# Leon Feffer

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**Leon Feffer** (1902–1999) was a Brazilian businessman who founded [Suzano Papel e Celulose](/source/Suzano_Papel_e_Celulose).

## Biography

Feffer was born on November 27, 1902, to a [Ukrainian Jewish](/source/Ukrainian_Jewish) family in [Rovno, Ukraine](/source/Rovno,_Ukraine)[1] (other sources say [Kolki](/source/Kolky_(urban-type_settlement)), Ukraine),[2] the son of Bertha (née Brandes) and Simpson Feffer.[3] In 1910, concerned about increasing [anti-Semitism](/source/Anti-Semitism), his father immigrated to Brazil where he worked as a peddler selling stationery items around [São Paulo](/source/S%C3%A3o_Paulo) and [Mato Grosso](/source/Mato_Grosso) from his ox-drawn cart.[3] In 1920, his father had saved enough money to bring his wife, two sons (Leon and David) and two daughters (Maria and Regina) to Brazil.[3][1][4] Leon started his first business manufacturing candles although it was not successful as Sao Paulo already had electricity.[3] On June 15, 1923,[1] he founded a paper distribution business purchasing imported and domestic paper for sale to local retailers.[3] By chance, a large domestic paper factory suffered a fire and he was able to purchase a large quantity of paper rolls (damaged externally but near perfect internally) which enabled him to profit greatly during the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression) after Brazil banned imports.[3] He expanded by purchasing a printing press, established a retail store,[2] and constructed an envelope factory (which became one of the largest in the country).[4] In 1939, he sold everything (including his house, his wife's jewelry, and his store)[3] and completed a paper factory in 1941 in the São Paulo neighborhood of [Ipiranga](/source/Subprefecture_of_Ipiranga).[1] The factory used imported [pine](/source/Pine_tree) pulp to produce its paper.[3] In 1946, the company was named Indústria de Papel Leon Feffer (IPLF).[4] He encouraged his son Max, who was studying at the [Juilliard School of Music](/source/Juilliard_School_of_Music), to help him find a local substitute for pine fiber.[3] Max, working with biologists at the [University of Florida](/source/University_of_Florida), determined that [eucalyptus](/source/Eucalyptus) pulp was a good substitute for pine pulp.[3] In 1946, he purchased Indústria de Papel Euclides Damiani and he gradually mixed eucalyptus fiber into its production.[4] In 1956, he renamed the company [Suzano Papel e Celulose](/source/Suzano_Papel_e_Celulose).[2] In 1960, he purchased another paper mill, Indústria de Papel Rio Verde.[4] In 1961, he was using 100% eucalyptus as a raw material.[4] The rest of the paper industry adopted the use of eucalyptus and Brazil shifted from a net importer of cellulose to a net exporter of cellulose.[1] Under his tutelage, Suzano became the second largest integrated paper manufacturer in Latin America.[1]

## Philanthropy

He served as president of [Colégio Renascença](/source/Col%C3%A9gio_Renascen%C3%A7a), a school for the Jewish community[1] from 1939 to 1962.[4] In 1953,[4] he was seminal in founding *[A Hebraica](/source/A_Hebraica)* in São Paulo, then the largest Jewish club in the world.[1] From 1956 to 1964, he served as Israel's consul to São Paulo ([Federação Israelita do Estado de São Paulo](/source/Federa%C3%A7%C3%A3o_Israelita_do_Estado_de_S%C3%A3o_Paulo)).[1][4] In 1959, he funded the construction of the [Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein](/source/Hospital_Israelita_Albert_Einstein) in the [Morumbi, São Paulo](/source/Morumbi,_S%C3%A3o_Paulo) neighborhood.[1]

## Personal life

Feffer was married to Antonietta Teperman.[4][5] They had two children, Max (1926–2001) and Fanny (1930–2017).[4] He died on 7 February 1999.[1]

In 1995, [Forbes Magazine](/source/Forbes_Magazine) named him as the fifth richest Brazilian with a net worth of $1.6 billion US dollars.[1]

## References

1. ["Leon Feffer morreu domingo; sua empresa foi pioneira na produção de celulose de eucalipto; filho assume cargo Fundador da Cia. Suzano morre aos 96"](https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/dinheiro/fi09029919.htm) (in Portuguese). *[Folha de S.Paulo](/source/Folha_de_S.Paulo)*. 9 February 1999.

1. ["Leon Feffer"](https://davidfeffer.com.br/) (in Portuguese). *davidfeffer.com.br*. Retrieved 16 October 2021.

1. Friedlander, David (12 April 2010). ["Os Novos Negôcios dos Velhos Capitāes da Industria"](http://www.brap.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/N4.pdf) (in Portuguese). *[O Estado de S. Paulo](/source/O_Estado_de_S._Paulo)*

1. ["Olhar de empreendedor"](http://www.ecofuturo.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Ecofuturo_a-vida-que-a-gente-quer.pdf) (in Portuguese). *ecofuturo.org.br*. Retrieved 16 October 2021.

1. Moreira, Aline (1 November 2017). ["Praça Antonietta e Leon Feffer é Inaugurada na Suzano Papel"](https://www.diariodesuzano.com.br/cidades/praca-antonietta-e-leon-feffer-e-inaugurada-na-suzano-papel/39613/) (in Portuguese). *Diario Desuzano*

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