Although gender disparity is a problem worldwide, it is most pronounced in Latin America.
Billionaires such as the Chilean Iris Fontbona, the Mexican María Asunción Aramburuzabala or the Colombian Beatriz Dávil have long been on the lists of the richest people in the world, after inheriting family fortunes.
But now, for the first time in history, a Latin American woman has become a multimillionaire on her own merits (a record known in business jargon as self made billionaire, or self-made billionaire).
Cristina Junqueira, co-founder and CEO of the Brazilian digital bank Nubank, is now the owner of a fortune of US$1.300 millones, after the company made its debut this week on Wall Street.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree from the University of Sao Paulo, he went to the United States to study a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University.
She worked as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group until, when she was just 24 years old, she decided to enter banking, supervising a credit card portfolio at the Itaú Unibanco company.
“I worked for the largest bank in Brazil for five years and ended up making the rich richer,” he told the magazine. Fortune in 2019.
“I failed miserably. And at some point I thought, you know, it’s over. “
The dream of creating a startup
It was then that he met the Colombian David Vélez and, together with the American Edward Wible, they founded the digital bank Nubank. It was 2013.
“I knew the industry and I saw the perfect opportunity to prove them wrong, to build something that people really wanted.”
When they were making arrangements to obtain financing, Junqueira became pregnant with her first daughter, Alice, whom she has affectionately referred to as Nubank’s “twin”.
With seven months pregnant, she traveled to California to meet with potential investors and, according to her close friends, a day before giving birth she signed a financial agreement from her hospital bed.
“Make very difficult decisions”
Eight years later, Nubank is one of the world’s largest digital banks, with a market value of about $ 48 billion.
And Junqueira, at 39, is in charge of the firm in Brazil.
“Being a mother and having a full-time job is a real skill that should be valued much more”He said in March of this year.
“In my case, it’s about making very difficult decisions and having my priorities clear,” he stated in an interview with Bloomberg.
The mother of two daughters and another on the way, the banker often discusses the challenges of work-life balance and has no problem including part of her family life on her Instagram account.
Junqueira was the only Brazilian to appear in the 2020 edition of the World’s Most Powerful Women of Fortune and on the list that recognizes leaders under 40 who are changing the business world.
The controversial claim that set fire to social networks
Junqueira unleashed a great controversy when he said in a television interview that Nubank could not “downgrade” to increase the number of blacks in management.
After a backlash on social media, the founders of Nubank apologized and pledged to push for the representation of people of African descent in their management ranks.
The story even appeared in the “risk factors” section of the company’s offering prospectus.
Very few women (not heiresses) among billionaires
Women who have made huge fortunes through their own efforts make up just 3% of the world’s 500 richest people, according to the Billionaires Index of Bloomberg.
Although there have been changes, the list is still “Overwhelmingly white and masculine”wrote the American media.
And while gender disparity is a problem around the world, it is most pronounced in Latin America.
“Only 1% of the companies that make up Brazil’s benchmark stock index have a woman as CEO, compared to 6% for the S&P 500 index,” the publication added.
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
