Simón Iturri Patiño
Encyclopedia
Don Simón Iturri Patiño (Santiváñez
, Cochabamba Department
, Bolivia
, 1 June 1862 - Buenos Aires
, Argentina
, 20 April 1947) was a Bolivia
n industrialist who was among the world's wealthiest men at the time of his death. With a fortune built from ownership of a majority of the tin
industry in Bolivia, Patiño was nicknamed "The Andean Rockefeller
". During World War II, Patiño was believed to be one of the five wealthiest men in the world.
, with a mixed Quechua
and Spanish
heritage, and born to a poor mother, while his authorized biography holds that he was solely of European ancestry, and the son of a provincial leader. He was actually the illegitimate son of Eugénio Iturri, a Basque
, by María Patiño, from Cochabamba
. Before entering the mining industry, he either managed a store in Oruro
, or spent years in private schools.
Eventually, Patiño started in mining with Compañía Hunanchaca de Bolivia, a silver company, and then with Fricke y Compañía. Patiño was assigned to collections for the store, and in 1894, he agreed to accept a deed of land in compromise for a $250 debt owed by a prospector. The deed turned out to be for the rocky side of a mountain, and Patiño was fired from his job for settling an account in exchange for a worthless piece of property. Legend has it that Patiño was forced to pay back the store from his own funds, and was stuck with his own bad bargain.
The mountain, located near Llallagua
, turned out to be richer in minerals than anyone had imagined. Although the first several years of work yielded little, the turning point came in 1900 when Patiño located a very rich vein
of tin, later called "La Salvadora" (The Savior). Over the next 10 years he built up the control of nearby mines and other important mines in Bolivia, including Catavi
, Siglo XX
, Uncia
and Huanuni. By the 1920s he had also bought out Chile
an interests in his mining company and went on to buy tin smelters in England
and Germany
. By the 1940s he controlled the international tin market and was one of the wealthiest men in the world, hence his "title" King of Tin (Rey del Estaño).
He had been living between Europe and Bolivia since around 1912 and after a heart attack in 1924 he moved abroad permanently, first to Paris
, then to New York
and finally to Buenos Aires
where he died. While living in Paris he was appointed Minister to France and represented Bolivia in 1938 at the Evian Conference
.
His great wealth made him powerful in Bolivian politics and he was locally both admired and hated.
Previous to a political shift away from his allies in the government Patiño merged the company owning his Bolivian tin property with a British company active in Malaysia.
Patiño died in 1947 and was buried high in the Bolivian mountains of his birth in a giant blue marble tomb.
Family:
Patino's relatives now live in the United States and in Bolivia
nationalised the Patiño Mines and it is claimed that his heir Antenor Patiño
had his hand in the military coup that deposed the leader of the revolution, then President Victor Paz Estenssoro
, in the 1960s.
Santiváñez
Santiváñez is a locality in the Cochabamba Department in central Bolivia. It is the capital of Santiváñez Municipality, the second municipal section of the Capinota Province. At the time of census 2001 it had a population of 1,046.-External links:*...
, Cochabamba Department
Cochabamba Department
Cochabamba is one of the nine component departments of Bolivia. It is known to be the "granary" of the country because of its variety of agricultural products due to Cochabamba's geographical position. It has an area of 55,631 km². Its population, in the 2007 census, was 1,750,000...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, 1 June 1862 - Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, 20 April 1947) was a Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
n industrialist who was among the world's wealthiest men at the time of his death. With a fortune built from ownership of a majority of the tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
industry in Bolivia, Patiño was nicknamed "The Andean Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
". During World War II, Patiño was believed to be one of the five wealthiest men in the world.
Biography
Patiño's biographers are not in agreement on the details of his early life. Many wrote that he was a choloCholo
Cholo is an ethnic slur created by Hispanic criollos in the 16th century, and it has been applied to individuals of mixed or pure American Indian ancestry, or other racially mixed origin. The precise usage of "cholo" has varied widely in different times and places...
