Claudio Belocopitt

He owns a $1.1 billion fortune and is one of the 50 wealthiest people in Argentina, according to Forbes 2018 ranking. An accountant by profession, he owns 76% of Swiss Medical Group, the second largest private medicine holding in Argentina, with a million customers, top-notch hospitals across the country and 12,000 employees. Swiss Medical was one of the main funders of Mauricio Macri’s presidential campaign.

Before building his fortune, Belocopitt had only been related to the media industry as a producer of a stage play and as a shareholder in Radio del Plata. In 2017 he invested heavily in the sector when he purchased 40% of Grupo América. The holding’s umbrella covers the third most-watched TV channel in the country (América TV), news channel A24, radio station La Red and its 30 repeaters, apart from other radio stations, newspapers and TV channels in the Cuyo region.

Belocopitt became a controlling shareholder of the group owned by Vila and Manzano while he was waging a public war against his main competitor in the private medicine sector, Osde, which he accused of tax evasion. Publicly, Belocopitt urged the State to officially intervene his competitor. He was not alone in his crusade, as Osde had another enemy: Mario Quintana, then then Vice Chief of Cabinet of Ministers of Mauricio Macri’s administration, founder of the most important pharmacy network in Buenos Aires (Farmacity) and friends with Belocopitt. Even though the accusation ended up with a financial agreement between Osde and the Federal Public Revenue Administration (AFIP), the new owner of Grupo América continued to catch the public eye.

In 2018 Belocopitt used all his media to speak out against the defunding and alleged apocalypse of private medicine companies. He even forecast a possible lock-out in service provision. Last year, the Government authorized five rises in prepaid medicine fees.

His portfolio also includes agricultural businesses, companies in Uruguay and real estate investments in the United States.

He also shows his creative side at La Paloma Producciones and Corner, two production companies that have funded several stage plays, as well as the biggest box office film in the Argentinian film industry, Wild Tales.

Claudio Belocopitt is the Argentinian businessman with the largest number of companies registered in tax havens, according to documents leaked as part of Panama Papers. Only in 2016, he registered six firms in the British Virgin Islands.