Wilmer Ruperti Venezuelan shipping magnate Date of Birth: 07.12.1959 Country: Venezuela

1. Biography of Wilmer Ruperti
2. Early Career
3. Breakthrough in the Shipping Business
4. Business Ventures
5. Personal Life and Philanthropy

Biography of Wilmer Ruperti

Wilmer Ruperti is a Venezuelan shipping magnate and businessman. He was born on December 7, 1959. Ruperti has been involved in the oil export industry in Venezuela since 2003, holding a significant market share in exporting Venezuelan oil to other countries in Latin America. He is considered one of the richest individuals in the country.

Early Career

Ruperti's career began in 1987 when he became a tanker captain for the Venezuelan oil company Maraven, S.A., a subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). He later studied maritime transportation in Plymouth, England, and then returned to Caracas to establish his own small intermediary firm in the industry.

Breakthrough in the Shipping Business

Ruperti's breakthrough in the shipping business came at the end of 2002 during the Venezuelan general strike of 2002-2003, in which thousands of PDVSA employees participated. Ruperti sent gasoline to Venezuelan ports using chartered tankers from Russia. The strike, intended to overthrow President Hugo Chávez, resulted in a significant reduction in oil production and exports, as well as internal fuel shortages before it ultimately failed.

Through successful transportation agreements, Ruperti was able to strengthen his business relationships with PDVSA and the government. Although his business acumen earned him contempt from the strikers, many of whom were later dismissed, Hugo Chávez awarded Ruperti the Order of Carabobo Star, an honor typically given to military personnel, for his outstanding contributions.

Business Ventures

Ruperti's company, Suramericana de Transportes de Petróleo, owns a fleet of oil tankers and other vessels. He also owns the management company Global Ship Management. Ruperti is considered a key figure in Chávez's policy of delivering oil at discounted prices to Argentina and other countries in the Caribbean.

In June 2006, Ruperti founded a maritime investment fund and planned to raise half a billion dollars for the construction of eight new oil tankers. Recently, Ruperti has expanded his interests into other business sectors, including owning a private television channel in Venezuela called Canal i, formerly known as Puma TV.

Personal Life and Philanthropy

Ruperti's lifestyle has been described in articles, such as having two South Korean bodyguards, driving in a bulletproof BMW in Caracas, owning a private plane, and sponsoring a charity concert in Caracas featuring Luciano Pavarotti in 2005. He is an avid golfer and has established a youth golf school in the capital city of Venezuela.

In addition, Ruperti has been involved in collecting historical artifacts. He reportedly acquired two gold-plated pistols from the Napoleonic era that belonged to Simón Bolívar, the legendary Venezuelan hero of Latin America's independence in the 19th century, at an auction in New York for $1.6 million. Although there were rumors that he planned to gift these relics to the Venezuelan government, Ruperti denied this and stated that he intends to pass them down to his children. However, in July 2011, President Hugo Chávez confirmed on national television that Ruperti had given him those pistols as a gift.