Leonardo Farkas

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Farkas and the second or maternal family name is Klein.
The image shows a weel suited man in a blue suit and a pink tie. He is smiling.
Leonardo J. Farkas is a Chilean businessman and philanthropist of Hungarian and Jewish descent, his wealth comes from mining companies.
Leonardo Farkas
Born
Leonardo Julio Farkas Klein

(1967-03-20) March 20, 1967 (age 57)
Santiago, Chile
NationalityChilean
Alma materUniversity of Santiago, Chile

Leonardo Julio Farkas Klein (Santiago, Chile, born March 20, 1967) is a Chilean businessman and philanthropist of Hungarian and Jewish descent, his wealth comes from mining companies. He is recognized in his home country and others for both his humanitarian work and his donations to various institutions and individuals, such as the Chilean Telethon, the famous 33 trapped Miners, people affected by disasters or in a vulnerable situation, among others.

Early years[edit]

Farkas's parents were Jews of Hungarian descent who emigrated from Transylvania to South America in 1939.[1]

Farkas studied business administration at the University of Santiago, Chile.

Musical Career[edit]

In the 1980s, he emigrated to the United States and made a living working in show business as a piano player while traveling between Las Vegas, New York, and Miami. He also worked in several Caribbean cruising companies. Known as “The Orchestra Man”, shared stages with artists such as Tom Jones and Julio Iglesias.[2]

During his performances, he met his wife, an American, Betina Friedman Parker, the great-granddaughter of Arthur Winarick, founder of the famous Concord Hotel in the Catskills in the state of New York, where they got married.

At the age of 35, he decided to retire from music to focus solely on his wife and their three children, taking on various jobs as an exporter and seller of various products. He also entered the real estate business in the United States, and then mining business in Chile.[3][4]

Consideration of presidential candidacy[edit]

In October 2008 Farkas announced that he was considering being an independent candidate for the presidential election of 2009.[5] Initially, he declined to comment on the issue.[6][relevant?] However, on December 5, he announced he would not be running.[7]

Philanthropy[edit]

Farkas is widely known in Chile by his appearances in the Teletón (Chilean telethon), a fundraising campaign for handicapped children. Farkas donated hundreds of millions of pesos, and in 2008, donated 1 billion pesos (approx. US$2 million), becoming the first individual to donate such amount of money to this campaign.[8]

Farkas has been very critical of the Chilean upper class, stating that "they’re usually very stingy and elitist" and don't do enough to mitigate Chile's social problems. He has also said that if elected president "all Chileans would have their own house".[9] This rhetoric of appealing to the masses of poor people has gained him substantial support among that social group and some harsh criticism from his business peers and local politicians, often labeling him as a "populist" in search of some spotlight.[9]

During the rescue operation in Copiapó, Chile of the trapped miners, Farkas donated $10,000 to each of the 33 rescued men. Farkas reportedly gave checks in the miners' names to each of the families and set up a separate fund to collect donations.[10]

On July 1, 2011, Farkas was given an award by the Viña del Mar Mayor for his contributions to the city.[11][12]

On February 7, 2018, Farkas offered a reward of 10 million Chilean pesos for anyone who found Emmelyn Catalina Cañales Vidal, an 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped in Licantén, Chile.[13]

Farkas is also known as a patron of many other charities, including the March of the Living an annual educational program which brings students from all over the world to Poland, to study the history of the Holocaust and examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hate.[14]

According to a study, coordinated by Magdalena Aninat, director of the Centro de Filantropía e Inversiones Sociales (Cefis) of the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (UAI), which investigated the philanthropy and social investments of Chilean companies, concluded that "Farkas is an actor that it is pushing others and acting as a 'role of conscience.' It has a very interesting role to make visible a more American model of the success of the business world, where that success closes with returning the hand to society. In Chile we are not used to making donations visible, but Farkas is constantly challenging the business world to be present and that is positive," said the UAI academic.[15]

Involvement with March Of The Living[edit]

Leonardo Farkas marching with March of the Living chairman, Shmuel Rosenman in Jerusalem in 2014. Photo: Yossi Zeiliger.

