Leo S. Kopp

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The permanently decorated grave of "Don Leo" in the central cemetery in Bogotá.

Leo Siegfried Kopp (born August 14, 1858 in Offenbach ; † September 15, 1927 in La Esperanza , Cundinamarca ) was a German emigrant from South America , benefactor and founder of today's largest brewery in Colombia, Bavaria SA

Life

Origin and family

In Offenbach am Main, Frankfurter Straße 62, was the birthplace of "Don Leo", the most popular "saint" in Colombia, a Freemason of the Jewish faith. Leo S. Kopp was the son of the clothing manufacturer Leopold Kopp and his wife Johanna Koppel. The family initially lived in Offenbach, but moved to Frankfurt am Main in 1877 and opened a specialist textile shop. In 1886 Leo decided to emigrate to Colombia with his brother Emil. There he soon met his Colombian wife Maria Juana Castello González (born February 13, 1863, † July 26, 1933). With her he had five children: Cecilia Kopp Castello, Juanita Kopp Castello, Leopoldo Kopp Castello, Guillermo Kopp Castello and Margarita Kopp Castello.

Business beginnings

"Don Leo" and his brother Emil allegedly came via Venezuela and Eastern Colombia in 1886 to El Socorro , a historic colonial town 290 kilometers north of Bogotá. At that time El Socorro was considered an important trading center. Leo Kopp married Doña Maria Juana Castello Gonzalez from Bogotá, whose family with the Kopp brothers ran the Fenicia trading company and later the Cervecería Kopp y Cía brewery . founded. But there was no success. In June 1890 the partnership with the Castello family was dissolved due to failures. Then the Kopps moved the economic activities to Bogotá, bought a piece of land and had the Sociedad Kopp y Castello registered. Large international companies, banks, hotels and cultural institutions are now located on the premises of the former brewery in Bogotá, today's financial district.

At the age of 31 and with a start-up capital of 1200 Pesos , "Don Leo" founded his company on April 4, 1889 , under the name "Kopp's Deutsche Brauerei Bavaria" in the Colombian capital Bogotá, in the Barrio San Diego, today the Santa Fe district . between Carrera 7 and Calle 28, opposite the Museo Nacional de Colombia . Within a few years, Leo Kopp managed to convert Colombians , who are used to chicha (corn schnapps) and guarapo (fermented sugar cane juice), to drinking beer with the La Pola brand . So it came about that the term “Pola” in Colombia in general, especially among the poorer population, established itself as a synonym for beer as a drink.

From Kopp's brewery to SABMiller

From Kopp's beginnings as a brewer, the large Cervecería Bavaria , which today functions as Grupo Empresarial Bavaria , became the only Colombian company that survived the 19th century . During the Second World War, as a result of Colombia's declaration of war on the German Reich , all German companies were nationalized in 1943. “Don Leo's” family was expropriated, which the company founder fortunately hadn't noticed, because he had died in 1927 and his son Guillermo Kopp Castello had meanwhile taken over the brewery. The company with the production facilities was taken over by the richest family in Colombia at the time, Santo Domingo, with the Colombian businessman Julio Mario Santo Domingo . It is not known whether the Kopp family was ever compensated and there are no records.

The story of 6.6 billion euros begins here. 116 years after Leo Kopp built this small brewery, in July 2005 Bavaria SA, now the largest brewery in Latin America , was sold to the second largest beer company in the world, SABMiller , at this incredible price. Thus Alejandro Santo Domingo , descendant of Colombia's richest family, owns shares in SABMiller in exchange for shares. The deal let the family rise from the owner of a regional brewery to the second largest shareholder in the world's second largest beer manufacturer with a stake of 14 percent and two seats on the supervisory board.

Idol of many Colombians

"Don Leo" was well known for his generosity and people came to him asking for his support. Leo Kopp ensured, among other things, that the poor population had clean drinking water available. He had wells and water pipes built, and he also built a new district, La Perseverancia , for employees and members of his brewery. For that he is still honored in Bogotá today. His grave in the central cemetery of Bogotá ( Cementerio Central ) receives the greatest number of visitors every day, in the middle of a metropolis with eight million inhabitants and countless mausoleums belonging to great poets, ex-presidents and famous politicians. People from all over the world and from all walks of life line up in front of his grave to recite his prayers , which are sold by the street vendors at the entrance to the cemetery, and whisper their wishes in “Don Leo's” ear. It is a statue based on the model of Auguste Rodin 's " The Thinker ". He is considered a saint by many .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Acerva de nuestra Historia . bavaria.co. Retrieved March 30, 2017 (es)
  2. ↑ La cervecería de los alemanes Kopp y su huella en Santander . vanguardia.com. Retrieved March 30, 2017 (es)
  3. ↑ Grupo Empresarial Bavaria (SABMiller) . ratebeer.com. Retrieved March 30, 2017
  4. ↑ SAB Miller brewery buys number two in South America . welt.de. Retrieved March 30, 2017
  5. ↑ How Bavaria beer made a family the richest in Colombia . handelsblatt.com. Retrieved March 30, 2017
  6. ^ Leo Sigfried "Don Leo" Kopp . findagrave.com. Retrieved March 30, 2017 (en)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kopp, Leo S.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kopp, Leo Siegfried
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German brewery founder in Colombia
DATE OF BIRTH August 14, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Offenbach , Germany
DATE OF DEATH September 15, 1927
Place of death La Esperanza, Cundinamarca, Colombia