What was Lily Safra’s net worth?
Lily Safra was a Brazilian-born philanthropist and socialite who had a net worth of $1.2 billion. Lily Safra’s extraordinary life blended immense wealth, high society connections, and deep personal tragedy. Over several decades, she became one of the world’s most prominent benefactors, known for her generosity in funding hospitals, universities, and humanitarian causes around the globe. She led the Edmond J. Safra Foundation, named for her late husband, banker Edmond Safra, through which she donated hundreds of millions to institutions such as Harvard University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Paris Opera. Often dubbed “The Gilded Lily,” she was a fixture of international elite circles, maintaining homes in New York, London, Paris, Geneva, and Monaco, and moving comfortably among royalty, heads of state, and art world luminaries. Despite the outward glamour, her life was punctuated by loss, including the suicides of two husbands, the death of a son and grandson, and the shocking circumstances surrounding Edmond Safra’s death in 1999.
Early Life
Lily Watkins was born on December 20, 1934, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Her father, Wolf Watkins, was a British engineer who moved to South America to work in the rail industry and eventually founded a rail car factory in Mesquita, Rio de Janeiro. Her mother, Annita Watkins, had fled Ukraine to escape antisemitic persecution. The family prospered, and her father became a respected figure in his community—so much so that the main street in Mesquita was later named Rua Mister Watkins in his honor. At nineteen, Lily married hosiery magnate Mario Cohen and relocated to Uruguay. They had three children before divorcing, and she soon returned to Brazil to begin a new chapter of her life.
Marriages and Tragedy
In 1965, Lily married Alfredo Monteverde, a Romanian-born entrepreneur who made a fortune owning a chain of appliance stores. The couple lived lavishly, but tragedy struck when Monteverde died by suicide in 1969, leaving her an estimated $200 million fortune.
Seeking help managing her inheritance, Lily turned to Edmond J. Safra, a brilliant Lebanese-born banker whose discretion and financial acumen had made him a favorite among the world’s ultra-wealthy. Their relationship became romantic, though it faced disapproval from Safra’s traditional Sephardic family. The couple separated for a time, during which Lily briefly married businessman Samuel Bendahan. That marriage ended within weeks, and she soon reunited with Edmond. They married in 1976 in a ceremony attended by Ronald and Nancy Reagan and the Aga Khan, among other luminaries.
Life With Edmond Safra
Lily and Edmond Safra established homes across the world, including properties in Manhattan, Monaco, and the French Riviera. Edmond founded Republic National Bank, serving an international clientele that included royal families and major industrialists. Although a deeply private man, his success made him a subject of fascination and rumor. Lily’s charm and sociability helped draw him into public life, and the couple became prominent philanthropists throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Their life of wealth and glamour ended in tragedy in December 1999, when Edmond Safra died in a fire at their Monte Carlo penthouse. The bizarre circumstances drew intense global attention. Initial reports suggested a violent break-in, but the truth proved stranger: one of Safra’s nurses, Ted Maher, admitted to setting a small fire in an attempt to stage a fake rescue and gain his employer’s favor. The blaze quickly spread out of control, trapping Edmond and Maher in a bathroom that doubled as a safe room. Maher was later convicted of arson and negligent homicide. Lily escaped unharmed but was left devastated.
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Philanthropy and Public Life
After her husband’s death, Lily Safra dedicated herself to philanthropy on a global scale. As chair of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation, she funded a broad range of causes including education, medical research, ethics, and Jewish cultural preservation. The foundation’s major projects included the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, the Edmond J. Safra campus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital in Israel, and the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience in Brazil.
Beyond her foundation’s work, Safra made substantial personal gifts. She donated $500,000 to Dillard University in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, contributed to The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, and helped finance trips for students to visit Auschwitz. Her giving was often quiet and personal, reflecting both her empathy and her awareness of public scrutiny.
Safra’s philanthropy sometimes attracted suspicion from the British tabloids, particularly after she relocated to London and became active in elite charity circles. Despite media speculation, she remained deeply respected among cultural and philanthropic institutions. In 2012, she auctioned 70 pieces of her jewelry collection at Christie’s, raising nearly $38 million for 20 global charities, including ones supporting children in Rwanda and medical research initiatives.
Later Years and Legacy
In her later years, Lily Safra lived mainly in Geneva and London, retreating from the high-profile social world that had long surrounded her. She sold her grand six-story Belgravia townhouse for a smaller residence and focused on family life and quieter forms of giving. Friends described her as gracious, disciplined, and unfailingly generous. Her fortune was estimated in the billions, much of it distributed through philanthropic channels rather than held for personal display.
Lily Safra died on July 9, 2022, at her home in Geneva at the age of 87, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. She was survived by her daughter, Adriana Cohen; her son, Eduardo Cohen; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her extraordinary life, shaped by both immense privilege and profound loss, left a legacy defined not by scandal or tragedy but by compassion, resilience, and an enduring commitment to bettering the world through philanthropy.
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