In 2014, with the support of Leonardo Farkas, March of the Living marked the 70th anniversary of the destruction of Hungarian Jewry at the hands of the Nazis in 1944 during World War II. On Holocaust Remembrance Day, at the close of the memorial ceremony on the actual grounds of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a number of Holocaust survivors – many whose relatives perished in the infamous death camp – joined Leonardo Farkas in the writing of the last letters of a Torah. The Torah was donated to the March of the Living by Mr. Farkas, whose philanthropy also enabled students and survivors to take part in the March of the Living.[16]

Cultural Donations[edit]

Leonardo Farkas holding the Torah in Jerusalem on the March of the Living in 2014. Photo: Yossi Zeiliger.

In 2014, Leonardo donated the seven newly written Sefer Torah sent to six different continents: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Farkas has a great passion for dedicating "Happy Torahs", as he refers to them, which will be used in places with a great need. Over the years, he donated many Sefer Torahs to the Chabad-Lubavitch hassidic Jewish organization and other institutions around the world.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Barrionuevo, Alexei. "Mine Owner's Flair Rankles Chilean Elite". The New York Times. November 19, 2010. Retrieved 02/17/11 at: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/20/world/americas/20chile.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB.
  2. ^ ivan (September 2, 2008). "Leonardo Farkas: De "hombre orquesta" a "Rey del hierro" (from "Orchestra Man" to "Iron King") La Tercera (in Spanish). (October 2 2008). ". La Tercera. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  3. ^ Barrionuevo, Alexei (November 19, 2010). "Farkas's Flair Rankles Chilean Elite – The Saturday Profile". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Jeanne, Arthur (May 31, 2016). "Farkas, le Chili incarné; (Farkas, Chile Embodies)". Society (in French). Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  5. ^ "The Valparaiso Times – Valparaiso and Viña del Mar News – Chile News – CHILE'S LONGSHOT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE GREETED AS HERO". Valparaisotimes.cl. November 14, 2008. Archived from the original on December 9, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  6. ^ "The Santiago Times - English Language Newspaper in Santiago, Chile - News in Chile and Latin America - LEONARDO FARKAS: CHIle's NEXT PRESIDENT?". www.santiagotimes.cl. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  7. ^ "Leonardo Farkas: No seré candidato a la presidencia" [Leonardo Farkas: I will not be a candidate for presidency] (in Spanish). Emol.com. October 29, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  8. ^ "Teletón finalmente cumple la meta en el Nacional (minuto a minuto)" [Teletón finally accomplishes the goal in the National Stadium (minute to minute)] (in Spanish). Emol.com. November 29, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  9. ^ a b "El "fenómeno Farkas" seduce a Chile · ELPAÍS.com" [The "phenomenon Farkas" seduces Chile · ELPAÍS.com]. El País (in Spanish). November 20, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  10. ^ Showers of offers for Chile miners, NBC News
  11. ^ "Visita de Leonardo Farkas a Viña del Mar junto a la Alcaldesa Virginia Reginato". Eventos Deportivos 2011 (in European Spanish). June 7, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  12. ^ Ordenes, Luis (June 1, 2011). "Leonardo Farkas es declarado Ciudadano Ilustre de Viña del Mar". BioBioChile - La Red de Prensa Más Grande de Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  13. ^ Tele 13. "Leonardo Farkas ofrece recompensa para quien encuentre a Emmelyn". T13 (in European Spanish). Retrieved September 4, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "March of the Living expresses its gratitude to Leonardo Farkas of Santiago, Chile". Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  15. ^ "Filantropía en Chile: ¿Por qué y dónde aportan dinero las grandes empresas?" (in Spanish). Emol.com. November 30, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  16. ^ YouTube – Leonardo Farkas. "March of the Living Tribute to Leonardo Farkas=February 13, 2015". YouTube.
  17. ^ "Seven Torahs to Six Continents, Thanks to One Chilean Businessman". chabad.org. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
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