprofit that supports entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Later, he and his partners—who founded private equity firm GP Investimentos—bought control of two Brazilian breweries, Brahma and Companhia Antarctica Paulista, which merged into AmBev. By 2003, AmBev had a pretax profit margin of 35% on $2.7 billion in sales. By 2004, it controlled 65% of Brazil’s beer market and nearly 80% of Argentina’s, with monopolies in Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. In August 2004, AmBev merged with Belgium’s Interbrew, forming InBev, whose stock rose 40% in 2005. In 2008, InBev boug
- born
- August 26, 1939, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- field
- Investment banking, business, tennis
- nationality
- Brazilian and Swiss
- known_for
- Co-founding 3G Capital; controlling stakes in Anheuser-Busch InBev, Burger King, Heinz; founding the Lemann Foundation
Quick Facts
- Birth Date
- 1939-08-26
- Birth Place
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Citizenship
- Brazilian / Swiss
- Known For
- Ambev and 3G Capital
- Education
- Harvard University (BA)
- Occupation
- Businessman · Investor · Investment Banker
- Spouse
- Maria Quental · 1966 · 1986 · end=div / Susanna Mally · 2005
- Children
- 5
- Website
- https: · fundacaolemann.org.br
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Lemann was born in Rio de Janeiro to a Swiss immigrant father and a Brazilian mother of Swiss origin. His father died in a bus accident in 1953. He attended the American School of Rio de Janeiro and earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard University in 1960, though he found his first year there difficult. As a youth, he won the Brazilian national tennis championship five times, played in the Davis Cup for Brazil, and competed at Wimbledon in 1963.
After working as a trainee at Credit Suisse, Lemann co-founded the investment bank Banco Garantia in 1971 with Carlos Alberto Sicupira and Marcel Herrmann Telles. The bank grew into a prestigious firm, described as 'a Brazilian version of Goldman Sachs.' Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, it
Reader's Guide
Jorge Paulo Lemann's significance lies in his role as a central figure in the consolidation of the global beer and food industries through 3G Capital and its associated investments. His career illustrates the rise of Brazilian investment banking and the application of aggressive cost-cutting and merger strategies on an international scale. The merger of AmBev with Interbrew and the subsequent acquisition of Anheuser-Busch created the world's largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, reshaping the global beverage market. Similarly, the acquisition of Heinz and its merger with Kraft Foods demonstrated the reach of his investment model. Beyond business, Lemann's philanthropic efforts through the Lemann Foundation, which funded the Lemann Center at the University of Zurich, and his support for Endeavor's Brazil office, reflect a focus on education and entrepreneurship in emerging markets. His reputation in Brazil as a 'business-class hero' contrasts with his low public profile in the United States, underscoring his selective engagement with media and his preference for operational control over public visibility.
Did You Know?
- Lemann won the Brazilian national tennis championship five times and played at Wimbledon in 1962.
- He co-founded Banco Garantia in 1971, which was later sold to Credit Suisse First Boston for $675 million in 1998.
- In 1999, gunmen attempted to kidnap his children on their way to school, prompting him to relocate permanently to Switzerland.
- He was named one of the 25 most influential business leaders in Latin America by a Madrid-based think tank in June 2026.
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