“I grew up in coffee and became a man”: The story of Rui Nabeiro, a different millionaire – Sociedade

He was a different millionaire, who created an empire from scratch and became one of the richest men in Portugal. Rui Nabeiro died this Sunday at the age of 91.

Known by many for his hard work and simplicity, Rui Nabeiro was born on March 28, 1931 into a humble family and from a very early age he learned to deal with difficulties. At the age of 12 he helped his mother in a small grocery store and his father and uncles in the coffee roasting, at a time when the effects of the civil war in Spain were being felt.

After his father’s death, Rui was 17 years old, it fell to him to take care of the family and, at 19, he took over the management of Torrefação Camelo, Lda.

In 1961 he created the well-known Delta Cafés, a business group that leads the coffee market in Portugal and with strong international expansion. In several interviews, Rui Nabeiro said that, more than once, he has already been offered many millions for the company he created.

In 1982 he founded Novadelta and two years later, in 1984, he created the largest roasting factory in the Iberian Peninsula at the time.

But Rui Nabeiro was not only recognized for his work. Throughout the expansion of Delta Cafés, Rui never left aside the social aspect, which makes the company classified as a Human Face Company. And if the village of Campo Maior has an unemployment rate below the average of the Alentejo, it is due to Rui Nabeiro, who employed around four thousand people in the company.

He claimed to be a socialist and, between 1977 and 1986, he held the position of mayor of Campo Maior, after being appointed by the PS. “I was born a socialist,” he said in an interview with the newspaper Express.

Grupo Nabeiro – Delta Cafés was born in 1988 and has more than two dozen companies.

As recognition of business merit, on June 9, 1995, he was awarded the rank of Commander of the Civil Order of Agricultural, Industrial and Commercial Merit – Industrial Class, by former President of the Republic Mário Soares, and on January 5, 2006 he was again distinguished, but as Commander of the Order of Infante D. Henrique.

Still speaking in professional terms, Rui Nabeiro received in 2009 one of Spain’s greatest awards, by indication of the King. He was honored with the Commendation of the Order of Isabel Católica, which is only awarded to people with acts of loyalty to the country.

According to the newspaper Observer, “taking Delta out of Campo Maior never crossed his mind”. The commander never left the village and worked every day to build a better future for his land.

“I grew up in coffee and made myself a man”, is a well-known phrase that is displayed on the walls of the Coffee Science Center, in Campo Maior, says the Observer.

“I am a person of sustainability. For me, this word is very healthy. For me, the word sustainability is lived by creating. But there are many forms of sustainability and I gave sustainability by creating other bodies that could be appendices of the coffee industry itself. And this is to create and sustain, create more jobs”, said Rui Nabeiro in an interview with Business Journal.

The Commander leaves a business that is present in more than 40 countries and the capital that was in his hands will now be divided by the heirs.

Rui Nabeiro was one of the greatest Portuguese businessmen, he was an example of citizenship and humility and the Delta Café brand will always be synonymous with his name.