Billionaire Lily Safra, widow of the late Lebanese banker Edmond Safra, died Saturday at the age of 87, the Edmond Safra Foundation, which served as its president, said in a statement.
“For over twenty years, Safra has faithfully supported the legacy of her beloved husband, Edmond, by supporting hundreds of charities around the world,” the foundation said in a statement. The funeral ceremony will take place on Monday night in the Swiss city of Geneva.
Lili Safra was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil and spent part of her life in Monaco and Geneva, where she passed away. Leila Safra married Lebanese banker Edmond Safra in 1976 and inherited his fortune after his death in a criminal fire that one of his nurses set in his apartment in Monaco in 1999 in a sensational case.
Lily Safra was known for her generous donations and was especially supportive of research to treat people with Parkinson’s and “other brain disorders”. She also donated 10 million euros to the Heritage Foundation in France following the Notre Dame Cathedral fire in Paris in 2019.