, with a mixed Quechua
Quechuas
Quechuas is the collective term for several indigenous ethnic groups in South America who speak a Quechua language , belonging to several ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Argentina.The Quechuas of Ecuador call themselves as well as their...
and Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
heritage, and born to a poor mother, while his authorized biography holds that he was solely of European ancestry, and the son of a provincial leader. He was actually the illegitimate son of Eugénio Iturri, a Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
, by María Patiño, from Cochabamba
Cochabamba
Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people...
. Before entering the mining industry, he either managed a store in Oruro
Oruro, Bolivia
Oruro is a city in Bolivia with a population of 235,393 , located about equidistant between La Paz and Sucre at approximately 3710 meters above sea level. It is the capital of the department of Oruro....
, or spent years in private schools.
Eventually, Patiño started in mining with Compañía Hunanchaca de Bolivia, a silver company, and then with Fricke y Compañía. Patiño was assigned to collections for the store, and in 1894, he agreed to accept a deed of land in compromise for a $250 debt owed by a prospector. The deed turned out to be for the rocky side of a mountain, and Patiño was fired from his job for settling an account in exchange for a worthless piece of property. Legend has it that Patiño was forced to pay back the store from his own funds, and was stuck with his own bad bargain.
The mountain, located near Llallagua
Llallagua
Llallagua is a town in the Potosí Department in Bolivia. It is the seat of the Llallagua Municipality, the third municipal section of the Rafael Bustillo Province.- External links :*-References:*...
, turned out to be richer in minerals than anyone had imagined. Although the first several years of work yielded little, the turning point came in 1900 when Patiño located a very rich vein
Vein (geology)
In geology, a vein is a distinct sheetlike body of crystallized minerals within a rock. Veins form when mineral constituents carried by an aqueous solution within the rock mass are deposited through precipitation...
of tin, later called "La Salvadora" (The Savior). Over the next 10 years he built up the control of nearby mines and other important mines in Bolivia, including Catavi
Catavi
Catavi is a tin mine in Bolivia, near the city of Llallagua in the province of Bustillos, Potosí Department. Along with the Siglo XX mine, it is part of a mining complex in the area.-History:...
, Siglo XX
Siglo XX
Siglo XX is a tin mine in Bolivia. It is located in the city of Llallagua in the province of Bustillos, Potosí Department...
, Uncia
Uncia (mine)
Uncia is a tin mine in western Bolivia. It was served by a branch railway line from Oruro. It was one of the mines owned by Simón Iturri Patiño.- External links :*...
and Huanuni. By the 1920s he had also bought out Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an interests in his mining company and went on to buy tin smelters in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. By the 1940s he controlled the international tin market and was one of the wealthiest men in the world, hence his "title" King of Tin (Rey del Estaño).
He had been living between Europe and Bolivia since around 1912 and after a heart attack in 1924 he moved abroad permanently, first to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, then to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and finally to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
where he died. While living in Paris he was appointed Minister to France and represented Bolivia in 1938 at the Evian Conference
Evian Conference
The Évian Conference was convened at the initiative of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in July 1938 to discuss the issue of increasing numbers of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. For eight days, from July 6 to July 13, representatives from 31 countries met at Évian-les-Bains, France...
.
His great wealth made him powerful in Bolivian politics and he was locally both admired and hated.
Previous to a political shift away from his allies in the government Patiño merged the company owning his Bolivian tin property with a British company active in Malaysia.
Patiño died in 1947 and was buried high in the Bolivian mountains of his birth in a giant blue marble tomb.
Family:
Patino's relatives now live in the United States and in Bolivia
Epilogue
The Bolivian Revolution of 1952History of Bolivia
This is the history of Bolivia. See also the history of Latin America and the history of the Americas.Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America...
nationalised the Patiño Mines and it is claimed that his heir Antenor Patiño
Antenor Patiño
Antenor Patiño Rodríguez was a Bolivian tycoon, heir to his father Simón I...
had his hand in the military coup that deposed the leader of the revolution, then President Victor Paz Estenssoro
Víctor Paz Estenssoro
Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro was a politician and president of Bolivia. He ran for president 8 times , winning in 1951, 1960, 1964, and 1985....
, in the 1960s.