Jaime Gilinski

Who is Jaime Gilinski?

As of September 25, 2026, Jaime Gilinski Bacal is a Colombian banker and businessman, chairman of Grupo Gilinski, with holdings in banking, food and media across several countries. Source

What is Jaime Gilinski's net worth?

As of September 25, 2026, Bloomberg ranks him as Colombia's second-richest person, with an estimated net worth of about $15.1 billion. Source

What companies does Jaime Gilinski control?

As of September 25, 2026, he controls bank GNB Sudameris (Colombia, Peru, Uruguay), is the majority shareholder of Metro Bank in the UK, holds a large stake in Banco Sabadell, and after a series of tender offers took control of Grupo Nutresa; his group also owns Semana magazine and snack maker Yupi. Source

What agreement did Jaime Gilinski sign with Venezuela?

As of September 25, 2026, on September 4 Gilinski signed a 25-year production-sharing agreement in Caracas with acting president Delcy Rodríguez for GeoPark, a company his group now majority-controls, to operate the Baré oil block in the Orinoco Belt alongside PDVSA. Source

Where is Jaime Gilinski from?

As of September 25, 2026, he is from Cali: he was born in 1957 in Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, the son of businessman Isaac Gilinski Sragowicz. Source

Is Jaime Gilinski Colombia's richest man?

As of September 25, 2026, no, Bloomberg ranks him as Colombia's second-richest person, though local media have reported moments in recent years when his fortune briefly topped the ranking. Source

Does Jaime Gilinski own Semana magazine?

As of September 25, 2026, yes, his group owns Publicaciones Semana, one of Colombia's most influential media outlets. Source

How did Jaime Gilinski take control of Grupo Nutresa?

As of September 25, 2026, he achieved it after several tender offers launched from 2021 targeting Nutresa, Grupo Sura and Grupo Argos, the companies of the so-called Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño; in the final deal he gave up his Sura and Argos shares and kept control of Nutresa, reaching 99.38% ownership by April 2024. Source

What stake does Jaime Gilinski hold in Metro Bank?

As of September 25, 2026, he is the controlling shareholder of Metro Bank in the United Kingdom, with a roughly 53% stake acquired in October 2023. Source

Does Jaime Gilinski have oil business interests?

As of September 25, 2026, his group became the majority shareholder (56.3%) of oil company GeoPark, which operates blocks across several countries in the region and in September 2026 signed a 25-year contract to operate Venezuela's Baré block alongside PDVSA. Source

The story so far

• 1994
  Acquires Banco de Colombia, with an investment from George Soros, in what was the country's largest bank privatization to that point. source
• 1997
  Sells Banco de Colombia to Banco Industrial Colombiano in a deal that created Bancolombia. source
• 1999
  Sues Banco Industrial Colombiano over the use of depositor funds in the purchase; the litigation ran 11 years in Colombian and New York courts before a confidential settlement in 2010. source
• 2003
  Merges Banco Sudameris and Banco Tequendama to create GNB Sudameris. source
• 2012
  Buys HSBC's operations in several Latin American countries for about $400 million. source
• 2013
  Becomes the largest shareholder of Banco Sabadell in Spain, with a $500 million investment. source
• 2021
  Launches the first of several tender offers for Nutresa, Grupo Sura and Grupo Argos, companies of the Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño. source
• October 2023
  Becomes the controlling shareholder of Metro Bank in the United Kingdom, with roughly a 53% stake. source
• April 2024
  Reaches 99.38% ownership of Grupo Nutresa, after giving up his Sura and Argos shares, and keeps control of the food conglomerate. source
• September 4, 2026
  Signs a 25-year contract in Caracas with acting president Delcy Rodríguez for GeoPark, now majority-controlled by his group, to operate the Baré oil block alongside PDVSA. source

Checked against several outlets and the court record on September 26, 2026