Billionaire Samuel Barata, controller of the 2nd largest drugstore chain in Brazil, dies

The billionaire and controller of Drogaria São Paulo e Pacheco (DPSP), Samuel Barata, passed away at the age of 93 this Monday (22) in Rio de Janeiro.

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Without citing the cause of death, the DPSP Group lamented his death, highlighting that Barata was responsible for revolutionizing pharmaceutical retail by acquiring, in 1970, the Drogarias Pacheco brand, and that under his management, the chain became the fourth largest in the country .

In the 2023 Forbes list of billionaires, the businessman ranked 74th, with a net worth of R$5 billion. His fortune originated from the group he bought in 1974, when it only owned a few stores, and transformed it into a large pharmaceutical chain. In 2011, Barata merged his company with Drogaria São Paulo, creating DPSP, in one of the largest transactions in the sector.

“With an entrepreneurial vision that aimed to transform the sector, in 2011 he participated in the union of the most famous drugstore in Rio de Janeiro with a big name in São Paulo retail: Drogaria São Paulo. From this movement emerged the DPSP Group, currently the second largest pharmacy chain in Brazil”, wrote the group in a note.

Today the chain has more than 1,443 stores spread across eight states in Brazil and the Federal District, with more than 26 thousand employees and achieved revenue of R$13.5 billion in the year before last.

Samuel leaves four children, eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. His brother, Jacob Barata, known as the “King of Buses” in Rio, died in December last year.